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William Steele

 
Actor: William Steele
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Mar 28, 1889 in San Antonio,Texas
  • Died: Feb 13, 1966 in Los Angeles, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '20s-'30s
  • Major Genres: Western, Action
  • Career Highlights: Good Men and True, Valley of Hell, Shootin' for Love
  • First Major Screen Credit: Fast Mail (1922)

Biography

Blond American screen cowboy William Steele began his acting career with the Méliès company in his hometown of San Antonio, TX. As a youngster, Steele was known as a top pistol marksman and a splendid trick roper, traits that would stand him in good stead in his chosen profession. The Méliès company's best remembered film was The Immortal Alamo from 1911, and Steele, then going under his real name, William Giddinger, played William Travis, one of the last of the heroes still standing. Later, in Hollywood, he was rarely this heroic on screen; instead, as William Steele, he menaced about every cowboy star under the California skies, usually playing the intelligent but ruthless boss villain. Appearing in hundreds of "B"-westerns, Steele's career lasted until 1956. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: William Steele (actor)
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William Steele
Born William Anton Gittinger
March 28, 1888(1888-03-28)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Died February 13, 1966 (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1912–1956

William Anton Gittinger (March 28, 1888 – February 13, 1966), best known as William Steele, was an American actor of small roles in Westerns, particularly those of John Ford.

Although his screen credits and many records indicate a wide variety of names and spellings, Steele's own signatures on his military documents indicate that he was born William Anton Gittinger on March 28, 1888 (not 1889, as some sources have it) in San Antonio, Texas. Little is known of his life prior to his arrival in Los Angeles around 1910. As the film industry in Hollywood was just blossoming, and as he apparently had great experience with horses, Steele easily obtained work in quickie Westerns. He fought in Europe in World War I, then returned to Hollywood.[1] While he was extremely inconsistent in the names he used, he worked consistently in Westerns throughout the silent era and up until the 1950s. His final appearance was as the wounded posse member Nesby in Ford's The Searchers in 1956, his tenth film for Ford. He died ten years later, not quite 78 years old. He was survived by his wife Josephine, an actress. He is buried under his birth name at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.[2]

Contents

Stage names

  • Billy Gettinger
  • Bill Gettinger
  • William Gettinger
  • William Gittenger
  • Bill Steele
  • Robert Steele
  • W.A. Steele
  • William A. Steele
  • William Steuer
  • William Steele

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Los Angeles County, California; Roll: 1530902; Draft Board: 14
  2. ^ National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "William Steele (actor)".  Read more