King Baggot

KING BAGGOT

Born November 7, 1879 (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)

King Baggott is little known to modern viewers, despite the fact that he starred in a significant number of pictures. He can be seen in such Hollywood masterpieces as "The Philadelphia Story" (1940). (1940), Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945), and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). He appeared in more than 300 films. Somewhere appeared in the character roles, somewhere played in small, sometimes unnoticed by no one episodes. His fame faded along with the silent film, when the actors of sound films more rapidly took over.

Baggot, the son of a real estate investor, leaves his native St. Louis, Missouri, for Broadway in New York City to pursue a career in theater. He succeeds fairly quickly, shining in the play Better to Be Pityed Than Despised. Baggot soon finds himself in "IMP Studios" (Buldut studio "Universal"), where he starred in his first film "The Tricks of Love" (1909). He was then invited to star in the classic film "Ivanhoe" (1913). The studios promoted Baggott in every way, which was unusual for that time.

The talent of this actor - primarily in the ability to play multifaceted, complex characters, as in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1913) and "Shadows" (1914), where he performs ten different roles. As he grew older, Baggott focused more and more on directing and co-directed with William S. Hart the western "Tumbleweed" (1925).

The secret of Baggott's so frequent appearances in films goes back to 1933, when MGM Studios awarded him a lifetime contract as a silent film veteran. It was a symbolic gesture because he got mostly cameo roles that brought in only $75 a week.

He died in 1948 (Los Angeles, California, USA).