King Baggot
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Nov 6, 1879
- Died
- Jul 11, 1948 (aged 68)
- Place of birth
- Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
- Credits
- 151
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.
Known for
The Philadelphia Story
1940Movie
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
A Night at the Opera
1935Movie
Dignitary (uncredited)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
1946Movie
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
The Devil-Doll
1936Movie
Detective Pierre (uncredited)
Boys Town
1938Movie
Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
San Francisco
1936Movie
Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
Filmography
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
2011Movie
Himself (archive footage)
Merton of the Movies
1947Movie
Man in Audience (uncredited)
My Brother Talks to Horses
1947Movie
Bank Employee (uncredited)
The Secret Heart
1946Movie
Man at Graduation Ceremony
Holiday in Mexico
1946Movie
The Postman Always Rings Twice
1946Movie
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
1945Movie
Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
Dangerous Partners
1945Movie
Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
Swing Fever
1943Movie
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Her Cardboard Lover
1942Movie
Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
Jackass Mail
1942Movie
Old Miner
Fingers at the Window
1942Movie
Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
Rio Rita
1942Movie
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Honky Tonk
1941Movie
Townsman (uncredited)
The Big Store
1941Movie
Store Employee (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Girl
1941Movie
Man in Audience (uncredited)
Come Live with Me
1941Movie
Doorman
The Philadelphia Story
1940Movie
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Gallant Sons
1940Movie
Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
Bitter Sweet
1940Movie
Cafe Patron (uncredited)
The Ghost Comes Home
1940Movie
Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
I Take This Woman
1940Movie
Man in Subway (uncredited)
Dancing Co-Ed
1939Movie
Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
Stronger Than Desire
1939Movie
Juror (uncredited)
The Ice Follies of 1939
1939Movie
Man in Audience (uncredited)
Opening Day
1938Movie
Baseball Fan
Stablemates
1938Movie
Bettor
Too Hot to Handle
1938Movie
Reporter (uncredited)
Boys Town
1938Movie
Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette
1938Movie
Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
Think It Over
1938Movie
Snow Gets in Your Eyes
1938Movie
Department Store Customer (uncredited)
That Mothers Might Live
1938Movie
Passerby (uncredited)
Arsène Lupin Returns
1938Movie
Detective (uncredited)
A Night at the Movies
1937Movie
Movie Patron (uncredited)
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937Movie
Customs Official (uncredited)
It May Happen to You
1937Movie
Man in Hospital (uncredited)
Parnell
1937Movie
Man in Office
Torture Money
1937Movie
False Accident Witness (uncredited)
Mad Holiday
1936Movie
Film Director (uncredited)
Sworn Enemy
1936Movie
Accident Witness (uncredited)
The Devil-Doll
1936Movie
Detective Pierre (uncredited)
San Francisco
1936Movie
Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
1936Movie
Chemistry Professor
A Night at the Opera
1935Movie
Dignitary (uncredited)
3 Kids and a Queen
1935Movie
Druggist
Chinatown Squad
1935Movie
Patrol Wagon Guard
The Call of the Savage
1935Movie
Dr. Pierce
Mississippi
1935Movie
Gambler (uncredited)
Sweepstake Annie
1935Movie
Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
A Notorious Gentleman
1935Movie
Police Sergeant
Father Brown, Detective
1934Movie
Priest (uncredited)
Cheating Cheaters
1934Movie
Official (uncredited)
Romance in the Rain
1934Movie
Milton McGillicuddy
The Red Rider
1934Movie
Townsman
Beloved
1934Movie
Second Doctor
I Loved a Woman
1933Movie
Banker (uncredited)
The Death Kiss
1932Movie
Al Payne
Afraid to Talk
1932Movie
Police Officer (uncredited)
The Big Flash
1932Movie
Hinkle
What Price Hollywood?
1932Movie
Department Head (uncredited)
Police Court
1932Movie
Harry Field
Girl of the Rio
1932Movie
Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
Graft
1931Movie
Ship's Captain
Sweepstakes
1931Movie
Mike - Weber's Trainer
The Bad Sister
1931Movie
Policeman on Street (uncredited)
Once a Gentleman
1930Movie
Van Warner
The Czar of Broadway
1930Movie
The Thrill Chaser
1923Movie
Himself - Cameo
The Butterfly Girl
1921Movie
H.H. Van Horn
The Girl in the Taxi
1921Movie
Maj. Frederick Smith
The Forbidden Thing
1920Movie
Dave
The Dwelling Place of Light
1920Movie
Brooks Insall
Life's Twist
1920Movie
Jim Sargent
The Cheater
1920Movie
Lord Asgarby
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
1920Movie
The Hawk's Trail
1919Movie
Sheldon Steele/The Hawk
The Man Who Stayed at Home
1919Movie
Christopher Brent
Building for Democracy
1918Movie
The Husband
Kildare of Storm
1918Movie
Basil Kildare
The Eagle's Eye
1918Movie
Harrison Grant
Mission of the War Chest
1918Movie
Self
The Silent Stranger
1916Movie
The Silent Stranger
The Man from Nowhere
1916Movie
James Herron
Half a Rogue
1916Movie
Richard Warrington
The Suburban
1915Movie
Donald Gordon
The Marble Heart
1915Movie
Raphael / Phidias
The Great Universal Mystery
1914Movie
Himself
Absinthe
1914Movie
Jean Dumas
Ivanhoe
1913Movie
Wilfred of Ivanhoe
The Wanderer
1913Movie
The Shepherd
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1913Movie
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Up Against It
1912Movie
Amos Bentley
A Cave Man Wooing
1912Movie
George - the 'Sissy' Hero
Shamus O'Brien
1912Movie
Shamus O'Brien
Over the Hills
1911Movie
Wayne Holland
The Better Way
1911Movie
Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
The Rose's Story
1911Movie
Gerald Kinney
The Call of the Song
1911Movie
Hugh Norton
Science
1911Movie
Dr. Crawford
At a Quarter of Two
1911Movie
Dan Nolan - the Burglar
For the Queen's Honor
1911Movie
The King
In the Sultan's Garden
1911Movie
Lt. Robbins
A Game of Deception
1911Movie
The Master and the Man
1911Movie
Basil King
The Fair Dentist
1911Movie
Dental Patient
The Temptress
1911Movie
Gilbert Irving
Second Sight
1911Movie
Tom Mooreland
The Scarlet Letter
1911Movie
Reverend Dimmesdale
While There is hope, There is Life
1911Movie
Alfred King
The Wife’s Awakening
1911Movie
Enoch Harrington
Sweet Memories
1911Movie
Edward Jackson
The Secret of the Palm
1911Movie
Cecil Abbott
Tracked
1911Movie
Roger Densmore
Pictureland
1911Movie
Pablo
At the Duke's Command
1911Movie
Edward, the Duke's Nephew
The Mirror
1911Movie
The Count of Montebello
1910Movie
Percy
All the World’s a Stage
1910Movie
Pressed Roses
1910Movie
Debt
1910Movie
The Taming of Jane
1910Movie
Once Upon a Time
1910Movie
Irony of Fate
1910Movie
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens
1910Movie
George Rand
Old Heads and Young Hearts
1910Movie
The Call of the Circus
1910Movie
A Game for Two
1910Movie
Clark, the Best Friend
A Reno Romance
1910Movie
Jack
The Eternal Triangle
1910Movie
The Dashing Young Count
The Doctor's Perfidy
1910Movie
Two Men
1910Movie
The Tenderfoot
The New Shawl
1910Movie
Jacques
The Maelstrom
1910Movie
The Rosary
1910Movie
His Second Wife
1910Movie
The Miser’s Daughter
1910Movie
Transfusion
1910Movie
The Stage Note
1910Movie
The Time-Lock Safe
1910Movie
The Father
The Broken Oath
1910Movie
Mother Love
1910Movie
The Governor’s Pardon
1910Movie
The Man
Jane and the Stranger
1910Movie
The Stranger
The Blind Man’s Tact
1910Movie
Justice in the Far North
1910Movie
King
The Tide of Fortune
1910Movie
The Right of Love
1910Movie
The Winning Punch
1910Movie
The Awakening of Bess
1909Movie
Bess' Sweetheart
Love's Stratagem
1909Movie
The Boy