Biography

Younger brother of director Raoul Walsh

Walsh was originally cast to play the title role in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). An attempt at shooting the film in Italy resulted in disaster, mostly due to labor problems. The newly formed studio MGM agreed to re-shoot the film in America, but only if Walsh was replaced, along with original director Charles Brabin and adaptive writer June Mathis, who had been responsible for choosing both Walsh and Brabin. Walsh was replaced with Ramon Novarro but was not told and discovered it while still in Europe when co-star Francis X. Bushman read it to him from a newspaper headline. Walsh left acting in 1936 to manage his brother's increasing horse breeding and racing interests. Until the end of his life, the losing of the role of Ben-Hur was a sensitive subject of discussion for Walsh.

Walsh love thoroughbred horses and became an owner and trainer after his film career ended.

Walsh turned down a renewal of his Fox contract in 1921 which would have raised his salary from $1500 to $2000 a week in 1921. He felt he deserved more as his pictures always showed a profit while the films of Pearl White, who was making $4000 per week, were financial losers for the studio.

Walsh is not as well known today as he should be because of the infamous fire in Fox's film vault that destroyed all of the actor's Fox features plus 38 of Theda Bara's.