Robert House Peters Sr. (12 March 1880 – 7 December 1967) was a British-born American

silent film A silent film is a film without 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, w ...

actor, known to filmgoers of the era as "The Star of a Thousand Emotions".

Biography

Born in

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Peters began his career on a high note, playing the handsome leading man in ''

In the Bishop's Carriage ''In the Bishop's Carriage'' is a 1913 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company film company and starring Mary Pickford. It is based on the novel of the same name by Miriam Michelson. This film is lost. The story was ...

'' (1913), co-starring

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

. While ''The Bishop's Carriage'' was filmed in an East Coast studio, Peters was in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

by 1914, becoming one of the first screen stars to permanently settle there. Although he stated publicly that he preferred playing villains, Peters, curly haired and pleasantly dimpled, was from the outset typecast as the romantic hero. SalomyJane-1914

After enjoying his greatest success as the good-bad hero of '' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1915), Peters' career peaked in the early 1920s. He signed with

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

for six films in 1924, hoping for a comeback. The results, however, were mostly mediocre and he was soon demoted to supporting roles. Retired after 1928's ''Rose Marie'', Peters returned for a guest appearance in ''

The Old West ''The Old West'' is a series of books about the history of the American Old West era, published by Time-Life Books from 1973 through 1980. Each book focused on a different topic specific for the era, such as cowboys, American Indians, gamblers ...

'', a 1952

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

film that also featured his son, House Peters Jr., who subsequently enjoyed a lengthy film career portraying villains as well as

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...

's Mr. Clean character in cleaning product commercials from the late 1950s into the '60s.

Personal life

Peters was married to actress Mae King in 1914 with whom he had three children, Gregg, Patricia and Robert Jr., who subsequently used the stage name House Peters Jr. Peters was 87 when he died of pneumonia at the

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Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, House Sr. 1880 births 1967 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Deaths from pneumonia in California English male film actors English male silent film actors British emigrants to the United States 20th-century English male actors