Acting
Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles.
Highest rated appearances
as Stagehand (uncredited)
Code of the West
as Settler (uncredited)
Tim Tyler's Luck
as Dock Official
Headin' for the Rio Grande
as Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)
Song of the Gringo
as Bailiff
The Vigilantes Are Coming
as Anderson, Vigilante Member
Hollywood Boulevard
as Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)
Treachery Rides the Range
as Bill
Flash Gordon
as Hawkman Lookout Captain
Song of the Saddle
as Tim
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
as Captain of the 'Viking'
The Broken Coin
Custer's Last Stand
as Wagon Master
Frisco Kid
as Vigilante Hangman (uncredited)
Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
as Foreman Burke
Powdersmoke Range
as Happy - Bartender
Courage of the North
as Gene Travis
The Roaring West
as Jim Parker
Social Error
as Policeman
The Call of the Savage
as Allen
The Ghost Rider
as Guard
Cyclone of the Saddle
as Wagon Master
The Cowboy and the Bandit
as Sheriff Pete
Born to Battle
as John Brownell
Naughty Marietta
as Gendarme Chief (uncredited)
Wild Waters
as Sheriff Manning
Timber Terrors
as Royce Horter
Rustlers of Red Dog
as Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]
When Lightning Strikes
as Marshal Jack Stevens
Frontier Days
as Sheriff Barnes
The Way of the West
as 'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)
The Red Rider
as Sheriff Campbell
I Can't Escape
as Parole Officer Donovan
Crack-Up
as Police Chief
The Vanishing Shadow
as MacDonald
The Rawhide Terror
as Tom Blake
Border Guns
as Dr. Jim Wilson
Pirate Treasure
as Capt. Jim Carson
Fargo Express
as Sheriff Joe Thompson
Perils of Pauline
as Prof. Thompson
Strawberry Roan
as Colonel Brownlee
Mr. Broadway
as 1st Suitor (archive footage)
Gordon of Ghost City
as John Mulford
Laughing at Life
as Military Cabinet Officer
The Phantom of the Air
as Thomas Edmonds
The Three Musketeers
as Capt. Boncour
The Rustler's Roundup
as San Dimas Sheriff Holden
Clancy of the Mounted
as Dave Moran
A Scarlet Week-End
Jungle Mystery
as John Morgan
The Last Frontier
as General Custer
Heroes of the West
as John Blaine
Battling with Buffalo Bill
as John Mills
The Lightning Warrior
as Townsman (uncredited)
Oklahoma Jim
as Lacy
Hell-Bent for Frisco
as The Editor
First Aid
as Chief of Police
The Vanishing Legion
as Milesburg Sheriff
The Phantom of the West
as Martin Blair
No Defense
as John Harper
No Children
as Self
The Mystery Rider
as Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider
The Devil's Trademark
as Morgan Gray
The Vanishing Rider
as Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider
The Return of the Riddle Rider
as Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
The Strings of Steel
as Ned Brown
The Ace of Spades
as Dan Harvey
The Meddler
as Richard Gilmore
The Burning Trail
as Smiling Bill Flannigan
Red Clay
as Chief John Nisheto
Duped
as John Morgan
Straight Through
as Good Deed O'Day
Barriers of the Law
as Rex Brandon
Ridin' Pretty
as Sky Parker
Outwitted
as Jack Blaisdel
The Riddle Rider
as Randolph Parker / The Riddle Rider
The Sunset Trail
as Happy Hobo
The Measure of a Man
as John Fairmeadow
Hello, 'Frisco
as William Desmond
Big Timber
as Walter Sandry
The Breathless Moment
as Billy Carson
The Extra Girl
as Himself
The Extra Girl
as Himself - Actor
Beasts of Paradise
as Phil Grant
Shadows of the North
as Ben 'Wolf' Darby
McGuire of the Mounted
as Bob McGuire
The Phantom Fortune
as Larry Barclay
Around the World in 18 Days
as Phineas Fogg III
Night Life in Hollywood
as Self
Perils of the Yukon
as Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.
Fightin' Mad
as Bud McGraw
The Policeman and the Baby
as The Policeman
The Child Thou Gavest Me
as Tom Marshall
The Parish Priest
as Reverend John Whalen
Women Men Love
as David Hunter
Twin Beds
as Harry Hawkins
The Prince and Betty
as John Maude
The Blue Bandanna
as Jerry Jerome
A Sage Brush Hamlet
as Larry Lang
Bare-Fisted Gallagher
as 'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher
The Mints of Hell
as Dan Burke
Whitewashed Walls
as Larry Donovan
Her Code of Honor
as Eugene La Salle
Life's a Funny Proposition
as Jimmie Pendleton
The Pretender
as Bob Baldwin
An Honest Man
as Benny Boggs
Society for Sale
as Honorable Billy
The Marriage Bubble
as The Actor
Captain of His Soul
as Horace
The Sudden Gentleman
as Garry Garrity
Married in Name Only
Flying Colors
as Brent Brewster
Master of His Home
as Carson Stewart
Time Locks and Diamonds
as Silver Jim Farrel
Paws of the Bear
as Ray Bourke
Paddy O'Hara
as Paddy O'Hara
The Last of the Ingrams
as Jules Ingram
The Iced Bullet
as The Author / Horace Lee
A Gamble in Souls
The Criminal
as Donald White
The Dawn Maker
as Bruce Smithson
Bullets and Brown Eyes
as Prince Carl
Peggy
as Rev. Donald Bruce
Peer Gynt
as The Parson
The Majesty of the Law
as Jackson Morgan Kent
Kilmeny
as Bob Meredith
