William Louis Payne (January 13, 1873 – August 14, 1953) was an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

of the silent and

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

eras, as well as legitimate theater.

Biography

Born in Pennsylvania, Payne's acting life began in the first decade of the 1900s, when he appeared in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play, ''Her Majesty, the Girl Queen of Nordenmark'', which ran at the

Manhattan Theatre The Manhattan Theatre was located at 102 West 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, directly across from Greeley Square at Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street. The 1,100-seat theatre opened in 1875 as the Eagle Theatre, and was renamed the ...

in 1900. In 1903 he played

Nathaniel Winkle Nathaniel Winkle is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's first novel, ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836). A founder and younger member of the Pickwick Club created by the retired businessman Samuel Pickwick, Winkle is a young friend of Pickwi ...

in ''Mr. Pickwick'' at the

Herald Square Theatre The Herald Square Theatre was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, New York City, built in 1883 and closed in 1914. The site is now a highrise designed by H. Craig Severance. History The Park Theatre opened in 1883 (also known as the New Park The ...

and later the Grand Opera House. In 1906, he married famous stage actress

Mrs. Leslie Carter Caroline Louise Dudley (June 10, 1857 – November 13, 1937) was an American silent film and stage actress who found fame on Broadway through collaborations with impresario David Belasco. She was a strikingly beautiful and vivacious performer ...

, fifteen years her junior, and remained married to her until her death in 1937. He made his film debut in 1915's '' DuBarry'', a film created to highlight Carter, who was a protégé of the playwright

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...

. Belasco wrote the stage play of the same name on which the film is based, and in which Carter starred on Broadway. Payne appeared in over 40 films during his 35-year career in Hollywood, as well as doing numerous plays. In 1940, three years after Carter's death,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

produced a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

on her life, ''

Lady with Red Hair ''Lady with Red Hair'' (1940) is an American historical drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Miriam Hopkins, Claude Rains and Richard Ainley. Released by Warner Brothers it stars Hopkins as the nineteenth century actress Mrs. Le ...

'', on which Payne serves as a technical advisor. He continued to act in small roles through the 1940s. The final film in which Payne appeared was 1951's epic ''

Quo Vadis ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pete ...

'', starring Robert Taylor and

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

, in which he played one of Jesus' 12 apostles. Payne died on August 14, 1953, at the

Motion Picture Country Home The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

in Woodland Hills, California. He was buried with his wife at

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (200 acres), located at 118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, Ohio, is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the United States. Woodland was incorporated in 1842 by John Whitten Van Cleve, the first male child born in D ...

in Dayton, Ohio.

Filmography

(Per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database) *'' DuBarry'' (1915) *''

For Sale For Sale may refer to: Film * ''For Sale'' (1918 film), a silent film starring Gladys Hulette and Creighton Hale * ''For Sale'' (1924 film), a silent film starring Vera Reynolds * ''For Sale'' (1998 film), a French drama film Music * Beatles fo ...

'' (1924) *'' True as Steel'' (1924) *''

So This Is Marriage ''So This Is Marriage'' is a lost 1924 American silent drama film directed by Hobart Henley. The film was originally released with sequences filmed in the Technicolor 2-color process that depicted the story of David and Bathsheba from the Book ...

'' (1924) *''

Alias Mary Flynn ''Alias Mary Flynn'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Evelyn Brent. The film is considered to be lost. Plot As described in a film magazine review, John Reagan, Sr. adopts Mary Flynn after rescuing her ...

'' (1925) *''

As Man Desires ''As Man Desires'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Irving Cummings and starring Viola Dana. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Major John Craig (Sills) ...

'' (1925) *''

The Fate of a Flirt ''The Fate of a Flirt'' is a 1925 silent romantic comedy directed by Frank R. Strayer, which stars Dorothy Revier, Forrest Stanley, and Thomas Ricketts. It was released by Columbia Pictures on November 15, 1925.The Lady Who Lied'' (1925) *''

The Last Edition ''The Last Edition'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Emory Johnson based on the story by Emilie Johnson. The photoplay is set in San Francisco, California, and stars Ralph Lewis (actor), Ralph Lewis as a Printing pr ...

'' (1925) *'' The Only Thing'' (1925) *''

We Moderns ''We Moderns'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore. The film was produced by Moore's husband John McCormick and was released through First National Pictures. It was based on the p ...

'' (1925) *'' The Blind Goddess'' (1926) *'' The Outsider'' (1926) *''

The Shamrock Handicap ''The Shamrock Handicap'' is a 1926 American romance film directed by John Ford. Prints of the film still exists in the Museum of Modern Art film archive and Cinematheque Royale de Belgique. Cast * Janet Gaynor as Lady Sheila O'Hara * Leslie ...

'' (1926) * '' A Woman's Heart'' (1926) * ''

Broadway Madness ''Broadway Madness'' is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film directed by Burton L. King and starring Marguerite De La Motte, Donald Keith, and Betty Hilburn. Plot A young farmer in upstate New York City becomes obsessed with a Broadway ...

'' (1927) *'' The King of Kings'' (1927) *''

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic s ...

'' (1927) *'' The Yankee Clipper'' (1927) *'' The Whip'' (1928) *''

Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...

'' (1929) *''

Big News ''The Big News'' is the evening television news program of ABC 5. It was the first evening news program on Philippine television. It aired from March 19, 1962, to September 22, 1972. After the reopening of ABC 5 in 1992, Originally anchored by ...

'' (1929) *''

Interference Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to: Communications * Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message * Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...

'' (1929) *''

The Dude Wrangler ''The Dude Wrangler'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy Western film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Lina Basquette, Tom Keene and Clyde Cook.Pitts p.343 Cast * Lina Basquette as Helen Dane * Tom Keene as Wally McCann (credited as ...

'' (1930) *'' Lawful Larceny'' (1930) *'' Part Time Wife'' (1930) *''

Now I'll Tell ''Now I'll Tell'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Edwin J. Burke starring Spencer Tracy, Helen Twelvetrees, and Alice Faye. It was produced by Fox Film shortly before the company's merger with Twentieth Century Pictures. It m ...

'' (1934) *''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (1940) *''

Look Who's Laughing ''Look Who's Laughing'' (aka ''Look Who's Talking'') is a 1941 film from RKO Radio Pictures. The film is built around a number of radio stars from the Golden Age of Radio and centers around radio personality Jim Jordan as Fibber McGee from the co ...

'' (1941) *''

Gildersleeve on Broadway ''Gildersleeve on Broadway'' is a 1943 American film starring Harold Peary as his radio character The Great Gildersleeve. It is the third of four Gildersleeve features, others were ''The Great Gildersleeve'' (1942), ''Gildersleeve's Bad Day'' (19 ...

'' (1943) *''

Government Girl ''Government Girl'' is a 1943 American romantic-comedy film, produced and directed by Dudley Nichols and starring Olivia de Havilland and Sonny Tufts. Based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns, and written by Dudley Nichols and Budd Schulberg, th ...

'' (1944) *''

Heavenly Days ''Heavenly Days'' is a 1944 film starring Fibber McGee and Molly. It was the third and final feature film to feature the popular radio characters; unlike the two previous entries, none of the radio show's supporting cast members appeared in this f ...

'' (1944) *'' The Woman in the Window'' (1944) *''Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe'' (1945) *''

Saratoga Trunk ''Saratoga Trunk'' is a 1945 American Western film (or historical romance film, per the American Film Institute) directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, and Flora Robson. Written by Casey Robinson, based on the novel '' ...

'' (1945) as Raymond Soule (uncredited) *''

From This Day Forward ''From This Day Forward'' is a 1946 American drama film directed by John Berry, starring Joan Fontaine and Mark Stevens. Plot Army sergeant Bill Cummings ( Mark Stevens) is about to be discharged after service in World War II. He was a blue co ...

'' (1946) *''

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

'' (1948) as Judge Thibault (uncredited) *''

Challenge to Lassie ''Challenge to Lassie'' is an American drama directed by Richard Thorpe in Technicolor and released October 31, 1949, by MGM Studios. It was the fifth feature film starring the original Lassie, a collie named Pal, and the fourth and final ''La ...

'' (1949) *''

My Forbidden Past ''My Forbidden Past'' is a 1951 American historical film noir directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner. Adapted by Leopold Atlas from Polan Banks' novel ''Carriage Entrance''. Plot The events take place in the 1 ...

'' (1951) *''

'' (1951)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Louis American male stage actors American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors Vaudeville performers Male actors from Pennsylvania 1873 births 1953 deaths Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum