He was the son of a bartender born in Baltimore, Maryland,[1][2] the eldest of four children, with the rest of the siblings being girls.

[3] Hamilton served with the Maryland National Guard[4] and attended the Maryland Agricultural College (today the University of Maryland, College Park) [5] before turning to acting.

From 1908 through 1914, Hamilton appeared in such plays as The Great Question,[6] Israel,[7] When Claudia Smiles,[8] The Chaperon,[9] and Overnight.

Hamilton married Aleta Farnum in 1918; the marriage ended in divorce in 1925.

[citation needed] He died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California from cancer[11][12] and was interred at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.