Born in the Bronx borough of New York City, Russell began his acting career on the stage when he was eight years old.

He appeared with such notables as Ethel Barrymore, Chauncey Olcott, Blanche Bates, Maude Adams and others.

Russell's Broadway credits include Princess Flavia (1925), Cyrano de Bergerac (1923), and The Tenderfoot (1904).

He and actress Helen Ferguson were married on June 21, 1925, at the Wilshire Boulevard Congregational Church, after a six-year romance.

[3] William Russell died at the age of 44 from pneumonia at Hollywood Hospital in Los Angeles.