Some silent film stars have played boxers in film, such as William Boyd in “Dress Parade”, (1927), Buster Keaton in “Battling Butler” (1926), and Lillian Hall-Davis in “The Ring” (1927). But some real-life boxers made silent films showcasing their talents: Jack Dempsey, Al Kaufman, and Gene Tunney. In fact, a few of these boxers continued a successful acting career well into the sound film era: Reginald Denny and Victor McLaglen. It may seem peculiar that a number of professional boxers from the early 1900’s would be as successful in film as they were in the ring, but when you consider that these men knew how to “roll with the punches” and “beat someone to the punch” in getting acting jobs, with that mindset, there is no doubt they had what it took to succeed as an actor in Hollywood.
10. Reginald Leslie “Snowy” Baker
Snowy Baker was known for being “Australia’s first action movie star” if only for being a multi-talented athlete. Boxing and swimming were just two fields of sport he excelled in; while participating in the 1908 Summer Olympics which took place in London, England, he took home the silver award for middleweight boxing. Snowy Baker also took part in the diving and swimming divisions during the Olympics that same year. Born in Sydney, Australia on February 8, 1884, as a child young Reginald discovered he was naturally inclined towards the athletic life. During his teen years he played rugby, cricket, and water polo in addition to boxing and swimming, often winning many local championships. As his popularity grew into adulthood, he earned the nickname Snowy due to his pale blond hair. He lost a bout against Frank Clark as a welterweight in 1923 in Melbourne, and in 1928, won a bout against Johnny Greig as a featherweight in Broken Hill.
It was not long before Snowy became a boxing promoter in Sydney. At 5’8” tall, Snowy was considered attractive enough to enter silent film, which he did, making his starring debut in 1918, “The Enemy Within” with Lily Molloy as his leading lady. An existing print of this silent film is at the National Screen and Sound Archive in Canberra. Other Australian-made silent films Snowy starred in include: “The Lure of the Bush” (1918), “The Man from Kangaroo” (1920), and “The Fighting Breed” (1921).
Snowy continued to work in silent film after moving to the United States, appearing in “The White Panther” (1924), “Empire Builders” (1924), and “Fighter’s Paradise” (1924). He only made two sound films, “Big City” (1937) and “The Kid from Texas” (1939). It was during the 1930’s when made better money as a horseriding instructor to actors. In his personal life, Snowy was married to Ethel Mackay for 44 years. Snowy died on December 2, 1953 in Los Angeles from cerebrovascular disease.
9. Al Kaufman
Al Kaufman was probably best known for being one of the “White Hopes” during the 1920’s when Jack Johnson was the world heavyweight champion. Born on September 25, 1888 in North Dakota, Al stood 6’1” tall and 195 lbs. He perfected his boxing skills in San Francisco where he moved during the early 1900’s. On September 9, 1909, Al fought Jack Johnson in a spectacular exhibit in San Francisco that wound up with Jack winning and an even break for both boxers when it came to dominating each round, according to the Butler Citizen, Butler, PA newspaper for September 10, 1909. Yet throughout his entire boxing career, Al Kaufman won 25 professional boxing matches out of 33, against the likes of Jack Sullivan, Joe Black, George Gardner, and Tony Ross. Back in 1905, Al was up against Philadelphia Jack O’Brien and lost; in January and April of 1910, defeated O’Brien in Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, respectively.
As an actor, Al’s roles were largely confined to supporting roles. He made his silent film debut in “The Tattoo” (1912) where he plays a doctor in this film short. Al’s first appearance in a feature-length silent film was “A Girl of Yesterday” (1915) with Mary Pickford and her brother Jack Pickford in the starring roles. The next seven silent films Al appeared in were all shorts, often for production companies like Keystone Film (“The Winning Punch”, 1916) and Thomas H. Ince Corporation (“The Egg Crate Wallop”, 1919). In all, Al was in a total of 28 silent films, his last one being “Red Hot Hoofs” (1926), which starred Tom Tyler. Even though “Red Hot Hoofs” is a lost film, extant documentation describes a notable scene where he takes on the star in the boxing ring – and loses. This was the last film Al would appear in, taking his final bow in the film industry.
In his personal life, Al was married to Annette Seelos until her death on October 23, 1918. Al died on April 7, 1957 in Hollywood, California at the age of 69.
8. Jack Dempsey
Best known as “The Manassa Mauler”, Jack Dempsey was born on June 24, 1895 in Manassa, Colorado. He came from a poor family which meant moving so that his father could get employment. In order to help support his family, Jack left elementary school, and like many other boys, went off to work. By the time he was 16 years old, Jack struck out on his own to make his way in the world. Having no particular skill set, he was talented at one thing: throwing punches. It was this talent which enabled Jack Dempsey to compete as a professional boxer between 1914 when he was 19 years old to 1927. By 1919, he was on a winning streak, having lost one bout to Willie Meehan the year before, and remained the world heavyweight champion up to 1926. During his debut in the professional boxing ring at Garrick Theatrer in Salt Lake City in 1914, Jack took on Young Hancock, Billy Murphy, and Joe Lyons in separate bouts – and won. Jack lost two matches to Gene Tunney twice, in 1926 and 1927.
Being a cultural icon during the 1920’s, Jack Dempsey is considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time due to his fighting technique, a no-holds-barred fighter. His imposing and broad-shouldered appearance at 6’3/4” made him perfect for the silver screen, and in 1920, made his film debut in the silent film serial “Daredevil Jack” (1920) in which he had the starring role. This serial is considered to be lost, with only minor chapter fragments at the UCLA film archives surviving. Not surprisingly, Jack often portrayed fighters onscreen as he did in real life. Continuing to appear in a bunch of silent film shorts like “Winning His Way” (1924) and “The Title Holder” (1924), both for Universal as entries in the ten-part “Fight and Win” series. This series was eventually meshed to create a film serial by the same title in 1924. By 1928, Jack Dempsey made three more silent films: “Manhattan Madness” (1925), a film short “A Dozen Socks” (1927) where he plays himself, and the film short “No Picnic” (1928). Jack made a seven sound films until 1952, five of them when he played himself before he retired from acting. In his personal life, Jack married four times, with two being to actresses Estelle Taylor (1925-1930) and Hannah Williams (1933-1943). He died at the age of 87 on May 31, 1983 in New York City.
7. Benny Leonard
Considered to be the greatest lightweight boxer of all time, Benny Leonard was born on April 7, 1896 in New York City. He learned to fight early on, when he came up against the immigrant youths from nearby neighborhoods. His Russian-Jewish parents did not condone his fighting, although they understood their son’s need to survive when they lived in poverty. Benny started boxing professionally at the age of 15. Even though he was only 5’5” tall, he was a formidable hitter, moved quickly, and was able to take on other lightweights with little trouble. Nicknamed “The Ghetto Wizard” due to his background, Benny’s first professional match was against Mickey Finnegan in 1911, which he lost. Improving upon technique, he soon was able to win more bouts in the ring, fighting against Sammy Marino, Young Goldie, and Johnny Carroll, to name a few. In all, Benny Leonard was defeated only six times during his boxing career, with 70 of his 89 wins scoring in knockouts (KO).
Benny made his debut in silent film in 1920, a fifteen-chapter film serial titled “The Evil Eye”. He was cast in the starring role, with Ruth Dwyer as his leading lady. Unfortunately, “The Evil Eye” is a lost film. Benny did star in another series for Henry Ginsberg Productions called “Flying Fists” in 1924 where he played himself. This silent film was originally exhibited as a feature; a year later in 1925, each of the six segments were exhibited separately in serial format. Benny Leonard’s career in silent film was very brief, lasting for only two years. However, he also had a hand as writer in “Flying Fists”, with Sam Hellman as the scenarist. Retiring from boxing in 1925 due to the failing health of his mother, Benny eventually had to return to the sport following the stock market crash of 1929.
In his personal life, Benny married his secretary Jacqueline Stern in 1935; at the time of his death, they were married for 12 years. He died on April 18, 1947 in New York City at the age of 51 while he was refereeing a boxing match.
6. Georges Carpentier
Georges Carpentier, nicknamed “The Orchid Man” was born on January 12, 1894 in Lens, France and started boxing professionally as a welterweight at the age of 14 in 1908. By 1911, Georges was the reigning welterweight champion in his home country and Europe, slowly working through the different weights in boxing until he was light heavyweight champion of Europe in 1913. In June of 1913 Georges took on “Bombardier” Billy Wells in Ghent, Belgium and knocked out his opponent, becoming the heavyweight champion of Europe. He defended his new title against Pat O’Keeffe and Ed “Gunboat” Smith in 1914 to become the new “White Heavyweight Champion of the World”. Georges continued boxing professionally in France, occasionally performing in Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain. In October 1920 he came to the United States to fight Battling Levinsky in Jersey City, New Jersey. Georges defended his title once again, knocking out Levinsky in the fourth round. In July 1921, Georges met his match with Jack Dempsey in Jersey City – and got knocked out in the fourth round after being somewhat badly beaten by Dempsey, who was then America’s reigning heavyweight champion. Over the next few years, Georges lost his following titles: light heavyweight, European heavyweight, and light heavyweight. He lost to Battling Siki in 1922, Tommy Gibbons and Gene Tunney in 1924, and Tommy Loughran in 1926. By 1927 Georges Carpentier retired from boxing. In addition to fighting in the ring, Georges Carpentier also acted as a referee during his career. He entered the French Air Force during World War I and became a decorated pilot.
With regards to his silent film career, Georges had the opportunity to work beside Jack Johnson in “Jack Johnson’s Adventures in Paris” (1913), a film short made in France. He starred in “Le trésor de Kériolet” (1920), an 8-chaper serial with French actress Suzy Netmo as leading lady. Georges portrayed a French Secret Service agent and boxer in “The Wonder Man” (1920), followed by “L’homme merveilleux” (1921) then his last silent film, “A Gypsy Cavalier” (1922). That was not the end of his film career on the whole, however. Georges had the privilege of appearing alongside many famous names of the silent film era in the 1929 Warner Brothers musical, “Show of Shows”, marking the first sound film he made. His last film made was “Tobbogan” in 1934, made in France and co-starred Arlette Marchal. In his personal life, Georges was married to Georgette Elasaser. Retiring from film soon after, Georges Carpentier died on October 27, 1975 in Paris, France.
5. Gene Tunney
Born on May 25, 1897 in New York City, Gene Tunney is somewhat remarkable in that he never lost a fight during his entire reign as the world heavyweight boxer from 1926 to 1928. His professional boxing career began at the age of 18 when he fought Bobby Dawson on July 3, 1915 in New York and won. This was just the start of a long winning streak for the 6’1”, 174 lbs. Gene, which included wins by what was then called “Newspaper Decision”. Gene lost a fight to Harry Grebb in 1922 playing in New York but managed to win matches against Harry in 1923 and 1925. One thing attributed to Gene Tunney’s unique success in the ring was his approach to boxing: thinking each match by intensively studying his opponent, then taking advantage of their weakness, as if playing a game of chess.
Gene continued his winning streak fighting the best heavyweights, including Georges Carpentier in 1924, and two spectacular matches against Jack Dempsey in 1926 and 1927, winning the World Heavyweight title. These matches were filmed as documentary film shorts in 1926 and 1927. In addition to these film shorts, Gene appeared in one silent film in 1926, “The Fighting Marine” – and quickly earned the nickname after the title. Unfortunately, “The Fighting Marine” is a lost silent film.
It is possible that Gene had no desire to extend his silent film career while he was concentrating on his extensive winning streak until his retirement in 1928. Ending his career on a high note with the World Heavyweight title, Gene made a promise to his wife, socialite Polly Lauder that he would quit boxing. After the couple settled in Connecticut, Gene concentrated on his business interests until his death on November 7, 1978 at the age of 80 in Greenwich, Connecticut from blood poisoning.
4. Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny was much more than an amateur boxing champion in his birth country of Great Britain and silent film actor. His acting career extended well into the sound era and television when he played the villain King Boris in the campy series “Batman” in 1966. Born on November 20, 1891 in Surrey, Reginald ran away from a boarding school at the age of 16 and trained under Sir Harry Preston at the National Sporting Club in London. At this elite club, Reginald would engage in bouts following dinner with other members and learned to hone his technique. After spending some years as a boxer, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps as an actor. Coming from a theatrical background with several performances under his belt as a child, Reginald decided to make acting his lifelong career, and succeeded. In addition to the boxing and acting, Reginald also had a fascination with aviation. In 1917, he joined the Royal Flying Corps, and during his time with this division, he continued boxing, becoming the heavyweight-boxing champion.
Arriving in the United States in the early 1910’s, Reginald made his silent film debut in “Niobe” (1915) for Famous Players Film Company at the age of 24. He played supporting roles in silent film during the 1910’s for Metro Pictures Corporation and World Film, and throughout the 1920’s, appeared in “A Dark Lantern” (1920) with Alice Brady, then appeared in a number of film shorts for Universal in the “The Leather Pushers” series, centered on boxing stories. As Kane Halliday, the role was all too natural for someone who already had a boxing career in real life. The first entry he completed in the series was “Let’s Go” (1922); in all, he starred in nineteen silent film shorts, the last one being “Barnaby’s Grudge” (1923). Reginald continued filming in silent until 1929 with “His Lucky Day” (1929) but his career did not stop there. Making a smooth transition to sound film, he appeared in many notable films such as “Madame Satan” (1930), “Of Human Bondage” (1934), well into the era of television. In his personal life, Reginald was married to Irene Haisman from 1913 to 1928, his second wife, Isabelle Stiefel, from 1928 until his death. Reginald Denny died at the age of 75 from a stroke in Surrey, England.
3. Frank Moran
Nicknamed “The Pittsburgh Dentist”, boxer Frank Moran was born on March 18, 1887 in Cleveland, Ohio to Irish immigrant parents. When he was old enough to attend college, Frank chose the University of Pittsburgh where he majored in dentistry and played on the university football team. His boxing career started when he was in the Navy during 1908, and with his 6’1”, 190 lbs. athletic build and eye for aim, knocked out his opponent, Fred Cooley during the second round. Frank’s most formidable punch was his right hand, which enabled him to become known as the “White Hope” of the 1910’s. During his career as a heavyweight boxer, Frank Moran played a total of 66 fights with 36 of them wins, and of those wins, 28 by knocking out his opponent. Among the boxers Frank fought against in the ring were Joe Sierra in 1910, Al Palzer in 1911, and Jack Burke in 1919, winning all three matches. One of Frank’s earliest losses was when he came up against Jack Johnson in Paris, 1914, for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. In 1916 Frank went up against Jess Willard for the same title but lost that bout. Having a losing streak against Bob Martin, Bob Roper, Joe Beckett, and Marcel Nilles from 1920 to 1922 made Frank reconsider the continuing of a boxing career and decided upon a career as an actor.
After getting his feet wet in the Broadway production “An American Tragedy” (1926), Frank made his first silent film in 1928, “Dressed to Kill” which starred Edmund Lowe and Mary Astor where he played a gangster. Two more silent films under his belt, “The Chinatown Mystery” and “Ships of the Night” led to a successful transition to sound film, primarily in supporting roles, making a total of 153 movies in all. Frank’s movie appearances include “The Rainmakers” (1935), “Sea Devils” (1937), “Brother Orchid” (1940) with Edward G. Robinson, and “The Palm Beach Story” (1942). Frank was married to Margaret and had two children when he died on December 14, 1967 from a heart attack while residing in Hollywood.
2. Victor McLaglen
Victor McLaglen, like Reginald Denny, was born in the UK and came to have a successful film career in the United States. Born on December 10, 1886 in East London, Victor left home at the age of 14 and joined the British Navy, with hopes of serving in the Second Boer War. Being underage, soon he was forced to leave the navy. Instead, Victor decided to become a boxer, and upon occasion, taking part in wrestling. His first bout as a professional heavyweight boxer was in 1903 when he took on the South African boxer S. Leopold in England and won. From 1904 through 1906, Victor won bouts against Tom Baker, Sailor Robinson, and William Kelleher, before traveling to the United States and Canada for boxing exhibitions. It was in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Victor was substituted in place of Denver Ed Martin, in fighting heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. A powerful left jolt from Jack taken to Victor’s stomach resulted in the latter’s collapse. Despite his 6’3”, 196 lbs. physique, Victor was no match for the reigning heavyweight champion – and lost the bout. During his professional boxing career, Victor played 25 bouts, with 15 wins and losing 8 bouts through being knocked out.
Retiring from his boxing career in 1920, Victor then entered the world of silent film, making his first appearance in “The Call of the Road” (1920) as leading man with Phyllis Shannaw as his leading lady. Filmed and produced in the UK, Victor played a boxer, a recurring role in silent films like “Corinthian Jack” (1921) although he also played in many silent film supporting roles. Victor was leading man in “What Price Glory?” (1926) with Dolores del Rio, and “The Loves of Carmen” (1927). His film career continued well into the sound era, a total of 124 acting credits. Married to Margaret Pumphrey at the time of his death, Victor McLaglen died on November 7, 1959 from a heart attack in Newport Beach, California.
1. George O’Brien
George O’Brien was born on April 19, 1899 in San Francisco, California. He stood 5’11” and was nicknamed “The Chest” due to his marvelous boxing physique. A talented athlete, George made a name for himself as a boxer, and won the title of Heavyweight Boxing Champion while a member of the Pacific Fleet during World War 1. Once the war was over, George went into the film making business, and soon became a noted silent film star. His first starring role was as Henry Potter in “The Man Who Came Back” (1924), which led to more starring roles in films like “Sunrise” (1927), “Honor Bound” (1928), and “Masked Emotions” (1929), while under contract with Fox. After he made the transition to talkies, George continued to star in westerns like “The Lone Star Ranger” (1930), “The Last of the Duanes” (1930), “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1931), and “Mystery Ranch” (1932). “Triple Justice” (1940) was George’s last leading man role, but he continued to work in film. After a few more bit roles his career in the movies finally ended in 1964.
With the number of film roles slowly shrinking for George, he reenlisted in the navy when World War 2 broke out and became a recruit trainer. Once again he was assigned to the Pacific Theater, just like his time with the navy during World War 1, and received many medals for his outstanding service. After appearing as Major Mac Allshard in the John Wayne movie “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949), George again returned to the navy at the onset of the Korean War in 1950, and once again during the Vietnam War. Returning home from his unusually extensive military service for an actor, he settled down as a rancher in Oklahoma. George was married to actress Marguerite Churchill from 1933 to 1948. George O’Brien died on September 4, 1985 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma at the age of 86.
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