William True Boardman (April 21, 1882 – September 28, 1918) was an American film actor of the

silent 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 appeared in more than 130 films between 1911 and 1919 before falling victim to the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

Biography

True Boardman was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, the son of William T. Boardman (1859 - 1886) and

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

actress Caro True Boardman,''The Oakland Tribune'' November 8, 1900 and died at the age of 36 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

. True Boardman began performing on stage in 1900 in Oakland and later spent some time doing theater work in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

before embarking on his film career.1910 US Census Records He was the husband of actress

Virginia True Boardman Virginia True Boardman (born Margaret Shields, May 23, 1889 – June 10, 1971) was an American actress of the silent era. Biography Born in Fort Davis, Texas, Boardman began her theatrical career in 1906 as Virginia Eames (using her mother' ...

(Margaret Shields) and the father of True Eames Boardman (1909–2003), who had a long career as a script writer for radio, film and television. As a boy True Eames Boardman had appeared in a number of films, including some starring Charlie Chaplin and

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

. Boardman was the great-grandfather of actress

Lisa Gerritsen Lisa Gerritsen (born Lisa Orszag, December 21, 1957) is an American former child actress. She is most famous for her role as Bess, the independent-minded daughter of Phyllis Lindstrom on the 1970s television series ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ...

Partial filmography

* ''The Reward for Broncho Billy'' (1912) - The Sheriff * ''

The Hazards of Helen ''The Hazards of Helen'' is an American adventure film serial (or possibly a film series) of 119 twelve-minute episodes released over a span of slightly more than two years by the Kalem Company between November 7, 1914, and February 24, 1917. At ...

'' (1914) * ''Mysteries of the Grand Hotel'' (1915) - Jack Hilton - Frances' Assistant h. 3–8, 11* ''The Pitfall'' (1915) - Clive Westcott - District Attorney * ''

Stingaree The Stingaree was a neighborhood of San Diego between the boom of the 1880s and the demolition and vice eradication campaign of 1916. The reason for the neighborhood's fame was its role as the home to the city's "undesirables", including prostitut ...

'' (1915) - Irving 'Stingaree' Randolph * ''

The Social Pirates ''The Social Pirates'' is a 1916 American silent film serial directed by James W. Horne. It starred Marin Sais, Ollie Kirkby and True Boardman. It was written by George Bronson Howard and produced by the Kalem Company.''Pictorial History of Silen ...

'' (1916) * ''The Girl from Frisco'' (1916) - Congressman John Wallace * ''The Further Adventures of Stingaree'' (1916) - Irving Randolph / Stingaree * ''

Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 story by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine ''The All-Story'' beginning October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 1 ...

'' (1918) - John Clayton - Lord Greystoke * '' The Doctor and the Woman'' (1918) - 'K' * ''Danger Within'' (1918) - Gilbert Bolton * ''

The Romance of Tarzan ''The Romance of Tarzan'' is a 1918 American silent action adventure film directed by Wilfred Lucas starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, Thomas Jefferson, and Cleo Madison. The movie was the second Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar R ...

'' (1918) - Lord Greystoke * ''

Terror of the Range ''Terror of the Range'' is a 1919 American Western film serial directed by Stuart Paton. The film is considered to be lost. Cast * George Larkin as John Hardwick * Betty Compson as Thelma Grant * Horace B. Carpenter as James Grant (as H.B. ...

'' (1919) - Broncho Haryigan

References

External links

* * *
Grave of True Boardman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boardman, True 1882 births 1918 deaths Male actors from California Deaths from Spanish flu American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)