Volume III: Biographies

BURT, William P. *

Actor (1915-1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: William P. Burt was an actor with Thanhouser circa 1915-1916.

Biographical Notes: William Presley Burt was born on February 11, 1873 in St. Peter, Minnesota. He was educated in Denver and Boston, after which he followed a stage career in plays and minstrel shows. His first screen appearance is said to have been with Vitagraph. He then went to Thanhouser, where he appeared in films in 1915 and 1916.

A 1916 Interview: The Sunday Metropolis, Jacksonville, Florida, January 30, 1916 carried an interview, which noted in part: "Some ten years ago Mr. Burt was connected with a dramatic stock company in Dubois, Pennsylvania, which traveled hither and yon, looking for the spare change in the smaller towns in the North and West. Theirs was a good company, such as stock companies go, and was composed of about 30 people. Money matters went from bad to worse, and although each member of the company looked upon the movies with derision, they finally wandered to the screen one by one, until today every male member of the company, with one exception, is working in the motion picture field....

"In speaking of the trend to the movies, Mr. Burt says, 'I was the last of the party to enter the picture game, and it was in vaudeville where I had been for 11 years that I heard the call of the movies. I made my first appearance on the screen in a five-reel Vitagraph, under the direction of Van Dyke Brooke, and what do you think I played? A heavy! I had always considered myself a character comedian and bold bad villain were not in my line, but, strange to say, since joining Mr. Thanhouser, four of my most important roles have been heavies.

"Mr. Burt thinks he is too light for 'heavies,' and when he mentioned this fact, his stable mate, Morgan Jones, turned up his nose, pulled off his toupee and violently slammed into his mouth a piece of one of those vile cigars he is wont to carry. Although Mr. Jones' actions may have been a little out of the ordinary, Mr. Burt vouchsafed the information that Mr. Jones was jealous, which was contradicted by the latter. Mr. Burt has been on the stage since he was four years of age and lays claims to being the 'youngest' old-timer in the business. He is of the sixth generation of player folk, being a descendant of the celebrated Clifford family of England, who were to that country what the Booth family were to this."

His Later Career: Later, Burt was with Astra, which released through Pathé, where he played character and heavy roles. From 1917 through 1925 he was a production manager for Pathé films, at which time he lived at 303 Tague Street, Jersey City. In 1918 he lived at 303 Tague Street, Jersey City, New Jersey, and worked with Pathé in the same city. Years afterward, William P. Burt was a director, screenwriter, radio personality, and radio scriptwriter. He wrote many scripts for the Rin Tin Tin series. Burt remained in films through the early 1940s. In the early 1950s he was seen on stage in summer stock at the Central City (Colorado) Summer Festival. He died on February 23, 1955 in Denver, Colorado. Surviving him was a daughter, Miss Nellie Burt.

Note: His surname was misspelled as "Burst" and "Burke" in some publicity.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1915: An Innocent Traitor (12-14-1915)

1916: The Phantom Witness (1-19-1916), The Burglar's Picnic (1-26-1916), The Knotted Cord (2-2-1916), The Oval Diamond (2-24-1916), What Doris Did (3-1-1916), The Net (4-1-1916), The Carriage of Death (4-29-1916), Her Father's Gold (5-11-1916), Making the Major a Mayor (Falstaff 6-15-1916), The Black Terror (9-29-1916

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