William Desmond

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

John Maude

The Prince and Betty

Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider

The Vanishing Rider

The Parson

Peer Gynt

Horace

Captain of His Soul

San Dimas Sheriff Holden

The Rustler's Roundup

Marshal Jack Stevens

When Lightning Strikes

Stagehand (uncredited)

Phantom of the Opera

Museum Tourist (uncredited)

The Mummy's Ghost

The Policeman

The Policeman and the Baby

Carson Stewart

Master of His Home

Street Ambusher (uncredited)

The Return of the Durango Kid

1st Suitor (archive footage)

Mr. Broadway

Townsman (uncredited)

The Lightning Warrior

Bailiff

Song of the Gringo

Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

Phantom Lady

Sheriff Manning

Wild Waters

Himself

The Extra Girl

General Custer

The Last Frontier

Police Chief

Crack-Up

The Broken Coin

Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)

Frisco Kid

Milesburg Sheriff

The Vanishing Legion

MacDonald

The Vanishing Shadow

Capt. Boncour

Desert Command

Smiling Bill Flannigan

The Burning Trail

Good Deed O'Day

Straight Through

Richard Gilmore

The Meddler

John Brownell

Born to Battle

Parole Officer Donovan

I Can't Escape

Anderson, Vigilante Member

The Vigilantes Are Coming

Capt. Jim Carson

Pirate Treasure

Ned Brown

The Strings of Steel

Gene Travis

Courage of the North

Capt. Boncour

The Three Musketeers

Bill Brine

Winners of the West

Eugene La Salle

Her Code of Honor

Sheriff Barnes

Frontier Days

Tom Blake

The Rawhide Terror

Military Cabinet Officer

Laughing at Life

Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.

Perils of the Yukon

Colonel Brownlee

Strawberry Roan

Sheriff Joe Thompson

Fargo Express

Ray Bourke

Paws of the Bear

Dr. Jim Wilson

Border Guns

Self

No Children

Ben 'Wolf' Darby

Shadows of the North

John Mills

Battling with Buffalo Bill

Himself - Actor

The Extra Girl

Sheriff Pete

The Cowboy and the Bandit

Wagon Master

Custer's Last Stand

Wagon Master

Cyclone of the Saddle

Bill

Treachery Rides the Range

John Blaine

Heroes of the West

John Mulford

Gordon of Ghost City

Allen

The Call of the Savage

Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)

Headin' for the Rio Grande

A Scarlet Week-End

Guard

The Ghost Rider

Policeman

Social Error

Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)

Hollywood Boulevard

Settler (uncredited)

Code of the West

Sheriff Campbell

The Red Rider

Captain of the 'Viking'

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell

Royce Horter

Timber Terrors

Bartender

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

Tim

Song of the Saddle

Citizen

The Boys from Syracuse

Foreman Burke

Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery

Irish Cop (uncredited)

Junior G-Men

Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited)

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Dock Official

Tim Tyler's Luck

Thomas Edmonds

The Phantom of the Air

Martin Blair

The Phantom of the West

Bud McGraw

Fightin' Mad

Honorable Billy

Society for Sale

Jules Ingram

The Last of the Ingrams

Townsman

Down Rio Grande Way

Townsman

The Silver Bullet

Williams - Banker

Overland Mail

Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]

Rustlers of Red Dog

Bartender Mike

The Lone Star Trail

Pete

Cheyenne Roundup

John Harper

No Defense

Bob McGuire

McGuire of the Mounted

The Author / Horace Lee

The Iced Bullet

Tom Marshall

The Child Thou Gavest Me

William Desmond

Hello, 'Frisco

Allen

Savage Fury

Happy - Bartender

Powdersmoke Range

Tourist

Where Did You Get That Girl?

Jack Blaisdel

Outwitted

Sky Parker

Ridin' Pretty

Rex Brandon

Barriers of the Law

Larry Lang

A Sage Brush Hamlet

A Gamble in Souls

Showboat Customer (uncredited)

The Naughty Nineties

Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider

The Mystery Rider

Rev. Donald Bruce

Peggy

'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)

The Way of the West

Bob Meredith

Kilmeny

Bruce Smithson

The Dawn Maker

Gendarme Chief (uncredited)

Naughty Marietta

Happy Hobo

The Sunset Trail

Jackson Morgan Kent

The Majesty of the Law

Backstage Technician (Uncredited)

The Climax

Jim Parker

The Roaring West

Self

Night Life in Hollywood

Peanut Vendor (uncredited)

Strange Confession

Prof. Thompson

Perils of Pauline

Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)

The Egg and I

Lacy

Oklahoma Jim

Townsman (uncredited)

Thunder Mountain

The Actor

The Marriage Bubble

Billy Carson

The Breathless Moment

David Hunter

Women Men Love

Dave Moran

Clancy of the Mounted

Brent Brewster

Flying Colors

Married in Name Only

Dan Harvey

The Ace of Spades

John Fairmeadow

The Measure of a Man

'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher

Bare-Fisted Gallagher

Prince Carl

Bullets and Brown Eyes

Chief John Nisheto

Red Clay

Passenger (uncredited)

Hi, Beautiful

Dan Burke

The Mints of Hell

Garry Garrity

The Sudden Gentleman

Paddy O'Hara

Paddy O'Hara

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

127

Gender

Male

Birthday

1878-01-23

Place of Birth

Horseheads, New York, USA

Also Known As

William Mannion