William S. Hart

Infobox actor
name = William S. Hart

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caption = William Surrey Hart, 1918
birthname = William Surrey Hart
birthdate = December 6, 1864
birthplace = Newburgh, New York, U.S.A.
deathdate = June 23, 1946 (aged 81)
deathplace = Newhall, California, U.S.A.
othername = Two-Gun Bill
spouse = Winifred Westover
children = William S. Hart, Jr. (1922–2004)

William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer.

Biography

Hart was born William Surrey Hart in Newburgh, New York; to James Howard Hart (1829-1902) and Katherine Diédricht Hart (1833-1909). William had 2 brothers and 4 sisters. His father is of Irish ancestry, and his mother had German ancestry. In his twenties, Hart began his acting career on stage and would not consider acting in movies until he was 49 years of age. [ [http://www.hartmuseum.org/more.html William S. Hart Ranch and Museum ] ]

A successful Shakespearean actor on Broadway who had worked with Margaret Mather and other stars, William S. Hart went on to become one of the first great stars of the motion picture western. Hart appeared in the original 1899 stage production of "Ben-Hur."

Hart was fascinated by the Old West. He acquired Billy the Kid's “six shooters” and was a friend of legendary lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. He entered films in 1914 where, after playing supporting roles in two short films, he achieved stardom as the lead in the feature "The Bargain". Hart was particularly interested in making realistic western films. His films are noted for their authentic costumes and props, as well as Hart's extraordinary acting ability, honed on Shakespearean theatre stages in the United States and England.

Beginning in 1915, Hart starred in his own series of two-reel western short subjects for producer Thomas Ince, which were so popular that they were supplanted by a series of feature films. Many of Hart's early films continued to play in theaters, under new titles, for another decade. In 1917 Hart accepted a lucrative offer from Adolph Zukor to join Famous Players-Lasky, which merged into Paramount Pictures. Hart was now making feature films exclusively, and films like "Square Deal Sanderson" and "The Toll Gate" were popular with fans.

By the early 1920s, however, Hart's brand of gritty, rugged westerns with drab costumes and moralistic themes gradually fell out of fashion. The public became attracted by a new kind of movie cowboy, epitomized by Tom Mix, who wore flashier costumes and was faster with the action. Paramount dropped Hart, who then made one last bid for his kind of western. He produced "Tumbleweeds" (1925) with his own money, arranging to release it independently through United Artists. The film turned out well, with an epic land-rush sequence, but did only fair business at the box office. Hart was angered by United Artists' failure to promote his film properly and sued United Artists. The legal proceedings dragged on for years, and the courts finally ruled in Hart's favor, in 1940.

After "Tumbleweeds", Hart retired to his Newhall, California, ranch home, “La Loma de los Vientos,” which was designed by architect Arthur R. Kelly.

In 1939 Hart appeared in his only sound film, a spoken prologue for a reissue of "Tumbleweeds". The 75-year-old Hart, filmed on location at his Newhall ranch, reflects on the Old West and recalls his silent-movie days fondly. The speech turned out to be William S. Hart's farewell to the screen, and it's a fitting valedictory. Most prints and video versions of "Tumbleweeds" circulating today include Hart's speech.

Personal life

Hart married young Hollywood actress Winifred Westover. Although their marriage was short-lived, they had one child, William S. Hart Jr. (1922-2004).

Death

Hart died on June 23, 1946, in Newhall, California at the age of 81. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Dedications

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, William S. Hart has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Blvd. In 1975, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

As part of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California, Hart's former home and 260-acre (1.1 km²) ranch in Newhall is now William S. Hart Park. The William S. Hart Union High School District as well as William S. Hart Senior High School, both located in the Santa Clarita Valley in the northern part of Los Angeles County, were named in his honor.

Further reading

* William Surrey Hart, "My Life East and West", New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1929.
* David W. Menefee, "The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era", Albany: Bear Manor Media, 2007.
* Jeanine Basinger, "Silent Stars", 1999 (ISBN 0-8195-6451-6). (chapter on William S. Hart and Tom Mix)

ee also

* Other notable figures in Western films

External links

*
*
* [http://www.hartmuseum.org/ William S. Hart Ranch and Museum]
*cite web | author = |url= http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/film.htm | title= William S. Hart History | publisher= Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society | accessdate=2004-07-04 (Photos & text)
* [http://rsparlourtricks.blogspot.com/2005/12/good-badman.html Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks: The Good Badman]
* [http://www.sebar.com/hart/ The Haunted Hart Ghost Site]
* [http://www.hartdistrict.org/ William S. Hart Union High School District, Santa Clarita Valley, California]
* [http://www.hartdistrict.org/hart/ William S. Hart High School, Newhall, California]
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=2121 Photographs of William S. Hart]

References

Persondata
NAME= Hart, William S.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hart, William Surrey
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor, film director
DATE OF BIRTH= December 6, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH= Newburgh, New York, U.S.A.
DATE OF DEATH= June 23, 1946 (aged 81)
PLACE OF DEATH= Newhall, California, U.S.A.