Masonic (?) Cowboys of the Silver Screen
William S. Hart
W
illiam Hart was born in Newburgh, New York in 1864. His father was Irish, his mother German, he had two brothers and four sisters. Hart was attracted to the stage from an early age and became a successful Shakespearean actor in a number of productions on and off Broadway. Besides Shakespeare, William Hart starred in the original Broadway production of Ben-Hur in 1899. Of the four cowboys of the silver screen, Hart is the only one which cannot be identified with certainty as a Mason, though it was reported in an old copy of
knight templar
by Walter P. Benesch Public Domain
A
few years ago, the United States Postal Service issued a set of four stamps entitled “Cowboys of the Silver Screen.” Although there have been numerous other stamps of Masonic cowboys in the past, the focus here on these four particular cowboys is important to Masons as all of them may have been Masons. The stamps honored Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and William S. Hart. There is solid proof that the first three were Masons. However, there is a possibility that the fourth may also have been a member of the Craft, though this author has not been able to find solid evidence. This article will briefly trace the career of each of these distinguished actors and Masons (?).
the Royal Arch Magazine that he was a Mason. As he was growing up, Hart became fascinated with the Old West. Movies were just beginning to be popular, mostly due to Edison Studios in New Jersey and a few small studios in California, so he decided to try to get into the movies. In 1914 – before Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton were stars – Hart anticipated that California would be the center of cinema and he moved there to pursue a career as an actor. His first films were in 1914; he was cast in several shorts. His first starring role was in a feature film called The Bargain. Hart, shown over in a typical Hollywood cartoon along with Keaton, Chaplin, Harold Loyd, Mary Pickford, Theda Bara, and a host of 7
