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 Tornado as Tornado
- The Storm Breaker as John Strong
- Counsel for the Defense as Arnold Bruce
- Head Winds as Peter Rosslyn
1923
- Held to Answer as John Hampstead
- Don't Marry for Money as Peter Smith
1922
- The Storm as Burr Winton
- Rich Men's Wives as John Masters
- Human Hearts as Tom Logan
1921
- Lying Lips as Blair Cornwall
1920
- The Great Redeemer as Dan Malloy
- Silk Husbands and Calico Wives as Deane Kendall
- Isobel or the Trail's End as Sgt. William MacVeigh
- The Leopard Woman as John Culbertson
- A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios as Himself
1919
- You Never Know Your Luck as J.G. Kerry
- The Forfeit as Jeffrey Masters
- Thunderbolts of Fate as Robert Wingfield
1917
- The Highway of Hope as Steve King
- The Heir of the Ages as Hugh Payne
- Happiness of Three Women as Billy Craig
1916
- The Closed Road as Frank Sargeant
- Between Men as Gregg Lewiston
- The Hand of Peril as James Kestner
- The Rail Rider as Jim Lewis
- The Velvet Paw as Robert Moorehead
1915
- The Unafraid as Stefan Balsic
- The Girl of the Golden West as Ramerrez
- Stolen Goods as Richard Carlton
- The Captive as Muhamud Hassan
- The Warrens of Virginia as Ned Burton
- Mignon as Wilhelm Meister
- The Great Divide as Stephen Ghent
1914
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as Bob
- Salomy Jane as Jack Dart, The Man
- The Pride of Jennico as Basil Jennico
- The Brute as Billy West
1913
- In the Bishop's Carriage as Obermuller
- The Port of Doom as Kate's Father
- A Lady of Quality as The Duke of Osmonde
- An Hour Before Dawn as Kate's Father - the Ex Detective
- Leah Kleschna as Paul Sylvain
- Chelsea 7750