House Peters
Born: 1880-03-12 in Bristol, England, UK
Died: 1967-12-07
Known For: Acting
Biography
Robert House Peters, Sr. (12 March 1880 – 7 December 1967) was a British-born American silent film actor, known to filmgoers of the era as "The Star of a Thousand Emotions." Born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, Peters began his career on a high note, playing the handsome leading man in In the Bishop's Carriage (1913), co-starring Mary Pickford. While The Bishop's Carriage was filmed in an East Coast studio, Peters was in Los Angeles by 1914, becoming one of the first screen stars to permanently settle there. Although he stated publicly that he preferred playing villains, Peters, curly haired and pleasantly dimpled, was from the outset typecast as the romantic hero. After enjoying his greatest success as the good-bad hero of The Girl of the Golden West (1915), Peters found his career peak of the early 1920s. He signed with Universal Studios for six films in 1924, hoping for a comeback. The results, however, were mostly mediocre and he was soon demoted to supporting roles. Retired after 1928's Rose Marie, Peters returned for a guest appearance in The Old West, a 1952 Gene Autry film that also featured his son, House Peters, Jr., who subsequently enjoyed a lengthy film career. Peters was married to actress Mae King in 1914 with whom he had three children, Gregg, Patricia and Robert, Jr. (1916–2008). Peters died at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.
Filmography
1953
- Treasure of the Golden Condor as Magistrate (uncredited)
1952
- O. Henry's Full House as Dave Bascom (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)
- The Old West as Parson Jonathan Brooks
1928
- Rose-Marie as Sergeant Malone
1926
- Prisoners of the Storm as 'Bucky' Malone
- The Combat as Blaze Burke
1925
- Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman as Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman
- The Storm Breaker as John Strong
- Counsel for the Defense as Arnold Bruce
- The Tornado as Tornado
- Head Winds as Peter Rosslyn
1923
- Don't Marry for Money as Peter Smith
- Held to Answer as John Hampstead
1922
- Rich Men's Wives as John Masters
- The Storm as Burr Winton
- Human Hearts as Tom Logan
1921
- Lying Lips as Blair Cornwall
1920
- Silk Husbands and Calico Wives as Deane Kendall
- Isobel or the Trail's End as Sgt. William MacVeigh
- A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios as Himself
- The Great Redeemer as Dan Malloy
- The Leopard Woman as John Culbertson
1919
- The Forfeit as Jeffrey Masters
- You Never Know Your Luck as J.G. Kerry
- Thunderbolts of Fate as Robert Wingfield
1917
- The Heir of the Ages as Hugh Payne
- The Highway of Hope as Steve King
- Happiness of Three Women as Billy Craig
1916
- The Hand of Peril as James Kestner
- The Velvet Paw as Robert Moorehead
- Between Men as Gregg Lewiston
- The Closed Road as Frank Sargeant
- The Rail Rider as Jim Lewis
1915
- The Warrens of Virginia as Ned Burton
- The Girl of the Golden West as Ramerrez
- The Captive as Muhamud Hassan
- The Unafraid as Stefan Balsic
- Stolen Goods as Richard Carlton
- The Great Divide as Stephen Ghent
- Mignon as Wilhelm Meister
1914
- Clothes as Arnold West
- Salomy Jane as Jack Dart, The Man
- The Pride of Jennico as Basil Jennico
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Bob
- The Brute as Billy West
1913
- Leah Kleschna as Paul Sylvain
- In the Bishop's Carriage as Obermuller
- A Lady of Quality as The Duke of Osmonde
- An Hour Before Dawn as Kate's Father - the Ex Detective
- The Port of Doom as Kate's Father
- Chelsea 7750