William Desmond
Acting1878Horseheads, New York, USA
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
Stagehand (uncredited)
Phantom Lady
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
The Mummy's Ghost
Museum Tourist (uncredited)
Tall in the Saddle
Townsman (uncredited)
Flash Gordon
Hawkman Lookout Captain
The Egg and I
Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)
The Climax
Backstage Technician (Uncredited)
Acting History
1956
Savage Fury
as Allen
1947
Code of the West
as Settler (uncredited)
The Egg and I
as Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)
Trail Street
as Townsman (uncredited)
Thunder Mountain
as Townsman (uncredited)
1946
Desert Command
as Capt. Boncour
1945
The Return of the Durango Kid
as Street Ambusher (uncredited)
Strange Confession
as Peanut Vendor (uncredited)
The Naughty Nineties
as Showboat Customer (uncredited)
1944
Phantom Lady
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Tall in the Saddle
as Townsman (uncredited)
The Climax
as Backstage Technician (Uncredited)
The Mummy's Ghost
as Museum Tourist (uncredited)
Hi, Beautiful
as Passenger (uncredited)
1943
Phantom of the Opera
as Stagehand (uncredited)
The Lone Star Trail
as Bartender Mike
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)
Cheyenne Roundup
as Pete
1942
1941
Where Did You Get That Girl?
as Tourist
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
as Bartender
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
Flash Gordon
as Hawkman Lookout Captain
Custer's Last Stand
as Wagon Master
Song of the Saddle
as Tim
Hollywood Boulevard
as Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)
Song of the Gringo
as Bailiff
Treachery Rides the Range
as Bill
The Vigilantes Are Coming
as Anderson, Vigilante Member
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
as Captain of the 'Viking'
Headin' for the Rio Grande
as Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)
1935
The Cowboy and the Bandit
as Sheriff Pete
Cyclone of the Saddle
as Wagon Master
Frisco Kid
as Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)
Naughty Marietta
as Gendarme Chief (uncredited)
Born to Battle
as John Brownell
The Roaring West
as Jim Parker
Rustlers of Red Dog
as Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]
Timber Terrors
as Royce Horter
The Ghost Rider
as Guard
Courage of the North
as Gene Travis
The Call of the Savage
as Allen
Social Error
as Policeman
Powdersmoke Range
as Happy - Bartender
Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
as Foreman Burke
Wild Waters
as Sheriff Manning
1934
Pirate Treasure
as Capt. Jim Carson
The Red Rider
as Sheriff Campbell
The Rawhide Terror
as Tom Blake
The Way of the West
as 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)
I Can't Escape
as Parole Officer Donovan
The Vanishing Shadow
as MacDonald
Frontier Days
as Sheriff Barnes
When Lightning Strikes
as Marshal Jack Stevens
Border Guns
as Dr. Jim Wilson
Crack-Up
as Police Chief
1933
Mr. Broadway
as 1st Suitor (archive footage)
The Three Musketeers
as Capt. Boncour
Strawberry Roan
as Colonel Brownlee
Laughing at Life
as Military Cabinet Officer
Perils of Pauline
as Prof. Thompson
The Phantom of the Air
as Thomas Edmonds
Fargo Express
as Sheriff Joe Thompson
Gordon of Ghost City
as John Mulford
The Rustler's Roundup
as San Dimas Sheriff Holden
Clancy of the Mounted
as Dave Moran
1932
1931
Battling with Buffalo Bill
as John Mills
Oklahoma Jim
as Lacy
The Vanishing Legion
as Milesburg Sheriff
The Lightning Warrior
as Townsman (uncredited)
1930
The Phantom of the West
as Martin Blair
1929
No Children
as Self
No Defense
as John Harper
1928
The Devil's Trademark
as Morgan Gray
The Mystery Rider
as Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider
The Vanishing Rider
as Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider
1927
The Return of the Riddle Rider
as Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
1926
The Strings of Steel
as Ned Brown
1925
Ridin' Pretty
as Sky Parker
Barriers of the Law
as Rex Brandon
Outwitted
as Jack Blaisdel
The Meddler
as Richard Gilmore
Straight Through
as Good Deed O'Day
The Burning Trail
as Smiling Bill Flannigan
Red Clay
as Chief John Nisheto
The Ace of Spades
as Dan Harvey
1924
The Breathless Moment
as Billy Carson
Hello, 'Frisco
as William Desmond
Big Timber
as Walter Sandry
The Sunset Trail
as Happy Hobo
The Measure of a Man
as John Fairmeadow
The Riddle Rider
as Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
1923
The Extra Girl
as Himself - Actor
The Phantom Fortune
as Larry Barclay
Shadows of the North
as Ben 'Wolf' Darby
McGuire of the Mounted
as Bob McGuire
Around the World in 18 Days
as Phineas Fogg III
Beasts of Paradise
as Phil Grant
1922
Night Life in Hollywood
as Self
Perils of the Yukon
as Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.
1921
The Child Thou Gavest Me
as Tom Marshall
Fightin' Mad
as Bud McGraw
The Policeman and the Baby
as The Policeman
Women Men Love
as David Hunter
1920
Twin Beds
as Harry Hawkins
1919
Life's a Funny Proposition
as Jimmie Pendleton
A Sage Brush Hamlet
as Larry Lang
The Prince and Betty
as John Maude
Her Code of Honor
as Eugene La Salle
Bare-Fisted Gallagher
as 'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher
The Mints of Hell
as Dan Burke
The Blue Bandanna
as Jerry Jerome
Whitewashed Walls
as Larry Donovan
1918
Society for Sale
as Honorable Billy
Captain of His Soul
as Horace
The Marriage Bubble
as The Actor
An Honest Man
as Benny Boggs
The Pretender
as Bob Baldwin
1917
The Iced Bullet
as The Author / Horace Lee
Paws of the Bear
as Ray Bourke
The Last of the Ingrams
as Jules Ingram
Master of His Home
as Carson Stewart
Flying Colors
as Brent Brewster
The Sudden Gentleman
as Garry Garrity
Paddy O'Hara
as Paddy O'Hara
1916
The Criminal
as Donald White
Bullets and Brown Eyes
as Prince Carl
The Dawn Maker
as Bruce Smithson
Peggy
as Rev. Donald Bruce
1915