Acting · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA · Born November 6, 1879
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.
MovieFragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
2011
as Himself (archive footage)
MovieMerton of the Movies
1947
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
MovieMy Brother Talks to Horses
1947
as Bank Employee (uncredited)
MovieThe Secret Heart
1946
as Man at Graduation Ceremony
MovieHoliday in Mexico
1946
MovieThe Postman Always Rings Twice
1946
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
MovieBud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
1945
as Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
MovieDangerous Partners
1945
as Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
MovieSwing Fever
1943
as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
MovieHer Cardboard Lover
1942
as Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
MovieJackass Mail
1942
as Old Miner
MovieFingers at the Window
1942
as Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
MovieRio Rita
1942
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
MovieHonky Tonk
1941
as Townsman (uncredited)
MovieThe Big Store
1941
as Store Employee (uncredited)
MovieZiegfeld Girl
1941
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
MovieCome Live with Me
1941
as Doorman
MovieThe Philadelphia Story
1940
as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
MovieGallant Sons
1940
as Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
MovieBitter Sweet
1940
as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
MovieThe Ghost Comes Home
1940
as Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
MovieI Take This Woman
1940
as Man in Subway (uncredited)
MovieDancing Co-Ed
1939
as Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
MovieStronger Than Desire
1939
as Juror (uncredited)
MovieThe Ice Follies of 1939
1939
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
MovieOpening Day
1938
as Baseball Fan
MovieStablemates
1938
as Bettor
MovieToo Hot to Handle
1938
as Reporter (uncredited)
MovieBoys Town
1938
as Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
MovieMarie Antoinette
1938
as Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
MovieThink It Over
1938
MovieSnow Gets in Your Eyes
1938
as Department Store Customer (uncredited)
MovieThat Mothers Might Live
1938
as Passerby (uncredited)
MovieArsène Lupin Returns
1938
as Detective (uncredited)
MovieA Night at the Movies
1937
as Movie Patron (uncredited)
MovieThe Emperor's Candlesticks
1937
as Customs Official (uncredited)
MovieIt May Happen to You
1937
as Man in Hospital (uncredited)
MovieParnell
1937
as Man in Office
MovieTorture Money
1937
as False Accident Witness (uncredited)
MovieMad Holiday
1936
as Film Director (uncredited)
MovieSworn Enemy
1936
as Accident Witness (uncredited)
MovieThe Devil-Doll
1936
as Detective Pierre (uncredited)
MovieSan Francisco
1936
as Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
MovieThe Adventures of Frank Merriwell
1936
as Chemistry Professor
MovieA Night at the Opera
1935
as Dignitary (uncredited)
Movie3 Kids and a Queen
1935
as Druggist
MovieChinatown Squad
1935
as Patrol Wagon Guard
MovieThe Call of the Savage
1935
as Dr. Pierce
MovieMississippi
1935
as Gambler (uncredited)
Sweepstake Annie
1935
as Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
MovieA Notorious Gentleman
1935
as Police Sergeant
MovieFather Brown, Detective
1934
as Priest (uncredited)
MovieCheating Cheaters
1934
as Official (uncredited)
MovieRomance in the Rain
1934
as Milton McGillicuddy
MovieThe Red Rider
1934
as Townsman
MovieBeloved
1934
as Second Doctor
MovieI Loved a Woman
1933
as Banker (uncredited)
MovieThe Death Kiss
1932
as Al Payne
MovieAfraid to Talk
1932
as Police Officer (uncredited)
MovieThe Big Flash
1932
as Hinkle
MovieWhat Price Hollywood?
1932
as Department Head (uncredited)
MoviePolice Court
1932
as Harry Field
MovieGirl of the Rio
1932
as Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
MovieGraft
1931
as Ship's Captain
MovieSweepstakes
1931
as Mike - Weber's Trainer
MovieThe Bad Sister
1931
as Policeman on Street (uncredited)
Once a Gentleman
1930
as Van Warner
MovieThe Czar of Broadway
1930
MovieThe Thrill Chaser
1923
as Himself - Cameo
MovieThe Butterfly Girl
1921
as H.H. Van Horn
MovieThe Girl in the Taxi
1921
as Maj. Frederick Smith
MovieThe Forbidden Thing
1920
as Dave
MovieThe Dwelling Place of Light
1920
as Brooks Insall
MovieLife's Twist
1920
as Jim Sargent
MovieThe Cheater
1920
as Lord Asgarby
MovieThe Shadow of Lightning Ridge
1920
MovieThe Hawk's Trail
1919
as Sheldon Steele/The Hawk
MovieThe Man Who Stayed at Home
1919
as Christopher Brent
Building for Democracy
1918
as The Husband
MovieKildare of Storm
1918
as Basil Kildare
MovieThe Eagle's Eye
1918
as Harrison Grant
Mission of the War Chest
1918
as Self
The Silent Stranger
1916
as The Silent Stranger
MovieThe Man from Nowhere
1916
as James Herron
MovieHalf a Rogue
1916
as Richard Warrington
MovieThe Suburban
1915
as Donald Gordon
The Marble Heart
1915
as Raphael / Phidias
The Great Universal Mystery
1914
as Himself
MovieAbsinthe
1914
as Jean Dumas
MovieIvanhoe
1913
as Wilfred of Ivanhoe
The Wanderer
1913
as The Shepherd
MovieDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1913
as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
MovieUp Against It
1912
as Amos Bentley
MovieA Cave Man Wooing
1912
as George - the 'Sissy' Hero
Shamus O'Brien
1912
as Shamus O'Brien
Over the Hills
1911
as Wayne Holland
MovieThe Better Way
1911
as Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
MovieThe Rose's Story
1911
as Gerald Kinney
The Call of the Song
1911
as Hugh Norton
Science
1911
as Dr. Crawford
At a Quarter of Two
1911
as Dan Nolan - the Burglar
MovieFor the Queen's Honor
1911
as The King
MovieIn the Sultan's Garden
1911
as Lt. Robbins
A Game of Deception
1911
The Master and the Man
1911
as Basil King
The Fair Dentist
1911
as Dental Patient
MovieThe Temptress
1911
as Gilbert Irving
Second Sight
1911
as Tom Mooreland
MovieThe Scarlet Letter
1911
as Reverend Dimmesdale
While There is hope, There is Life
1911
as Alfred King
The Wife’s Awakening
1911
as Enoch Harrington
MovieSweet Memories
1911
as Edward Jackson
The Secret of the Palm
1911
as Cecil Abbott
Tracked
1911
as Roger Densmore
Pictureland
1911
as Pablo
At the Duke's Command
1911
as Edward, the Duke's Nephew
MovieThe Mirror
1911
The Count of Montebello
1910
as Percy
All the World’s a Stage
1910
Pressed Roses
1910
Debt
1910
The Taming of Jane
1910
Once Upon a Time
1910
The Irony of Fate
1910
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens
1910
as George Rand
Old Heads and Young Hearts
1910
The Time-Lock Safe
1910
as The Father
The Call of the Circus
1910
A Game for Two
1910
as Clark, the Best Friend
A Reno Romance
1910
as Jack
The Eternal Triangle
1910
as The Dashing Young Count
The Doctor's Perfidy
1910
Two Men
1910
as The Tenderfoot
The New Shawl
1910
as Jacques
The Maelstrom
1910
The Rosary
1910
His Second Wife
1910
The Miser’s Daughter
1910
Transfusion
1910
The Stage Note
1910
The Broken Oath
1910
Mother Love
1910
The Governor’s Pardon
1910
as The Man
Jane and the Stranger
1910
as The Stranger
The Blind Man’s Tact
1910
Justice in the Far North
1910
as King
The Tide of Fortune
1910
The Right of Love
1910
The Winning Punch
1910
The Awakening of Bess
1909
as Bess' Sweetheart
MovieLove's Stratagem
1909
as The Boy
