Born in
Bristol,
Gloucestershire,
England, Peters began his stage career in
Australia, after working for several years in its mining industry. In the U.S., his film career began on a high note, playing the handsome leading man in ''
In the Bishop's Carriage (1913), co-starring Mary Pickford. While The Bishop's Carriage'' was filmed in an
East Coast studio, Peters was in
Los Angeles by 1914, becoming one of the first screen stars to permanently settle there. Although he stated publicly that he preferred playing villains, Peters, curly haired and pleasantly dimpled, was from the outset typecast as the romantic hero. onto his horse in
Salomy Jane (1914) After enjoying his greatest success as the good-bad hero of
The Girl of the Golden West (1915), Peters' career peaked in the early 1920s. He signed with
Universal Studios for six films in 1924, hoping for a comeback. The results, however, were mostly mediocre and he was soon demoted to supporting roles. Retired after 1928's
Rose Marie, Peters returned for a guest appearance in
The Old West, a 1952
Gene Autry film that also featured his son,
House Peters Jr., who subsequently enjoyed a lengthy film career portraying villains as well as
Procter and Gamble's
Mr. Clean character in cleaning product commercials from the late 1950s into the '60s.
Personal life Peters was married to actress Mae King in 1914 with whom he had three children, Gregg, Patricia and Robert Jr., who subsequently used the stage name
House Peters Jr. Peters was 87 when he died of pneumonia at the
Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in
Woodland Hills, California. ==Filmography==