Guinn “Big Boy” Williams in City Girl (Murnau, 1930)

The Spitting Image

From IMDb:

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 together.

Judging by his appearances in City Girl and in Borzage’s Lucky Star (1929) and Liliom (1930), “Big Boy” was often cast as a dim-witted and arrogant sonuvabitch.


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2 responses to “The Spitting Image”

  1. Maya

    No wonder he turns me on. Heh. Anyways, mainly dropped in to compliment you on your fine Senses of Cinema festival report from TIFF08. Good going, dude!

  2. Alex

    Oh yes, when I saw Lucky Star for the first time in 2004, the similarity was astonishing.