On the OTHER Walt Whitman

When I first heard there was an actor named Walt Whitman (1849-1928) my first take was “You can’t do that!” But of course he could. After all: a) it was his real name; and b) at the time he was born the other Walt Whitman was not yet our national poet by a long way.

This Walt Whitman was a trouper who played with stock companies for decades before signing on as a character actor at Triangle long about 1915. He was in two versions of The Three Musketeers: the 1916 one (as Richelieu), and the 1921 (as D’Artagnan’s father). In The Mark of Zorro (1920) he played Father Felipe. Other credits among his 65 or so other films include Polly Ann (1917) with Bessie Love, The Last Rebel (1918), The Smart Aleck (1920) with Chic Sale, Hearts Aflame (1923), and Long Live the King (1923) with Jackie Coogan. His last credit was in 1924.

For more on the history of show business,consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, for more on classic comedy please check out my book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube.