As a young man he joined the Maryland Athletic Club and began a body building regimen that would give him his famous film physique.

After appearing in theater, Bushman was hired by Essanay Studios in Chicago in 1911, launching his film career and stardom.

In late 1919 and 1920, Bushman and Bayne co-starred in the stage play The Master Thief, from a story by Richard Washburn Child, which successfully toured the country.

When Bushman noted that he would be well-suited to starring in an upcoming 1925 film, Ben-Hur, Reichenbach had a plan to increase his client's marketability.

Unlike Ramon Novarro, the star of the picture, Bushman knew how to drive a team of horses and a chariot without getting severely injured or killed in the process.

When Ben Hur was remade in 1959, Charlton Heston had to learn the technique and quipped: "The only man in Hollywood who can drive a chariot is Francis X. Bushman — and he's too old!

"[citation needed] Bushman was paid large salaries during his screen career, and donated the land upon which Sid Grauman erected his famous Chinese Theater.

After his film career had waned, Bushman made his broadcasting mark on the CBS Radio network's long-running dramatic serial entitled Those We Love.

[4] He also performed on weekly sitcoms and television dramas, including Burns and Allen, Peter Gunn, Make Room for Daddy, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Perry Mason, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and Dr. Kildare.

[5] Both Bushman and Neil Hamilton, his co-star in The Grip of the Yukon, appeared in the Batman episode—their first reunion acting together in 38 years.

In the episode entitled "No Place Like Home," Pearl has written a song which she plays when the silent version of Ben-Hur is shown in the Clampetts' hometown.

For his contributions to the film industry, Bushman was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 1651 Vine Street.