William Hart American screenwriter, director, actor. Date of Birth: 06.12.1864 Country: USA

Biography of William Hart

William Hart, an American scriptwriter, director, and actor, was born in the state of New York. He made his debut on stage at the age of nineteen. Thomas H. Ince, who encountered him during a tour, believed that Hart could rival Tom Mix and Broncho Billy. Hart was signed to a Broadway theater where he performed in the play "A Pathway of the Lonely Pine". In the spring of 1914, Hart made his debut in Thomas H. Ince's film "His Hour of Manhood" and directed the film "Tom Chatterton". His partner in crime was Clara Williams. The subsequent films, "Jim Cameron's Wife," "On the Stroke of Midnight," and particularly "The Bargain," solidified Hart's fame, as well as that of his trusty horse, Pinto Ben. After 1914, Hart, known in France as Rio Jim, became even more popular than Tom Mix. Thomas H. Ince entrusted the filming of Hart's movies to his best directors, Reginald Barker or John Gardner Sullivan. In 1914, Hart appeared in films such as "The Silent Shadows," "The Horrors of Kemp's Canyon," "The Convict," "The Sheriff," and "Hidden Gold". Hart was an excellent horseman and skilled with firearms. It is no wonder that audiences gave him the nickname "Two-Gun Hicks". Later, after parting ways with Ince, William Hart established his own company and continued to act in the same genre. An excellent example of his later work is the film "The Railroad Raiders" (1918), made in the style typical of Ince's school. "... I parodied William S. Hart, the great Western star. At one time, Hart was only surpassed in popularity by three actors: Chaplin, Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. In 1922, he was still one of the greats. However, Bill was not a handsome cowboy actor and he took himself and his art quite seriously. In his films, he didn't sing songs, whistle, yodel, or dress like some Dan-Shagall from the Great Plains..." (Buster Keaton, "My Wonderful World of Farce")