He started out in vaudeville and the legitimate stage before making his film debut.

[2] He portrayed a globetrotting hero, Phineas Fogg the 3rd, in a now lost film serial from the twenties.

[3] With the coming of sound he gravitated to older, supporting roles.

On November 3, 1949, Desmond died at age 71 of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California.

His cremated remains are stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory, Los Angeles.