Western Ladies leading the way.
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- Fern Emmett was born on 22 March 1896 in Oakland, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Ten Nights in a Bar-Room (1931), Cinderella Swings It (1943) and Scattergood Baines (1941). She was married to Henry Roquemore. She died on 3 September 1946 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Polly Ann Young was born on 25 October 1908 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for Port of Hate (1939), Turnabout (1940) and The Man from Utah (1934). She was married to Carter Hermann. She died on 21 January 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Beth Marion was born in Clinton, Iowa in 1912. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and was part of a musical trio called the Co-Eds. After starring in several B-Westerns with the likes of Ken Maynard, Tom Tyler, and Johnny Mack Brown in the 1930s she retired from acting after her marriage to stuntman Cliff Lyons around 1938. They had two children together, Clifford and Gary, and divorced in the mid 1950s. A few years later she married architect Julian Koch and in 1982 they moved from Los Angeles to southern Oregon.- Brunette B-movie starlet, born Leona Elaine Winona DeVinna in Pocatello, Idaho, was one of the five children of Edgar DeVinna (at one time superintendent at a Native American reservation) and his wife Lorena. By her own account, she was 'discovered' by a talent scout while visiting a friend in Hollywood. Under her new stage moniker as Kay Morley, she started off in show biz as a Goldwyn Girl. Her first noteworthy appearance was in Youth Aflame (1944), a teenage delinquency drama released by Jay-Dee-Kay Productions, a low budget studio which specialized in exploitation films. After that, Kay alternated between western leading ladies (suitable to her skills as an adept equestrian) opposite the likes of Johnny Mack Brown and Jimmy Wakely and complementing a few lightweight musical comedies. Kay segued into television during the early 50s and wound down her screen career by the middle of the decade. She later worked as a manager in the fashion industry at Bullock's department store in Palm Springs.
- Norma Brooks was born on 24 September 1936 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Sea Hunt (1958), Blazing the Overland Trail (1956) and The Bob Cummings Show (1955). She died on 6 February 2005 in Reno, Nevada, USA.
- Doris Hill was born on 21 March 1905 in Roswell, New Mexico, USA. She was an actress, known for Men Are Like That (1930), Galloping Romeo (1933) and Code of Honor (1930). She was married to Monte Brice and George L. Derrick. She died on 3 March 1976 in Kingman, Arizona, USA.
- Lois, was born in a tiny town in Minnesota in 1926, moved with her family to Long Beach, California where she had her first experience with theater as a set designer, stage manager and head electrician, was given a scholarship at the Pasadena Playhouse and became bitten by the "acting bug". In 1957 when she left SoCal and focused on family.
Lois married Maurice Willows in 1953 and, following the birth of their first daughter, moved to the desert and then Hawaii for seven years, where their second daughter, was born. Soon after the Willows returned to their Beverly Hills home, their third daughter was born. Maury and Lois have two grandchildren. Maury died of cancer in 1995. Through the years, the Willows have been active members of the Baha'i Faith, working for the unity of mankind and world peace. Lois is an elected member and served many years as secretary of the administrative body for the Baha'i's of Los Angeles and has volunteered nearly 40 hours a week at the local center. Part of her time is spent in inter-religious dialog, working with the Human Relations Council for the City of Los Angeles, planning cross-cultural events and helping arrange after-school tutoring and enrichment classes for at-risk young people. The Willows hold weekly introductory discussions about the Baha'i Faith in their home. Lois eventually returned to occasional work in the film industry and has appeared in seven more films and ten television shows. In recent years, Miss Hall has been invited to be a special guest at various film festivals across the country, and is delighted both the renew old friendships with those who were part of the "western stock company" so many years -- and to make new friends with the wonderful people who so faithfully attend the festivals. - Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Frances Kavanaugh was born on 5 February 1915 in Dallas, Texas, USA. Frances was a writer, known for Forbidden Jungle (1950), The Fighting Stallion (1950) and The Enchanted Valley (1948). Frances was married to Robert L. Hecker. Frances died on 23 January 2009 in Encino, California, USA.- Eleanor Hansen was born on 13 September 1917 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Flaming Frontiers (1938), The Mad Miss Manton (1938) and Russian Dressing (1938). She died on 27 May 2013 in San Diego, California, USA.
- Ellen Hall was born on 18 April 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Range Law (1944), Lawless Code (1949) and Brand of the Devil (1944). She died on 24 March 1999 in Bellevue, Nebraska, USA.
- Patricia Walthall was born on 16 March 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Empty Holsters (1937).
- Her father, J. King Ross was a superb horse trainer, a dapper gentleman who was with numerous traveling circuses and shows. Betsy was born on 14 March 1921 (not 1922 which is the date most often given for her birth). She appeared in a few motion pictures but when she was about 13 she decided she did not want to be an actress and her parents honored her wish. She married a road building engineer named Day and lived on a 10,000 acre ranch in South American while her husband was building roads there. The couple had one son, who was born in the USA (as per Betsy's wish). She and baby returned to the ranch after his birth. Her husband was killed in a landslide, she and baby returned to California where she reentered college. (This bio courtesy of Mr. Donn Moyer who knew Betsy's father)
- Actress
- Stunts
Betty Miles was born on 11 January 1910 in Santa Monica, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Lone Star Law Men (1941), Sonora Stagecoach (1944) and The Return of Daniel Boone (1941). She died on 9 June 1992 in California, USA.13 westerns, 40-45.
Sing Me a Song of Texas (1945). 1945. Stunts.
Westward Bound (1944). 1944.
1910 - 1992, 82.- Joan Curtis is known for Where Trails End (1942), Stranger from Santa Fe (1945) and Hot Rhythm (1944).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Pauline began as a model, appearing on the covers of magazines such as Cosmopolitan, McCall's and Ladies Home Journal. She was married to Jefferson Machamer, a cartoonist, from 1934 until his death in 1960. In 1962, she married minister Dodd Watkins, who died in 1972. She has three children: Wendy, Tom, and Laurie.- Linda Leighton was born on 9 February 1917 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Impact (1949), Brick Bradford (1947) and The Haunted Mine (1946). She was married to Joseph Thatcher Leighton. She died on 26 December 2005 in Monarch Beach, California, USA.18 westerns, 42-59.
6 feature westerns.
Code of the Outlaw (1942). 1942.
Drink of Water (1950). 1950.
1917 - 2005, 88. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Jennifer, born Elizabeth Marshall, was the daughter of film star Jack Holt and Margaret Wood Holt; she had an older half-sister from her mothers' previous marriage, named Imogene and a brother, Charles John Holt III, nicknamed Tim Holt. She would later change her name to Jennifer for professional reasons. The granddaughter of industrialist Henry Morton Stanley Wood of St. Paul, Minnesota, the owner of American Hoist & Derrick, known world-wide for their steam shovels, emigrated from England. Her paternal grandmother was the great-granddaughter of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1801-1835. Her grandfather, the first John Charles Holt, was an Episcopal minister also of Virginia.
The Holt family lived in Beverly Hills, California and had a ranch in Fresno. When she was seven-years-old, Jennifer went to Belgium with her governess "Mademoiselle", where the year-long visit lasted for two-and-a-half years. By 1931, on her return, her parents had separated and she joined her mother and Imogene in Scarsdale, New York briefly before moving with them to Santiago, Chile. Upon returning to California, Jennifer attended The Bishop School in La Jolla and, after years of separation, she was able to reestablish a relationship with her brother; in fact, her first date was with Hal Roach Jr., Tim's roommate from Culver Military Academy.
Jennifer studied acting with Russian actress and teacher Maria Ouspenskaya her first year out of high school. She also studied music and wanted to be a singer. Later, she studied and performed at the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire for a year, appeared in productions of "The Babbitt", "The Far Off Hills" and "Our Town", supervised by playwright Thornton Wilder.
Finding few opportunities on Broadway, Jennifer returned to Hollywood. While visiting her brother Tim at a rodeo in Reno, Nevada, she met Jerry Colonna's agent, Bruce Geer, who was able to negotiate a deal with producer Harry Sherman of Colonna's services for a part in the Hopalong Cassidy film Stick to Your Guns (1941), she was billed as "Jacqueline Holt". Following its release, she signed a six-year contract with Universal Pictures using the professional name of "Jennifer Holt". In her film career, she starred with William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Russell Hayden, Rod Cameron, Johnny Mack Brown, Tex Ritter, Eddie Dean and Lash La Rue.
In her later years, Jennifer attended events like the Raleigh Western Film Fair 1989 and Sierra Film Festival in Lone Pine, California 1992.
She died on a visit in Dorset, England, UK at age 77.- Helen Amelia Gilbert was one of those finds for whom everyone had high hopes, and who quickly made a splash in Hollywood, though not due to her acting, which was average at best. She appeared more in gossip columns than on the silver screen, and as her acting career waned, her notoriety grew because of her affairs, marriages, separations, and divorces. And then suddenly she vanished from the spotlight only to have her name appear just one last time in an obituary column.
Helen is born into a musical family, her father, Vaughn Gilbert, owning a music store where she played a variety of instruments as a child. She's inspired by Pablo Casals and dives into studying the cello, winning a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
After graduating, Helen becomes a concert artist, playing at a variety of locations, but it's while performing at the Hollywood Bowl where she is discovered by Herbert Stothart and is given a seat in his MGM orchestra.
In November of 1936, she marries the assistant musical director at Columbia, Mischa Bakaleinikoff, in Tijuana, Mexico. He's 46; she's 21.
Two years later while her orchestra is recording for the upcoming musical Sweethearts (1938), director Fred M. Wilcox spots her and her acting career begins.
Her first role is as Miss Rose Meredith, Andy Hardy's high school "crush" and drama teacher in Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939).
Not long after that she separates from her husband in October of 1939, declaring that she will soon file suit for divorce. When asked, she claims, "It was an amicable separation," and is next spotted around the town with Lew Ayres. She responds to gossip columnists that they are just "good pals who happen to be working on the same picture," The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939).
In November she wins an uncontested divorce from Bakeleinkoff on charges that he was rude to her and her friends. She's next spotted with Howard Hughes at the annual Motion Picture Guild Christmas charity party. Now Hughes was quite famous for his attraction to Hollywood beauties, and Helen Gilbert is most definitely a beauty, but it's her fling with Hughes that starts to quash her rise to stardom.
Over the next two years she's seen everywhere by columnists, accompanied by a host of gentlemen friends: Victor M. Orsatti, William Marshall, Billy Blackewell, Richard Denning, Tom Harmon, and finally Seymour J. Chotiner, whom she marries in March of 42.
All this time she's been receiving star treatment from MGM. She's touted as "the new personality" in the trailer for the upcoming Dr. Kildare film in which she plays a patient with psychosomatic blindness. She's also landed the lead in Florian (1940). But as film historian David J. Hogan writes, "In the eyes of MGM Chief Louis B. Mayer, a contract actress who associated with Hughes was foolish and probably not deserving of star treatment."
Hogan also believes that it was because of Hughes that Gilbert lost the role of Glinda the good witch in the The Wizard of Oz (1939) to Billie Burke.
In 1942 she plays the role of the femme fatale in The Falcon Takes Over (1942) and separates from Chotiner after five short months of marriage.
This time it's Chotiner who gets the uncontested divorce, complaining that "during five months of marriage, I had only one meal at home," but she and Chotiner soon reconcile before the divorce decree becomes final.
Less than two years later, they part again. Helen files for divorce, and this time while Chotiner tells columnists that "careers and marriages do not mix," she's charging him with extreme cruelty without provocation. It's during this roller coaster of a marriage that Helen is cast in the not very coveted role of "girl on a trolley" in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).
She might not have had much to offer movie goers at that time, but the tabloids are quickly lit up again when, after a whirlwind romance with Victor Makzoume, the owner of Victor's Café on Sunset Strip and ex-husband of Claire Alexander, they marry. He is 12 years her senior.
She lands a lead role in the 1946 film God's Country (1946), shot in Cinecolor, but the reviews are mixed and the next time we hear about her is again in the newspapers when she and her husband, Makzoume report that their Hollywood home had been burglarized of jewelry, clothing, and a number of bottles of expensive perfumes. The take is estimated at $15,000.00.
After finishing up Death Valley (1946), lauded as "A Dramatic Screen Triumph in Gorgeous Color, Set Against the Background of Nature's Most Treacherous and Mysterious Land," moviegoers are not at all impressed, so Helen decides to take time off to escort her husband to Lebanon to visit his family. Unfortunately, Makzoume has a heart attack at the Grand Hotel in Rome, and Helen is at his bedside as he passes away at age 45.
Helen had been preparing to make her movie comeback while in Europe with one film being shot in Paris and another in Rome, but in June of 1948, Dorothy Manners reports in her column that, "She is so shaken and grief stricken she called off both contracts to bring his body back to this country."
The courts grant Helen an allowance of $650 (nearly $6,000 in today's money) pending distribution of Makzoume's estate, of which she'll eventually get half, with the rest going to his mother and sister.
By September of that year, gossip columnists report her back "as pretty as ever" at the Band Box, a jazz and comedy club in Hollywood, accompanied by Jimmy Valentine, a famous one-legged dancer.
But it's the following February when newspapers are deliciously abuzz with the story of her secret marriage to Johnny Stompanato, a bodyguard and money man for Mickey Cohen, head of the Cohen crime family. This time Helen is 33 and Stompanato is 23.
In July of that same year, she testifies at her divorce hearing that, "Johnny had no means. I did what I could to support him."
Johnny would eventually be killed by Lana Turner's daughter, who stabbed him to death in 1958. In court it came out that he'd been violent with Turner and his death was ruled justifiable homicide, because Cheryl had been defending her mother from a vicious beating.
Just two months after divorcing Stompanato, Helen marries James E. Durant, the Flamingo Hotel casino manager. The ceremony is short and sweet, and performed by a Justice of the Peace, but the gossip columns get it wrong when they report this being her sixth marriage. Somehow in the count, they'd tossed in Bill Marshal, with whom she'd had a fling, but never married.
Historians aren't quite sure why the Las Vegas marriage had to have a "do-over" but in February of 1950, they are again married, this time in Coolidge, Arizona. It would be just four short months' later when Helen files for divorce, charging him with cruelty.
Not one to rest on her reputation, while awaiting her divorce she promises herself to Charles, A. Hubbard, heir to a fortune in the Bahamas. He gives her a $17, 000.00 ($180,000.00 in today's money) diamond ring on Christmas Day, 1949 with the understanding that they will soon be wed.
However, in January, her love for Hubbard has cooled, and she refuses to return the ring, opting instead to reconcile with Durant. They will stay married for almost two years, and their divorce will make history as the courts cannot decide if they are married or not.
She claims that he tried to throw her out of a window of an 11th floor apartment, and he claims they were already divorced back in Phoenix.
So two months later she marries her seventh and final husband, H. O. Bryant, someone who apparently has no background, no history, but just a future with the lovely Helen Gilbert who is now 35.
Now that she's happily married and the distribution of Makzoume's estate puts her late husband's restaurant in her control, she finally drops her divorce suit against Durant, no longer claiming their Arizona divorce to be invalid.
Her sister, Mari Finley would soon move in with her and producer Alex Gordon starts seeing both of them on a professional basis. He's thinking of casting Helen in the title role of The She-Creature (1956), but the part eventually goes to Marla English.
Helen has been out of films for six years and yearns to make a comeback. She lands a key role in the film Thief of Damascus (1952), which turns out to be a pot boiler made on a tight budget by recycling all the scenery from big budget epics of the forties such as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1943) and Arabian Nights (1942). The color is spectacular and the scenery is offset by a beautiful female cast in flowing gowns, all spouting quotable lines written tongue in cheek. But the satire falls flat and it bombs at the box office. Her next three appearances are in TV series, but it's Girls in Prison (1956) where she expects finally to make her comeback.
She lands a rather racy role as Joan Taylor's lesbian cellmate, but is overshadowed by the tough-talking, plump-cheeked, peroxide blonde Adele Jergens whose performance steals the show. Helen's sister lands a bit part in the film, but other than another bit part in The She-Creature, her film career goes nowhere.
Helen would do two more episodes in TV series and then, because she is happily married, the gossip columns go silent. She quietly walks away from Hollywood never to be heard from again until her death.
Her husband, H. O. Bryant will die of a heart attack in 1987, and she follows him 8 years later having also succumbed to cardiac arrest.
Her body is cremated; her ashes scattered at sea. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Cuero, Texas, Jo Morrow was still a baby when her parents took her to San Diego, where her father worked in aircraft manufacture and her mother encouraged Jo's acting aspirations. Entering a "Be a Star" contest which Morrow feels started out as a sham, she actually won a 20th Century-Fox contract (film-debuting in Gary Cooper's Ten North Frederick (1958)), and from there moved to Columbia. The 1964 birth of a deaf daughter forced Morrow to choose between movies and motherhood; the latter won out, although she made a comeback of sorts in 1970s exploitation fare like Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls (1973) and Terminal Island (1973).- Actress
- Soundtrack
American leading lady of musical westerns of the 1940s. Born Frances Octavia Smith in Uvalde, Texas. She was raised in Texas and Arkansas. Married at 14 and a mother at 15, she was divorced at 17 (some sources say widowed). Intent on a singing career, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and worked in an insurance company while taking occasional radio singing jobs. After another unhappy marriage, she went to Louisville, Kentucky, and became a popular singer on a local radio station. There she took the stage name Dale Evans (from her third husband, Robert Dale Butts, and actress Madge Evans). Divorced in 1936, she moved to Dallas, Texas, and again found local success as a radio singer. She married Butts and they moved to Chicago, where she began to attract increasing attention from both radio audiences and film industry executives. She signed with Fox Pictures and made a few small film appearances, then was cast as leading lady to rising cowboy star Roy Rogers. She and Rogers clicked and she became his steady on-screen companion. In 1946, Rogers' wife died and Evans' marriage to Butts ended about the same time. Rogers and Evans had been close onscreen in a string of successful westerns, and now became close off-screen as well. A year later she married Rogers and the two become icons of American pop culture. Their marriage was dogged by tragedy, including the loss of three children before adulthood, but Evans was able not only to find inspiration in the midst of tragedy but to provide inspiration as well, authoring several books on her life and spiritual growth through difficulty. She and Rogers starred during the 1950s on the popular TV program bearing his name, and even after retirement continued to make occasional appearances and to run their Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California. Following Dale's death, the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum moved to Branson, Missouri.- Eileen Sedgwick came from a theatrical family. Her parents were both stage actors, her brother Edward Sedgwick went on to become a respected comedy director and her sister Josie Sedgwick became a film actress. The entire family toured the vaudeville circuit as "The Five Sedgwicks," and it wasn't long before a pretty girl like Eileen was noticed by Hollywood. She is thought to have debuted in films around 1914, and worked her way up to minor stardom by 1918, when a fortuitous accident happened: the female star of the Universal serial The Lure of the Circus (1918) took ill, and Eileen was tapped to take her place and finish the serial. It proved to be a big hit, and over the next 10 years Eileen would perform in a dozen serials. By 1928, though, she apparently tired of the serial grind, and began using the name Greta Yoltz in an effort to have casting directors for non-serial films hire her. She made a few films under that name, but soon reverted to her real name. She retired from the screen with the advent of sound.1898 - 1991, (92).
37 westerns, 15-28.
Leading lady in western, #1 credit:
The Girl of the West (1925). 1925 The Sagebrush Lady (1925). 1925.
Number 10, Westbound (1917). The Lion's Lair (1917). 1917.
All for Gold (1918). 1918. The Human Tiger (1918). 1918.
The Girl in the Saddle (1921). 1920. Dream Girl (1921). 1921.
The Heart of Arizona (1921). 1921. The Shadow of Suspicion (1921). 1921.
The Night Attack (1922). 1922. The Open Wire (1922). 1922.
Lure of the West (1926). 1926. Thundering Speed (1926). 1926. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Hailed by Gene Autry as the 'perfect western actress', diminutive, pig-tailed Betty Jeanne Grayson had all the genre's prerequisite attributes. The daughter of a prominent Arkansas physician (who went on to became State Health Officer), she had been trained in drama and dance at the University of Texas. More pertinently, she was of an athletic disposition, a keen swimmer, golfer and tennis player. She was also an ace rider (to the extent of performing in rodeos), as well as an expert trick shot. Her arrival in Hollywood happened some time in 1946. Thereafter, sources vary as to how she got into movies. One account has her being spotted by an MGM talent scout while working as a hat check girl, while another asserts that she had previously met Autry while performing amateur dramatics at a camp show for the Army Air Force. The story further goes, that Autry (who was serving in the military at the time) was so impressed with her, that he told her to look him up later at Columbia studios.
Gail's looks, feisty personality and tomboyish aptitudes soon got her cast in outdoorsy films. She went on to co-star opposite Autry (who prompted her change of name to 'Gail Davis') in fifteen of his films, as well as appearing at least a dozen times as different characters on his TV show. Gail tended to do all of her own stunts. She became sufficiently popular for Autry to produce Annie Oakley (1954) (through his Flying A Productions), starring Gail as the gun-toting titular heroine, invariably disarming (rather than killing) assorted screen villains with her Single Action Army Colt. Gail thus achieved an additional measure of prominence by becoming the first female to command the nominal lead in a western TV series. For this, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.145 westerns, 47-59.
27 feature westerns.
1947, The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947).
1959, Alias Jesse James (1959).
#1, 1956 =Dilemma at Diablo (1956)
1925-1997,71.- Nancy Drexel was born on 6 April 1910 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Mason of the Mounted (1932), Partners (1932) and Speed Madness (1932). She was married to Thomas H. Ince Jr.. She died on 19 November 1989 in San Juan Capistrano, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Tall, sultry, green-eyed blonde Peggie Castle was actually spotted by a talent scout while she was lunching in a Beverly Hills restaurant. In her films she was usually somebody's "woman" rather than a girlfriend, and her career was confined to mostly "B"-grade action pictures, dramas or westerns: Harem Girl (1952), Wagons West (1952), The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Jesse James' Women (1954), among others. She did, however, have good roles in such films as Payment on Demand (1951) with Bette Davis, 99 River Street (1953) with John Payne, I, the Jury (1953), The White Orchid (1954), Miracle in the Rain (1956) with Jane Wyman and in Seven Hills of Rome (1957) with Mario Lanza. After three seasons playing sexy femme lead Lily Merrill, the dance-hall hostess and romantic interest for steely-eyed Marshal Dan Troop in the TV western series Lawman (1958), she left show business in 1962. She later developed an alcohol problem and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1973 at age 45.132 westerns, 52-66.
11 feature westerns.
#1, Two-Gun Lady (1955).
Hell's Crossroads (1957), 1957.
1927-1973, 45.- Argentinian leading lady Marta Victoria Moya Peggo Burges was one of three siblings, born in Buenos Aires to a French father and Italian mother. When she was five years of age, her father, a publisher, fled with his family to Montevideo, Uruguay, where they went on to live for several years in somewhat reduced circumstances. According to one of two conflicting stories, her father had gotten into "into conflict with a criminal gang". According to another, he may have fallen foul of the ruling political elite. Whatever the case, both parents died prematurely in what was possibly a suicide pact (in their car of carbon monoxide poisoning) by the time Linda was 13.
Educated at the Conservatoria Franklin in Uruguay, she studied voice and piano. A brief marriage to the Argentinian actor Tito Gómez ended in an annulment after just five days and Linda briefly toyed with the idea of entering a convent (as had several of her aunts). Fate, of course, intervened. While vacationing in Mexico with her older brother, she was 'discovered' by the film producer and director Miguel Alemán Velasco, who also happened to be the son of the country's ruling president. Signed under contract, she adopted the moniker Linda Cristal and made several Spanish language films which soon established her as one of Mexico's rising stars. Conscious of her potential and hoping to break into Hollywood, she decided to learn English as her fourth language (already fluent in Spanish, French and Italian) and subsequently made her American film debut with a small role in the Dana Andrews western Comanche (1956). A dispute over the non-payment of her wages and a car accident in 1956 then led to a brief hiatus in her career.
Fast forward three years and a bit of publicity (she was named "Motion Picture Sweater Queen" in 1958) and Linda was lured back to Hollywood by Universal to again hit the saddle in a couple of back-to-back minor westerns, The Last of the Fast Guns (1958) and The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958). In between attempts to break free from typecasting as decorative Latinas (The Pharaohs' Woman (1960), Panic in the City (1968)) -- a metamorphosis which never happened -- she at least got herself noticed by some high profile people in the business (ie. John Wayne) and was able to thus secure roles in better productions like The Alamo (1960) and Two Rode Together (1961). While her motion picture career was at an impasse, she learned of producer David Dortort casting for the part of Victoria Montoya in the upcoming TV series The High Chaparral (1967). Invited to an audition, she found the set script as too saccharine and bland. Audaciously improvising, she re-imagined her character as more tempestuous, resourceful and proud, later saying in an interview that she knew the producers "were looking for a heroine with fire and spunk". Having secured the coveted role, she made it her own for four seasons (1967-71), ultimately winning two Primetime Emmy nominations and netting her the Golden Globe Award in 1970 as Best Actress in a TV Drama.
After High Chaparral ceased production in 1971, Linda made guest appearances in a handful of TV shows and played a Mexican migrant worker and union leader in Charles Bronson's robust action film Mr. Majestyk (1974). She later worked for some time as a realtor, presided over her own import/export business and invested wisely to become financially very well-off. She made a final comeback to acting as the mistress of a mob boss in the daytime soap General Hospital (1963), eventually calling it quits in 1988. Linda spent her remaining years between residences in Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and Buenos Aires and passed away at her Beverly Hills home on June 27 2020 at the age of 89.113 westerns, 55-79.
Numerous top credits,
1955, La venganza del Diablo (1955).
1979, When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion (1979).
1971, Warbonnet (1971).
1970, Friends and Partners (1970)
1934- - Actress
- Writer
Marin Sais was descended from one of the earliest Spanish families of California (Marin County was named after one of her ancestors). She was possessed of a fine singing voice. and after graduation from school journeyed to New York to pursue an operatic career. However, not long after her arrival she apparently changed her mind about her career path, and before long she was appearing in two-reel comedies for Vitagraph. Her career progressed steadily, and she was soon working in full-length films and serials. She soon journeyed to Hollywood, and began appearing in westerns, often with Hoot Gibson. She also became a fixture in action serials. In 1920 she married cowboy actor Jack Hoxie, and they appeared in several films together, but divorced five years later. With the coming of sound she began appearing in character roles rather than the leading or featured roles she was used to, and the films she appeared in were often for the cheap independent market. She seemed to specialize in westerns, and with few exceptions her pictures up until her retirement in 1953 were all in that genre.111 westerns, 11-53.
38 western credits, #1.
#1, 1912 -The Pony Express Girl (1912).
#1, 1916 -The Reformation of Dog Hole (1916).
#1, The Mesquite's Gratitude (1911).
1890-1971, 81.- Evelyn Selbie was born on 6 July 1871 in Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for The Silver Treasure (1926), Dangerous Paradise (1930) and The Prisoner's Story (1912). She died on 7 December 1950 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Stunts
Helen Gibson was one of the earliest serial stars. In 1915 she took over the title role in The Hazards of Helen (1914) from Helen Holmes. Known for her athletic abilities and willingness to do dangerous but exciting stunts, she made the transition from serials to features easily. She was the second wife of cowboy star Hoot Gibson. After her starring days ended in the early 1920s, she went on to become one of the industry's best stunt women, while also taking small acting parts, until her retirement in early 1962.96 westerns, 12-62.
19 westerns, #1.
Nine Points of the Law (1922). 1922.
College Hounds (1929). 1918.
1892 - 1977, 85.- Marguerite Clayton was born on 12 April 1891 in Ogden, Utah, USA. She was an actress, known for The Night Workers (1917), The Dream Doll (1917) and Wolfblood (1925). She was married to Victor Bertrandias. She died on 20 December 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.94 westerns, 13-26.
1891 - 1968, 77.
#1 credit,
The Belle of Siskiyou (1913).
Bonnie of the Hills (1913).
The Rustler's Step-Daughter (1913).
Love and the Law (1913) - Actress
- Soundtrack
Claire Carleton was born on 28 September 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Mickey Rooney Show (1954), Death of a Salesman (1951) and Cavalcade of America (1952). She was married to Fred Sherman and Walter Lewis Beadle. She died on 11 December 1979 in Northridge, California, USA.62 westerns, 45-69.
#4, Gun Town (1946).
#4, Ben Thompson (1954).
#4, Miracle at Pot Hole (1958).
#4, Ladies of the Town (1961).
#3, Little Oscar's Millions (1953).- Titian haired, full figured, voluptuous Dorothy Vernon had a career that spanned from the early days of moving pictures through the boxed screen known as television.
Whether it was a comedy, a western, a musical or whatever was needed, Dorothy did it all. Her unforgettable glow and her almost heavenly serene appearance was the focal point of many western square dances, slapstick sequences, or horrid haunts.
One film historian noted that he had seen Vernon in so many PRC westerns that he started to believe that she was Charles King's out of work mother.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you watch from the 1920s - 1950, chances are eventually you'll run into the small lady with the big presence.62 westerns, 25-57.
57 feature westerns.
#4, An Oklahoma Cowboy (1929). 1929.
#4, Riders of the Storm (1929). 1929. - Unlike many serial heroines, Ann Little actually was a daughter of the West. Born in a small town near the foot of northern California's Mt. Shasta, she was raised on a ranch in the shadow of the great mountain. After graduating high school, she joined a traveling stock company, winding up in a play in San Francisco. She entered the film business making one-reel westerns with Broncho Billy Anderson, and soon relocated to Southern California, where she made a variety of films for many different companies. Since she was proficient at such outdoors activities as riding, shooting and swimming, she began to get more work in wsterns, especially as Indian maidens, which pleased her no end as she had engaged in a lifelong study of Indian culture (her faithful portrayal of a young Indian girl in The Squaw Man (1918) won her the respect and friendship of the Indian extras in that film). She began making serials during her tenure at Universal, where she would make the first (in 1915) of six. By 1917, however, she had tired of westerns, and relocated to New York City to try her hand at straight drama. However, she find herself back in the serial field, although this time even more successfully, and returned to Calilfornia. Her career was going great guns when, in 1925, she gave it all up and left the industry. Nobody knew why and she apparently never told anybody she was planning to do it; she just upped and did it. There were rumors that she found religion (Christian Science) and left to devote herself to religious work, but, although she still lived in the Los Angeles area, she refused to speak of her years in Hollywood and never gave a reasn for leaving. She died in 1984.60 westerns, 11-19.
Western leading lady in:
Lightning Bryce (1919). 1919.
The Prospector's Daughter (1912).
A Young Squaw's Bravery (1911).
The Cactus Blossom (1915).
The Valley Feud (1915).
The Battle of the Red Men (1912).
Cowgirls' Pranks (1911).
1891 - 1984, (93). - Actress
- Writer
- Director
Joan Taylor's mother, Amelia Berky, was a vaudeville singing-dancing star in the 1920s. Her father was a prop man in Hollywood during that same period, but, after Joan's birth, the family moved to Lake Forest, Illinois, where her father managed a movie theater. She developed a love of movies from watching so many at her father's theater, and she graduated from the Chicago National Association of Dancing Masters. Heading to Hollywood in 1946, she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse. Victor Jory arranged an interview for her with producer Nat Holt, and she made her film debut in the Randolph Scott western Fighting Man of the Plains (1949). She appeared in quite a few films over the next several years, many of them westerns. She also made many appearances on TV series, and had a recurring role in The Rifleman (1958), but it's for two sci-fi films that she is fondly remembered by 1950s movie audiences: Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957). After her two-year stint on "The Rifleman", however, she decided to retire from films, and did so in 1963.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Betty May Adams was the daughter of a travelling Iowa cotton buyer with a penchant for alcohol. Growing up in Arkansas, Betty expressed an early interest in acting and made her performing debut in a third grade play of "Hansel and Gretel." Beautiful, talented and determined, the freshly minted 'Miss Little Rock' left home at the age of 19 to live with her aunt and uncle in California. For three days a week she made ends meet working as a secretary. The remainder of her time was spent taking speech and drama lessons (in due course losing her Southern twang) and making the rounds of the various Hollywood casting departments. Her first screen role was (appropriately) as a starlet in Paramount's Red, Hot and Blue (1949). This was followed by an inauspicious leading role in the B-grade Western The Dalton Gang (1949). Over a period of five weeks she appeared in six further quota quickies of the sagebrush variety for Poverty Row outfit Lippert Productions. Since Lippert owned no actual studio facilities, most of the filming took place at the Ray Corrigan ranch in Chatsworth, California. In the summer of 1950, Betty assisted in a screen test for Detroit Lions football star Leon Hart at Universal-International. While Hart's movie career ended up stillborn, Betty clicked with producers who opted to change her first name to 'Julia.' The initial outing for her new studio was entitled Bright Victory (1951), with the budding actress a little underemployed as 'the other girl' in a love triangle involving a blind war veteran (played by Arthur Kennedy). Her career was significantly better served in her next assignment as co-star opposite James Stewart in Anthony Mann's seminal Technicolor western Bend of the River (1952) (Kennedy this time cast as the arch villain). Adams later recalled her part in this film as "a great learning experience" and one of her "fondest Hollywood memories," It also led to a life long friendship with Jimmy Stewart.
Signed to a seven-year contract (and having her legs insured by Universal to the tune of $125,000 by Lloyds of London), Julia seemed destined to remain perpetually typecast as a western heroine. A comely actress with soft, classical features, she often gave affecting performances in what amounted to little more than bread-and-butter pictures. At the very least, she got to play romantic leads opposite some of Universal's top box-office earners: Rock Hudson (in Horizons West (1952) and The Lawless Breed (1952)), Tyrone Power(The Mississippi Gambler (1953)) and Glenn Ford (The Man from the Alamo (1953)). Having played a succession of 'nice girls,' Julia took a turn as leader of an outlaw gang in Wings of the Hawk (1953), set against the background of the Mexican Revolution (Van Heflin was first-billed as a mining engineer, who, having his gold mine taken over by Federales, joins Julia's band of 'insurrectos'). 'Miss Melon Patch' of 1953 was about to experience another important career change, being famously cast as the imperilled heroine Kay Lawrence in Jack Arnolds cultish monster flic Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), a role Adams initially considered turning down. Shot in 3-D on a shoestring budget, the picture was light on script but strong on atmosphere and proved once again that style can succeed over content. The not inconsiderable physical charms of Miss Adams often dominated the scenery and gave the 'Gill Man' a run for his money. Audiences approved and 'Creature' spawned two further sequels, alas without Julia and with diminishing returns.
In 1955, having generated strong box office heat, Julia changed her moniker (with studio approval) to the less gentle-sounding Julie. Accordingly, she was now offered more varied material ranging from tough melodramas, to comedies and lightweight romances. Adams further established her credentials with roles which included a soft porn model who survives a plane crash in the Colorado Rockies in The Looters (1955); as a cop's wife in Six Bridges to Cross (1955) (a crime drama based on Boston's Great Brinks Robbery); a sympathetic school's doctor in the family-oriented comedy The Private War of Major Benson (1955) and as the wife of an assistant D.A. fighting gangland on the New York waterfront in Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957). After 1957, her contract with Universal having expired, Adams successfully transitioned into television where she remained a firm favorite in westerns and crime dramas, guest-starring in just about every classic prime-time series covering both genres (Perry Mason (1957) being her personal favorite). Latterly, she had a popular recurring role as real estate lady Eve Simpson in Murder, She Wrote (1984). Adams was still in demand for occasional screen appearances well into her 90s.
She was married twice: first, to writer-producer Leonard Stern, and, secondly, to the actor Ray Danton. Julie Adams passed away in Los Angeles on February 3, 2019 at the age of 92. Her autobiography (co-written with her son Mitchell Danton), entitled "The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon" appeared in 2011.49 westerns
#5, 1952 -Bend of the River (1952).
#2, Slim Carter (1957).
#2, 1959 -The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959).
1926 -.- Actress
- Writer
Born in Chicago in 1885, silent screen actress Myrtle Stedman's (née Lincoln) musical talents developed quite early, finding herself on stage at age 12 singing light opera in the chorus. She had progressed to singing leads in shows by the time she decided to abandon her music career altogether for the movies.
She and actor-husband Marshall Stedman were signed by the Selig Polyscope Co. in 1911 and Myrtle's first credit was The Two Orphans (1911), a three-reeler. She was often directed or paired up with Marshall during those early years, but Myrtle was the one who stood out with moviegoers. Known as "the girl with the pearly eyes," she was not only an adorably enchanting and enigmatic presence in film drama, her athletic abilities also complemented westerns and action adventures.
She moved to the Bosworth Company in 1914 and appeared in such noteworthy silents as The Country Mouse (1914), Jane (1915), Peer Gynt (1915), and, most notably, the classic Hypocrites (1915), the last helmed by pioneer lady director Lois Weber. She increased her reputation as a fine actress with The American Beauty (1916), As Men Love (1917), In the Hollow of Her Hand (1918) and The Teeth of the Tiger (1919). Her son, Lincoln Stedman, made his debut as a juvenile player about this time. She and her husband divorced in 1919.
Following her rich roles in Reckless Youth (1922) and The Famous Mrs. Fair (1923), which was considered one of her finest, her star began to fade and she began to support other stars such as Colleen Moore in Flaming Youth (1923); May McAvoy in Tessie (1925); and Mary Astor in No Place to Go (1927).
Come the advent of sound, Myrtle seemed to move with ease into matronly secondary roles in such films as The Jazz Age (1929), Little Accident (1930), Beau Ideal (1931), Klondike (1932) and The Widow in Scarlet (1932), but by 1933, she had regressed to unbilled roles and pretty much stayed in that capacity up until the time of her death. Myrtle suffered a heart attack in late 1937 and declined quickly, dying on January 8, 1938 at age 52. Her ex-husband died in 1943 and her son, Lincoln, died in 1948.- Actress
- Producer
It's hard to be very specific about any dates or events early in the life of Texas Guinan. She loved publicity and frequently improvised facts about herself when she felt they made better stories than the truth. She was born in Waco, Texas, but likely not on a ranch as she often claimed. She was active in vaudeville and theater, and was in many movies (often as the gun-toting hero in silent westerns, more than a match for any man). In the prohibition era, Tex's talents for entertainment and self-promotion came together for a successful career as the owner and hostess in night clubs and speakeasies, where she made certain everyone had a good time.42 westerns, 18-21.
41 -#1 western credits.
South of Santa Fe (1919), 1919.
A Moonshine Feud (1920). 1920.
1884-1933, 49.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Vivacious blue-eyed blonde Penny Edwards was born in New York City in 1928 and displayed signs of musical talent as a youth. She began studying dance by age six and, as a teen, appeared on Broadway in "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1943". After a couple of other musicals and a stint with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, she was signed by Warner Brothers in 1947. She showed great perk and promise as a second lead, singing and dancing opposite the likes of Dennis Morgan and Ben Blue in her film debut, My Wild Irish Rose (1947). She continued on winningly in the Shirley Temple vehicle That Hagen Girl (1947); then alongside Morgan again in Two Guys from Texas (1948); with Donald O'Connor and Marjorie Main in the rube musical Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1948); and in another musical, Tucson (1949).
After a successful vaudeville tour, Penny was signed by Republic Pictures and started off in a series of "prairie flower" ingénue roles while temporarily replacing a pregnant Dale Evans in a number of Roy Rogers oaters. In 1951, she wed agent Ralph Winters and had two daughters: Deborah Winters (born 1954), who would go on to become an actress in her own right, and Rebecca (born 1956). After a succession of "B" movies, Penny left Hollywood to focus on religious work. She later reappeared on the more popular TV shows of the day, including the westerns Tales of Wells Fargo (1957), Wagon Train (1957) and Bonanza (1959), and in light-hearted entertainment alongside Robert Cummings and Red Skelton in their respective shows. Penny's lovely, ladylike features also made a significant dent in the commercial market, appearing as "The Lux Girl", "The Palmolive Girl" and "The Tiparillo Girl".
Following her divorce in 1958, Penny married Jerry Friedman and they had a son, David. That 1964 union would end up in the divorce courts as well. Penny retired from show biz completely by the mid-1960s and died, in 1998, of lung cancer, just two days after her 70th birthday.- Princess Mona Darkfeather was born Josephine M. Workman in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles on 13 January 1882. Her grandparents were William Workman (1799-1876), a native of England, and Nicolasa Urioste (1802-1892), who hailed from the Taos Pueblo of New Mexico. Consequently, though Darkfeather stated in a 1914 film magazine interview that she was descended "from an aristocratic Spanish family," she likely had at least some Indian blood through her grandmother. Her father was José (Joseph) Workman (1833-1901), who worked as a ranch superintendent in Kern County, California, when he married Josephine Belt (1850-1937), a native of Stockton, California, of American and Peruvian ancestry. Josephine was the youngest of their seven children.
The first hint of her involvement in entertainment appears to have been captured in the 1900 federal census, where her profession was given as "whistler." Some have speculated this was a job calling out to passersby to visit a nickelodeon theater. In 1909, however, the year films were first made in Los Angeles, Josephine answered an advertisement calling for a dark-featured woman for acting roles. Quickly, she became a major star in the fledgling film industry in Hollywood with her peak period of activity coming between 1913 and 1915.
Working with film director Frank E. Montgomery (a.k.a., Akley), Princess Mona made dozens of short films as a stereotypical Indian for such companies as Bison, Nestor, Kalem and Centaur and one full-length film for Universal in 1917. Her last film appearance was in 1926. Her husband continued to work in the industry as a cameraman and bit player, the former Princess lived in obscurity for decades.
She lived in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles until her death on 3 September 1977 when she was 95 years old. She died as a ward of the State of California and her collection of film memorabilia, recalled by relatives, was likely discarded as she had lost contact with her family. Josephine Workman/Princess Mona Darkfeather was buried in an unmarked grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, but in late 2014 her great-nephew, Doug Neilson, had a grave marker installed to identify this early silent film star. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Lovely brown-eyed, brunette Claire Du Brey enjoyed a rich, four-decade film career in all. Born Clara Violet Dubrey on August 31, 1892, in Bonner's Ferry Idaho, her family traveled the rugged Sierra Madre terrain by covered wagon in their move to California when she was 13.
Educated in a convent setting and once trained to be a nurse, Claire responded to an newspaper ad and found employment working part time in motion pictures. From there, she found herself in front of the camera, making her movie debut as star Billie Burke's friend in the Triangle release Peggy (1916). Universal saw a leading lady vamp in her, however, and from 1917 she enjoyed star billing in such silent short and feature-length vehicles as Princess Dione in the Rex Ingram-directed The Reward of the Faithless (1917); The Fighting Gringo (1917), opposite Harry Carey; Anything Once (1917) and The Winged Mystery (1917) both co-starring Franklyn Farnum; Brace Up (1918) with Herbert Rawlinson; the family drama The Magic Eye (1918); and A Man in the Open (1919) with Dustin Farnum. She also appeared in a number of Lon Chaney's early Universal vehicles such as The Rescue (1917) Pay Me! (1917) and Triumph (1917).
A versatile player whether asked to portray royalty, servants, temptresses or prairie flowers, Claire turned to Los Angeles stage plays during an early 1920s lull in film offers and graced such vehicles as "Madame X," "Spring Cleaning" and "The Youngest". Later "jazz age" film roles included The Sea Hawk (1924), Drusilla with a Million (1925) Exquisite Sinner (1926), and The Devil Dancer (1927).
During the declining period of her career (1928), Claire met actress Marie Dressler and they became close friends. Claire wound up serving as Dressler's secretary, fan mail handler and travel companion. In reward, Dressler arranged for Claire to get small roles a few of her talking films Politics (1931) and Prosperity (1932). She also served as Dressler's nurse in 1933 when the elder woman was dying of cancer.
As a character actress, Claire became much in demand throughout the late 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, appearing in general purpose roles as secretaries, nurses, salesladies, housekeepers, matrons, spinsters, relatives, etc. On a rare occasion she managed to stand out, none more so than in her mad scene as Bertha Rochester in a "B"-level version of Jane Eyre (1934) starring Colin Clive and Virginia Bruce. Seen sporadically on TV into the 1950s, she retired by the end of the decade. Her last film roles were in Girls Town (1959) and The Miracle (1959), both unbilled.
An early marriage to a doctor, Mark Gorman, ended in divorce. She lived another four decades after leaving the limelight. In her final years she grew deaf and her health quite fragile, dying at the age of 100 on August 1, 1993.40 westerns, 17-59.
#2, The Newspaper (1958). 1958.
#2, A 44-Calibre Mystery (1917). 1917.
#2, The Almost Good Man (1917).
#2, The Drifter (1917).
#2, The Honor of an Outlaw (1917).
#2, Six-Shooter Justice (1917).
#2, The Fighting Gringo (1917).
1892 - 1993, (100).- Despite her eastern roots, Ruth Cornwall Woodman created one of the great anthologies about the American West. A descendant of Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop and a Vassar graduate, Woodman was a mother of two and wife to a New York investment banker when she was asked to create a radio show (she was working at the time as a copywriter in an advertising agency). Given the product ties of the sponsor (U.S. Borax) to the remote desert region of the United States, Woodman thought the program should be tied to that area. The sponsor agreed, on one condition--that she travel to the region (the sponsor didn't want stories coming out of the imagination of someone sitting back in New York). Woodman's creation, "Death Valley Days," with its devotion to realistic drama and western character studies, ran on American network radio from 1931 to 1951 and then on television for another two decades.
Woodman's trips to the Death Valley region to pick up bits of fact and fiction themselves became legend. On her first trip, Woodman recalled later, she encountered Death Valley Scotty, a man who had built a castle in the desert and rode around in a car that had a machine gun on the front.
In her lifetime, Woodman became known as one of the foremost authorities on Death Valley history and folklore. She served as story editor and chief writer of "Death Valley Days" until she retired in 1959, although she still wrote occasional scripts for the series. She died in 1970 at the age of 75 following a brief illness. - Actress
- Casting Director
- Casting Department
Peggy Rea was born on 31 March 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress and casting director, known for Grace Under Fire (1993), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) and Love Field (1992). She died on 5 February 2011 in Toluca Lake, California, USA.66 westerns, 57-78.
#2, 1965 -Canary Harris vs. the Almighty (1965).
#3, 1959 -Maggie O'Bannion (1959).
#4, 1961 - The Education of Sara Jane (1961).
1921-2011, 89.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Adele Buffington was born on 12 February 1900 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was a writer, known for The Duke Comes Back (1937), West of Singapore (1933) and Jiggs and Maggie Out West (1950). She was married to Edward Vore. She died on 23 November 1973 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Luci Ward was born on 30 November 1907 in Ouachita Parish, Monroe, Louisiana, USA. She was a writer, known for Red River Range (1938), Mountain Justice (1937) and The Frozen Ghost (1945). She was married to Jack Natteford. She died on 30 November 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Doris Schroeder was born on 7 February 1893 in Far Rockaway, New York, USA. Doris was a writer, known for The Silent Avenger (1927), The Wolf and His Mate (1918) and Her Night of Nights (1922). Doris was married to George D. Green. Doris died on 4 January 1981 in Sacramento, California, USA.- Kay Lenard was born on 20 March 1911 in Ansonia, Connecticut, USA. Kay was a writer, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), Combat! (1962) and World of Giants (1959). Kay was married to Jess Carneol. Kay died on 21 January 1997 in Portland, Oregon, USA.
- Elizabeth Beecher was born on 19 February 1898 in Connecticut, USA. She was a writer, known for Swing in the Saddle (1944), Rough Riders of Cheyenne (1945) and Cowboy in the Clouds (1943). She died on 3 March 1973 in Burbank, California, USA.44 westerns, 41-56.
1898-1973, 75. - Glen Walters was born on 17 June 1901 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She was an actress, known for She Goes to War (1929), Man Bait (1926) and The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961). She died on 26 April 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.39 westerns, 26-73.
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926), 1926.
The Stone (1973). 1973.
1901-1997, 95. Canada. USA. - One of the more prolific serial actresses, Neva Gerber's film credits go back to 1912, when she was making one-reelers for Kalem. Her first serial, as far as is known, was The Great Secret (1917). She alternated between serial work and one-reel comedies for Universal and other studios and appeared in The Voice on the Wire (1917), the first of nine serials she would make with producer/director Ben F. Wilson (to whom she was not, as has been erroneously reported, married). She made some first-rate westerns with Harry Carey and a series of very cheap ones with the deservedly obscure Dick Hatton (who, according to veteran stuntman and director Yakima Canutt, was terrified of three things--guns, horses and the outdoors). She then reteamed with Wilson to make westerns, adventures and serials again, winding up her career with The Voice from the Sky (1929). After Wilson died later that year, she retired from films. She died in Palm Springs, California, in 1974.32 westerns, 18-29.
#1 credit in western:
The Seventh Sheriff (1923). 1923
In the West (1923). 1923
Sagebrush Gospel (1924). 1924
Days of '49 (1924). 1924
Wolves of the Desert (1926). 1926
California in '49 (1924). 1924
Trouble Trail (1924). 1924. - Marian Clark was one of the first female news writers in radio, working for KNX during World War II. Later, she became friends with Hollywood writer Kathleen Hite, who thought scriptwriting would be good therapy for her (Clark was confined to a wheelchair). Hite introduced Clark to "Gunsmoke" producer Norman Macdonnell, and a new career was born. Clark subsequently worked steadily in network radio and television, providing nearly eighty scripts for the "Gunsmoke" radio series between 1957 and 1961. Many of those stories were also adapted for the television version of that famous Western. She also wrote one script for the radio version of "Have Gun, Will Travel" and one script for the "Klondike" television series. Clark died at 50, following a three-year battle with breast cancer.24 westerns, 59-63.
- Olive Cooper was born on 31 July 1892 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942), The Return of Jimmy Valentine (1936) and Orphans of the Street (1938). She died on 17 June 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Patricia Harper was born on 21 February 1908 in Indiana, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Secret Agent X-9 (1945), Blazing Frontier (1943) and Trail to Gunsight (1944). She died on 15 April 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Karen DeWolf was born on 14 February 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for Condemned to Live (1935), Bulldog Edition (1936) and Adventures of Casanova (1948). She was married to Conrad Wells, Eric DeWof, John Warfield Wells and Dennis Grady. She died on 20 July 1989 in Encino, California, USA.
- A graduate of the University of Montana, Dorothy Marie Johnson left her widowed mother in Whitefish, Montana and moved to New York City, where she worked as a writer and an editor of women's magazines. In 1950, she returned to Whitefish and edited the local paper for three years; she then joined the faculty of the University of Montana School of Journalism. She subsequently published seventeen books and fifty-two short stories, all primarily about the American West.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Mary C. McCall Jr. was born on 4 April 1904 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer, known for Swing Shift Maisie (1943), I Promise to Pay (1937) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). She was married to David Bramson and Dwight Franklin. She died on 3 April 1986 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Gladys Atwater was born on 12 August 1899 in Oakland, California, USA. She was a writer, known for Underground Agent (1942), Criminal Lawyer (1937) and First Yank Into Tokyo (1945). She was married to Curtiss Eckfeldt Atwater and J. Robert Bren. She died on 25 March 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jean Holloway, born Gratia Jean Casey in San Francisco, became interested in writing for radio after winning a poetry contest upon graduating from San Jose State College. From the late 1930s, she worked on a number of quality syndicated programs, including "The Kate Smith Show" and "The Hallmark Radio Hall of Fame". She was eventually signed as a screenwriter by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the mid-'40s, her collaborations including the popular musical biopic Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). Holloway left MGM after what she described as "three miserable years" and went on to fulfill her ambition to write drama for the new medium of television. While working on the first continuous daytime soap The First Hundred Years (1950), she met her future husband, the actor Dan Tobin.
Halfway through the decade, Holloway developed a TV version of the popular radio show Mayor of the Town (1954), starring Thomas Mitchell and Kathleen Freeman. This sitcom ran to 39 episodes, lasting just one season before being cancelled. She then scripted a variety of episodes in diverse genres (including more than a few of Wagon Train (1957)) before creating The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968), based on the novel by R.A. Dick and starring Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare. Holloway wrote the pilot, eventually scripting some 50 episodes of the series. 'Ghost' was not filmed in Maine (as the story suggested), but in Santa Barbara, California (the cottage featured in the show, Gull House, was actually nowhere near a beach!). While developing a cult following in subsequent years, the series only ran for two seasons due to stiff competition from other channels in the same time slot. Holloway remained steadily productive as a TV writer until her retirement in 1983. She died six years later in Santa Monica following a stroke.- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Ella O'Neill was born on 15 November 1885 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was a writer, known for Detective Lloyd (1932), Danger Island (1931) and Flash Gordon (1936). She died on 17 December 1984 in San Bernardino, California, USA.- Agnes Brand Leahy was born on 18 August 1893 in Portland, Oregon, USA. She was a writer, known for The Spoilers (1930), The Social Lion (1930) and Only the Brave (1930). She was married to Frederic Leahy. She died on 31 March 1934 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Carmen Laroux was born on 4 September 1909 in Durango, Mexico. She was an actress, known for Cavalier of the West (1931), Saved by the Belle (1939) and Las campanas de Capistrano (1930). She was married to Elmer Ellsworth and ? Ybarra. She died on 24 August 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Actress
Sally Winters is known for The Hunted Men (1930), The Phantom Rider (1929) and A Texas Cowboy (1929).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sally Payne was born on 5 September 1912 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Man from Cheyenne (1942), Young Bill Hickok (1940) and Bad Man of Deadwood (1941). She was married to Arthur F. Kelly and William Telaak. She died on 8 May 1999 in Los Angeles, California, USA.21 westerns, 36-54.
Rodeo Dough (1940). 1940.
Sally Whittacker, Man from Cheyenne (1942). 1942.
1912 - 1999, 86.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Born in Prairie Hill, Texas, in 1909, lovely Nell O'Day had the obvious breeding credentials to become a leading lady of westerns. She began as a child dancer in the early 1920s, later performing with the Tommy Atkins Sextet. This led to a part in the early musical King of Jazz (1930) and the stage play "Fine and Dandy" with dancer Eleanor Powell. This was impetus enough to make her stay and try her luck at a film career. A string of comedy shorts with Harry Langdon began things off, along with a few secondary parts in feature films, including This Side of Heaven (1934) with Lionel Barrymore, Woman in the Dark (1934) with Fay Wray and a juicy part in an interesting exploitation film for low-rent producer Willis Kent, The Road to Ruin (1934). In the 1940s she joined Universal's roster of western players and, thanks to her experience as a horsewoman, won a recurring cowgirl role in a series of hoss operas opposite star Johnny Mack Brown and his sidekick Fuzzy Knight. She was "second lead" in the horror film Mystery of Marie Roget (1942) with Maria Montez and went on to appear in westerns for other studios, including Republic and Monogram. She returned to the stage on occasion, and retired in 1945 after performing in the Broadway play "Many Happy Returns." She then turned full-time to writing; one success was the play "The Bride of Denmark Hill," which was later turned into a BBC-TV production in England. Interspersed were a couple of marriages and divorces. She died in 1989.