Willis Lewis Robards (1873–1921) also known as Walter Edwards, was an American actor, film director, and film producer. He acted in stage, and in cinema during the

silent film era A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, 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) ...

. He is known for his work on the films ''

When Shadows Fall When may refer to: * When?, one of the Five Ws, questions used in journalism * WHEN (AM), an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in Syracuse, New York * WHEN-TV, the former call letters of TV station WTVH in Syracuse, New York Music * When (b ...

'' (1916), '' Mothers of Men'' (1917), and ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1921).

Biography

Robards worked for the

St. Louis Motion Picture Company St. Louis Motion Picture Company was a film production company during the silent film era. It advertised its debut films ''A Gypsy's Love'' and ''Algernon's Busy Day'' in 1912. In 1913 the company established itself in Santa Paula, California, Sa ...

Santa Paula Santa Paula (Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pau ...

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...

. He served as the producer for the animated series,

Mutt and Jeff ''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newsp ...

. During the production of the silent film '' Mothers of Men'' (1917), he created the film production company, ''Robards Film Company'' of

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

. He served as the manager of the Robard Players, and O.E. Goebel's Rainbow Players. He married Grace Rosetta Maud Blake, and together they had three children, including actor Willis Robards Jr. (also known as Willis Robards III; 1912–1984). Robards died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on November 3, 1921, in Hollywood, California, and is buried at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

Filmography

Director

*''

The Heart of a Cracksman ''The Heart of a Cracksman'' is a 1913 silent film short directed by Wallace Reid and Willis Roberts and starring Reid and Cleo Madison. It was produced by Powers Pictures and distributed by Universal Film Manufacturing Company.''Pictorial History ...

'' (1913), director *''

A Cracksman Santa Claus A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

'' (1913), director *'' Mothers of Men'' (1917), director *''

Every Woman's Problem ''Mothers of Men'' is a 1917 silent film directed by Willis Robards, promoting woman's suffrage. The seven-reel drama is considered lost. A five-reel re-edited version also directed by Robards was released in 1921—following ratification of the ...

'' (1921)

Actor

*''

'' (1916) *''

Desert Blossoms ''Desert Blossoms'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Arthur Rosson and starring William Russell, Helen Ferguson and Wilbur Higby. Cast * William Russell as Stephen Brent *Helen Ferguson as Mary Ralston *Wilbur Higby as James Thor ...

'' (1921) as Henry Ralston *'''

'' (1921 film)'' as'' Captain de Treville *'' Passing Through'' (1921 film) as Silas Harkins *'' Man to Man'' (1922 film) as Bill Royce

Writer

*''Night Shadows'' (1916), a two-reel western

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robards, Willis 1873 births 1921 deaths People from Hollywood, Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors American animated film producers Film producers from California Film directors from Los Angeles American male silent film actors