Early Life
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of William Baggot (1845–1909) and Harriet M. "Hattie" King (1859–1933). His siblings were Amos Taylor Baggot (1881–1954); Thomas Gantt Baggot (1889–1979); John Marmaduke Baggot (1891–1975); Arthur Lee Baggot (1893–?); Marion L. Baggot (1896–1973); and Harriet D. Baggot (1899–1930).
His father was born in Ireland, and emigrated from County Limerick to the United States in 1852. He was a prominent St. Louis real estate agent.
Baggot attended Christian Brothers College High School, a prominent Catholic all-male secondary school, where he excelled at sports, was a star soccer and baseball player, and became captain of the soccer team.. In 1894, King left St. Louis and went to Chicago, where he worked as a clerk for his uncle, Edward Baggot (1839–1903), whose business sold plumbing, gas and electric fixtures.
In 1899, he returned to St. Louis and later played on a semi-professional St. Louis soccer team and became so well known that a Catholic church amateur theatrical group added him to its cast to gain prestige. He liked acting and did well. He soon helped found another amateur theatrical group, the Players Club of St. Louis.
In the meantime, he sold tickets for the St. Louis Browns baseball team and worked as a clerk in the real estate business of his father. But acting proved so interesting that he decided to become professional.
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