King Baggot

His wife was born in Boston on August 28, 1889. His son, King Robert Baggot, was born on July 11, 1914.

St. Louis-born King Baggot traveled to New York City with the express intent of crashing Broadway, but began his film career in nearby Fort Lee, NJ, in 1909.

Tall, burly star of the silent screen. Began on stage and started acting in films from 1911, under contract first with Imp, then Universal. Became extremely popular in heroic (Ivanhoe (1913)) or evil (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913)) characterizations. Loved performing heavily disguised, playing all ten roles in Shadows (1914), including that of an old Chinese. Branched out into directing between 1914-28, subsequently returning to acting after the advent of sound as a character player, albeit almost exclusively in bit parts.

It didn't take long before he graduated from actor to writer and director--at times performing all three functions; in Shadows (1914) he not only directed but played ten different parts--and his efforts paid off, becoming a major star in the industry. Baggot was actually the first "star" to be given billing by his studio and his featured in its advertising. His most famous film as director would probably be the classic William S.

Hart western Tumbleweeds (1925). Baggot's career as a director faded with the coming of sound, but he continued his work as an actor, although often in bit parts. Still, he had an impressive career--more than 340 films as an actor and 45 as a director.