Some of Charles C. Chaney's
Favorite B-Western Performers
 from the 1930's

George O'Brien 
1899 - 1985

One of my favorite B-Western stars is George O'Brien.  He had a starring role in John Ford's THE IRON HORSE (1924) and was the male lead in F. W. Murnau's classic SUNRISE (1927).  He starred in six more Ford films but never became a major star.  He began making B-Westerns so that throughout most of the 1930's he was a popular cowboy actor.  Toward the end of the 1930's he suddenly enlisted in the Navy.  When he returned after World War II, he was one of the many cowboy actors of the '30's who could not regain their pre-war status.  He re-entered the Navy for the Korean conflict and retired in 1963.  He appeared in films and television.  O'Brien had supporting roles in some of John Ford's westerns:  Fort Apache (RKO, 1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (RKO, 1949) and, Cheyenne Autumn (WB, 1964).  He even appeared in a Three Stooges film:  Gold Raiders (UA, 1951)

Brian's Drive-In Theater page about George O'Brien
George O'Brien - The Old Corral Web Site
International Movie Data Base
 

Ken Maynard
 1895- 1973

He appeared in many B-Westerns .  He was a champion rodeo rider and a trick rider in the Buffalo Bill and the Ringling Brothers Wild West shows.  He broke into films as a stunt man about 1923 and soon became a major cowboy star.  Children loved his riding stunts on his horse TARZAN.  He successfully made the transition to sound and was one of the earliest singing cowboys.  His popularity declined in the late 1930s and he was off the screen by 1939.   He returned to the rodeo circuit.  Although he made a few low-budget Westerns in 1943-45, he retired altogether.  In later years, he would occasionally appear at rodeos, state fairs and films.  He had had a problem with alcohol for years and after his wife died he lived in a trailer and suffered from malnutrition.  He died poor and essentially forgotten.

Ken Maynard- The Old Corral Web Site
International Movie Data Base

 

Bob Steele
 1907 - 1988
Real name: Robert Adrian Bradbury
Sometimes credited as: Bob Bradbury, Robert North Bradbury, Jr.

He was 14 when he began appearing in documentary short films directed by his father Robert North Bradbury.  He later was in some juvenile parts in some Westerns his father directed.  In 1927 he began starring in cowboy films and continued a successful career in screen westerns through the early 1940s.  He was one of "The Three Mesquiteers" in the popular series of that name.  He played straight dramatic roles as in Of Mice and Men.  By the late 1940s he was playing character roles and appeared in films every few years until the early 1970s.  He was a regular cast member of the 1960s TV comedy F Troop.

Bob Steele - The Old Corral Web Site
 International Movie Data Base

 

 

Buck Jones
 1889- 1942
Real name: Charles Frederick Gebhard (Gebhart)

He was  an expert rider since childhood.  He joined the U.S. cavalry when he was 17 and fought in Mexico and the Philippines.  After seven years duty he was discharged.  He appeared in circuses and wild west shows.  In 1917 he began working as an extra and stuntman in films.  He landed his first leading role in The Last Straw in 1920 which established him as a star.  His popularity surpassed that of Tom Mix and William S. Hart as the top cowboy star.  He had good looks, a great physique, outstanding riding skills and his horse SILVER.  His popularity was high throughout the 1930s but by the early 1940s was demoted to co-starring in the Rough Rider series.  While on a campaign selling U.S. war bonds in December 1942, he died in the infamous fire at the Cotton Club nightclub in Boston.  He had returned to the burning building to save others but was fatally injured in the process.

      Buck Jones - The Old Corral Web Site
      International Movie Data Base

 

Tom Tyler
1903 - 1954
 Real name:  Vincent Markowski

He was 21 when he entered films as an extra and stuntman.  He played supporting roles in some late silent films then signed a contract to star in Western films.  He became a popular cowboy star and survived the transition to sound.  He starred in a number of serials in the early 1930s.  He remained popular through the early 1940s. He played supporting roles in such films as Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach and The Grapes of Wrath.  He starred in the serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel and played the mummy in The Mummy's Hand.  He was struck with a crippling rheumatic condition that hindered his career throughout the decade.  By the early 1950s he was broke.  He was 50 when he died of a heart attack.

Tom Tyler - The Old Corral Web Site
 Tom Tyler photos at Brian's Drive-In Theater
Tom Tyler, the official home page (operated by the Tyler family)
 International Movie Data Base

 
 

Some Websites about B-Western movies and cowboy stars that I enjoy:

The Old Corral, Remembering the B-Western Movies
 CowboyPal, The home of the Silver Screen Cowboys

Among the sources used for this page are several works:
The VideoHound & AMC All-Movie Guide Stargazer. Visible Ink Press. Detroit: 1996.
Various editions of Leslie Halliwell's The Filmgoer's Companion. Hill and Wang. New York: 1910 &  later.
Everson, William K. The Hollywood Western. Citadel Press. New York: 1992, 1969.

The pictures used on this site are assumed to be public domain or allowed by the fair use provisions of the copyright law. There is no intention to infringe upon existing copyrights or trademarks. Any misuse of materials is unintentional and will be promptly removed upon notification. I can be reached by email.   Charles C. Chaney

This page is maintained by: Charles C. Chaney
 Changes last made on: 15 May 2008
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