Hoot Gibson
Hoot Gibson was a colorful figure, a light-hearted, fun-loving personality on screen and off. Hoot’s cheerful westerns included a significant amount of comedy. His mild, peaceful character rarely carried a gun. As an expert horseman, Hoot was always impressive on a galloping horse. Gibson’s film career began in 1910 with a few films for the Biograph Company interspersed among rodeo competitions. In 1914 he was a stuntman for the serial The Hazards of Helen, doubling the serial’s star Helen Holmes. His stunts included fights on trains and transfers from a train to a horse. He had supporting roles in numerous Western short films, including playing the villain in A Knight of the Range (1916) opposite popular western star Harry Carey. He appeared in three of the Westerns made by Carey and director John Ford in 1917: Straight Shooting, The Secret Man, and A Marked Man. Hoot’s starring career at Universal Studios was launched in two films directed by Ford, Action (1921) and Sure Fire (1921). In these films, Hoot plays a wandering cowboy who rescues the pretty young co-star from outlaws.
Hoot became a popular western star for Universal. Film titles such as Ridin’ Wild (1922), Thrill Chaser (1923), Hit and Run (1924), Hurricane Kid (1925), and Galloping Fury (1927) guaranteed Hoot’s fans five reels of action and fun. Hoot’s easygoing approach gave his films a lighthearted tone. A deft comedian, he featured as much comedy as drama.
As talkies arrived, Hoot continued as a Western star, but with lower budget producers such as M.H. Hoffman Inc. (distributed on a state rights basis by Allied Pictures Corporation) and Walker Futter Productions (Diversion Pictures). In 1935, Hoot co-starred with Harry Carey in Powdersmoke Range, advertised by RKO as the "Barnum and Bailey of Westerns" (whatever that means). The cast list of this "all star" (B western stars) film included Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Tom Tyler, William Farnum, and other Westerners from the silent era. In 1937 at Republic, he made a serial, The Painted Stallion, in support of new cowboy star Ray Corrigan.
An aging Hoot retained his fine horsemanship and comic flair, but fan interest had moved to the new singing cowboys, especially Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Hoot’s Westerns had lost their appeal. In the late thirties, out of movies, Hoot toured with circuses and appeared at rodeos and fairs.
In 1943, after seven years off the screen, Hoot returned in the Trail Blazer series at Monogram Studios. In these Westerns, Marshall Hoot Gibson, initially co-starred with Ken Maynard and later with Bob Steele and Chief Thundercloud, upholds the law and captures outlaws and crooked businessmen threatening the lives and property of innocent citizens. Hoot made eleven Trail Blazer films; the last was Trigger Law (1944). John Ford brought Hoot back for a cameo role in The Horse Soldiers (1959). His last screen appearance was as a sheriff’s deputy in Ocean’s Eleven (1960), another cameo.
Known for
Straight Shooting
Danny Morgan
Ocean's Eleven
Roadblock Deputy (uncredited)
Wild Horse
Jim Wright
The Horse Soldiers
Sgt. Brown
Superstition
Dave Bodie
Trailing Trouble
Ed King
Powdersmoke Range
Stony Brooke
Thieves' Clothes
Sure Fire
Jeff Bransford
Blazing Guns
Marshal Hoot Gibson
Sunset Range
Reasonin' Bates
Hello, 'Frisco
Hoot Gibson
The Fightin' Fury
The Man Who Woke Up
Trigger Law
Hoot Gibson
The Utah Kid
Marshal H.R. Higgins
Westward Bound
Hoot Gibson
The Soul Herder
Chuck Rafferty
Marked Trails
Hoot Parkford
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
West Is Best
Cinders
Bing Davidson
Action
Sandy Brouke
The Double Hold-Up
The Broncho Kid
The Smilin' Kid
We're switching to Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
The Broncho Kid
The Lariat Kid
Tom Richards
The Lone Hand
Jeffrey Halley
Headin' West
Bill Perkins
Roarin' Dan
Roarin' Dan
The Last Outlaw
Al Goss
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
The Passing of Hell's Crown
The Cowboy
The Saddle Hawk
Ben Johnson
A Knight of the Range
Bob Graham
The Face in the Watch
Single Handed
Hector MacKnight
Kingdom Come
The Lone Hand
Laramie Lad
The Voice on the Wire
The Thrill Chaser
Omar K. Jenkins
Kickaroo
The Grinning Granger
The Denver Dude
Rodeo Randall
Arizona Sweepstakes
Coot Cadigan
Clearing the Range
Curt 'El Capitan' Fremont
Headin' South
The Riding Avenger
Buck 'The Morning Glory Kid' Bonner
Roaring Ranch
Jim Dailey
The Fire Eater
Bob Corey
Clearing the Trail
Pete Watson
Wild Horse Stampede
Marshal Hoot Gibson
The Gun Packer
Gang Leader
The Fighting Brothers
Lonnie Larkin
The Buckaroo Kid
Ed Harley
Fight It Out
Sandy Adams
The Secret Man
Chuck Fadden
The Wrong Man
Chip's Pal
His Buddy
I Married Joan
The Cowboy
Hair Trigger Stuff
Swifty
Swifty
Feud of the West
'Whitey' Revel
Held Up for the Makin's
Step on It!
Vic Collins
The Hurricane Kid
The Hurricane Kid
Death Valley Rangers
Hoot Gibson
The Hard Hombre
William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton
Trigger Tricks
Texas Ranger Tim Brennan
Masked
Rainbow's End
Neil Gibson Jr.
Cheyenne's Pal
Cowboy
The Ramblin' Kid
The Ramblin' Kid
Spurs
Bob Merril
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
Bud Watkins
The Crow
Tim McKenzie - the Crow
The Dude Bandit
'Ace' Cooper posing as Tex
Courtin' Wildcats
Clarence Butts
By Indian Post
Chub -Jode's Helpful Cowboy Friend
The Marshal's Daughter
Marshal Ben Dawson
Double Crossers
Shootin' for Love
Duke Travis
Sonora Stagecoach
Hoot Gibson
Frontier Justice
Brent Halston
Danger, Go Slow
Ace High
Red Courage
Pinto Peters
The Mounted Stranger
Pete Ainslee aka The Ridin' Kid
Let 'er Buck
Bob Carson
The Galloping Kid
'Simplex' Cox
Buckshot John
Medicine Show Crowd Member (uncredited)
The Rawhide Kid
Dennis O'Hara
The Fighting Parson
Steve Hartley
The Rattler's Hiss
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Jimmie Roberts
The Calgary Stampede
Dan Malloy
The Black Horse Bandit
Galloping Fury
Billy Halen
A Marked Man
Undetermined Role
The Golden Bullet
'Red' Johnson
The Gentleman from America
Dennis O'Shane
The Man from Texas
Deputy (uncredited)
Out of Luck
Sam Pertune
Chip of the Flying U
Chip Bennett
The Hazards of Helen
Messenger / Etzer
The Flaming Frontier
Bob Langdon
Wolf Tracks
The Ring of Destiny
Jack
Ridin' Wild
Cyril Henderson (as Edward 'Hoot' Gibson)
Riding for Fame
Scratch 'Em Hank Scott
Flight to Nowhere
Sheriff Bradley
Who Was the Man?
The Texas Ranger
Taming the West
John Carleton
Ride for Your Life
Bud Watkins
Kindled Courage
Andy Walker
Stampede in the Night
Jack Harding
The Bear Cat
The Singin' Kid
Points West
Cole Lawson Jr.
Crossed Clues
40-Horse Hawkins
Luke Hawkins
Trimmed
Dale Garland
The Four-Bit Man
The Loaded Door
Bert Lyons
The Cactus Kid
Dick Harris
Hit and Run
'Swat' Anderson
Life in Hollywood No. 3
Self
Cavalcade of the West
Clint Knox
The Wild West Show
Rodeo Bill
The Wild Wild West
The Fighting Heart
The Gay Buckaroo
Clint Hale
The New Superintendent
'in Wrong' Wright
'In Wrong' Wright
Blinky
Geoffrey Arbuthnot 'Blinky' Islip
His Only Son
A Four-Footed Hero
Broncho Rider (uncredited)
Kid Pink and the Maharajah
The Trail of the Hound
Broadway or Bust
Dave Hollis
The Shootin' Fool
The Concentratin' Kid
Bill Evans -Concentratin' Kid
Sweet Revenge
The Winged Horseman
Skyball Smith
Play Straight or Fight
Dick Rankin
The Jack of Hearts
The Prairie Dog
Tipped Off
Billy Steele
The Boiling Point
Jimmy Duncan
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
Messenger on Motorcycle
The Sawdust Trail
Clarence Elwood Butts
Hollywood or Bust
The Texas Kid
In Danger's Path
Train Crew (uncredited)
The Death Train
Etzer - Doyle's Pal
Shotgun Jones
Tom Lattier - the Son
The Pay Train
Orturo
The Trail of the Holdup Man
Bob Watson
The Painted Stallion
Walter Jamison
In the Secret Service
The Driftin' Kid
The Driftin' Kid
The Local Bad Man
Jim Bonner
Out o' Luck
The Man with a Punch
The Stranger
Burning the Wind
Richard Gordon Jr
Lucky Terror
Lucky 'The Lucky Terror' Carson
The Flyin' Cowboy
Bill Hammond
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Joe
Hook and Ladder
Ace Cooper
Double Danger
Jim Marvin / Jerry Marvin (Twin Brothers)
The Law Rides Again
U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson
Bandits Beware
The Man in the Saddle
Jeff Morgan Jr.
The Wedding Guest
The Big Catch
Billy Reeves - the Foreman of the Ranch
The Governor's Special
2nd Nash Henchman (as Ed Gibson)
The Saddle King
One Law for All
The Spirit of the West
Johnny Ringo - Posing as Ben Bailey
The Champion Liar
The Two Brothers
A Man's Land
Tex Mason
Arizona Whirlwind
Hoot Gibson
The Prairie King
Andy Barden
The Two-Fisted Lover
Scot McHale
The Capture of Red Stanley
Stanley's Henchman
The Rustlers
The Deputy
Cowboy Sports and Pastimes
Outlaw Trail
Hoot
The Cowboy Counsellor
Dan Alton
The Branded Man
Sheriff
Gun Law
Bart 'Smoke Gublen' Stevens
The Jay Bird
Tom Jackson
The Long, Long Trail
The Ramblin' Kid
The Sheriff's Oath
Spook Ranch
Bill Bangs
Painted Ponies
Bucky Simms
Pride Of The Range
The Texas Streak
Chad Pennington
The Telltale Knife
The Midnight Flyer
Danny Morgan
Beating the Game
The Man from the East
Butler
The Brand Blotter
The Danger Rider
Hal 'Tucson Joe' Doyle
The Silent Rider
Jerry Alton
The Stranger
The Mysterious Cipher
Blanding
Double Dealing
Ben Slowbell
The Shootin' Kid
The Movie Trail
Dead Game
'Katy' Didd
A Hero on Horseback
Billy Garford
A Trick of Hearts
Benjamin Franklin Tully
Winning a Home
Smilin' Guns
Jack Purvin
King of the Rodeo
Chip Jr.
The Fightin' Terror
The Tell-Tale Wire
Steve Larmon
Runnin' Straight
The Woman in the Web
Vassily - Ivan's Brother
The Night Riders
A Gamblin' Fool
The Phantom Bullet
'Click' Farlane