Tom Santschi
Paul William "Tom" Santschi (October 24, 1880 – April 9, 1931) was an American leading man and character actor of the silent film era.
Also recorded as Paul William Santschi · Thomas Santschi
Tom Santschi

Jack Freulich · mubi.com · Public domain
- Name
- Tom Santschi
- Birth Name
- Paul William Santschi
- Born
- 24 October 1880
- Birthplace
- Crystal City, Missouri, U.S.
- Died
- 9 April 1931
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor, director
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Paul William "Tom" Santschi (October 24, 1880 – April 9, 1931) was an American leading man and character actor of the silent film era.
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wikidata · Q3530874 · wikipedia · Tom Santschi
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tom Santschi • Birth Name — Paul William Santschi • Born — 24 October 1880 • Birthplace — Crystal City, Missouri, U.S. • Died — 9 April 1931 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Years Active — 1907–1931 • Occupation — Actor, director
Personal life
Personal life
Santschi was born in Missouri to Paul Santschi, a Swiss immigrant, and Margaret Kern, a native of Louisville, Kentucky. The family later moved to Kokomo, Indiana. Paul left home to pursue a career in moviemaking (as Tom Santschi), and at the time he registered for the draft in 1918, he was working for the Goldwyn Motion Picture Corporation in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Career
Career
Santschi acted in over 245 films during the period 1907–1931, and directed 28 films during 1914–1916. He wrote one screenplay in 1914. A 1915 two-reeler, In the King's Service, in which he starred with Marion Warner, surfaced at a yard sale in Maine, and was shown along with The Spoilers (1914) at a Northeast Historic Film Festival at Bucksport, Maine in 2002.
Actor
Actor
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1909 — Fighting Bob • 1909 — A • 1909 — The • 1909 — In the Sultan's Power • 1909 — Mephisto and the Maiden • 1909 — Ben's Kid • 1909 — On the Border • 1909 — Up San Juan Hill • 1909 — Faust • 1910 — Across the Plains • 1910 — Davy Crockett • 1910 — Mazeppa • 1910 — The Sergeant • 1910 — Pride of the Range • 1911 — Kit Carson's Wooing • 1911 — The • 1912 — The — Danglars — as William T. Santschi • 1912 — A — Ed Harvey • 1912 — A — Bill Wildern • 1912 — Euchered — Tom Saunders • 1913 — The — Bruce • 1913 — Alas! Poor Yorick — Hamlet McGinnis • 1913 — In the Long Ago — Indian Warrior • 1913 — Wamba, a Child of the Jungle — Portuguese Pete • 1914 — The — Alex McNamara • 1915 — The — Hamad • 1916 — The — Stephen Brice • 1916 — The — Steve Brant • 1917 — Beware of Strangers — John Mentor • 1917 — Who Shall Take My Life? — "Big Bill" O'Shaughnessy • 1918 — The — Jim Dyke • 1918 — The City of Purple Dreams — Daniel Fitzhugh, the derelict • 1918 — The Still Alarm — Jack Manley • 1918 — Little Orphant Annie — Dave • 1919 — The Love That Dares — Perry Risdon • 1919 — Rose of the West — Lieut. Col. Bruce Knight • 1919 — The Railroader — Clive Standish • 1919 — The — Pedro Toral • 1919 — Shadows — Jack McGoff • 1919 — Eve in Exile — John Sheen • 1920 — Sagebrush Musketeers — Short • 1921 — Sheriff of the Mojave — Short • 1921 — The Death Trap — Short • 1921 — The Desert Wolf — Short • 1921 — Lorraine of the Timberlands — Short • 1921 — Mother o' Dreams — Short • 1921 — The Honor of Rameriz — Rameriz — Short • 1921 — The Spirit of the Lake — Short • 1921 — The Heart of Doreon — Doreon — Short • 1921 — The Secret of Butte Ridge — Short • 1922 — Two Kinds of Women — Bud Lee • 1923 — Is Divorce a Failure? — Smith • 1923 — Thundering Dawn — Gordon Van Brock • 1923 — Tipped Off — Dan Grogan • 1924 — The — Bill Presbey • 1924 — Little Robinson Crusoe — Captain Dynes • 1925 — Beyond the Border — Nick Perdue • 1925 — The Night Ship — Captain Jed Hobbs • 1925 — Paths to Paradise — Callahan • 1926 — Siberia — Alexis Vetkin • 1926 — My Own Pal — August Deering • 1926 — Her Honor, the Governor — Richard Palmer • 1926 — The Hidden Way — Bill • 1926 — 3 Bad Men — "Bull" Stanley • 1926 — Jim the Conqueror — Sam Black • 1926 — The — Jasper • 1926 — The — Daredevil Daly • 1926 — No Man's Gold • 1927 — When a Man Loves — Captain of the convict boat • 1927 — Tracked by the Police — Sandy Sturgeon • 1927 — The Adventurous Soul — Captain Svenson • 1927 — Eyes of the Totem — Philip La Rue • 1927 — Old San Francisco — Captain Stoner • 1927 — Hills of Kentucky — Ben Harley • 1928 — Land of the Silver Fox — Butch Nelson • 1928 — The Law and the Man — Dan Creedon • 1928 — Vultures of the Sea • 1929 — In Old Arizona — Cowpuncher • 1929 — The — Jake Lynch • 1930 — River's End — Shotwell • 1930 — The — Butch • 1931 — Ten Nights in a Barroom — Simon Slady • 1931 — The — Bud Landers • 1931 — King of the Wild — Harris
Director
Director
• Year — Title — Notes • 1910 — The Sanitarium • 1914 — Caryl of the Mountains • 1915 — The • 1915 — The — Also screenwriter • 1915 — His Fighting Blood • 1915 — The • 1915 — A • 1915 — The

Still from the American drama film Rose of the West (1919) with Madlaine Traverse and Tom Santschi
Harry Millarde · Moving Picture World - July 12, 1919 pg. 267
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1931
Tom Santschi died at Los Angeles.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Crystal City.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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