Monday, July 13, 2009

HART TO HART

In the 'Burke's Law' episode "Who Killed His Royal Highness?", Sgt. Les Hart bemoaned the youth of Detective Tim Tilson with the observation that Tim probably didn't even know who William S. Hart was.

From Wikipedia:

William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. In his twenties, Hart began his acting career on stage and would not consider acting in movies until he was 49 years of age. A successful Shakespearean actor on Broadway who had worked with Margaret Mather and other stars, [Hart] appeared in the original 1899 stage production of "Ben-Hur".

Hart went on to become one of the first great stars of the motion picture western. Fascinated by the Old West, he acquired Billy the Kid's “six shooters” and was a friend of legendary lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. He entered films in 1914 where, after playing supporting roles in two short films, he achieved stardom as the lead in the feature The Bargain. Hart was particularly interested in making realistic western films. His films are noted for their authentic costumes and props, as well as Hart's extraordinary acting ability, honed on Shakespearean theater stages in the United States and England.

But that's not why I bring it up....

We've seen fictional characters in Toobworld turn up to be related to real life celebrities in the past - Megan Russert of 'Homicide: Life On The Streets' and Tim Russert; Vera of 'Alice' and Art Carney are two good examples.

So couldn't it be possible that Les used William S. Hart as an example because he was the cowboy star's nephew or cousin? (I don't want to push it, but the age difference is right for William S. Hart to have been Les Hart's father!)

Just something to consider in tele-genealogy.....

BCnU!

No comments: