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Born Harry Lewis Woods on 5 May
1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, The dean of Western heavies, Woods traded blows
and bullets with nearly every cowboy star in movie history during his 40-year
screen career. The former salesman-powerfully built, with piercing eyes and a
cruel smile-made an ideal villain, first in Pearl White silent serials and later
in B Westerns and melodramas. Woods plied his trade in big-budget pictures also,
but usually in smaller roles. He had some of his most memorable moments in The
Viking 1929, The Lone Rider 1930, When a Man's a Man 1935, The Plainsman 1936,
Courage of the West 1937, Beau Geste 1939, Tall in the Saddle 1944, Thunder
Mountain 1947, and Lone Star 1952. His last film was The Ten Commandments 1956.
He appeared in twelve movies with John Wayne.
Born Fred Graham on 26 October
1908 in Springer, New Mexico Baseball gave Fred his start in motion pictures. In
1928 he worked for the M.G.M sound department, he also played semi-pro baseball
on the side. The studio made a murder picture called Death on the Diamond 1934,
starring Robert Young and Nat Pendleton. Fred was hired to tutor Young and
Pendleton in the fine points of the game Fred doubled Pendleton in the catching
scenes. This started Fred on a 40+ year career as a stuntman and actor. While at
the studio he doubled Clark Gable, Nelson Eddy and Charles Bickford. Fred went
over to Warner Bros in 1938 to double Basil Rathbone in The Adventures of Robin
Hood 1938. In 1941 he moved to Republic Fred met John Wayne there and stunted
for Wayne in many of his films. Fred also appeared in many films as an actor, he
usually played truck drivers, cops and crooks etc, Fred appeared in 15 movies
with John Wayne. In 1968 Fred went to work for Arizona's Department of
Economic Development of Motion Pictures. In 1978 "Slugger" a nickname he
got at Republic passed away on 10 October 1979 in Scottsdale, Arizona,
USA.
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Born Palmer Lee 25 January 1927 in
San Francisco, California, USA, Norwegian by heritage and a San Franciscan by
birth, brown-haired. brown-eyed Gregg Palmer broke into show biz as
a radio announcer. After an early '50s stint as a contract player at Universal,
he turned to freelancing, closing out the decade by starring and co-starring in
a number of detective, Western and sci-fi adventures. In the '60s, Palmer
drifted into supporting roles and much TV work, and reinforced his growing rep
with Western fans by becoming a regular member of John Wayne's latter-day stock
company. Gregg appeared in six movies with John Wayne.
Born Richmond Reed Carradine on 5
February 1906 in New York, New York, USA. Son of a reporter/artist and a
surgeon. Grew up in Peekskill and Kingston NY. Attended Christ Church School,
and Graphic Art School, studying sculpture. Roamed the South selling sketches.
This gaunt, deep-voiced Shakespearean actor would be a safe choice to win any
competition for Most Movies Ever Made. A classically trained stage actor of the
bravura school, he relished showy character parts, no matter how minor the
footage; he can truly be said to have believed the old adage, "There are no
small roles, only small actors." Carradine wasn't above chewing a little scenery
here and there, and left unrestrained he frequently could be seen going over the
top. But when handled by a great director-say, John Ford, for whom Carradine was
extremely effective-he delivered brilliant performances. He can be glimpsed in
bit roles in the early 1930s, in everything from The Sign of the Cross 1932 to
such Universal horror classics as The Black Cat 1934 and Bride of Frankenstein
1935. In the late 1930s, Carradine worked virtually nonstop in dozens of films,
including such John Ford landmarks as Stagecoach, Drums Along the Mohawk both
1939, and The Grapes of Wrath 1940, as well as Captains Courageous 1937, Jesse
James, The Hound of the Baskervilles both 1939, and Blood and Sand 1941. In the
1940s, he renewed his association with Universal horror films, playing Dracula
in House of Frankenstein 1944 and House of Dracula 1945, John appeared in four
movies with John Wayne. John passed away on 27 November 1988 in Milan,
Italy of natural causes.
Born Granville G. Withers on 17
January 1904 in Pueblo, Colorado, USA. Strappingly handsome leading man Grant
Withers worked as an oil company salesman and newspaper reporter before he
turned to acting in 1926. One of the more popular second echelon stars of the
early '30s, Withers was unable to sustain his celebrity. By the end of the
1930s, Withers was pretty much limited to character roles and bits, with such
notable exceptions as the recurring role of the brash Lt. Street in Monogram's
Mr. Wong series. In 1930, Withers eloped with 17-year-old actress Loretta Young,
but the marriage was later annulled. Some of Withers' later screen appearances
were arranged through the auspices of his friends John Ford and John Wayne.
Grant appeared in nine movies with John Wayne, Grant committed suicide on
27 March 1959 in North Hollywood, California, USA., leaving behind a note in
which he apologized to all the people he'd let down during his Hollywood
days.
Born Charles Lafayette King Jr on
21 February 1895 in Hillsboro, Texas, USA. In films since his adolescence
(he appeared in 1915's "Birth of a Nation"), Charles King played a variety of
roles in silent films, and even made a series of comedy shorts for Universal in
the '20s. However, it was as a western villain that King achieved his greatest
fame. In the 1930s and 1940s, he appeared in scores of westerns, and was usually
killed off before the end of the movie. There's a great line in "Blazing
Saddles" where Gene Wilder says, "I've killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille";
well, it's doubtful that anybody has been killed more times in films than
Charlie King. He's been beaten up and shot by the likes of John Wayne, Buster
Crabbe, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, and pretty much anybody who ever appeared in a
film with him, Charles appeared in four movies with the Duke. After a memorable
career as a punching bag and moving target for most of the actors in Hollywood,
Charlie King retired, and died on 7 May 1957 in Hollywood, California,
USA.
Born Leonard Clapham on 24 August
1889 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Grizzled character actor of scores of
Westerns. A native of Kentucky, he spent his early manhood as a salesman. He
obtained work with the Selig film company in Chicago as a property man and came
to California when that firm moved west. He began to get small parts in the
Westerns Selig produced and both his expertise with horses and his rugged
appearance soon led him to larger roles. In 1924, he adopted the stage name Tom
London after years of performing under his real name. He played heavies and
comical roles with equal skill and became, throughout the Thirties and Forties,
a familiar face low-budget pictures. He played the comic sidekick to Western
star Sunset Carson in a number of B-Westerns and continued to play character
roles until his death on 5 December 1963 in North Hollywood, California,
USA.
Born LeRoy Mason on 2 July 1903 in
Larimore, North Dakota, USA.
The quintessential "Big Boss" heavy
in B-Westerns, with or without a mustache, LeRoy Mason entered films in the
mid-'20s as Roy Mason, playing mostly juveniles. After the advent of talkies, he
was usually on the wrong side of the law, appearing opposite nearly every
Western star on the Hollywood prairie, a career that included quite a few action
serials as well. By the 1940s, he had become one of the busiest character actors
in Hollywood, switching from 20th Century Fox to Republic and back again with
seemingly little time to recuperate. In 1943, he signed a "term player" contract
with Republic and became busier than ever. The hectic schedule took an awful
toll, however, when he suffered a fatal heart attack on 13 October 1947 Los
Angeles, California, USA. while on the set of the 1947 Monte Hale Western
"California Firebrand".
Born Robert J. Wilke on 18 May
1914 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Prolific American character actor of primarily
villainous roles. He worked as a lifeguard at a Miami, Florida hotel, where he
made contacts in the business. He was able to obtain work as a stuntman and
continued as such until the mid-Forties, when he began getting actual roles in
low- budget Westerns. A prominent appearance as one of the heavies in High Noon
1952 led to work in higher quality films. He worked extensively in television as
well as movies, and became an enormously familiar face, though a fairly
Anonymous one to the general public. His weathered visage made him a perfect
Western bad guy, but he occasionally played sympathetic parts as well, as in
Days of Heaven 1978. An expert golfer, he was said by his friend Claude Akins to
have earned more money on the golf course than he ever did in movies, he only
appeared alongside the Duke in one film The Fighting Seabees. He died on 28
March 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Born Kenne Duncan on 17 February
1903 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Veteran movie villain Kenne Duncan began
plying his wicked trade in 1933. He hit his stride in the 1940s, when he was
under contract to Republic Pictures. Duncan sneered and skulked his way through
scores of westerns and serials, usually as the raffish aide-de-camp of the
principal heavy (as in the 1941 serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel). When
Republic slowed down production in the mid-1950s, Duncan reluctantly found
himself in the circle of Hollywood "fringies" who populated the films of
immortal bad-movie maven Ed Wood Jr. One of Kenne Duncan's final screen
appearances was as phony mystic and erstwhile vampire Dr. Acula in Wood's Night
of the Ghouls, Kenne appeared in four movies with John Wayne. Kenne passed away
on 5 February 1972 in Hollywood, California, USA.
Born Raymond Benard on 14 February
1902 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Ray was a physical culturist and very good
athlete. This is how he began working in Hollywood, as a physical fitness
trainer for movie stars. Bit parts in 1932 led to action roles in the "Undersea
Kingdom" and "The Leathernecks Have Landed" in 1936, the same year he began his
role as Tucson Smith in the "Three Mesquiteer" series for which he did 24
pictures before leaving in 1939. He also did 20 of the 24 "Range Busters" series
which ran from 1940 to 1943. He finished up playing apes in "White Gorilla"
(1947) and "Killer Apes" (1953) and the role of It in "It, the Terror from
Beyond Space" (1958), Crash appeared in eight movies with John Wayne.
After he retired he operated a number of successful businesses. One of these,
Corriganville, was a ranch and town used for filming TV and movie westerns. His
nickname 'Crash' derived from his powerful physique and willingness to undertake
dangerous stunts. Crash passed away on 10 August 1976 in Brookings Hollow,
Oregon, USA.
Earl Dwire Born on 3
October 1883 in Missouri, USA. American character actor Earl Dwire was most
closely associated with the B-Western movie mills of the 1930s. Dwire frequently
played the antagonist in the low-budget vehicles of such cowboy stars as Bob
Steele and Johnny Mack Brown. In the early '30s, he was virtually a regular in
the John Wayne Westerns produced by the Lone Star outfit. He also occasionally
accepted such contemporary minor roles as a priest in Angels With Dirty Faces
(1938) and a gangster in Accidents Will Happen (1939). Earl Dwire's last known
film credit was the Universal serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940).
He appeared in sixteen movies with John Wayne. Earl passed away on 16
January 1940 in Carmichael, California, USA.