(click to enlarge)
William S. Hart in The Gun Fighter, 1916 – 17. (credit: Museum of Modern Art/Film Stills Archive)

(born Dec. 6, 1870, Newburgh, N.Y., U.S. — died June 23, 1946, Newhall, Calif.) U.S. stage and film actor. He made his stage debut in 1889 and portrayed a series of western heroes in the plays The Squaw Man (1905), The Virginian (1907), and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1912/14). In 1914 he went to Hollywood, where his stern, taciturn performances made him a star and the first cowboy hero. Among his numerous films, many of which he wrote and directed, were The Square Deal Man (1917), Wild Bill Hickok (1923), and Tumbleweeds (1925).

For more information on William Surrey Hart, visit Britannica.com.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.