The actor, William Farnum, was born on July 4, 1876 in Boston, Massachussetts. The son of an actor and actress, it was natural that William Farnum would pursue that career, first appearing on the stage at the age of 10. He became a highly successful stage actor and by 1912 had decided to pursue work in motion pictures. He would soon be one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood during the silent movie era, but after a fall in 1924 he would be limited to supporting actor roles. He would continue as an actor, both on film and stage, until his death in the early 1950's.

The son of stage performers, his father was the actor, G.D. Farnum. His mother was the actress Adela Le Gros. Both of his broters, Marshall Farnum and Dustin Farnum, were also actors. William Farnum married 3 times. The first, to actress Mabel Eaton, ended in divorce. He then married another actress, Olive White, which also ended in divorce. He then married Isabelle Major.

William Farnum, noted stage and movie actor, passed away from cancer on June 5, 1953. His filmography shows over 140 movies during his 40 years in Hollywood. The following movies are just a small sampling of the films in which William Farnum appeared as an actor:

• The Spoilers (1914)
• The Redemption of David Corson (1914)
• A Tale of Two Cities (1917)
• The Price of Silence (1917)
• Drag Harlan (1920)
• If I Were King (1920)
• The Gunfighter (1923)
• Brass Commandments (1923)
• Oh! Oh! Cleopatra (1931)
• A Connecticut Yankee (1931)
• Are We Civilized? (1934)
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• School for Girls (1934)
• Public Cowboy No. 1 (1937)
• Git Along Little Dogies (1937)
• The Spoilers (1942)
• Lone Star Ranger (1942)
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
• Lone Star (1952)