William Farnum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Farnum (b. July 4, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts - d. June 5, 1953 in Hollywood, California) was a major movie actor. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of ten in Richmond, Virginia in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character. He first major success was as the title character of Ben Hur.

From 1915 to 1925, Farnum devoted his life to the motion pictures. When becoming one of the biggest sensations in Hollywood, he became also one of the highest-paid actors, earning $10,000 a week.

Farnum has a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.