Hoot Gibson

Hoot Gibson was a colorful figure a lighthearted funloving personality on screen and off Hoots 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 Gibsons 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 serials 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 Hoots 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 costar 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 Hoots fans five reels of action and fun Hoots 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 MH Hoffman Inc distributed on a state rights basis by Allied Pictures Corporation and Walker Futter Productions Diversion Pictures In 1935 Hoot costarred 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 Hoots 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 costarred 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 sheriffs deputy in Oceans Eleven 1960 another cameo