Tom London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom London (August 24, 1889 – December 5, 1963) was an American veteran actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to The Guinness Book of Movie Records, London is credited with appearing in the most films in the history of Hollywood, this according to the 2001 book Film Facts, where it states that the performer who played in the most films was "Tom London, who made his first of over 2000 appearances in The Great Train Robbery, 1903.
Born Leonard Clapham in Louisville, Kentucky, he got his start in movies as a props man in Chicago, Illinois. His debut was in 1915 in the Western Lone Larry, performing under his own name. In 1925, after having appeared in many silent films, he changed his name to Tom London, and used that name for the rest of his career. The first film in which he was billed under his new name was Winds of Chance, a World War I film, in which he played "Sgt. Rock". London was a trick rider and roper, and used his trick skills in scores of Westerns. In the silent film era he often played villainous roles, while in later years he often appeared as the sidekick to Western stars like Sunset Carson in several films.
One of the busiest character actors, he appeared in over 600 films. London made many guest appearances in television shows through the 1950s, such as The Range Rider, with Jock Mahoney and Dick Jones. He also played Sam, the attendant of Helen Ramirez (Katy Jurado) in High Noon. His last movie was Underworld U.S.A. in 1961, and his final roles on TV were in Lawman and The Dakotas.
London died at his home in North Hollywood at age 81 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Known for
Perry Mason
Cabbie
Wagon Train
Man Holding Booth's Horse (uncredited)
Maverick
Farmer
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Old Man Craig (uncredited)
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Jigger (uncredited)
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Stableman (uncredited)
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Moss Grimmick (uncredited)
Cheyenne
Old-Timer (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger
Sheriff Allbright
The Lone Ranger
Sheriff Dexter
Lawman
Pete
The Ford Television Theatre
Ranson
Bat Masterson
Prisoner (uncredited)
Lock-Up
Carrey - Watchman
Adventures of Superman
Peter Thomas
Prairie Moon
Henchman Steve
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
Annie Oakley
Ranch Hand
Annie Oakley
Buckhorn - Diablo Stage Manager
Annie Oakley
Pop Leeds
Annie Oakley
Ike Simmons
Frontier Investigator
Jed
Broken Arrow
(uncredited)
Wildcat Saunders
Pete Hawkins
Trail Guide
Old Timer
The Gene Autry Show
The Sheriff
Flaming Lead
Bart Daggett
Law of the Plainsman
Stagecoach Driver
Dangerous Traffic
Marc Brandon
Mystery Ranch
Holdup man
Toll of the Desert
Sheriff Jackson
The Wonderful World of Disney
Deputy Sheriff Carlson (uncredited)
Conquest of Cheyenne
Sheriff Dan Perkins
Trail of Kit Carson
John Benton
Passkey to Danger
Gerald Bates
Ghost Town Law
Ace, Chief Thug
When Lightning Strikes
Wolf
High Noon
Sam (uncredited)
Fangs of the Wild
Larry Dean
Blue Canadian Rockies
Pop Phillips
Marshal of Reno
Sheriff
Western von gestern
O'Shea
The Harvest of Hate
Martin Trask
The Galloping Ghost
Mullins
Gordon of Ghost City
Pat Campbell
Red River Robin Hood
Del Auston
Batman
Andrews
Ridin' Down the Canyon
Henchman
Marshal of Laredo
Barton
The Woman Racket
Hennessy
Stagecoach to Monterey
Chester Wade
The Silver Trail
Looney
All Quiet on the Western Front
1st Medic Orderly (uncredited)
The Great Air Robbery
Undetermined Role (as Leonard Clapham)
Platinum Blonde
Reporter (uncredited)
Brigham Young
Raider
Juvenile Court
Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
Friendly Persuasion
Farmer on Front Line with Gard (uncredited)
American Empire
Rider with Crowder's Posse (uncredited)
Sworn Enemy
Gangster (uncredited)
Let No Man Write My Epitaph
Bum at Bar (uncredited)
Rancho Notorious
Deputy in Gunsight (uncredited)
Code of the Prairie
Henchman Loomis
Avenging Waters
Henchman Huffy
Dude Cowboy
Silver City Sheriff
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Jesse James
Soldier (uncredited)
The Nuisance
Kelley's Associate (uncredited)
Boom Town
Sheriff Harris (uncredited)
Gun Play
Meeker
Man of the West
Tom (uncredited)
Saddle Pals
Dad Gardner
Melody Ranch
Henchman Joe #2
Down Texas Way
Bartender Pete
Forbidden Trails
Marshal Tom
Allegheny Uprising
Settler at McDowell's Mill
The Tall Stranger
Snowed In
U.S. Marshal Thayer
Dark Command
Messenger
Wagon Train
Henchman Charlie
Spy Smasher
Crane
In Old Arizona
Man in Saloon (uncredited)
Out California Way
Johnny
Western Union
Slade Henchman #3
Wolf Tracks
I'm No Angel
Sideshow Spectator (uncredited)
Riders in the Sky
Old Man Robert
South of Rio
Jim Weston
Border Vengeance
Flash Denby
Made for Each Other
Ranger (uncredited)
Cock of the Air
Military Policeman
Under Colorado Skies
Sheriff Blanchard
Bad Man of Deadwood
Townsman
Lady for a Day
Reception Guest (uncredited)
The Lone Ranger
Henchman Felton
Billy the Kid
Leader (uncredited)
Zorro's Black Whip
James Bradley
Desert Greed
Ranger (uncredited)
Roll on Texas Moon
Sheriff Bert Morris
Bachelor Bait
Detective (uncredited)
Gun Smoke
Hank Bailey (uncredited)
When the Daltons Rode
Lyncher
King of the Jungle
Lion Attendant (uncredited)
Captain America
Mack
Timber Terrors
Burke
Money, Women and Guns
Old Prospector (uncredited)
The Fugitive
Tom
Our Hospitality
James Canfield (uncredited)
Smashing the Rackets
Dixon - Detective
The Ox-Bow Incident
Deputy (uncredited)
Blackmail
Tom - Cashier
Northwest Passage
Ranger
The Lone Star Ranger
Undetermined Role (as Leonard Clapham)
Captive Wild Woman
Ship's Captain (archive footage)
Grissly's Millions
Policeman Ralph
The Lady and the Monster
Man Who Tails Cory (Uncredited)
Rio Grande Raiders
Sheriff Tom Hammon
Stage to Chino
Dolan - Henchman
Shooting High
Eph Carson
The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance
Cop Getting Crane
Springtime in the Rockies
Tracy
Flame of Barbary Coast
Thompson, Townsman in Mob
Mystery Mountain
Rattler Henchman Morgan
13 West Street
Prisoner (uncredited)
Dick Tracy's Dilemma
Cop in Squad Car (uncredited)
The Invisible Informer
Eph Shroud
Quick Millions
Atlas Newsreel Man (uncredited)
Lone Star Ranger
Henchman (uncredited)
The Secret Code
Weather Bureau Guard
Bandit Ranger
Cattle Rustler (uncredited)
The Sheepman
Shopkeeper (uncredited)
The Secret Six
Blackjacking Gangster (uncredited)
Baby Take a Bow
Man on Train (Uncredited)
Quincannon, Frontier Scout
Livery Stableman (uncredited)
Let Us Live
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Sunset in El Dorado
Sheriff Gridley
Manhattan Tower
Mechanic (uncredited)
King of the Forest Rangers
Tom Judson
The Secret of Convict Lake
Jerry - Posse Member (uncredited)
Call of the Rockies
Henchman Hansen
Sheer Luck
Police Lieutenant
Full Confession
Prison Guard (uncredited)
Marshal of Amarillo
Mr. Snodgrass
The Storm
Head Mountie
Thoroughbreds
Pop
Santa Fe Uprising
Lafe Dibble
Faces in the Fog
Auto Court Manager
Domino Kid
Behind City Lights
Andrew Coleman
Man from Rainbow Valley
Healey
Bar-Z Bad Men
Sig Bostell
The Renegade
Pete
Rough Riders of Durango
Rancher Evans
Jesse James Rides Again
Sam Bolton
Stick to Your Guns
Ranch Foreman Waffles
Mills of the Gods
Workman
Sunset Trail
Jake
Junior G-Men
Kearney - Riot Squad Cop (uncredited)
Pack Train
Dan Coleman
Range Law
Henchman Cleve
Sky Racket
Agent-Passenger (Car Chase)
Homesteaders of Paradise Valley
Rancher
Six Shootin' Sheriff
Bar X Foreman
Honor of the Mounted
Henchman
The Lawless Nineties
Henchman Ward
Five Little Peppers at Home
Miner
Red Desert
Colonel
A String of Diamonds
Slippery Jack Elmm
Westbound Stage
Henchman Parker
Western Gold
Clem
I Believed in You
Policeman
Chinatown Nights
Cop
Fighting Hero
Sheriff
Made on Broadway
Plainclothesman
Idaho
Henchman
The Old Frontier
Banker
The Cherokee Flash
Utah
The Green Archer
Detective with Shiner
The Bar-C Mystery
The Woman of the Town
Crockett Henchman
Beggars in Ermine
Steel Worker (uncredited)
The Night Riders
Rancher Wilson
River's End
Mountie
Rawhide Mail
Barfly Al
Colorado Pioneers
Sand Snipe
Fighting Fury
Chet
Riding the Sunset Trail
Sheriff Hays
Rustlers of Devil's Canyon
The Sheriff
Earl Carroll Vanities
Tom the Doorman
The Green Hornet Strikes Again!
Thug with Explosives
Bad Men of Thunder Gap
Hank Turner
Hell's Heroes
Croupier (uncredited)
Vigilantes of Dodge City
Denver
The Fighting Seabees
Johnson (uncredited)
Fugitive Valley
Marshal Warren
Deadwood Dick
Jake
The Cactus Kid
Sheriff
Last Frontier Uprising
Skillet (Ranch Hand)
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
Member of Rocci's Mob
Cheyenne Wildcat
Harrison Colby
Phantom Ranger
Reynolds
The Two Gun Man
Lem Tolliver
Silver Spurs
Henchman
The Wolf Dog
Brooks
West of Texas
Steve Conlon
False Colors
Poncho Townsman
West of Tombstone
Morris
Southward Ho!
Phoney Union Sergeant
California Gold Rush
Sheriff Peabody
Gaucho Serenade
Sheriff Tom Olson
Bullets and Saddles
Marshal (archive footage)
The Boiling Point
Pete Mallis - Henchman
Apache Country
Patches - Stage Driver (uncredited)
Silver City Kid
Sheriff Gibson
King of the Circus
Riders of the Black Hills
Henchman Red Stevens
Lone Texan
Old Dan (uncredited)
Santa Fe Stampede
Marshal Jim Wood
The Michigan Kid
Minor Role (uncredited)
The Countess of Monte Cristo
Police Detective (uncredited)
Chasing Trouble
Jerome Garrett
Valley of the Sun
Trooper Parker (uncredited)
Song of the Buckaroo
Sheriff Wade
O'Malley of the Mounted
Lefty - Henchman
Along the Oregon Trail
Wagon Boss
Twisted Rails
Sheriff James
Troopers Three
Sgt. Hank Darby
Winners of the West
Henchman Webb
The Last of the Duanes
(as Leonard Clapham)
Firebrand Jordan
Ed Burns
Phantom Rancher
Sheriff Parker
No Place for a Lady
Air Raid Warden (? - ever seen in final cut?)
The Test
Trapper (uncredited)
Canyon City
Sheriff Slocum
The Blazing Sun
Tom Ellis
The Night Rider
Jeff Barton
Wild Horse Range
Arnold
Wagon Wheels Westward
Fake Judge Worth
Nan of the North
Dick Driscoll (as Leonard Clapham)
The Fighting Marines
Miller
Romance of the West
Kayo Mooney
Twilight on the Trail
Henchman Gregg
Mile-a-Minute Morgan
Kenneth Winster
The Shadow
Hijacked Truck Driver
San Antonio Kid
Long
The Purple Mask
Robert Jackson, Inventor (as Leonard Clapham)
Sun Valley Cyclone
Sheriff
The Dangerous Maid
Guard
Overland Mail Robbery
Sheriff
Mandrake the Magician
Mill River Inn Henchman
Spell of the Circus
Butte Morgan
Sheriff of Redwood Valley
Sheriff
Ferocious Pal
Dave Brownell
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
Henchman Pete
The Oregon Trail
Pete Cave Henchman
Oregon Trail
Sheriff Plenner
Santa Fe Scouts
Billy Dawson
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Sheriff Allen
Romance of the Rio Grande
U. S. Marshal
Viva Cisco Kid
Town Marshal
Trailing Double Trouble
Henchman Kirk
Roaring Timber
Henchman Duke
Guns and Guitars
Henchman Connor
Song of Texas
Race Official
The Call of the Canyon
Lee Stanton
Hail to the Rangers
Jessup
The Undercover Woman
Lem
Sheriff of Sundown
Sheriff Tom Carpenter
The Old West
Chadwick (uncredited)
St. Louis Woman
Lions Coach Ryan
Leave It to Susan
Lillian Russell
Frank
The Valley of Vanishing Men
Slater
Firebrands of Arizona
Wagon Driver
Crime of the Century
Dr. Jackson
Land of the Open Range
Henchman Tracy Briggs
The Fighting Devil Dogs
Henchman Wilson
San Antone Ambush
Bartender Tim
Sid's Long Count
Policeman
The Long Chance
John Corbaly (as Leonard Clapham)
West of Broadway
Cowhand (uncredited)
The Lion Man
Lacey
Girls of the Big House
Sheriff at Alma's Cell
The Ranger and the Lady
Independent Freight Wagon Driver
Rio Rattler
Ranger Bob Adams
Brand of Fear
Marshal Blackjack Flint
Ghost Valley Raiders
Sheriff
Smoky
Horse Trader
Jungle Menace
Detective Interrogating Pete
The Spider Returns
Detective
Law of the Ranger
Henchman Pete
The Demon Rider
Black Hawk
The Last of the Clintons
Luke Todd
Call of the Prairie
Dealer
Alias Billy the Kid
Dakota
See America Thirst
Spumoni Hood (uncredited)
Hidden Valley Outlaws
Sheriff McBride
The Renegade Ranger
Henchman Red
The Heritage of the Desert
Dave Naab
Beneath Western Skies
Earl Phillips
Way Down East
Town Choir Singer (uncredited)
Bar-L Ranch
Henchman (uncredited)
Wagon Tracks West
Lem Martin
Mountain Rhythm
Deputy Tom
Beyond the Rockies
Kirk Tracy
Don't Fence Me In
Ben Duncan
Lure of the Wasteland
Foreman
The Miracle Rider
Sewell
Clancy of the Mounted
Corporal McGregor
Rio Grande Ranger
Henchman Sneed
Trailing the Killer
Sheriff
Arizona Terrors
Second Dialogue Tenant-Rancher
Westward Bound
Dick - Rustler
The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury
Curley - Saloon Henchman
The Border Patrolman
Johnson
Mark of the Lash
Lem Kimmerly
The Big Cage
Ship Captain
The Third Alarm
Fireman Tom
Under Northern Lights
Jacques Foucharde
Hong Kong Nights
Blake
The Crime Doctor
Detective at Airport Arrest (uncredited)
Outlaws of Sonora
Sheriff Trask
Twilight on the Rio Grande
U.S. Customs Agent Tom
Trails of the Golden West
Across the Sierras
Man on Wagon
The Omaha Trail
Oxen Train Bullwhacker
The Wild Frontier
Patrick MacSween
Masked
Gold
Sheriff
The Phantom Rider
Medicine Man Ceta
Lone Cowboy
Conductor (uncredited)
Days of Buffalo Bill
Banty McCabe
Underground Rustlers
Henchman Tom Harris
The Trial of Vivienne Ware
Cop at Door (uncredited)
The Golden Stallion
Jules La Roux
Safety in Numbers
Motorist (uncredited)
Corpus Christi Bandits
Rocky - Henchman
Night Train to Memphis
Train Conductor
Hi-Yo Silver
Felton
Marshal of Cripple Creek
Baker
Under Texas Skies
Fake Captain Hartford
Silent Sheldon
Bill Fadden
Cody of the Pony Express
Doc Laramie
Pioneer Trail
Sam Harden
Federal Operator 99
Prof. Crawford
Black Bandit
The Thirteenth Guest
Detective Carter (Uncredited)
Without Honor
'Sholt' Fletcher
Angel's Holiday
Truck Driver
The Frame-Up
Fred (uncredited)
Queen of the Northwoods
Garvin / The Wolf-Devil
Perils of Pauline
Soldier at American Consulate
Robbers of the Range
Henchman Monk Saunders
Stardust on the Sage
Henchman MacGowan
Ridin' Double
Gabe Lawrence
Sunset Pass
Ben
Roll Wagons Roll
Henchman Matt Grimes
The Oil Raider
Oil Well Driller (uncredited)
Skull and Crown
Henchman Jennings
Perils of the Royal Mounted
Gaynor
Liberty
(as Leonard Clapham)
Sons of the Pioneers
Joe #1 - Henchman
Shadows on the Sage
Franklin
Police Car 17
Detective (uncredited)
Riders of the West
Slim - Lanky Henchman
The Lost Special
Dirk / Detective Dane
Borrowed Wives
Mac, the Motorcycle Cop
Spy Smasher Returns
Crane
The Gay Caballero
Man at Fiesta
Rollin' Westward
Sheriff
Secret Valley
2nd Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Wild Horse Stampede
Henchman Lefty
The Arizona Terror
Henchman Chuckawalla
Blossoms On Broadway
Cop (uncredited)
To the Last Man
Guy
The Cowboy Musketeer
Joe Dokes
Wanderers of the West
Montana Sheriff
The Girl Who Dared
Neilson - Gas Station Owner (uncredited)
Red River Renegades
Pop Underwood
The Man from Texas
Henchman Slim
Riders from Nowhere
Mason
The Mystery Rider
David Manning / The Claw
The Son of Davy Crockett
Ranger Logan
Radio Patrol
Eddie Lewis
Rough Riders of Cheyenne
Sheriff Edwards
Three in Exile
Jed Hawkings
'in Wrong' Wright
Sheriff
Code of the Northwest
Pvt. Frank Stafford
Heroes of the Range
Bud
Sheriff of Cimarron
Frank Holden
The Iron Master
Turner
The Boss of the Rancho
Courage of the North
Mordant
Dynamite Canyon
Captain Gray
The Texas Kid
The Apache Raider
Griffin Dawson
West of the Rainbow's End
Harry Palmer
The Bronc Stomper
Alan Riggs
The Cowboy and the Lady
Joe
The Long Loop on the Pecos
Laird
Colorado
David Collins (as Leonard Clapham)
The Air Hawk
Kellar
The Boss of Rustler's Roost
Pronto Giles
The Yellow Cameo
Spraker
The Return of the Riddle Rider
Buck White