Franklyn Farnum (born William Smith; June 5, 1878 â€" July 4, 1961)
was an American character actor and Hollywood extra who appeared in at
least 1,100 films. He was also cast in more films that won the Academy
Award for Best Picture than any other performer in American film
industry. He was also credited as Frank Farnum.Farnum was born in 1878
in Boston, Massachusetts, and became a vaudeville actor at the age of
twelve. He was featured in a number of theatrical and musical
productions by the time he entered silent films near the age of 40.
His Broadway credits include Keep It Clean (1929), Ziegfeld 9 O'clock
Frolic (1921), Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic (1921), and Somewhere Else
(1913).Farnum's career was dominated mostly by westerns. Some of his
more famous films include the serial Vanishing Trails (1920) and the
features The Clock (1917), The Firebrand (1922), The Drug Store Cowboy
(1925), and The Gambling Fool (1925). He left films in 1925 but
returned five years later at the advent of sound, only to find himself
billed much further down the credits, if billed at all. However, he
continued on in these obscure roles well into the 1950s.One of his
three wives was actress Alma Rubens, to whom he was briefly married in
1918. The couple divorced in 1919. He had one daughter, Martha Lillian
Smith, who was born in 1898.
was an American character actor and Hollywood extra who appeared in at
least 1,100 films. He was also cast in more films that won the Academy
Award for Best Picture than any other performer in American film
industry. He was also credited as Frank Farnum.Farnum was born in 1878
in Boston, Massachusetts, and became a vaudeville actor at the age of
twelve. He was featured in a number of theatrical and musical
productions by the time he entered silent films near the age of 40.
His Broadway credits include Keep It Clean (1929), Ziegfeld 9 O'clock
Frolic (1921), Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic (1921), and Somewhere Else
(1913).Farnum's career was dominated mostly by westerns. Some of his
more famous films include the serial Vanishing Trails (1920) and the
features The Clock (1917), The Firebrand (1922), The Drug Store Cowboy
(1925), and The Gambling Fool (1925). He left films in 1925 but
returned five years later at the advent of sound, only to find himself
billed much further down the credits, if billed at all. However, he
continued on in these obscure roles well into the 1950s.One of his
three wives was actress Alma Rubens, to whom he was briefly married in
1918. The couple divorced in 1919. He had one daughter, Martha Lillian
Smith, who was born in 1898.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.