William Fairbanks
Born: 1894-05-24 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Died: 1945-04-01
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia William Fairbanks (May 24, 1894 – April 1, 1945) was an American actor. He appeared in over 65 silent era motion pictures between 1916 and 1928. His first film role was as Capt. Pierre Thierry in the war drama Somewhere in France (1916) starring Louise Glaum and Howard C. Hickman. He was then living at 20 Horizon Avenue in Venice, California, where he registered to vote. He appeared in five movies released in 1917, including his role as Dillon in the drama The Little Brother starring Enid Bennett and William Garwood. He was then living at 115 Dudley Avenue in Venice, where he registered for the draft of World War I. He went on to serve as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Appearing in only one movie released in 1918, as Stuart Morley in the comedy/drama The Hired Man starring Charles Ray and Charles K. French, he was then absent from the screen for over a year due to the war. In 1920, he lived at 1309 Ocean Front in Santa Monica, and four of his movies were released that year. He was elevated to star status by independent producers Phil Goldstone and Ben F. Wilson. His screen name, taken from that of Douglas Fairbanks, whose real surname happened to be the same as his, came about with the release of his starring role in Goldstone's western Hearts of the West (1920) opposite Frances Conrad. Although Fairbanks was a busy movie star through the greater part of the 1920s, after playing Long Collins in The Vanishing West (1928), he retired from the screen. In spite of sharing the same last name, William Fairbanks and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. were not related.
Filmography
1928
- Under the Black Eagle as Ulrich Muller
- Wyoming as Buffalo Bill
- The Vanishing West as Long Collins
1927
- Catch-As-Catch-Can as Reed Powers
- The Down Grade as Ted Lanning
- When Danger Calls as Ralph Spencer
- Through Thick and Thin as Don Davis
- Spoilers of the West as Benton
- One Chance in a Million as Jerry Blaine
1926
- The Winning Wallop as Rex Barton
- Flying High as Roy Cummins
- Vanishing Millions as Dave Merrill
1925
- Speed Mad as Bill Sanford
- The Handsome Brute as Larry O'Day
- The New Champion as Bob
- Fighting Youth as Dick Covington
- A Fight to the Finish as Jim Davis
- The Great Sensation as Jack
1924
- Women First as Billy Decker
- The Fatal Mistake as Jack Darwin
- The Torrent as Hale Garrison
- The Battling Fool as Mark Jenkins
- The Beautiful Sinner as Henry Avery
- Her Man
- Marry in Haste as Wayne Sturgis
- Racing for Life as Jack Grant
- The Cowboy and the Flapper as Dan Patterson
- Do It Now
1923
- The Law Rustlers as Phil Stanley
- Spawn of the Desert as Duke Steele
1922
- Sheriff of Sun Dog as 'Silent' Davidson
- Peaceful Peters as 'Peaceful Peters'
- A Western Demon as Ned Underwood
1920
- That Something
- What Women Love as Jack Mortimer
- The Secret Gift as Larry
1918
- The Hired Man as Stuart Morley
1917
- The Mother Instinct as Raoul Bergere
- The Medicine Man as Luther Hill
- Wolf Lowry as Owen Thorpe
- The Little Brother as Dillon
- The Flame of the Yukon as George Fowler
1916
- Somewhere in France as Pierre Thierry