Many of the stars of silent westerns were young horse wranglers who left the open fields to make extra money bulldogging steers and chasing Indians around arenas in traveling Wild West shows. They made their way to Hollywood when the popularity of the Wild West shows began to decline, found work acting in action-packed silent westerns, and became idols for early moviegoers everywhere.
More than 100 of those cowboys who starred in silent westerns between 1903 and 1930 are highlighted in this work. Among those included are Art Acord, Broncho Billy Anderson, Harry Carey, Fred Cody, Bob Custer, Jack Daugherty, William Desmond, William Duncan, Dustin Farnum, William Farnum, Hoot Gibson, Neal Hart, William S. Hart, Jack Holt, Jack Hoxie, Buck Jones, J. Warren Kerrigan, George Larkin, Leo Maloney, Ken Maynard, Tim McCoy, Tom Mix, Pete Morrison, Jack Mower, Jack Perrin, William Russell, Bob Steele, Fred Thompson, Tom Tyler, and Wally Wales, to name just a few. Biographical information and a complete filmography are provided for each actor. Richly illustrated with more than 300 movie stills.

The late Buck Rainey wrote scores of articles for Western and serial fanzines and several books. He lived in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.

Buck Rainey
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 720
Bibliographic Info: 302 photos, filmographies, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014 [2004]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9364-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1524-0
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations viii
Preface 1

Art Acord 3
Ernie Adams 12
G.M. Broncho Billy Anderson 22
William Barrymore/Boris Bullock/Kit Carson 31
Buzz Barton 32
Noah Beery, Sr. 38
Hank Bell 48
Rex Bell 55
The Burns Brothers—Fred, Bob and Ed 61
Yakima Canutt 73
Harry Carey 86
Horace B. Carpenter 99
Ted Carspm 105
Lane Chandler 106
George Chesebro 119
Cheyenne Bill 130
Fred Church/Montana Bill 133
Leonard Clapham/Tom London 138
Edmund Cobb 158
Bill Cody 175
Don Coleman 182
Benny Corbett 186
Jim Corey 193
Lester Cuneo 199
Bob Curwood 203
Bob Custer 206
Jack Daugherty 211
Denver Dixon 215
Philip Yale Drew 218
William Duncan 219
William Fairbanks 227
Dustin Farnum 232
Franklyn Farnum 234
William Farnum 243
Al Ferguson 250
Maurice (Lefty) Flynn 257
Bill Gettinger/William A. Steele 260
Hoot Gibson 263
Fred Gilman 276
Shorty Hamilton 279
Joe Hamman 282
Albert (Al) Hart 283
Neal Hart 286
William S. Hart 295
C. Edward (Dick) Hatton 302
Fred Hawk 305
Gilbert (Pee Wee) Holmes 305
Jack Holt 307
Newton House 319
Alton (Al) Hoxie 321
Jack Hoxie 327
Fred Humes 336
Al Jennings 340
Charles (Buck) Jones 342
J. Warren Kerrigan 353
George Kesterson/Art Mix 360
Fred Kohler 364
Robert (Bob) Kortman 370
Richard (Dick) La Reno 377
George Larkin 380
Rex Lease 385
John Lowell 395
Jack Luden 398
Cliff Lyons 401
Tim McCoy 406
Wallace MacDonald 416
Lafe McKee 422
Robert (Bob) McKenzie 431
George Magrill 437
Leo D. Maloney 441
Ken Maynard 450
Kermit (Tex) Maynard 459
Lew Meehan 470
Tom Mix 477
Peter Morrison 492
Jack Mower 500
Bobby Nelson 511
George O’Brien 515
Bud Osborne 522
Jack Padjan 536
Bill Patton 538
Pawnee Bill, Jr./Ted Wells 543
Jack Perrin 547
Ranger Bill Miller 559
Robert (Bob) Reeves 560
Al Richmond 566
Joe Rickson 567
Buddy Roosevelt 570
Rex De Rosselli 580
William Russell 582
Joe Ryan 588
Tom Santschi 590
Bob Steele 599
Roy Stewart 611
Billy Sullivan 619
Fred Thomson 621
Rom Tyler 627
Wally Wales/Hal Taliaferro/Floyd Alderson 635
J (ames) B. Warner 648
Charles (Slim) Whitaker 650
Guinn (Big Boy) Williams 658
Jay Wilsey 668
Ben Wilson 675
Erwin (Curley) Witzell 684
Harry Woods 685

Further Reading 695
Index 699

“a major source in the study of silent Westerns. It should be added to any research library of silent movie information”—Big Reel; “extraordinary…a must have…mighty impressive…a terrific job chronicling the lives and careers of the actors…super writing and research, the filmographies are absolutely outstanding…a superior, comprehensive volume…enjoyable to read and the photos…all 302 of ’em!…are a dream…among the very best works on movie westerns’ written today…sure to become [a] classic”—Classic Images; “a very thorough look at western actors from the silent era…a great attention to detail and accuracy throughout this volume…recommended”—Examiner.com; “in his long, distinguished career as a western film historian and author, Buck Rainey has never failed to deliver the goods. With his latest endeavor he has delivered up the best…simply a great piece of work…the quintessential encyclopedic work on western actors who began their careers during the silent era…a darn good read…over 300 photos, many of them never printed before…an absolute must… a treasure…valuable”—Western Clippings; “excellent addition to any good film and cinema reference collection”—ARBA; “you’ll learn interesting facts…the book’s images are so captivating that you’ll wish you could see the title card that would have appeared afterward”—True West; “an extensive historical reference…a good encyclopedic reference”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly; “huge”—The Old Cowboy Picture Show; “extensive research and interviews”—Cowboys & Indians; “staggering…fascinating”—Western Revue; “well illustrated”—Reference & Research Book News.