William Fairbanks

Infobox actor
bgcolour = blue
name = William Fairbanks


imagesize = 200px
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birthdate = May 24, 1894
location = St. Louis, Missouri
deathdate = April 1, 1945
deathplace = Los Angeles, California
birthname = Carl Ullman
yearsactive = 1916 to 1928
academyawards =

William Fairbanks (May 24, 1894 – April 1, 1945) was an American actor. He appeared in over 65 silent movies in the early 20th century. He was born Carl Ullman in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Charles and Emma E. Ullman. His father was born in Bavaria, Germany, emigrated to the U.S. and became a naturalized citizen, and his mother was born in Illinois. [ 1900 St. Louis (Independent City), MO, U.S. Federal Census, Ward 19, 3736 Penrose St., June 6, Enumeration Dist. 297, Sheet 4 A, Page 183 A, Line 15 ] His father was a dry goods merchant and his mother a saleslady at their store. [ 1910 St. Louis (Independent City), MO, U.S. Federal Census, Ward 24, 6313 Clayton Ave., Apr. 22-23, Enumeration Dist. 373, Sheet 6 B, Page 19 A, Line 63 ] At age 16, Carl worked as a clerk in a stationary store in St. Louis.

His first screen role was as Capt. Pierre Thierry in the war drama "Somewhere in France" (1916) starring Louise Glaum and Howard C. Hickman. He was then living at 20 Horizon Avenue in Venice, California, where he registered to vote. [ California Voter Registrations, Los Angeles County, 1916, Carl Ullman, actor, 20 Horizon av (Venice), D ] He appeared in five movies released in 1917, including his role as Dillon in the drama "The Little Brother" starring Enid Bennett and William Garwood. He was then living at 115 Dudley Avenue in Venice, where he registered for the draft of World War I. [ WWI Draft Registration Card, No. 34, Name: Carl Ullman, Age: 23, Home Address: 115 Dudley Av. Venice, Cal., Date of Birth: May 24, 1894, Natural Born, Where Born: St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A, Citizen, Occu.: Actor, Business: N.Y. Motion Picture Co., Culver City, Single, Caucasian, signed Carl Ullman. Registrar's Report: Tall, Stout, Eyes: Blue, Color: Dark, not disabled, Precinct #2, Venice, California, June 5, 1917 ] He went on to serve as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.

Appearing in only one movie released in 1918, as Stuart Morley in the comedy/drama "The Hired Man" starring Charles Ray and Charles K. French, he was then absent from the screen for over a year due to the war. In 1920, he lived at 1309 Ocean Front in Santa Monica, [ 1920 Los Angeles Co., CA, U.S. Federal Census, Santa Monica Township, Santa Monica City, Precinct 7, 1309 Ocean Front, Jan. 17, Enumeration Dist. 601, Sheet 12 B (or 2 B?), Page 189 B, Line 53, Carl Ullman, Head, Rented, Male, White, 25, Div., Yes, Yes, MO, Germany (Native Language:) German, IL, Yes, Actor, Moving Pictures, Wages. ] and four of his movies were released that year.

He was elevated to star status by independent producers Phil Goldstone and Ben F. Wilson. His screen name, taken from that of Douglas Fairbanks, whose real surname happened to be the same as his, came about with the 1920 release of his starring role in Goldstone's western "Hearts of the West" opposite Frances Conrad.

Fairbanks and Edna Whitson were married in October 1920 and divorced in 1930. They had one son, William Fairbanks (December 12, 1923-April 20, 1999), [ California State Birth Index, Name: William Fairbanks, Birth Date: 12 Dec 1923, Gender: Male, Mother's Maiden Name: Whitson, Birth County: Los Angeles. ] [ Social Security Death Index, Name: William W. Fairbanks, Birth: 12 Dec 1923, SSN: 570-36-8908, Issued: California, Death: 20 Apr 1999, Last Residence: 91042 (Tujunga, Los Angeles Co., CA). ] who served in the Navy during WWII.

Other movies of Fairbanks include the western "The Clean-Up" (1922); the western "Down by the Rio Grande" co-starring Dorothy Revier, the drama "A Fight for Honor" co-starring Eva Novak, in which Fairbanks played the role as Jack Adams, the Columbia Pictures auto racing action/drama "Racing for Life" co-starring Eva Novak, in which Fairbanks played the role as Jack Grant, and the western "Border Women" co-starring Dorothy Revier, in which Fairbanks played Big Boy Merritt, (all released in 1924); the serial "Vanishing Millions" co-starring Vivian Rich, in which Fairbanks played Dave Merrill, and the action "Flying High" co-starring Alice Calhoun, in which Fairbanks played Roy Cummins, (both released in 1926); the crime/drama "One Chance in a Million" co-starring Viora Daniel, in which Fairbanks played Jerry Blaine, and the action/adventure "The Down Grade" co-starring Alice Calhoun, in which Fairbanks played Ted Lansing, (both released in 1927); and the MGM wagon train western "Wyoming" (1928) with Tim McCoy and Dorothy Sebastian, and directed by W.S. Van Dyke, in which Fairbanks played Buffalo Bill Cody.

Although Fairbanks was a busy movie star through the greater part of the 1920s, after playing Long Collins in "The Vanishing West" (1928), he retired from the screen.

William Fairbanks died at age 50 of lobar pneumonia in Los Angeles, California. [ California State Death Index, Name: William Fairbanks born Carl Ullman, Birth Date: 05-24-1894, Father's Last: Ullman, Sex: Male, Birth Place: Missouri, Death Place: Los Angeles Co. (19), Death Date: 04-01-1945, SSN: 555-05-9323, Age: 50 yrs. ] A military funeral service was conducted at graveside in Los Angeles National Cemetery, Sawtelle. [ "Los Angeles Times", Apr. 8, 1945, "Obituary --- William Fairbanks," p. 11 ]

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0265490|name=William Fairbanks
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=fairbanks&GSfn=william&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=9040253& William Fairbanks] at Find A Grave

Persondata
NAME= Fairbanks, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Ullman, Carl
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= May 24, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH= St. Louis, Missouri
DATE OF DEATH= April 1, 1945
PLACE OF DEATH= Los Angeles, California