1867-1943
Prolific (!) actor and director Hobart Bosworth was born in Marietta, Ohio on this day in 1867. His birth name was Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth; the "Van Zandt" name coming from his mother's side of the family, giving away that she was descended from the Van Zandt's of New York fame--one of the original families of "New Amsterdam." On his father side of the family, he was reportedly descended (at least according to Bosworth himself) from two lines that came over on the Mayflower. His mother died when he was quite young; his father's remarriage caused trouble for the youngster from the get-go. He revealed later in life that he had run away from home while just a lad and wound up on the east coast in New York City. He found work on board ship sailing the dangerous route to and fro the west coast. He also told interviewers that he had spent time as a child laborer on board arctic whalers. As he got older, he added boxing to his list of job titles, something he was determined to turn pro at; that not working out, he said he wound up in ranching, mostly in Mexico. He tried a number of things in various lines of work, I would suppose, given his circumstances. The important thing is that they were all on the west coast, which eventually lead to his trying out the theater in San Francisco. At first working in the managerial side of theatrical work, he would drift into acting. With his acting skills improving, he would eventually end up in a touring company. And, he was still not quite 20 years of age! The acting gig wasn't one continuous career for him however, by way of mines in Utah, he wound up a touring stage performer in Mexico (if his personal account of his life's early exploits are to be completely believed, he must have been at least somewhat proficient in Spanish). I have no idea how true most of his accounts of his life outside of acting are true or "truish"--his work in San Francisco and touring company information can be verified. As can his work back east afterward. By 1888, he made it all the back to New York (more ship work??). Already proficient with Shakespearean material, he was able to find pretty easy stage work there, even touring Europe for a time. Bosworth then contracted tuberculosis, then a life long condition (if you survived it at all!), which forced him to scale back acting engagements. He was eventually well enough to finally make his Broadway debut some time after the turn of century. His health condition forced him to abandon New York City all together and return to the desert southwest (I can only imagine what a nightmare the air conditions were in New York at the time, even for the healthy!!). Despite his health issues, he would go on to live a full life, brimming with work for us to enjoy today. Back on the west coast, where he moved due health concerns, he made his way into acting in the earliest film efforts out there; making his film debut in a Selig film that made some history: The Count of Monte Cristo in 1908. The film is thought to be the very first motion picture made in Los Angeles (well...greater L.A.). He next showed up in one of my favorite genre's "early horror" in another history making film as the first filmed version of Stevenson's (by way of the stage) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1908. He quickly moved on to more literary depictions in Rip Van Winkle and Damon and Pythias. He subsequently became a mainstay at Selig. He stayed with them through the first half of 1913, when he left to start his own production company: Hobart Bosworth Productions. During his time at Selig, he made dozens and dozens of films; in fact the lion's share of his appearances in silents came in shorts produced at the company. In 1910 he played one of his claimed ancestors in the film named for another one; he was "John Alden" in The Courtship of Miles Standish (one of his co-stars in this was a very young Bebe Daniels); and he played Cotton Mather in one of his last Selig films In the Days of Witchcraft in 1913. His last film for the compnay was In the Midst of the Jungle -- a three reeler released in October. When he formed his own company, the focus was on two things: one was principally to produce films based on the writings of Jack London, and two, was to make those films feature length. The company's very first production is now amongst one of the more famous lost films. The Sea Wolf; directed by Bosworth and a featuring London himself as a member of the cast; he played the lead himself (it was released on the 7th of December of 1913). The company produced five such films, before branching out a bit in mid-1914, by also agreeing to produce a film by important film maker Lois Weber; that short was The Traitor in which Bosworth personally appeared. Four Jack London pictures later, his production company then produced a script that he had written himself. The Country Mouse, also directed and starring Bosworth. This marked the beginning of his company moving on to other authors. Eventually the company would be successfully folded into Paramount. [It's last named production was The Sea Lion in 1921 (starring Bosworth, of course).] In 1915, Bosworth took the lead in a film produced by Universal that was directed Otis Turner, whom he first worked with at Selig: The Scarlet Sin had him acting opposite Jane Novak. A Little Brother of the Rich (1915) had him doing the same. In 1916, he became a frequent player in westerns, allowing his ranching experience from his childhood to be of use. Also in the later teens he showed up in films by directors as diverse as Marshall Neilan to Norval MacGregor; Phil Rosen to Cecil B. DeMille (he was in several of his films and DeMille's Joan the Woman is still widely available, Bosworth's role was Gen. La Hire). In the 1920's he was back to acting full time; he mostly starred in B-level pictures, though he did appear in a few films by noted directors, but as the 1920's wore on, he largely occupies supporting roles (at least one notable exception to this was John Ford's Hearts of Oak). Still from the shear number of credits that he had during that decade it is clear that he was a bit of a workaholic (I mean that in a good way of course 😊). In 1928, he appeared in the lead role of an all talking Warner Bros. short entitled A Man Of Peace (it's copyright title was Hobart Bosworth's in A Man of Peace), it was his first talkie--sound by Vitaphone. And though he was among the throng of stars featured in Show of Shows in 1929, there was little need to introduce his voice; after A Man of Peace, he never appeared in a fully silent film again--in fact most of the films in which he acted in 1928 and 1929 were full talking pictures. This may offer a clue why he was able, as a much older actor, able to make the successful transition to acting in the 1930's, when so many younger, more famous actors did not. During the 1930's he did work with a number of directors of later Hollywood success, including Frank Capra and Michael Curtiz and a few a past Hollywood superstardom, like D.W. Griffith--he mostly had supporting roles in lesser films. To his credit, however, almost all of his roles were solidly in the supporting category and were named parts (so many players from silent films that did act into the era of sound were relegated to "uncredited" appearances). He acted into the 1940's; in fact, he had kept acting until his health forced him to quit at the age of 75. I am quite sure, if he could have, he would have kept on if he could. He passed away at the age of 76 in Los Angeles on the 30th of December, having succumbed to pneumonia--but far outlived so many others who had contracted lung illnesses in the early 20th century. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. His first marriage was to actress Adele Farrington. In the end, he had almost 300 acting credits to his good name. He had also contributed a great deal to the production side of films, though he wasn't remembered long for it.
