As Director
The Pest
1922
6.3
Gilbert M. Anderson
Acting
Birth Date
March 20, 1880
Place of Birth
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Date of Death
January 20, 1971
Biography
Born in 1880, ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson is considered the first western film star. He played three film roles in “The Great Train Robbery” and then began to write, direct and act in his own films. After co-founding the Essanay Studios in 1907 with George Kirk Spoor, Anderson appeared in some 300 short films. But it was his 148 western shorts playing cowboy Bronco Billy that made him a star. He retired for the first time in 1916 but made a few comebacks, including producing movies into the 1950s for his company, Progressive Pictures. He received an honorary Oscar in 1958 as a “motion picture pioneer.” Anderson came out of retirement one more time for a cameo in 1965’s “The Bounty Hunter.” He died at age of 90 1971.
Complete Filmography
As Actor, As Director
The Son-of-a-Gun
1919
5.0
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
His Regeneration
1915
4.2
As Actor, As Director
Why Broncho Billy Left Bear County
1913
5.0
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
The Making of Broncho Billy
1913
5.0
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
The Tomboy on Bar Z
1912
4.0
As Actor, As Director
Broncho Billy's Narrow Escape
1912
5.0
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
Alkali Ike Bests Broncho Billy
1912
4.0
As Actor, As Director
Broncho Billy and the Schoolmistress
1912
4.5
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
Broncho Billy's Adventure
1911
4.0
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
Broncho Billy's Christmas Dinner
1911
4.5
As Actor, As Director, As Writer
The Cowboy Coward
1911
4.2
As Director, As Writer
Alkali Ike's Auto
1911
4.0
As Director
The Girl from Montana
1907
4.0
As Actor
The Train Wreckers
1905
5.0
As Actor
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1905
3.0
As Actor
The Great Train Robbery
1903
7.0
As Actor
What Happened in the Tunnel
1903
5.1
As Actor
The Messenger Boy's Mistake
1903
4.2