William Farnum

American actor (1876–1953)

William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American actor. He was a star of American silent cinema, and he became one of the highest paid actors during this time.

Farnum was born on July 4, 1876, in Boston, Massachusetts, but he grew up in Bucksport, Maine. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of 10 in Richmond, Virginia, in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character. He portrayed the title character of Ben Hur (1900) on Broadway. Later plays Farnum appeared in there included The Prince of India (1906), The White Sister (1909), The Littlest Rebel (1911) co starring his brother Dustin and Viola Savoy, and Arizona (1913), also with Dustin. In The Spoilers in 1914, Farnum and Tom Santschi staged a film fight which lasted for a full reel. In 1930, Farnum and Santschi coached Gary Cooper and William Boyd in the fight scene for the 1930 version of The Spoilers. Other actors influenced by the Farnum/Santschi scene were Milton Sills and Noah Beery in 1923 and Randolph Scott and John Wayne in 1942. From 1915 to 1952, Farnum devoted his life to motion pictures. He became one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, earning $10,000 per week. Farnum's silent pictures Drag Harlan (1920) and If I Were King (1921) survive from his years contracted to Fox Films. Nearly all of Fox's silent films made before 1932 were destroyed in the
1937 Fox vault fire.

Married three times, Farnum was the father of screenwriter Dorothy Farnum with Mabel Eaton. He had a daughter, named Sara Adele, with Olive White, his second wife. He had three children with Isabelle, his third wife. Farnum died from uremia and cancer on June 5, 1953, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. On February 8, 1960, Farnum received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture industry at 6322 Hollywood Boulevard. He was the younger brother of film actor Dustin Farnum. He had another brother, Marshall Farnum, who was a silent film director.