William Black was an American
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
and
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
actor. He appeared on Broadway in 10 productions from 1899 to 1931, and in 39 films between 1916 and 1941. He also appeared under the names Bill Black, William Wallace Black, William W. Black, and W. W. Black.
Broadway
Black was born in
Irvington, New York
Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson,Staff (ndg"The Irvington Gazette (Irvington-On-Hudson, N.Y.) 1907-1969"Library of Congress is a suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is loca ...
in 1871.
["William Black"]
on the Internet Broadway Database
The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...
He appeared in his first Broadway production, a revival of an opera by
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...
called ''
La Belle Hélène
''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...
'', in 1899. He went on to appear in eight other productions through 1910, including three mountings of ''His Honor the Mayor'', a musical comedy in 1906 and 1907, and a production of ''
Little Nemo
Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'', before receiving his own spin-off series, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland''. The f ...
'', in which he received star billing.
His final stage appearance on Broadway was 21 years later, in 1931 in a farce called ''Company's Coming'' which ran for only 8 performances.
"Company's Coming"
on the Internet Broadway Database
The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...
.
*''La Belle Hélène'' (opera revival) as Ajax I (1899)
*''The Wild Rose'' (musical comedy) as Count von Lahn, Scipio (1902)
*''George W. Lederer's Mid-Summer Night Fancies (1903)
**"The Darling of the Gallery Gods" (musical comedy) as Tan Sun
**"The Dress Parade" (musical comedy) as Mr. Pickwick
*''The Southerners'' (musical comedy) as Colonel Maximilian Easy (1904)
*''His Honor the Mayor'' (musical comedy) as "Reddy" Samson, a cowboy (1906, 1907, 1907)
*''Little Nemo'' (musical comedy) as Morpheus (1908–09)
*''The Deacon and the Lady'' (musical) as Jim Gruff (1910)
*''Company's Coming'' (farce) as Mr. Patterson (1931)
Films
At the time that Black was initially appearing on Broadway, the American film industry was centered in the New York metropolitan area. Black's first film appearance was in 1916, in a film called ''Vanity''. He worked consistently, generally playing small parts, through 1919 and into the early 1920s, when the pace of his appearances slowed down. Whether or not this was the result of the industry's switch to sound is not clear. By the mid-20s, his film appearances were few, with two films in 1924, two in 1926, and then two in 1930. His next film appearance was in 1935, followed by two uncredited appearances in 1938 and 1941, when he was in ''Hello, Sucker'' in a bit part.
Partial filmography
*''Ambition
Ambition, Ambitions or Ambitious may refer to:
Music
* Ambitions (One Ok Rock album), ''Ambitions'' (One Ok Rock album), 2017
* Ambition (Tommy Shaw album), ''Ambition'' (Tommy Shaw album), 2014
* Ambition (Wale album), ''Ambition'' (Wale album ...
'' (1916)
*''Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...
'' (1917)
*''The New York Peacock
''The New York Peacock'' is a 1917 American silent crime drama film directed by Kenean Buel. Distributed by Fox Film Corporation, the film starred Valeska Suratt. It is now considered lost.
Cast
*Valeska Suratt as Zena
* Harry Hilliard as Billy M ...
'' (1917)
*'' A Magdalene of the Hills'' (1917)
*''The Greatest Power
''The Greatest Power'' is a lost 1917 silent film drama directed by Edwin Carewe and starring Ethel Barrymore. It was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures.
Cast
*Ethel Barrymore - Miriam Monroe
*William B. Davidson - John Conrad
* Harry S. ...
'' (1917)
*''The Trail of the Shadow
''The Trail of the Shadow'' is a lost 1917 American silent drama film. Directed by Edwin Carewe, the film stars Emmy Wehlen, William B. Davidson
William Beatman Davidson (June 16, 1888 – September 28, 1947) was an American film actor. ...
'' (1917)
*''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (1917)
*''The Floor Below
''The Floor Below'' is an American silent film starring Mabel Normand, Tom Moore and Helen Dahl. It was long thought lost, until a print was found "in the estate of a Dutch collector" by the Nederlands Filmmuseum.The Prussian Cur
''The Prussian Cur'' is a 1918 American anti-German silent propaganda film produced during World War I. Now considered a lost film, it is notable for telling the story of the Crucified Soldier.
The film's director, Raoul Walsh, called it his "rot ...
'' (1918)
*'' The Hell Cat'' (1918)
*'' High Pockets'' (1919)
* ''Three Green Eyes
''Three Green Eyes'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Dell Henderson and starring Carlyle Blackwell, Evelyn Greeley and Montagu Love.Connelly p.420
Cast
* Carlyle Blackwell as Paul Arden
* Evelyn Greeley as Suzanne Russell
* M ...
'' (1919)
*'' The Hidden Truth'' (1919)
* ''The Rider of the King Log
''The Rider of the King Log'' is a lost 1921 American silent action film directed by Harry O. Hoyt and starring Frank Sheridan, Irene Boyle, and Richard Travers.
Cast
* Frank Sheridan as John Xavier Kavanagh
* Irene Boyle as Clare Kavanag ...
'' (1921)
* ''The Wakefield Case
''The Wakefield Case'' is a 1921 American silent mystery film directed by George Irving, produced by Lois Weber and starring Herbert Rawlinson. It was released through World Film Company.
Cast
*Herbert Rawlinson as Wakefield Jr.
*John P. Wade a ...
'' (1921)
*'' That Woman'' (1922)
*''The Steadfast Heart
''The Steadfast Heart'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Sheridan Hall and produced by George Arliss (Distinctive Pictures). Based upon the novel of the same name by Clarence Budington Kelland, the film was released by Goldwyn Pic ...
'' (1923)
*''Big Brother
Big Brother may refer to:
* Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control
** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...
'' (1923)
*''Ramshackle House
''Ramshackle House'' is a 1924 American silent romantic drama film directed by F. Harmon Weight and starring Betty Compson. It is based on the novel ''Ramshackle House'' by Hulbert Footner. It was released by Producers Distributing Corporation ( ...
'' (1924)
*''Fascinating Youth
''Fascinating Youth'' is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Sam Wood. It starred Charles "Buddy" Rogers (in his feature debut), along with Thelma Todd and Josephine Dunn in supporting roles. Many well-known personalities ma ...
'' (1926)
* ''The Broadway Boob
''The Broadway Boob'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Glenn Hunter, Mildred Ryan, and Antrim Short.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review, Dan Williams, a burlesque dancer from a small tow ...
'' (1926)
* ''The Golf Specialist
''The Golf Specialist'' is a 1930 pre-Code comedy short subject from RKO Pictures, starring W. C. Fields. It was his first talkie. The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry ...
'' (1930 short - W.C. Fields
WC or wc may refer to:
* Water closet or flush toilet
Arts and entertainment
* ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film
* WC (band), a Polish punk rock band
* WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California
* Westside Connection, former hi ...
' first talkie
A sound film is a motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
)
*''Life Returns
''Life Returns'' is an American film directed by Eugene Frenke. The film stars Onslow Stevens, George P. Breakston and Lois Wilson with a plot that involves a doctor who is convinced that the dead can be brought back to life gets the chance to pr ...
'' (1935)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, William (actor)
American male silent film actors
19th-century American male actors
20th-century American male actors
American male stage actors
1871 births
Year of death missing
Date of death missing