William Elmer Booth (9 December 1882 - 16 June 1915) was an American actor. He was born in Los Angeles, California and was the elder brother of film editor Margaret Booth.
Elmer began acting in touring stock companies as a teenager and achieved great success in the stock company at the Central Theater in San Francisco from 1903-1906. Between 1910 and 1915 he starred in 40 movies; one of those was D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), cited by many film experts as the first gangster movie. Playing The Snapper Kid, a Manhattan street tough engaged in a turf war on the Lower East Side, Booth interpreted the gangster as a cocky, enterprising antihero, far different from the standard teeth-gnashing movie bad guys of the time. His groundbreaking performance created a new character type and paved the way "for all the Cagneys, Bogarts, and Robinsons who later shot their way across the screen."
Booth died at the age of 32 in a car crash in Los Angeles, caused by actor and director Tod Browning. D.W. Griffith, who planned to give Booth an important role in Intolerance, delivered the actor's graveside eulogy.
Actor
1915
A Chase by Moonlight (Short) as
Maloney
1915
Beppo, the Barber (Short) as
Beppo, the Barber
1915
Mr. Wallack's Wallet (Short) as
Boho - A Hobo
1915
Beautiful Love (Short) as
Archibald
1915
Where Breezes Blow (Short) as
Elmer - a Sport
1915
Unwinding It (Short) as
Roderick
1915
Brave and Bold (Short) as
The Burglar
1915
Gasoline Gus (Short) as
Gasoline Gus
1915
Ethel's Disguise (Short) as
Antonio - The Italian
1915
Home Again (Short) as
Mr. Dummer
1915
Ethel's New Dress (Short)
1915
By Fair Means or Foul (Short) as
Willie
1915
Ethel's Deadly Alarm Clock (Short) as
Sylves
1915
Mixed Values (Short) as
Roy Van Dyke
1914
Mrs. Black Is Back as
Jack Dangerfield
1913
An Unjust Suspicion (Short) as
The Detective
1913
The Adopted Brother (Short) as
The Son
1913
The Unwelcome Guest (Short) as
The Hired Hand
1913
Drink's Lure (Short) as
The Burglar
1912
Brutality (Short) as
Actor In Oliver Twist
1912
The Informer (Short) as
Union Soldier
1912
My Baby (Short) as
At Table
1912
Gold and Glitter (Short) as
The Husband
1912
The Musketeers of Pig Alley (Short) as
The Snapper Kid - Musketeers Gang Leader
1912
The Painted Lady (Short) as
At Ice Cream Festival (uncredited)
1912
In the Aisles of the Wild (Short) as
Second Woodsman
1912
A Feud in the Kentucky Hills (Short) as
Second Clan Member
1912
So Near, Yet So Far (Short) as
A Thief
1912
Friends (Short) as
Man in Saloon (uncredited)
1912
Two Daughters of Eve (Short) as
Backstage
1912
An Unseen Enemy (Short) as
The Brother
1912
In the North Woods (Short) as
The Adventurer
1912
An Interrupted Elopement (Short) as
One of Bob's Friends
1912
The Narrow Road (Short) as
Jim Holcomb
1911
What Shall We Do with Our Old? (Short) as
Violent Jailbird's Victim
1911
Fate's Turning (Short) as
A Servant
1910
A Plain Song (Short) as
Storemate (unconfirmed)
1910
The Oath and the Man (Short) as
Aristocrat
Writer
1912
His Auto's Maiden Trip (Short) (story)
1911
Abe Gets Even with Father (Short)
1911
Why He Gave Up (Short)
1911
Her Mother Interferes (Short) (scenario)
1911
Resourceful Lovers (Short)
Archive Footage
1971
The Dick Cavett Show (TV Series) as
Snapper Kid
- Lillian Gish/Jean-Pierre Rampal/Julius Baker/Satchel Paige/Salvador Dali (1971) - Snapper Kid
