Ken Maynard
From Wikipedia
Kenneth Olin "Ken" Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American motion picture stuntman and actor.
Maynard served in the United States Army during World War I. After the war, Maynard returned to show business as a circus rider with Ringling Brothers. When the circus was playing in Los Angeles, California, actor Buck Jones encouraged Maynard to try working in the movies. Maynard soon had a contract with Fox Studios.
He first appeared in silent motion pictures in 1923. Maynard's work included stunt performance. His horsemanship and rugged good looks made Maynard a cowboy star. He and his white stallion, "Tarzan," became famous. His two recorded songs with Columbia Records, "The Lone Star Trail" and "The Cowboy's Lament," made him one of the first of the singing cowboys. Maynard moved to Universal Studios, where he made his first films with a musical soundtrack. He sang two songs in Sons of the Saddle in 1930.
In 1931 and 1932, Maynard worked for Tiffany Productions and Sono Art-World Wide Pictures before moving back to Universal in 1933. Maynard played several musical instruments, and was featured that year on the violin in The Fiddlin' Buckaroo, and on the banjo in The Trail Drive. Maynard moved to Mascot Pictures in 1934.
Maynard appeared in more than ninety films in twenty years with his white cowboy hat, fancy shirt, and a pair of six-shooters, but alcoholism so severely affected his life that his acting career ended in 1944. He made appearances at state fairs and rodeos. He owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders but eventually lost it to creditors. His substantial wealth had vanished, and he lived a desolate life in a rundown trailer. During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown benefactor, long thought to be Gene Autry. More than twenty five years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to the screen two small roles, in 1970 and 1972, the more notably in The Marshal of Windy Hollow.
Maynard died of stomach cancer in 1973 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cypress Cemetery in Cypress, California.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ken Maynard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6751 Hollywood Blvd.
Known for
Tombstone Canyon
Ken
Haunted Gold
Tim Kelly (archive footage) (uncredited)
Six Shootin' Sheriff
Jim 'Trigger' Morton
Smoking Guns
Ken Masters
Western Courage
Ken Baxter
Dynamite Ranch
Blaze Howell
The Fiddlin' Buckaroo
'Fiddlin'
Parade of the West
Bud Rand
Honor of the Range
Sheriff Ken / Brother Clem
Fighting Thru
Dan Barton
The Phantom City
Tim Kelly
North Star
Noel Blake
Westward Bound
Ken Maynard
The Arizona Terror
The Arizonian
Cameo Kirby
(uncredited)
$50,000 Reward
Tex Sherwood
Death Valley Rangers
Ken Maynard
Range Law
Hap Conners
Gun Gospel
Granger Hume
Drum Taps
Ken Cartwright
Bigfoot
Mr. Bennett
Heroes of the Range
Ken Smith
The Wagon Master
The Rambler
Blazing Guns
Marshal Ken Maynard
King of the Arena
Captain Ken Kenton
In Old Santa Fe
Ken aka 'Kentucky'
Brass Commandments
(uncredited)
Song of the Caballero
Juan Posing as El Lobo
The Wagon Show
Bob Mason
Come On, Tarzan
Ken Benson
Mystery Mountain
Ken Williams
Somewhere in Sonora
Bob Bishop
Fighting Courage
Richard Kingsley
Trailing Trouble
John 'Friendly' Fields
Branded Men
Rod Whitaker
The Two Gun Man
'Blackie' Weed
The Demon Rider
Billy Dennis
Phantom Rancher
Ken Mitchell
Hell-Fire Austin
Ken 'Hell-Fire' Austin
Sons of the Saddle
Jim Brandon
Western Frontier
Ken Masters
The Overland Stage
Jack Jessup
The Red Raiders
Lieutenant John Scott
The Devil's Saddle
Harry Morrel
The Code of the Scarlet
Bruce Kenton
The Grey Vulture
Bart Miller
Flaming Lead
Ken Clark
The Glorious Trail
Pat O'Leary
Wheels of Destiny
Ken Manning
Senor Daredevil
Don Luis O'Flaherty
The Pocatello Kid
The Pocatello Kid / Sheriff Jim Bledsoe
Cheyenne
Cal Roberts
Arizona Whirlwind
Ken Maynard
The Man Who Won
Conroy
Whistlin' Dan
'Whistlin' Dan Savage Posing as Ed Black
Whirlwind Horseman
Ken Morton
Gun Justice
Ken Lance
The California Mail
Bob Scott
The Lone Avenger
Cal Weston
Lucky Larkin
'Lucky' Larkin
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
Señor Americano
Lieutenant Michael Banning
Janice Meredith
Paul Revere
Boots of Destiny
Ken Crawford
Lawless Riders
Ken Manley
The Unknown Cavalier
Tom Drury
Death Rides the Range
Ken Baxter
Between Fighting Men
Ken
Fargo Express
Ken Benton
Harmony Trail
Marshal Ken Maynard
The Sunset Trail
Jim Brandon
Strawberry Roan
Ken Masters
The Lawless Legion
Cal Stanley
The Upland Rider
Dan Dailey
Lightning Strikes West
Lightning Ken Morgan
The Fugitive Sheriff
Ken Marshall
The Fighting Legion
Dave Hayes
Alias: The Bad Man
Ranger Ken Neville
Somebody Lied
Avenging Waters
Ken Morley
The Cattle Thief
Ken
The Gunfighter
(uncredited)
Mountain Justice
Ken McTavish
Phantom Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt Kid
The Canyon of Adventure
Steven Bancroft
The Royal Rider
Dick Scott
Haunted Range
Terry Bladwin
The Law Rides Again
U.S. Marshal Ken Maynard
The Trail Drive
Ken Benton
The Voice of Hollywood No. 9
The Land Beyond the Law
Jerry Steele
Wild Horse Stampede
Marshal Ken Maynard
Hollywood on Parade No. A-5
Self
Heir to Trouble
Ken Armstrong
The Marshal of Windy Hollow
Texas Ranger
Texas Gun Fighter
Bill Dane