William Steele (actor)

William Steele
William Steele
Born	William Anton Gittinger; March 28, 1888; San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Died	February 13, 1966 (aged 77); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1912–1956

William Anton Gittinger (March 28, 1888 – February 13, 1966), best known as William Steele, was an American actor of small roles in Westerns, particularly those of John Ford.

Biography

Although his screen credits and many records indicate a wide variety of names and spellings, Steele's own signatures on his military documents indicate that he was born William Anton Gittinger on March 28, 1888 (not 1889, as some sources have it) in San Antonio, Texas. Little is known of his life prior to his arrival in Los Angeles around 1910. As the film industry in Hollywood was just blossoming, and as he apparently had great experience with horses, Steele easily obtained work in quickie Westerns. He fought in Europe in World War I, then returned to Hollywood.^[1] While he was extremely inconsistent in the names he used, he worked consistently in Westerns throughout the silent era and up until the 1950s. His final appearance was as the wounded posse member Nesby in Ford's The Searchers in 1956, his tenth film for Ford. He died ten years later, not quite 78 years old. He was survived by his wife Josephine, an actress. He is buried under his birth name at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.^[2]

Stage names

Billy Gettinger
Bill Gettinger
William Gettinger
William Gittenger
Bill Steele
Robert Steele
W.A. Steele
William A. Steele
William Steuer
William Steele

Partial filmography

The Ring of Destiny (1915, Short) - The Cattle Rustler
A Knight of the Range (1916) - Burk
Blood Money (1917, Short) - Dan Beckham
The Bad Man of Cheyenne (1917, Short) - The Sheriff
Her Own People (1917) -Polsa Kar
The Outlaw and the Lady (1917, Short) - The Sheriff
Goin' Straight (1917, Short) - Sheriff Dan Bekham
The Fighting Gringo (1917) - Jim
Hair-Trigger Burke (1917, Short) - The Sheriff
A 44-Calibre Mystery (1917, Short) - Deputy Sheriff Horton
The Mysterious Outlaw (1917, Short) - Henry Martin
The Golden Bullet (1917, Short) - Crazy Creek Sheriff
The Wrong Man (1917, Short) - Larry Malone
Six-Shooter Justice (1917, Short) - Mike Hernandez
The Soul Herder (1917, Short) - Bill Young
Cheyenne's Pal (1917, Short) - Cowboy
The Texas Sphinx (1917, Short) - Dick Lonagan
The Secret Man (1917) - The Foreman
A Marked Man (1917) - Sheriff
Bucking Broadway (1917) - Buck Hoover
The Phantom Riders (1918) - Dave Bland
The Misfit Wife (1920) - Duff Simpson
The Stranger (1920) - Dr. Tyke
The Avenging Arrow (1921) - Don Carlos Martinez
The Wallop (1921) - Christopher Foy
Riding with Death (1921) - Chick Dillon
Pardon My Nerve! (1922) - Nebraska Jones
The Fast Mail (1922) - Pierre La Fitte
Bells of San Juan (1922) - Kid Rickard
Single Handed (1923) - Windy Smith
Dead Game (1923) - Sam Antone
Don Quickshot of the Rio Grande (1923) - Bill Barton
Shootin' for Love (1923) - Dan Hobson
Hit and Run (1924) - The Gopher
The Sunset Trail (1924) - Brand Williams
The Last Man on Earth (1924) - Hattie's Father
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River (1924) - 'Lightnin' Bill Smith
The Hurricane Kid (1925) - Lafe Baxter
The Saddle Hawk (1925) - Steve Kern
Let 'er Buck (1925) - Kent Crosby
Don Dare Devil (1925) - Benito Menocal
The Sagebrush Lady (1925) - Sheriff Martin
Ace of Spades (1925) - Jim Heath
Two-Fisted Jones (1925) - Hank Gage
Under Western Skies (1926) - Fleming
A Six Shootin' Romance (1926) - Currier King
The Flaming Frontier (1926) - Penfield
The Fighting Peacemaker (1926) - Clell Danert
The Wild Horse Stampede (1926) - Charlie Champion
The Ridin' Rascal (1926)
The Runaway Express (1926) - Blackie McPherson
Rough and Ready (1927) - Morris Manning
Loco Luck (1927) - Frank Lambert
The Valley of Hell (1927) - James Brady
Whispering Sage (1927) - Tom Kildare
Range Courage (1927) - Tex Lucas
Hoof Marks (1927) - Sam Trapp
The Fearless Rider (1928) - Dr. Lucifer Blade
The Call of the Heart (1928) - Dave Crenshaw
Thunder Riders (1928) - Lem Dawson
The Black Ace (1928)
The Lone Star Ranger (1930) - First Deputy
Doughboys (1930) - Lieutenant Randolph
Flaming Guns (1932) - Rustler (uncredited)
The California Trail (1933) - Pedro
King of the Arena (1933) - (uncredited)
Gordon of Ghost City (1933, Serial) - Bob (Ch. 11) (uncredited)
Laughing Boy (1934) - Guide (uncredited)
The Vanishing Shadow (1934, Serial) - Henchman (uncredited)
The Red Rider (1934, Serial) - Townsman (uncredited)
Rocky Rhodes (1934) - Cowhand (uncredited)
When a Man Sees Red (1934) - Henchman Speck
For the Service (1936) - Henchman (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette (1938) - Footman (uncredited)
The Westerner (1940) - Tex Cole (uncredited)
The Outlaw (1943) - Deputy (uncredited)
San Antonio (1945) - Roper (uncredited)
Two Guys from Texas (1948) - Townsman (uncredited)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) - Officer (uncredited)
Colt .45 (1950) - Henchman (uncredited)
The Showdown (1950) - Terry
Copper Canyon (1950) - Roper (uncredited)
The Searchers (1956) - Nesby (uncredited) (final film role)

References

^ World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Los Angeles County, California; Roll: 1530902; Draft Board: 14
^ National Cemetery Administration. U.S. Veterans Grave sites, ca.1775-2006