William Farnum was born the son of G.D. Farnum and Adela Le Gros, actors who trained their William and his two brothers, Dustin Farnum and Marshall Farnum, in their profession. William made his stage debut at the age of 10 in Richmond, Virginia, in a production of "Julius Caesar" starring Edwin Booth. His first Broadway appearance was in 1896. His first major stage success was in the title role in "Ben Hur", in which he toured for five years. From 1915 to 1925 he devoted himself exclusively to motion pictures and became one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood, receiving from William Fox $10,000 weekly. In 1924 he was seriously injured while filming The Man Who Fights Alone (1924). After that he was reduced to playing minor roles until the end of the silent era. He returned to the stage in 1925 playing Sir Ralph Morgan in "The Buccaneer". The following year he appeared in the title role of Julius Caesar and two years later was on Broadway as Banquo in "Macbeth". On June 10, 1953, Farnum's funeral was held at the Wilshire Methodist Church in Los Angeles. Pallbearers were Cecil B. DeMille, Jesse Lasky, Frank Lloyd, Clarence Brown, Charles Coburn and Leo Carillo. The eulogy was read by Pat O'Brien.