Known for
Acting
Credits
111
Gender
Man
Birthday
Jan 23, 1878
Day of death
Nov 3, 1949 (71)
Place of birth
Horseheads, New York, USA
Also known as
William Mannion
The King of the Silent Serials
Bill Desmond
William Desmond
Biography
Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles.
Known for
Acting roles
| Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Savage Fury | Allen (archive footage) |
| 1947 | The Egg and I | Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited) |
| 1947 | Code of the West | Settler (uncredited) |
| 1946 | Desert Command | Capt. Boncour |
| 1945 | The Naughty Nineties | Showboat Customer (uncredited) |
| 1945 | Strange Confession | Peanut Vendor (uncredited) |
| 1945 | The Return of the Durango Kid | Street Ambusher (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Phantom Lady | Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) |
| 1944 | The Mummy's Ghost | Museum Tourist (uncredited) |
| 1944 | The Climax | Backstage Technician (Uncredited) |
| 1943 | Phantom of the Opera | Stagehand (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Gower Gulch Cowboy (uncredited) |
| 1943 | The Lone Star Trail | Bartender Mike |
| 1943 | Cheyenne Roundup | Pete |
| 1942 | The Silver Bullet | Townsman |
| 1942 | Down Rio Grande Way | Townsman |
| 1942 | Overland Mail | Williams - Banker |
| 1941 | Where Did You Get That Girl? | Tourist |
| 1941 | Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie | Bartender |
| 1940 | The Boys from Syracuse | Citizen |
| 1940 | Junior G-Men | Irish Cop (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Winners of the West | Bill Brine |
| 1937 | Tim Tyler's Luck | Dock Official |
| 1936 | Song of the Gringo | Bailiff |
| 1936 | Custer's Last Stand | Wagon Master |
| 1936 | Hollywood Boulevard | Pago Pago Patron (uncredited) |
| 1936 | The Adventures of Frank Merriwell | Captain of the 'Viking' |
| 1936 | The Vigilantes Are Coming | Anderson, Vigilante Member |
| 1936 | Treachery Rides the Range | Bill |
| 1936 | Song of the Saddle | Tim |
| 1936 | The Broken Coin | |
| 1936 | Headin' for the Rio Grande | Mr. Mack (cattle buyer) |
| 1935 | Naughty Marietta | Gendarme Chief (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Frisco Kid | Vigilante Hangman (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Cyclone of the Saddle | Wagon Master |
| 1935 | The Ghost Rider | Guard |
| 1935 | Born to Battle | John Brownell |
| 1935 | The Cowboy and the Bandit | Sheriff Pete |
| 1935 | The Call of the Savage | Allen |
| 1935 | Social Error | Policeman |
| 1935 | Timber Terrors | Royce Horter |
| 1935 | Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery | Foreman Burke |
| 1935 | Rustlers of Red Dog | Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12] |
| 1935 | Wild Waters | Sheriff Manning |
| 1935 | Courage of the North | Gene Travis |
| 1935 | Powdersmoke Range | Happy - Bartender |
| 1935 | The Roaring West | Jim Parker |
| 1934 | The Rawhide Terror | Tom Blake |
| 1934 | The Vanishing Shadow | MacDonald |
| 1934 | Pirate Treasure | Capt. Jim Carson |
| 1934 | When Lightning Strikes | Marshal Jack Stevens |
| 1934 | Frontier Days | Sheriff Barnes |
| 1934 | The Red Rider | Sheriff Campbell |
| 1934 | Crack-Up | Police Chief |
| 1934 | I Can't Escape | Parole Officer Donovan |
| 1934 | Border Guns | Dr. Jim Wilson |
| 1934 | The Way of the West | 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond) |
| 1933 | The Three Musketeers | Capt. Boncour |
| 1933 | Perils of Pauline | Prof. Thompson |
| 1933 | Strawberry Roan | Colonel Brownlee |
| 1933 | The Phantom of the Air | Thomas Edmonds |
| 1933 | Laughing at Life | Military Cabinet Officer |
| 1933 | Gordon of Ghost City | John Mulford |
| 1933 | The Rustler's Roundup | San Dimas Sheriff Holden |
| 1933 | Mr. Broadway | 1st Suitor (archive footage) |
| 1933 | Fargo Express | Sheriff Joe Thompson |
| 1932 | Heroes of the West | John Blaine |
| 1932 | The Last Frontier | General Custer |
| 1932 | A Scarlet Week-End | |
| 1931 | Battling with Buffalo Bill | John Mills |
| 1931 | The Lightning Warrior | Townsman (uncredited) |
| 1931 | The Vanishing Legion | Milesburg Sheriff |
| 1931 | Oklahoma Jim | Lacy |
| 1930 | The Phantom of the West | Martin Blair |
| 1929 | No Children | Self |
| 1929 | No Defense | John Harper |
| 1928 | The Vanishing Rider | Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider |
| 1928 | The Mystery Rider | Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider |
| 1926 | The Strings of Steel | Ned Brown |
| 1925 | The Meddler | Richard Gilmore |
| 1925 | The Burning Trail | Smiling Bill Flannigan |
| 1925 | Straight Through | Good Deed O'Day |
| 1925 | Outwitted | Jack Blaisdel |
| 1925 | Ridin' Pretty | Sky Parker |
| 1925 | Barriers of the Law | Rex Brandon |
| 1924 | Hello, 'Frisco | William Desmond |
| 1924 | The Sunset Trail | Happy Hobo |
| 1923 | The Extra Girl | Himself |
| 1923 | The Extra Girl | Himself - Actor |
| 1923 | Shadows of the North | Ben 'Wolf' Darby |
| 1923 | McGuire of the Mounted | Bob McGuire |
| 1922 | Perils of the Yukon | Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr. |
| 1922 | Night Life in Hollywood | Self |
| 1921 | The Policeman and the Baby | The Policeman |
| 1921 | Fightin' Mad | Bud McGraw |
| 1921 | The Child Thou Gavest Me | Tom Marshall |
| 1919 | The Prince and Betty | John Maude |
| 1919 | Her Code of Honor | Eugene La Salle |
| 1919 | A Sage Brush Hamlet | Larry Lang |
| 1918 | Captain of His Soul | |
| 1918 | Society for Sale | Honorable Billy |
| 1917 | Master of His Home | |
| 1917 | Paws of the Bear | Ray Bourke |
| 1917 | The Last of the Ingrams | Jules Ingram |
| 1917 | The Iced Bullet | The Author / Horace Lee |
| 1916 | A Gamble in Souls | |
| 1916 | Peggy | Rev. Donald Bruce |
| 1916 | The Dawn Maker | Bruce Smithson |
| 1915 | Peer Gynt | The Parson |
| 1915 | Kilmeny | Bob Meredith |
| 1915 | The Majesty of the Law | Jackson Morgan Kent |