Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

actor, writer, soundtrack

Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams was born on Apr 26, 1899 in USA. Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams's big-screen debut came with Almost a Husband directed by Clarence G. Badger in 1919, strarring . Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams is known for Home from the Hill directed by Vincente Minnelli, Robert Mitchum stars as Captain Wade Hunnicutt and Eleanor Parker as Hannah Hunnicutt. The upcoming new movie Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams plays is The Comancheros which will be released on Nov 29, 1961.

The son of a rancher-turned-politician, Guinn Williams was given the nickname "Big Boy" (and he was, too - 6' 2" of mostly solid muscle from years of working on ranches and playing semi-pro and pro baseball) by Will Rogers, with whom he made one of his first films, in 1919. Although his father wanted him to attend West Point (he had been an officer in the Army during World War I), Williams had always wanted to act and made his way to Hollywood in 1919. His experience as a cowboy and rodeo rider got him work as a stuntman, and he gradually worked his way up to acting. He became friends with Rogers and together they made around 15 films. Additionally,in a film that has recently received critical acclaim, he appeared alongside Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor in the silent film L'isolé (1929), playing a brute vying for the affections of Janet Gaynor in competition with a returning war veteran, played by Charles Farrell. He then easily made the transition from silents to talkies. Although he also starred in a series of low-budget westerns in the early and mid-1930s, he really came into his own as a supporting player in the late 1930s and early 1940s, especially at Warner Bros., where he appeared in such resoundingly successful westerns as Les conquérants (1939) and La Piste de Santa Fé (1940) with his friends Errol Flynn and Alan Hale. Williams specialized in the somewhat dim and quick-tempered but basically decent sidekick, a role he would play for the next 20 years or so. He also made sound films other than westerns, and was in, for example, Une étoile est née (1937). Late in his career, he won the hearts of TV viewers in a regular role as Pete, the comedic roadie in Circus Boy (1956). In the early 1960s Williams' health began to deteriorate, which was noticeable in his last film, Les comancheros (1961), in which he had a small part and, sadly, did not look well at all. He died of uremic poisoning shortly afterwards.

  • Birthday

    Apr 26, 1899

  • Place of Birth

    Decatur, Texas, USA

Known For

Home from the Hill
Movie
Home from the Hill

19607.4

Circus Boy
TV
Circus Boy

19567.2

My Friend Flicka
TV
My Friend Flicka

19557.3

Cowboy Blues
Movie
Cowboy Blues

19467.3

Dodge City
Movie
Dodge City

19397.1

You Only Live Once
Movie
You Only Live Once

19377.3

A Star Is Born
Movie
A Star Is Born

19377.3

End of the Trail
Movie
End of the Trail

19367.4

North of Nome
Movie
North of Nome

19367.2

City Girl
Movie
City Girl

19307.7

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies
TV Shows