Career Highlights: Monte Cristo, The Bat, The Strong Man
First Major Screen Credit: Certain Rich Man (1921)
Biography
A rather dashing silent screen villain in the grand old style, best remembered as Douglas Fairbanks' rival in The Mark of Zorro (1920), California-native Robert McKim had begun his long theatrical career with the legendary Alcazar stock company in San Francisco. After appearing for three seasons on the Orpheum circuit opposite the "Jersey Lil," Lillie Langtry, McKim entered films in 1915 for producer Thomas Ince, who occasionally starred him but would more often than not cast the tall, dark-haired actor as a heavy. McKim's screen career remained busy through the 1920s, where he appeared in such diverse fare as Monte Cristo (1922; as De Villefort), The Spoilers (1923; as Struve), and The Bat (1926; as Dr. Wells). He died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 40, leaving a widow, screen actress Dorcas Matthews, and two young children. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Robert McKim (26 August1886 – 4 June1927), was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 99 films between 1915 and 1927. He is best remembered for playing the arch villain opposite Douglas Fairbanks's Zorro in The Mark of Zorro in 1920. McKim also starred with Lon Chaney in the 1923 silent version of All The Brothers Were Valiant. One of his last roles was again as a villain in the unfinished silent The Mysterious Island starring Lionel Barrymore based on Jules Verne's novel. Though McKim shot silent sequences in 1927 the film wasn't released until 1929. McKim was uncredited, though he's recognizable in a lot of the footage, and by that time had been dead for two years.