William Desmond

Personal Info

Birthday

January 23, 1878

Day of Death

1949-11-03

(71 years old)

Place of Birth

Horseheads, New York, USA

Also Known As

William Mannion

The King of the Silent Serials

Bill Desmond

William Desmond

Biography

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.

Known For

Phantom of the Opera

The Egg and I

The Mummy's Ghost

The Climax

Phantom Lady

Thunder Mountain

Hollywood Boulevard

The Naughty Nineties

Filmography

1956
Savage Fury
as Allen
1947
Thunder Mountain
as Townsman (uncredited)
The Egg and I
as Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)
Code of the West
as Settler (uncredited)
1946
Desert Command
as Capt. Boncour
1945
Strange Confession
as Peanut Vendor (uncredited)
The Naughty Nineties
as Showboat Customer (uncredited)
The Return of the Durango Kid
as Street Ambusher (uncredited)
1944
Hi, Beautiful
as Passenger (uncredited)
The Climax
as Backstage Technician (Uncredited)
The Mummy's Ghost
as Museum Tourist (uncredited)
Phantom Lady
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)
Phantom of the Opera
as Stagehand (uncredited)
The Lone Star Trail
as Bartender Mike
Cheyenne Roundup
as Pete
1942
Overland Mail
as Williams - Banker
The Silver Bullet
as Townsman
Down Rio Grande Way
as Townsman
1941
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
as Bartender
Where Did You Get That Girl?
as Tourist
1940
Junior G-Men
as Irish Cop (uncredited)
The Boys from Syracuse
as Citizen
Winners of the West
as Bill Brine
1937
Tim Tyler's Luck
as Dock Official
1936
Song of the Gringo
as Bailiff
The Vigilantes Are Coming
as Anderson, Vigilante Member
Hollywood Boulevard
as Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)
Treachery Rides the Range
as Bill
Song of the Saddle
as Tim
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
as Captain of the 'Viking'
Custer's Last Stand
as Wagon Master
Headin' for the Rio Grande
as Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)
1935
Frisco Kid
as Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)
Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
as Foreman Burke
Powdersmoke Range
as Happy - Bartender
Courage of the North
as Gene Travis
The Roaring West
as Jim Parker
Social Error
as Policeman
The Call of the Savage
as Allen
The Ghost Rider
as Guard
Cyclone of the Saddle
as Wagon Master
The Cowboy and the Bandit
as Sheriff Pete
Born to Battle
as John Brownell
Naughty Marietta
as Gendarme Chief (uncredited)
Wild Waters
as Sheriff Manning
Rustlers of Red Dog
as Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]
Timber Terrors
as Royce Horter
1934
When Lightning Strikes
as Marshal Jack Stevens
Frontier Days
as Sheriff Barnes
The Way of the West
as 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)
The Red Rider
as Sheriff Campbell
I Can't Escape
as Parole Officer Donovan
Crack-Up
as Police Chief
The Vanishing Shadow
as MacDonald
The Rawhide Terror
as Tom Blake
Border Guns
as Dr. Jim Wilson
Pirate Treasure
as Capt. Jim Carson
1933
Fargo Express
as Sheriff Joe Thompson
Perils of Pauline
as Prof. Thompson
Strawberry Roan
as Colonel Brownlee
Mr. Broadway
as 1st Suitor (archive footage)
Gordon of Ghost City
as John Mulford
Laughing at Life
as Military Cabinet Officer
The Phantom of the Air
as Thomas Edmonds
The Three Musketeers
as Capt. Boncour
The Rustler's Roundup
as San Dimas Sheriff Holden
Clancy of the Mounted
as Dave Moran
1932
The Last Frontier
as General Custer
Heroes of the West
as John Blaine
1931
Battling with Buffalo Bill
as John Mills
The Lightning Warrior
as Townsman (uncredited)
Oklahoma Jim
as Lacy
The Vanishing Legion
as Milesburg Sheriff
1930
The Phantom of the West
as Martin Blair
1929
No Defense
as John Harper
No Children
as Self
1928
The Mystery Rider
as Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider
The Vanishing Rider
as Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider
1926
The Strings of Steel
as Ned Brown
1925
The Ace of Spades
as Dan Harvey
The Meddler
as Richard Gilmore
The Burning Trail
as Smiling Bill Flannigan
Red Clay
as Chief John Nisheto
Straight Through
as Good Deed O'Day
Barriers of the Law
as Rex Brandon
Ridin' Pretty
as Sky Parker
Outwitted
as Jack Blaisdel
1924
The Sunset Trail
as Happy Hobo
The Measure of a Man
as John Fairmeadow
Hello, 'Frisco
as William Desmond
The Breathless Moment
as Billy Carson
1923
The Extra Girl
as Himself
Shadows of the North
as Ben 'Wolf' Darby
McGuire of the Mounted
as Bob McGuire
The Phantom Fortune
as Larry Barclay
Around the World in 18 Days
as Phineas Fogg III
1922
Night Life in Hollywood
as Self
Perils of the Yukon
as Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.
1921
Fightin' Mad
as Bud McGraw
The Policeman and the Baby
as The Policeman
The Child Thou Gavest Me
as Tom Marshall
Women Men Love
as David Hunter
1919
The Prince and Betty
as John Maude
A Sage Brush Hamlet
as Larry Lang
Bare-Fisted Gallagher
as 'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher
The Mints of Hell
as Dan Burke
Her Code of Honor
as Eugene La Salle
Life's a Funny Proposition
as Jimmie Pendleton
1918
Society for Sale
as Honorable Billy
The Marriage Bubble
as The Actor
Captain of His Soul
as Horace
1917
The Sudden Gentleman
as Garry Garrity
Flying Colors
as Brent Brewster
Master of His Home
as Carson Stewart
Paws of the Bear
as Ray Bourke
Paddy O'Hara
as Paddy O'Hara
The Last of the Ingrams
as Jules Ingram
The Iced Bullet
as The Author / Horace Lee
1916
The Dawn Maker
as Bruce Smithson
Bullets and Brown Eyes
as Prince Carl
Peggy
as Rev. Donald Bruce
1915
Peer Gynt
as The Parson
The Majesty of the Law
as Jackson Morgan Kent
Kilmeny
as Bob Meredith