Volume III: Biographies

 

TOOKER, William H. *

Actor (1914)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: William H. Tooker appeared in Dope, a film by Direct-From-Broadway Features, a Thanhouser "special production" released circa April 1, 1914. He was not a regular Thanhouser actor.

Biographical Notes: William H. Tooker was born in New York City on September 2, 1869 and was educated in public schools in the same city. Some later accounts give his birth year as 1875; it is believed that in publicity he dropped six years from his age. He studied music and began his career in light and grand opera on the West Coast. After losing his voice during a critical performance he gave up opera and took speaking parts in plays, with one of his first roles being a part in Charles Hoyt's musical comedy, A Hole in the Ground. Later he was seen in A Tin Soldier, The Girl With the Green Eyes, A Milk White Flag, Sky Farm, and numerous other productions, including work with John Mason, Emma Dunn, and Lionel Barrymore. In 1908, while he was on stage in Milwaukee with the Sherman Brown Stock Company at the Davidson Theatre, he met Coral Armin, who joined the same troupe and, later in the year, became his wife. They subsequently became the parents of a child, who died in infancy. In February 1916 they adopted a four-year-old girl from an impoverished family in rural Georgia.

William H. Tooker's screen career is believed to have begun with Dope, a film made by Thanhouser and released under the Direct-From-Broadway Features label early in 1914. From there he went to the Life Photo Film Corporation, where he remained for 14 months, until the company ceased operations. Later, he worked with Equitable-World (supporting Muriel Ostriche in A Daughter of the Sea) and Fox (A Fool's Revenge, A Modern Thelma, East Lynne, Ambition, etc.), where he was situated in 1916. William H. Tooker then went to Ivan (Her Surrender), K-E-S-E (Light in Darkness), and Metro (Draft 258 and Red, White and Blue Blood). During the 1916-1918 era his home address was 25 St. Nicholas Terrace, New York City. A 1918 directory noted that the actor was 5'11" tall, weighed 187 pounds, and had a light complexion, light hair, and blue eyes. For various companies he appeared in many films in the 1920s and 1930s. William H. Tooker died in Hollywood, California on October 10, 1936. Curiously, his obituary in Variety told only part of the story: "He had been playing in films for the past 12 years, following a long career on the stage."

Thanhouser Filmography:

1914: Dope (Direct-From-Broadway Features c. 4-1-1914)

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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.