Francis X. Bushman (1883 - 1966)

American actor, film director, and screenwriter

* January 10, 1883 Baltimore, Maryland, USA
 as Francis Xavier Bushman
 August 23, 1966 Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA



Francis X. Bushman was an American actor who was active in the silent and early sound film eras. He was born Francis Xavier Bushman on August 10, 1883, in Baltimore, Maryland, and began his career as a stage actor in New York City.

Bushman's good looks and charisma made him a popular leading man in silent films, and he appeared in a number of popular films during the 1910s and 1920s, including Ben-Hur (1925). He was one of the highest-paid actors of the time and was known as the "King of the Movies."

In the 1930s, Bushman's career began to decline as the industry shifted to sound films and he struggled to make the transition. He appeared in a number of films during this period, but never regained the level of success he had enjoyed in the silent era.

Bushman was married four times and had six children. He died on August 23, 1966, at the age of 83.

Vintage magazines

Picture Play Magazine, January 1922
Photoplay, January 1928
Photoplay, January 1928

Photoplay, January 1928
Photoplay, February 1928
Photoplay, April 1928

Photoplay, June 1929
Photoplay, June 1930
Photoplay, September 1930

Photoplay, January 1931
Photoplay, January 1931

Books with substantial mentioning of Francis X. Bushman

David W. Menefee The First Male Stars David W. Menefee
The First Male Stars, Men of the Silent Era
Albany, 2007

Charles Donald Fox and Milton L. Silver (eds.) Who's Who on the Screen Charles Donald Fox and Milton L. Silver (eds.)
Who's Who on the Screen
New York City, 1920


Books with photograph(s) of Francis X. Bushman

John Richard Finch and Paul Elby Close-Ups John Richard Finch and Paul Elby
Close-Ups, From the Golden Age of the Silent Cinema
South Brunswick and New York - London, 1978

Articles on Francis X. Bushman

Larry Lee Holland, Francis X. Bushman, 1885-1966, in: Films in Review, vol. 29, 1978 pp. 157-173