William Collier Jr.

William Collier Jr. (born Charles F. Gall Jr.; February 12, 1902 – February 5, 1987) was an American stage performer, producer, and a film actor who in the silent and sound eras was cast in no fewer than 89 motion pictures.[1][2]

William Collier Jr.
Collier with Audrey Ferris in Beware of Bachelors
Born
Charles F. Gall Jr.

(1902-02-12)February 12, 1902
New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 5, 1987(1987-02-05) (aged 84)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years activeActor: 1916–1935
producer: 1946–1956
SpouseMarie Stevens (1934–1981) (her death)
Children1

Biography

William Collier (nicknamed "Buster")[3] was born in New York City.[4] When his parents divorced, his mother, the actress Paula Marr, remarried the actor William Collier Sr. who adopted Charles (the two did share a resemblance) and gave the boy the new name William Collier Jr.[5] Collier's acting experience in childhood, having first appeared on stage at age seven, helped him get his first movie role at age 14 in The Bugle Call (1916).[6][7]

In 1910 his parents were appearing in Denver and Collier was hospitalized with scarlet fever, which was followed by typhoid, but he eventually recovered by the end of the summer and was able to join his parents who were appearing at Elitch Theatre. He appeared in his father's show, The Patriot, as Kid Sugar.[8]

He later became a popular leading man in the 1920s and successfully made the transition from silent into sound film. Nevertheless, he retired from acting in 1935, and in 1937 traveled to England to work as a movie producer.[9] He returned to the United States in the late 1940s and began producing drama series for television. In February 1960, in recognition of his contributions to the entertainment industry, Collier received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[10]

Collier & Catherine Calvert in The Heart of Maryland (1921)

Collier died in San Francisco on February 5, 1987, just a week before his 85th birthday.[1]

Selected filmography as an actor

References
  1. "William Collier Jr". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017.
  2. League, The Broadway. "William Collier, Jr. – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB".
  3. "Special Collections - Margaret Herrick Library - Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences".
  4. "William Collier Jr". virtual-history.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  5. "WILLIAM COLLIER JR". emovieposter.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  6. League, The Broadway. "The Patriot – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB". IBDB. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  7. "William Collier, Jr. - Movies and Filmography". allmovie.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  8. Borrillo, Theodore A. (2012). Denver's historic Elitch Theatre : a nostalgic journey (a history of its times). [publisher not identified]. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-9744331-4-1. OCLC 823177622.
  9. "Special Collections - Margaret Herrick Library - Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". oscars.org. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  10. "William Collier - Hollywood Walk of Fame". October 25, 2019.

Bibliography
  • John Holmstrom, The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 16.
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