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.