King Baggot
Acting • Born 1879-11-06 – Died 1948-07-11
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, Baggot was referred to as "King of the Movies", "The Most Photographed Man in the World", and "The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon". Baggot appeared in over 300 motion pictures from 1909 to 1947, wrote 18 screenplays, and directed 45 movies from 1912 to 1928, including The Lie (1912), Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1925), and The House of Scandal (1928). He also directed William S. Hart in his most famous western, Tumbleweeds (1925). Among his film appearances, Baggot was best known for The Scarlet Letter (1911), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913), and Ivanhoe (1913). Baggot began his career on the stage, in a Shakespearean stock company, and toured throughout the U.S. While acting in stock in St. Louis in 1909, he was cast as supporting player in the Schubert touring production of The Wishing Ring. When The Wishing Ring closed in Chicago, Baggot returned to New York to join another company. Upon a chance meeting with Harry Solter, who was directing movies for Carl Laemmle at Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), he was persuaded to go with Solter to the studio. Baggot became interested in the fledgling industry and decided to turn picture player. His first film was the romance short The Awakening of Bess (1909) opposite Florence Lawrence. It was directed by Harry Solter, her husband, at IMP in Fort Lee, New Jersey. At a time when screen actors worked anonymously, Baggot and Lawrence became the first "movie stars" to be given billing, a marquee, and promotion in advertising. Baggot starred in at least 42 movies opposite Lawrence from 1909 to 1911. In the latter year, he starred in at least 16 movies with Mary Pickford. He also began writing screenplays and directing, all the while becoming a major star internationally. When he appeared "in person" at theatres he was mobbed at stage doors. By 1912, he was so famous that when he took the leading part in forming the prestigious Screen Club in New York, the first organization of its kind strictly for movie people, he was the natural choice for its first president. King Baggot died in Los Angeles, California in 1948, age 68. For his contributions to the film industry, Baggot received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. His star is located at 6312 Hollywood Boulevard.
Filmography
151 credits
The Temptress
Movie • 1911
Gilbert Irving
Once a Gentleman
Movie • 1930
Van Warner
Think It Over
Movie • 1938
Come Live with Me
Movie • 1941
Doorman
Shamus O'Brien
Movie • 1912
Shamus O'Brien
The Cheater
Movie • 1920
Lord Asgarby
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Movie • 1913
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
The Marble Heart
Movie • 1915
Raphael / Phidias
Mission of the War Chest
Movie • 1918
Self
I Loved a Woman
Movie • 1933
Banker (uncredited)
A Night at the Opera
Movie • 1935
Dignitary (uncredited)
My Brother Talks to Horses
Movie • 1947
Bank Employee (uncredited)
Life's Twist
Movie • 1920
Jim Sargent
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Movie • 1937
Customs Official (uncredited)
It May Happen to You
Movie • 1937
Man in Hospital (uncredited)
The Wanderer
Movie • 1913
The Shepherd
The Hawk's Trail
Movie • 1919
Sheldon Steele/The Hawk
The Forbidden Thing
Movie • 1920
Dave
Girl of the Rio
Movie • 1932
Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
Sweet Memories
Movie • 1911
Edward Jackson
A Notorious Gentleman
Movie • 1935
Police Sergeant
The Devil-Doll
Movie • 1936
Detective Pierre (uncredited)
The Mirror
Movie • 1911
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
Movie • 2011
Himself (archive footage)
The Big Flash
Movie • 1932
Hinkle
Sweepstakes
Movie • 1931
Mike - Weber's Trainer
The Big Store
Movie • 1941
Store Employee (uncredited)
A Night at the Movies
Movie • 1937
Movie Patron (uncredited)
Stronger Than Desire
Movie • 1939
Juror (uncredited)
Sworn Enemy
Movie • 1936
Accident Witness (uncredited)
Snow Gets in Your Eyes
Movie • 1938
Department Store Customer (uncredited)
Mississippi
Movie • 1935
Gambler (uncredited)
That Mothers Might Live
Movie • 1938
Passerby (uncredited)
The Call of the Savage
Movie • 1935
Dr. Pierce
Dancing Co-Ed
Movie • 1939
Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
Arsène Lupin Returns
Movie • 1938
Detective (uncredited)
The Red Rider
Movie • 1934
Townsman
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
Movie • 1936
Chemistry Professor
The Silent Stranger
Movie • 1916
The Silent Stranger
I Take This Woman
Movie • 1940
Man in Subway (uncredited)
Merton of the Movies
Movie • 1947
Man in Audience (uncredited)
The Scarlet Letter
Movie • 1911
Reverend Dimmesdale
Dangerous Partners
Movie • 1945
Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
Police Court
Movie • 1932
Harry Field
Ivanhoe
Movie • 1913
Wilfred of Ivanhoe
The Philadelphia Story
Movie • 1940
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Gallant Sons
Movie • 1940
Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
Bitter Sweet
Movie • 1940
Cafe Patron (uncredited)
The Bad Sister
Movie • 1931
Policeman on Street (uncredited)
A Cave Man Wooing
Movie • 1912
George - the 'Sissy' Hero
Up Against It
Movie • 1912
Amos Bentley
Graft
Movie • 1931
Ship's Captain
Afraid to Talk
Movie • 1932
Police Officer (uncredited)
Her Cardboard Lover
Movie • 1942
Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
The Wife’s Awakening
Movie • 1911
Enoch Harrington
Chinatown Squad
Movie • 1935
Patrol Wagon Guard
Jackass Mail
Movie • 1942
Old Miner
Stablemates
Movie • 1938
Bettor
Honky Tonk
Movie • 1941
Townsman (uncredited)
Opening Day
Movie • 1938
Baseball Fan
What Price Hollywood?
Movie • 1932
Department Head (uncredited)
The Master and the Man
Movie • 1911
Basil King
In the Sultan's Garden
Movie • 1911
Lt. Robbins
For the Queen's Honor
Movie • 1911
The King
At a Quarter of Two
Movie • 1911
Dan Nolan - the Burglar
Science
Movie • 1911
Dr. Crawford
Pictureland
Movie • 1911
Pablo
Tracked
Movie • 1911
Roger Densmore
The Secret of the Palm
Movie • 1911
Cecil Abbott
While There is hope, There is Life
Movie • 1911
Alfred King
Second Sight
Movie • 1911
Tom Mooreland
The Call of the Song
Movie • 1911
Hugh Norton
The Fair Dentist
Movie • 1911
Dental Patient
The Rose's Story
Movie • 1911
Gerald Kinney
The Better Way
Movie • 1911
Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
The Girl in the Taxi
Movie • 1921
Maj. Frederick Smith
The Death Kiss
Movie • 1932
Al Payne
Boys Town
Movie • 1938
Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
The Thrill Chaser
Movie • 1923
Himself - Cameo
Torture Money
Movie • 1937
False Accident Witness (uncredited)
The Eagle's Eye
Movie • 1918
Harrison Grant
Romance in the Rain
Movie • 1934
Milton McGillicuddy
The Czar of Broadway
Movie • 1930
The Secret Heart
Movie • 1946
Man at Graduation Ceremony
Absinthe
Movie • 1914
Jean Dumas
Fingers at the Window
Movie • 1942
Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
3 Kids and a Queen
Movie • 1935
Druggist
Rio Rita
Movie • 1942
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
Movie • 1945
Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
Over the Hills
Movie • 1911
Wayne Holland
Sweepstake Annie
Movie • 1935
Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
At the Duke's Command
Movie • 1911
Edward, the Duke's Nephew
The Ice Follies of 1939
Movie • 1939
Man in Audience (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette
Movie • 1938
Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
San Francisco
Movie • 1936
Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
Mad Holiday
Movie • 1936
Film Director (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Girl
Movie • 1941
Man in Audience (uncredited)
Swing Fever
Movie • 1943
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
The Awakening of Bess
Movie • 1909
Bess' Sweetheart
The Call of the Circus
Movie • 1910
The Count of Montebello
Movie • 1910
Percy
Debt
Movie • 1910
The Eternal Triangle
Movie • 1910
The Dashing Young Count
A Game for Two
Movie • 1910
Clark, the Best Friend
His Second Wife
Movie • 1910
The Irony of Fate
Movie • 1910
Jane and the Stranger
Movie • 1910
The Stranger
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens
Movie • 1910
George Rand
The Blind Man’s Tact
Movie • 1910
The Maelstrom
Movie • 1910
The Miser’s Daughter
Movie • 1910
The New Shawl
Movie • 1910
Jacques
Old Heads and Young Hearts
Movie • 1910
Once Upon a Time
Movie • 1910
Pressed Roses
Movie • 1910
A Reno Romance
Movie • 1910
Jack
The Right of Love
Movie • 1910
The Taming of Jane
Movie • 1910
Transfusion
Movie • 1910
Two Men
Movie • 1910
The Tenderfoot
The Winning Punch
Movie • 1910
The Doctor's Perfidy
Movie • 1910
Love's Stratagem
Movie • 1909
The Boy
All the World’s a Stage
Movie • 1910
The Great Universal Mystery
Movie • 1914
Himself
The Ghost Comes Home
Movie • 1940
Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
Beloved
Movie • 1934
Second Doctor
Half a Rogue
Movie • 1916
Richard Warrington
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Movie • 1946
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
The Man from Nowhere
Movie • 1916
James Herron
The Suburban
Movie • 1915
Donald Gordon
Parnell
Movie • 1937
Man in Office
Building for Democracy
Movie • 1918
The Husband
Kildare of Storm
Movie • 1918
Basil Kildare
The Time-Lock Safe
Movie • 1910
The Father
Holiday in Mexico
Movie • 1946
The Dwelling Place of Light
Movie • 1920
Brooks Insall
Father Brown, Detective
Movie • 1934
Priest (uncredited)
Cheating Cheaters
Movie • 1934
Official (uncredited)
Too Hot to Handle
Movie • 1938
Reporter (uncredited)
The Man Who Stayed at Home
Movie • 1919
Christopher Brent
The Butterfly Girl
Movie • 1921
H.H. Van Horn
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
Movie • 1920
Justice in the Far North
Movie • 1910
King
Mother Love
Movie • 1910
A Game of Deception
Movie • 1911
The Tide of Fortune
Movie • 1910
The Governor’s Pardon
Movie • 1910
The Man
The Stage Note
Movie • 1910
The Rosary
Movie • 1910
The Broken Oath
Movie • 1910