Acting · Horseheads, New York, USA · Born January 23, 1878
Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles.
MovieSavage Fury
1956
as Allen
MovieThunder Mountain
1947
as Townsman (uncredited)
MovieThe Egg and I
1947
as Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)
MovieCode of the West
1947
as Settler (uncredited)
MovieTrail Street
1947
as Townsman (uncredited)
MovieDesert Command
1946
as Capt. Boncour
MovieStrange Confession
1945
as Peanut Vendor (uncredited)
MovieThe Naughty Nineties
1945
as Showboat Customer (uncredited)
MovieThe Return of the Durango Kid
1945
as Street Ambusher (uncredited)
MovieHi, Beautiful
1944
as Passenger (uncredited)
MovieThe Climax
1944
as Backstage Technician (Uncredited)
MovieTall in the Saddle
1944
as Townsman (uncredited)
MovieThe Mummy's Ghost
1944
as Museum Tourist (uncredited)
MoviePhantom Lady
1944
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
MovieThank Your Lucky Stars
1943
as Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)
MoviePhantom of the Opera
1943
as Stagehand (uncredited)
MovieThe Lone Star Trail
1943
as Bartender Mike
MovieCheyenne Roundup
1943
as Pete
MovieOverland Mail
1942
as Williams - Banker
MovieThe Silver Bullet
1942
as Townsman
MovieDown Rio Grande Way
1942
as Townsman
MovieBury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
1941
as Bartender
MovieWhere Did You Get That Girl?
1941
as Tourist
MovieJunior G-Men
1940
as Irish Cop (uncredited)
MovieThe Boys from Syracuse
1940
as Citizen
MovieWinners of the West
1940
as Bill Brine
MovieTim Tyler's Luck
1937
as Dock Official
MovieHeadin' for the Rio Grande
1936
as Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)
MovieSong of the Gringo
1936
as Bailiff
MovieThe Vigilantes Are Coming
1936
as Anderson, Vigilante Member
MovieHollywood Boulevard
1936
as Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)
MovieTreachery Rides the Range
1936
as Bill
MovieFlash Gordon
1936
as Hawkman Lookout Captain
MovieSong of the Saddle
1936
as Tim
MovieThe Adventures of Frank Merriwell
1936
as Captain of the 'Viking'
The Broken Coin
1936
MovieCuster's Last Stand
1936
as Wagon Master
MovieFrisco Kid
1935
as Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)
MovieTailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
1935
as Foreman Burke
MoviePowdersmoke Range
1935
as Happy - Bartender
MovieCourage of the North
1935
as Gene Travis
MovieThe Roaring West
1935
as Jim Parker
MovieSocial Error
1935
as Policeman
MovieThe Call of the Savage
1935
as Allen
MovieThe Ghost Rider
1935
as Guard
MovieCyclone of the Saddle
1935
as Wagon Master
MovieThe Cowboy and the Bandit
1935
as Sheriff Pete
MovieBorn to Battle
1935
as John Brownell
MovieNaughty Marietta
1935
as Gendarme Chief (uncredited)
Wild Waters
1935
as Sheriff Manning
Timber Terrors
1935
as Royce Horter
MovieRustlers of Red Dog
1935
as Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]
MovieWhen Lightning Strikes
1934
as Marshal Jack Stevens
MovieFrontier Days
1934
as Sheriff Barnes
MovieThe Way of the West
1934
as 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)
MovieThe Red Rider
1934
as Sheriff Campbell
MovieI Can't Escape
1934
as Parole Officer Donovan
Crack-Up
1934
as Police Chief
MovieThe Vanishing Shadow
1934
as MacDonald
MovieThe Rawhide Terror
1934
as Tom Blake
MovieBorder Guns
1934
as Dr. Jim Wilson
MoviePirate Treasure
1934
as Capt. Jim Carson
MovieFargo Express
1933
as Sheriff Joe Thompson
MoviePerils of Pauline
1933
as Prof. Thompson
MovieStrawberry Roan
1933
as Colonel Brownlee
MovieMr. Broadway
1933
as 1st Suitor (archive footage)
MovieGordon of Ghost City
1933
as John Mulford
MovieLaughing at Life
1933
as Military Cabinet Officer
MovieThe Phantom of the Air
1933
as Thomas Edmonds
MovieThe Three Musketeers
1933
as Capt. Boncour
MovieThe Rustler's Roundup
1933
as San Dimas Sheriff Holden
MovieClancy of the Mounted
1933
as Dave Moran
MovieA Scarlet Week-End
1932
MovieJungle Mystery
1932
as John Morgan
MovieThe Last Frontier
1932
as General Custer
MovieHeroes of the West
1932
as John Blaine
MovieBattling with Buffalo Bill
1931
as John Mills
MovieThe Lightning Warrior
1931
as Townsman (uncredited)
MovieOklahoma Jim
1931
as Lacy
MovieHell-Bent for Frisco
1931
as The Editor
First Aid
1931
as Chief of Police
MovieThe Vanishing Legion
1931
as Milesburg Sheriff
MovieThe Phantom of the West
1930
as Martin Blair
MovieNo Defense
1929
as John Harper
MovieNo Children
1929
as Self
MovieThe Mystery Rider
1928
as Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider
MovieThe Devil's Trademark
1928
as Morgan Gray
MovieThe Vanishing Rider
1928
as Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider
The Return of the Riddle Rider
1927
as Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
MovieThe Strings of Steel
1926
as Ned Brown
MovieThe Ace of Spades
1925
as Dan Harvey
MovieThe Meddler
1925
as Richard Gilmore
MovieThe Burning Trail
1925
as Smiling Bill Flannigan
Red Clay
1925
as Chief John Nisheto
MovieDuped
1925
as John Morgan
MovieStraight Through
1925
as Good Deed O'Day
MovieBarriers of the Law
1925
as Rex Brandon
MovieRidin' Pretty
1925
as Sky Parker
MovieOutwitted
1925
as Jack Blaisdel
The Riddle Rider
1924
as Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
MovieThe Sunset Trail
1924
as Happy Hobo
MovieThe Measure of a Man
1924
as John Fairmeadow
Hello, 'Frisco
1924
as William Desmond
MovieBig Timber
1924
as Walter Sandry
MovieThe Breathless Moment
1924
as Billy Carson
MovieThe Extra Girl
1923
as Himself
MovieBeasts of Paradise
1923
as Phil Grant
MovieShadows of the North
1923
as Ben 'Wolf' Darby
MovieMcGuire of the Mounted
1923
as Bob McGuire
MovieThe Phantom Fortune
1923
as Larry Barclay
MovieAround the World in 18 Days
1923
as Phineas Fogg III
MovieNight Life in Hollywood
1922
as Self
MoviePerils of the Yukon
1922
as Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.
MovieFightin' Mad
1921
as Bud McGraw
MovieThe Policeman and the Baby
1921
as The Policeman
MovieThe Child Thou Gavest Me
1921
as Tom Marshall
The Parish Priest
1921
as Reverend John Whalen
MovieWomen Men Love
1921
as David Hunter
MovieTwin Beds
1920
as Harry Hawkins
MovieThe Prince and Betty
1919
as John Maude
MovieThe Blue Bandanna
1919
as Jerry Jerome
MovieA Sage Brush Hamlet
1919
as Larry Lang
MovieBare-Fisted Gallagher
1919
as 'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher
MovieThe Mints of Hell
1919
as Dan Burke
MovieWhitewashed Walls
1919
as Larry Donovan
MovieHer Code of Honor
1919
as Eugene La Salle
MovieLife's a Funny Proposition
1919
as Jimmie Pendleton
MovieThe Pretender
1918
as Bob Baldwin
An Honest Man
1918
as Benny Boggs
MovieSociety for Sale
1918
as Honorable Billy
MovieThe Marriage Bubble
1918
as The Actor
MovieCaptain of His Soul
1918
as Horace
MovieThe Sudden Gentleman
1917
as Garry Garrity
MovieMarried in Name Only
1917
MovieFlying Colors
1917
as Brent Brewster
MovieMaster of His Home
1917
as Carson Stewart
Paws of the Bear
1917
as Ray Bourke
MoviePaddy O'Hara
1917
as Paddy O'Hara
The Last of the Ingrams
1917
as Jules Ingram
MovieThe Iced Bullet
1917
as The Author / Horace Lee
MovieA Gamble in Souls
1916
MovieThe Criminal
1916
as Donald White
MovieThe Dawn Maker
1916
as Bruce Smithson
Bullets and Brown Eyes
1916
as Prince Carl
MoviePeggy
1916
as Rev. Donald Bruce
MoviePeer Gynt
1915
as The Parson
MovieThe Majesty of the Law
1915
as Jackson Morgan Kent
MovieKilmeny
1915
as Bob Meredith
The Sign of the Cross
1904
