Earle Williams (born Earle Raphael Williams; February 28, 1880 – April 25, 1927) was an American stage actor and film star in the silent era."EARLE WILLIAMS EXPIRES: Bronchial Pneumonia Ends Brilliant Career of Pioneer Filmland Favorite", ''Los Angeles Times'', April 26, 1927, p. A2.

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for l ...

Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Early life

Williams was born in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, the son of Augustus P. Williams and Eva M. Paget Williams. When he was six years old, he moved with his family to Oakland. Later he attended the Polytechnic College of California. Before he began his acting career, Williams worked in a bicycle shop, competed as a bicycle racer, and served as a newspaper photographer for the ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

''.

Stage and film careers

After performing in bit parts in Oakland theaters, Williams began professional acting in earnest in 1901 with the Baldwin-Melville Stock Company in New Orleans. He went on from there to act in the Alcazaar Theater's stock company in San Francisco and with a touring company in Canada and the United States. In 1912, he joined the

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...

film company, becoming its leading man in the 1910s, Williams was voted

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

's number one star in 1915, starting his career on stage as a

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...

, the year he made his most popular film, '' The Juggernaut''. Vitagraph wrecked a real train in this action melodrama, which co-starred Williams with his most frequent leading lady, Anita Stewart. They were also teamed in the studio's earliest entry in the then-popular serial genre, ''The Goddess'' in 1915, and Williams made a dashing gentleman thief in Vitagraph's 1917 version of the ever popular Arsene Lupin. He often portrayed stalwart military heroes into the 1920s.

Personal life, death, and family tragedy

Williams married New York native Florine Mahackmo Walz in October 1918. Nine years later, at age 47, he died in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, reportedly due to bronchial pneumonia. Following his death, his wife Florine lost most of the money from his estate through bad investments. By 1931 she had become so desperate for cash that she resorted to writing checks with insufficient funds in the bank and to forging signatures."LIFE BITTER TO WIDOW: Mrs. Williams on Probation Estate Transactions After Actor's Death Lead to Court Proceedings Shattered Love Affair With Oil Promoter", ''Los Angeles Times'', August 10, 1931, pp. 1–2. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Her previous arrests for dispersing bad checks and other financial and personal setbacks finally prompted the 33-year-old widow, who was on probation at the time in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and her 80-year-old mother to commit suicide together by inhaling excessive amounts of

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane (often abbreviated as TCM), is an organochloride with the formula and a common solvent. It is a volatile, colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to refrigerants and po ...

. Death, according to news reports, appeared to be preferable for the two women rather than facing further humiliations for their family. Before their own deaths, the women used the same method of saturating rolls of cotton with chloroform to sedate and murder Florine's six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.

Selected filmography

* ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'' (1911) * '' The Military Air-Scout'' (1911) * '' Red and White Roses'' (1913) * '' Hearts of the First Empire'' (1913) * '' Bunny Dips Into Society'' (1913) * '' The Christian'' (1914) * '' My Official Wife'' (1914) * '' The Scarlet Runner'' (1916) * '' The Maelstrom'' (1917) * '' Arsene Lupin'' (1917) *''

The Grell Mystery ''The Grell Mystery'' is a 1917 American silent mystery film directed by Paul Scardon Paul Scardon (6 May 1874 – 17 January 1954) was an actor, a producer, and a director on both Australian and New York stages. When he was 15, Scardon de ...

'' (1917) *'' The Stolen Treaty'' (1917) * '' A Diplomatic Mission'' (1918) * '' A Gentleman of Quality'' (1919) * '' When a Man Loves'' (1919) * '' A Rogue's Romance'' (1919) * '' The Black Gate'' (1919) * '' The Purple Cipher'' (1920) * '' Captain Swift'' (1920) * '' The Romance Promoters'' (1920) * '' A Master Stroke'' (1920) * ''

The Fortune Hunter ''The Fortune Hunter'' is a drama in three acts by W. S. Gilbert. The piece concerns an heiress who loses her fortune. Her shallow husband sues to annul the marriage, leaving her pregnant and taking up with a wealthy former lover. The piece wa ...

'' (1920) * '' It Can Be Done'' (1921) * '' Bring Him In'' (1921) * '' The Silver Car'' (1921) * '' Lucky Carson'' (1921) * '' Diamonds Adrift'' (1921) * '' Restless Souls'' (1922) * '' The Man from Downing Street'' (1922) * '' Fortune's Mask'' (1922) * '' The Eternal Struggle'' (1923) * '' Jealous Husbands'' (1923) * '' Masters of Men'' (1923) * '' Borrowed Husbands'' (1924) * '' Was It Bigamy?'' (1925) * '' Lena Rivers'' (1925) * '' The Adventurous Sex'' (1925) * '' The Ancient Mariner'' (1925) * ''

The Skyrocket ''The Skyrocket'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Marshall Neilan and starring Peggy Hopkins Joyce. The film was based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Adela Rogers St. Johns and scripted by Benjamin Glazer. ...

'' (1926) * ''

Diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

'' (1926) * '' You'd Be Surprised'' (1926) * '' She's My Baby'' (1927) * '' Say It with Diamonds'' (1927)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Earle 1880 births 1927 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)