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
- The Combat as Blaze Burke
1925
- The Tornado as Tornado
- Counsel for the Defense as Arnold Bruce
- Head Winds as Peter Rosslyn
- Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman as Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman
1923
- Don't Marry for Money as Peter Smith
- Held to Answer as John Hampstead
1922
- The Storm as Burr Winton
- Human Hearts as Tom Logan
- Rich Men's Wives as John Masters
1921
- Lying Lips as Blair Cornwall
1920
- A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios as Himself
- The Leopard Woman as John Culbertson
- Isobel or the Trail's End as Sgt. William MacVeigh
- Silk Husbands and Calico Wives as Deane Kendall
- The Great Redeemer as Dan Malloy
1919
- The Forfeit as Jeffrey Masters
- You Never Know Your Luck as J.G. Kerry
1916
- Between Men as Gregg Lewiston
- The Rail Rider as Jim Lewis
- The Closed Road as Frank Sargeant
- The Hand of Peril as James Kestner
1915
- Mignon as Wilhelm Meister
- The Unafraid as Stefan Balsic
- The Captive as Muhamud Hassan
- The Girl of the Golden West as Ramerrez
- The Warrens of Virginia as Ned Burton
- Stolen Goods as Richard Carlton
- The Great Divide as Stephen Ghent
1914
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Bob
- Salomy Jane as Jack Dart, The Man
- The Brute as Billy West
- The Pride of Jennico as Basil Jennico
1913
- The Port of Doom as Kate's Father
- Leah Kleschna as Paul Sylvain
- In the Bishop's Carriage as Obermuller
- A Lady of Quality as The Duke of Osmonde
- Chelsea 7750
- An Hour Before Dawn as Kate's Father - the Ex Detective