Warner Richmond | |
---|---|
Born | Werner Paul Raetzmann January 11, 1886 Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Died | June 19, 1948 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Resting place | Chapel of the Pines Crematory |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1912–1946 |
Spouse | Felice Striker Rose (m. 1918–1948) |
Children | 1 |
Warner Richmond (born Werner Paul Otto Raetzmann; January 11, 1886 – June 19, 1948) was an American stage and film actor. [1] He began his career as a stock theatre actor and appeared in films in both the silent film and sound eras. His career spanned four decades. He is possibly best recalled for appearances in Westerns in his later career in sound films. Between 1912 and 1946, he appeared in more than 140 films.
Warner Richmond was born in Racine, Wisconsin, as Werner Paul Otto Raetzmann, one of seven children born to Wilhelm ("William") Raetzmann and Emilie ("Amelia") Licht. Richmond's father was a German immigrant from Hanover who worked as a printer in Reedsburg. His mother was Wisconsin-born and raised, and of German immigrant parents. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, he became an expert horseman, and this skill would later earn him roles in western movies. As a young man, he moved to Chicago and lived with his brother Ewald and worked as traveling salesman of musical merchandise while pursuing a career as a stage actor. [2]
By the early 1910s, Richmond was working steadily as a travelling stage actor in stock theater. Richmond's only known credited Broadway stage role was in a 1913 production of the Augustus Thomas play Indian Summer, alongside Creighton Hale. [3]
Richmond's first credited film appearance was as the character Dick in the 1912 Ralph Ince directed dramatic short The Godmother for Vitagraph Studios in New York City. By 1917 he was a working consistently as an actor at Solax Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. His first appearance in a Western genre film was as the character Dr. Newberry in House Peters' 1915 The Great Divide . When the film industry later relocated to southern California, Richmond and his family also moved and settled in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Toluca Lake. Richmond, who was not a contracted actor, made films with nearly all major film studios and by the late 1910s and early 1920s played both leading and second lead roles in crime dramas, romantic dramas, serials and Westerns. His career as an actor spanned over four decades and he appeared in prominent roles in Westerns, often playing a villain, particularly later in his career during the sound era. [3]
In 1940, while filming the Albert Herman directed Tex Ritter Western Rainbow Over the Range in Prescott, Arizona, Richmond fell from his horse and suffered a fractured skull which left the left side of his face paralyzed and diminished vision in his left eye. Richmond was hospitalized for eight months following the accident and spent the following two years resting at home and massaging and pinching his face until his reflexes were restored. In 1944, he returned to films. [2]
Richmond married actress Felice Striker Rose on October 31, 1918. They had a son, Warner Richmond Jr. in 1921. [3]
In the late 1940s, Richmond retired to the Motion Picture Country Home where he died on June 19, 1948, of coronary thrombosis, aged 62. He was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. [2]
Tom London was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to The Guinness Book of Movie Records, London is credited with appearing in the most films in the history of Hollywood, according to the 2001 book Film Facts, which says that the performer who played in the most films was "Tom London, who made his first of over 2,000 appearances in The Great Train Robbery, 1903. He used his birth name in films until 1924.
Tom Tyler was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 serial film The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Tyler also played Kharis in 1940's The Mummy's Hand, a popular Universal Studios monster film.
Jack Perrin was an American actor specializing in Westerns.
Francis Ford was an American film actor, writer and director. He was the mentor and elder brother of film director John Ford. As an actor, director and producer, he was one of the first filmmakers in Hollywood.
Chris-Pin Martin was an American character actor whose specialty lay in portraying comical Mexicans, particularly sidekicks in The Cisco Kid film series. He acted in over 100 films between 1925 and 1953, including over 50 westerns.
Paul Causey Hurst was an American actor and director.
Fredrick Louis Kohler was an American actor.
Richard Alexander was an American film character actor.
Wheeler Oakman was an American film actor.
Jay Wilsey was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1924 and 1944. He starred in a series of very low-budget westerns in the 1920s and 1930s, billed as Buffalo Bill Jr.
Harry Lewis Woods was an American film actor.
Harry Tenbrook was a Norwegian-American film actor.
Alonzo M. "Lon" Poff was an American film actor who appeared in almost 100 films between 1917 and 1951.
Fred Malatesta was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1915 and 1941. He was born in Naples, Italy, and died in Burbank, California.
Guy Edward Hearn was an American actor who, in a forty-year film career, starting in 1915, played hundreds of roles, starting with juvenile leads, then, briefly, as leading man, all during the silent era.
Theodore Lorch was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1908 and 1947.
Robert Donald Walker was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1953. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles.
Eddie Gribbon was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films from the 1910s to the 1950s. Gribbon began working in Mack Sennett films in 1916 and continued through the 1920s. He usually had significant roles in two-reel films, but his roles in feature films were lesser ones.
Walter B. McGrail was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1916 and 1951. Besides feature films, he appeared in The Scarlet Runner, a 12-chapter serial.
Jack Rutherford was a British film and television actor. Rutherford first appeared in British films in leading or prominent supporting roles during the silent era. He later went to Hollywood where he often played villains in Western films. His most significant American role was as the Sheriff in the 1930 comedy Whoopee! (1930).