William S. Hart

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1975.

Was a friend of legendary wild west lawman Wyatt Earp, and along with fellow silent movie cowboy star Tom Mix, was a pallbearer at Earp's funeral in 1929.

In March of 1923 Hart, already being sued for divorce by wife Winifred Westover, was accused by her of fathering a child by another woman. This hurt his already declining career and from 1924 to 1925 he would release only two films, before retiring.

His career began to dwindle in the early 1920s due to the publicity surrounding a paternity suit against him, which was eventually dismissed.

In 1915 he signed a contract with Thomas H. Ince and joined Ince's Triangle Film Company. Two years later he followed Ince to Famous Players-Lasky and received a very lucrative contract from Adolph Zukor.

His first film was a two-reeler, His Hour of Manhood (1914).

In 1899 he created the role of Messala in "Ben-Hur", and received excellent reviews for his lead part in "The Virginian" (1907).

A storybook hero, the original screen cowboy, ever forthright and honest, even when (as was often the case) he played a villain, William S. Hart lived for a while in the Dakota Territory, then worked as a postal clerk in New York City. In 1888 he began to study acting.