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
Powdersmoke Range
Stony Brooke
I Married Joan
The Cowboy
Ocean's Eleven
Roadblock Deputy (uncredited)
Dead Game
'Katy' Didd
The Horse Soldiers
Sgt. Brown
Runnin' Straight
The Rustlers
The Deputy
Arizona Whirlwind
Hoot Gibson
Action
Sandy Brouke
The Stranger
The Utah Kid
Marshal H.R. Higgins
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
Smilin' Guns
Jack Purvin
Gun Law
Bart 'Smoke Gublen' Stevens
The Marshal's Daughter
Marshal Ben Dawson
The Man with a Punch
The Stranger
The Texas Streak
Chad Pennington
The Voice on the Wire
Straight Shooting
Danny Morgan
Clearing the Range
Curt 'El Capitan' Fremont
The Man from Texas
Deputy (uncredited)
Spurs
Bob Merril
The Face in the Watch
The Calgary Stampede
Dan Malloy
Lucky Terror
Lucky 'The Lucky Terror' Carson
Trigger Tricks
Texas Ranger Tim Brennan
The Man in the Saddle
Jeff Morgan Jr.
Spook Ranch
Bill Bangs
Sunset Range
Reasonin' Bates
Kickaroo
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
The Gentleman from America
Dennis O'Shane
Outlaw Trail
Hoot
Sure Fire
Jeff Bransford
The Soul Herder
Chuck Rafferty
Shootin' for Love
Duke Travis
Courtin' Wildcats
Clarence Butts
Thieves' Clothes
A Trick of Hearts
Benjamin Franklin Tully
By Indian Post
Chub -Jode's Helpful Cowboy Friend
The Thrill Chaser
Omar K. Jenkins
The Painted Stallion
Walter Jamison
The Man Who Woke Up
Kindled Courage
Andy Walker
The Last Outlaw
Al Goss
The Buckaroo Kid
Ed Harley
Red Courage
Pinto Peters
The Fire Eater
Bob Corey
40-Horse Hawkins
Luke Hawkins
Wolf Tracks
The Dude Bandit
'Ace' Cooper posing as Tex
The Hurricane Kid
The Hurricane Kid
The Local Bad Man
Jim Bonner
Hello, 'Frisco
Hoot Gibson
Westward Bound
Hoot Gibson
Painted Ponies
Bucky Simms
Double Dealing
Ben Slowbell
The Ramblin' Kid
The Ramblin' Kid
The Lariat Kid
Tom Richards
Life in Hollywood No. 3
Self
Headin' South
The Wedding Guest
Ride for Your Life
Bud Watkins
Roarin' Dan
Roarin' Dan
Trimmed
Dale Garland
The Silent Rider
Jerry Alton
Sonora Stagecoach
Hoot Gibson
A Hero on Horseback
Billy Garford
The Fightin' Terror
The Golden Bullet
'Red' Johnson
Cinders
Bing Davidson
Held Up for the Makin's
Shotgun Jones
Tom Lattier - the Son
Roaring Ranch
Jim Dailey
Chip of the Flying U
Chip Bennett
Rainbow's End
Neil Gibson Jr.
Frontier Justice
Brent Halston
Feud of the West
'Whitey' Revel
Sweet Revenge
The Hard Hombre
William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton
The Phantom Bullet
'Click' Farlane
Death Valley Rangers
Hoot Gibson
Masked
The Rattler's Hiss
Hook and Ladder
Ace Cooper
Wild Horse
Jim Wright
Burning the Wind
Richard Gordon Jr
Who Was the Man?
The Texas Ranger
Superstition
Dave Bodie
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
Bud Watkins
Trigger Law
Hoot Gibson
The Tell-Tale Wire
Steve Larmon
The Wrong Man
Chip's Pal
Marked Trails
Hoot Parkford
The Flaming Frontier
Bob Langdon
Blazing Guns
Marshal Hoot Gibson
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Joe
Galloping Fury
Billy Halen
The Bear Cat
The Singin' Kid
The Texas Kid
The Secret Man
Chuck Fadden
Step on It!
Vic Collins
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
Messenger on Motorcycle
The Gun Packer
Gang Leader
The Fighting Parson
Steve Hartley
The New Superintendent
Double Danger
Jim Marvin / Jerry Marvin (Twin Brothers)
A Marked Man
Undetermined Role
Swifty
Swifty
The Law Rides Again
U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson
Trailing Trouble
Ed King
Arizona Sweepstakes
Coot Cadigan
The Prairie King
Andy Barden
The Boiling Point
Jimmy Duncan
His Buddy
The Gay Buckaroo
Clint Hale
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Jimmie Roberts
Hit and Run
'Swat' Anderson
Out of Luck
Sam Pertune
The Sawdust Trail
Clarence Elwood Butts
Clearing the Trail
Pete Watson
King of the Rodeo
Chip Jr.
The Danger Rider
Hal 'Tucson Joe' Doyle
The Fighting Brothers
Lonnie Larkin
Taming the West
John Carleton
Wild Horse Stampede
Marshal Hoot Gibson
Cheyenne's Pal
Cowboy
The Four-Bit Man
The Saddle Hawk
Ben Johnson
The Spirit of the West
Johnny Ringo - Posing as Ben Bailey
Bandits Beware
Out o' Luck
Points West
Cole Lawson Jr.
A Knight of the Range
Bob Graham
The Movie Trail
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
The Rawhide Kid
Dennis O'Hara
The Loaded Door
Bert Lyons
The Riding Avenger
Buck 'The Morning Glory Kid' Bonner
A Four-Footed Hero
Broncho Rider (uncredited)
Cavalcade of the West
Clint Knox
Buckshot John
Medicine Show Crowd Member (uncredited)
The Lone Hand
Laramie Lad
The Hazards of Helen
Messenger / Etzer
The Galloping Kid
'Simplex' Cox
The Trail of the Hound
Hollywood or Bust
Blinky
Geoffrey Arbuthnot 'Blinky' Islip
'in Wrong' Wright
'In Wrong' Wright
Tipped Off
Billy Steele
The Governor's Special
2nd Nash Henchman (as Ed Gibson)
A Man's Land
Tex Mason
The Broncho Kid
West Is Best
The Black Horse Bandit
The Passing of Hell's Crown
The Cowboy
Headin' West
Bill Perkins
The Capture of Red Stanley
Stanley's Henchman
Broadway or Bust
Dave Hollis
The Denver Dude
Rodeo Randall
The Grinning Granger
Ridin' Wild
Cyril Henderson (as Edward 'Hoot' Gibson)
The Woman in the Web
Vassily - Ivan's Brother
The Ring of Destiny
Jack
Flight to Nowhere
Sheriff Bradley
The Night Riders
Kid Pink and the Maharajah
The Mounted Stranger
Pete Ainslee aka The Ridin' Kid
Crossed Clues
Stampede in the Night
Jack Harding
Ace High
The Winged Horseman
Skyball Smith
The Two Brothers
The Flyin' Cowboy
Bill Hammond
The Long, Long Trail
The Ramblin' Kid
His Only Son
The Lone Hand
Jeffrey Halley
The Midnight Flyer
Danny Morgan
The Champion Liar
Kingdom Come
The Death Train
Etzer - Doyle's Pal
Beating the Game
Fight It Out
Sandy Adams
The Sheriff's Oath
The Big Catch
Billy Reeves - the Foreman of the Ranch
The Wild Wild West
The Double Hold-Up
The Broncho Kid
The Concentratin' Kid
Bill Evans -Concentratin' Kid
The Fightin' Fury
In the Secret Service
The Pay Train
Orturo
The Two-Fisted Lover
Scot McHale
Let 'er Buck
Bob Carson
The Man from the East
Butler
The Jack of Hearts
The Prairie Dog
In Danger's Path
Train Crew (uncredited)
The Trail of the Holdup Man
Bob Watson
One Law for All
The Smilin' Kid
Double Crossers
Single Handed
Hector MacKnight
The Cowboy Counsellor
Dan Alton
The Jay Bird
Tom Jackson
Riding for Fame
Scratch 'Em Hank Scott
The Driftin' Kid
The Driftin' Kid
Danger, Go Slow
The Branded Man
Sheriff
The Shootin' Fool
The Saddle King
The Wild West Show
Rodeo Bill
Hair Trigger Stuff
The Mysterious Cipher
Blanding
A Gamblin' Fool
The Cactus Kid
Dick Harris
The Telltale Knife
Play Straight or Fight
Dick Rankin
The Crow
Tim McKenzie - the Crow