William Farnum
William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time. Biography. Farnum was born on July 4, 1876, in Boston, Massachusetts, but he grew up in Bucksport, Maine. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of 10 in Richmond, Virginia, in a production of "Julius Caesar", with Edwin Booth playing the title character. He portrayed the title character of "Ben-Hur" (1900) on  Broadway. Later plays Farnum appeared in there included "The Prince of India" (1906), "The White Sister" (1909), "The Littlest Rebel" (1911) co-starring his brother Dustin, and Arizona (1913), also with Dustin. In "The Spoilers" in 1914, Farnum and Tom Santschi staged a classic film fight which lasted for a full reel. In 1930, Farnum and Santschi coached Gary Cooper and William Boyd in the fight scene for the 1930 version of "The Spoilers". Other actors influenced by the Farnum/Santschi scene were Milton Sills and Noah Beery in 1923 and Randolph Scott and John Wayne in 1942. From 1915  to 1952, Farnum devoted his life to motion pictures. While becoming one of the most popular actors in Hollywood, he also became one of the highest-paid, earning $10,000 a week. Farnum's silent pictures "Drag Harlan" (1920) and "If I Were King" (1921) survive from his years contracted to Fox Films. Nearly all of Fox's silent films made before 1932 were destroyed in a vault fire in 1937. Personal life. Married three times, Farnum was the father of screenwriter Dorothy Farnum with Mabel Eaton. He had a daughter, Sara Adele, with his second wife, Olive White. He  had three children with his third wife, Isabelle, named Isabelle, Elizabeth, and William Farnum Jr. Farnum died from uremia and cancer on June 5, 1953 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. On February 8, 1960, Farnum received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion pictures industry at 6322 Hollywood Boulevard. He was the younger brother of major film actor Dustin Farnum. He had another brother, Marshall Farnum, who was a silent film director who died in 1917.