William P. S. Earle

William Pitt Striker Earle (December 28, 1882 – November 30, 1972) was an American director of the silent film era. He attended Columbia University and worked for a time as a photographer before breaking into the movie business by sneaking onto the lot of Vitagraph Company of America to observe how directors worked. After a few days of this, Earle approached the studio president and was given his first movie to direct, For the Honor of the Crew, a short about a crew race at Columbia University. He subsequently directed a number of features and shorts for Vitagraph. Later he worked with producer David O. Selznick. Earle founded his own, short-lived production company called Amex Production Corporation with J. S. Joffe, and shot the final two films of his career in Mexico.

Earle was born in New York City. He was the son of Ferdinand P. Earle, a hotelier and military officer.

He married Valerie Damon De Blois in 1905. They divorced in 1915. He next married English actress Blanche Taylor, who later went by the name "Bonnie Earle", and was with him until her death in 1952. Earle's last wife was former actress Evangeline Russell Blackton, the widow of Vitagraph executive J. Stuart Blackton. She died in 1966.