Biography

Walter Smiley Weatherwax was born on May 31, 1867, in Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas, to William C. Weatherwax and his wife Elizabeth Mary Smiley. His siblings included: William E. Weatherwax (1858-1859); Grace Ball Weatherwax (1865-1938); and twin brothers Fred Van Allen Weatherwax (1870-1881) and Albert Weatherwax (1870-1870). Walter was just eight years old when financial and legal problems forced his parents to move to Denver, Arapahoe County, Colorado, on July 14, 1875. Parents William C. Weatherwax and Elizabeth Mary Smiley separated shortly thereafter, and were divorced in Denver, Arapahoe County, Colorado on March 27, 1878. By 1880, Walter was living with his father William C. Weatherwax in Durrango, Rio La Plata County, Colorado. His mother, Elizabeth Mary Smiley had died, and his younger sibling Fred Van Allen Weatherwax was in an orphanage in San Francisco, California. When his father died on January 21, 1884, in Fort Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas, 16 year old Walter found work with the cattle drives in Texas. In 1895, Walter C. Weatherwax met Anna L. Wallis, while enroute to Deming, Luna County, New Mexico Territory. They were married on September 1, 1896, by the Rev. N. W. Haukenupet in Deming, Luna County, New Mexico Territory. While living in New Mexico, Walter filed for patents on several of his inventions. During the spring of 1913, Walter Smiley Weatherwax moved his wife Anna and their seven children [Judd Wallis Weatherwax; DoraNeil Weatherwax; Frank Thrall Weatherwax; William McAlister Weatherwax; Ruddel Bird Weatherwax; Jack Nathan Weatherwax; and Marguerite Peggy Weatherwax] to Los Angeles, California. The kids found work in silent pictures. In 1920, the family was living at 1439 Cahuenga Avenue in North Hollywood. Walter trained horses and dogs, and had a bear which he kept in a cage in the back yard. Walter died on January 19, 1943, at his home on St. Clair Avenue, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, and is buried in Valhalla Cemetery.
- IMDb mini biography by: Donna Connell