Rare Antique 1916 Cabinet Card photo of Wm. (Bill) Desmond. Film & Stage Actor

Description: Rare antique 1916 Cabinet Card photo of William "Bill" Desmond, famed Film & Stage ActorThis is an original antique 1916 cabinet card photograph of William "Bill" Desmond, as he appeared on stage in the play The Judge and The Jury in Los Angeles, California at the Burbank Theater, 548 S. Main St., Los Angeles.The photo was processed by the Silver Gelatin Print method. The cabinet card photo is mounted on dark charcoal gray board. The following is printed on the board below the photo:"Wm. DESMOND AS MILES CHILCOTE"THE JUDGE AND THE JURY"Mojonier1023 S. Figueroa" The photo is 4' by 5.5" and the matt board is 7" by 9". The condition of the photograph is excellent. The matt board shows fingerprints from handling. The play The Judge and The Jury" was originally produced on Broadway in New York in 1906 by Harry Cottrell and Oliver Morosco, with William Desmond in the leading role of Miles Chilcote. The play was revived in 1916 in Los Angeles at the Burbank Theater by Oliver Morosco with William Desmond again playing the leading role. This photo was likely sold at the theater as a souvenir. William Desmond (born William Mannion; January 23, 1878 – November 3, 1949) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1948. He was nicknamed "The King of the Silent Serials." The following is taken from Filmstarpostcards.blogspot.com:Born William Mannion in Salamanca, New York, he was raised in New York City. He changed his name to William Desmond when he landed on the theatrical stage. He started out in vaudeville and the legitimate stage. Most of Desmond's early stage and vaudeville work was tied to noted theatrical producer Oliver Morosco. During this period, his Morosco credits include the brief 1906 run of 'The Judge and the Jury' in New York City as well as a multi-year stay at Morosco's Burbank theatre in Los Angeles. He also spent time appearing with the Los Angeles Opera House. Desmond's other theatrical credits included 'Ben Hur', 'Alias Jimmy Valentine', 'If I Were King', 'Raffles', 'Sign of the Cross', and 'Romeo and Juliet'. He signed with the J. C. Williamson organization and toured Australia during 1910-1913. With him was his wife Lilian Lamson, the older sister of Gertrude Lamson (a.k.a. screen actress Nance O'Neill). But tragedy struck. Lilian was injured in Australia and became an invalid, passing away at age 39 in 1917 at the Desmond home in Hollywood. After his return from Australia, Desmond re-teamed with Oliver Morosco for more plays. For a couple of years, he played various cities in the U.S. and Canada in 'The Bird of Paradise'. Lenore Ulrich was his leading lady. Morosco liked the chemistry between Desmond and Ulrich and he paired them in the film Kilmeny (Oscar Apfel, 1915). It was produced by the Oliver Morosco Photoplay Company, which Morosco did in collaboration with Hobart Bosworth and the film was distributed by Paramount Pictures. Six feet tall and good-looking, Desmond appeared in more dramatic parts, in such films as Peer Gynt (Oscar Apfel, Raoul Walsh, 1915). Desmond connected with film pioneer Thomas H. Ince for films churned out by Ince's New York Motion Picture company and distributed by Triangle. His first film for Ince was the drama Peggy (Thomas Ince, 1916) with Desmond as a minister in love with Billie Burke. He appeared with Gloria Swanson in Society for Sale (Frank Borzage, 1918). Desmond signed with Jesse D. Hampton for a series of Westerns and action serials which were released through Exhibitors Mutual, Robertson-Cole, and Pathé. Actor-director Joseph Franz directed such Westerns as Bare-fisted Gallagher (1919) and A Broadway Cowboy (1920). In 1919, he married his co-star, Mary McIvor, with whom he had two daughters. Desmond became a major Western star. William Desmond created his own production company for another cowboy adventure, Fightin' Mad (Joseph Franz, 1921), which was distributed by Metro, a forerunner of MGM. His next stop was Universal Pictures and during the years 1922-1928, he reached his peak as a Western/action hero and became known as "the King of the Silent Serials". He starred in robust serials such as Perils of the Yukon (Jay Marchant, J. P. McGowan, Perry N. Vekroff, 1922) with Laura La Plante, The Riddle Rider (William James Craft, 1924) with Eileen Sedgwick, and The Vanishing Rider (Ray Taylor, 1928), all for Universal. AllMovie: "He did his own stunts, and hardly a week went by in the 1920s that Desmond didn't give the newspapers a story about how he'd once again cheated death in the line of duty." Desmond was not tied exclusively to Universal but under a mix of contract deals. During those years, Desmond and his wife Mary continued to tour with their stage act, and Desmond also co-starred with Helen Holmes in some non-Westerns for independent producer Jesse J. Goldburg. When the sound era began William Desmond was almost 50 years old and his leading man days were over. He was now relegated to supporting roles, but he continued making films into the 1940s. He had bit roles in such memorable films as Phantom Lady (Robert Siodmak, 1944) with Ella Raines and The Egg and I (Chester Erskine, 1947) starring Claudette Colbert. While he and his wife Mary headlined the Barnett Bros. Circus in 1938, he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Mary died in 1941. William lived with his daughter Mary Jo during the last year of his life. In 1949, William Desmond died at age 71 of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California. His cremated remains are stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory, Los Angeles. Mary and William had two daughters - Mary Joanna (born 1920 and William S. Hart, a co-star of Mary McIvor during the 1910s, was her godfather) and Elizabeth Terry (1932).The photographer, A. Louis Mojonier (1869 - 1944), was a grocer in Larned Kansas before opening a photograph studio in about 1894. Early in 1895 he commissioned a photograph car and worked small towns throughout Kansas. J. R. Wilson bought the Larned studio in 1896 and Mojonier relocated to Los Angeles where he specialized in portraits, especially of theater actors. Some of Mojonier's works are housed at the Getty Museum and Autry Museum in Los Angeles.

Price: 24.5 USD

Location: Placentia, California

End Time: 2025-01-20T05:00:52.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.5 USD