Bill Elliott
Acting • Born 1904-10-16 – Died 1965-11-26
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wild Bill Elliott (October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965) was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films. By 1925, he was getting occasional extra work in films. He took classes at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in a few stage roles there. By 1927, he had made his first Western, The Arizona Wildcat, playing his first featured role. Several co-starring roles followed, and he renamed himself Gordon Elliott. But as the studios made the transition to sound films, he slipped back into roles as an extra and bit parts, as in Broadway Scandals, in 1929. For the next eight years, he appeared in over a hundred films for various studios, but almost always in unbilled parts as an extra. Elliott began to be noticed in some minor B Westerns, enough so that Columbia Pictures offered him the title role in a serial, The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938). The serial was so successful, and Elliott so personable, that Columbia promoted him to starring in his own series of Western features, replacing Columbia's number-two cowboy star Robert "Tex" Allen. Henceforth Gordon Elliott would be known as Bill Elliott. Within two years, he was among the Motion Picture Herald's Top Ten Western Stars, where he would remain for the next 15 years. In 1943, Elliott signed with Republic Pictures, which cast him in a series of Westerns alongside George "Gabby" Hayes. The first of these, Calling Wild Bill Elliott, gave Elliott the name by which he would be best known and by which he would be billed almost exclusively for the rest of his career. Following several films in which both actor and character shared the name Wild Bill Elliott, he took the role for which he would be best remembered, that of Red Ryder in a series of sixteen movies about the famous comic strip cowboy and his young Indian companion, Little Beaver (played in Elliott's films by Bobby Blake). Elliott played the role for only two years but would forever be associated with it. Elliott's trademark was a pair of six guns worn butt-forward in their holsters. Elliott's career thrived during and after the Red Ryder films, and he continued making B Westerns into the early 1950s. He also had his own radio show during the late 1940s. His final contract as a Western star was with Monogram Pictures, where budgets declined as the B Western lost its audience to television. When Monogram became Allied Artists Pictures Corporation in 1953, it phased out its Western productions, and Elliott finished out his contract playing a homicide detective in a series of five modern police dramas, his first non-Westerns since 1938. Elliott retired from films (except for a couple of TV Western pilots which were not picked up). He worked for a time as a spokesman for Viceroy cigarettes and hosted a local TV program in Las Vegas, Nevada, which featured many of his Western films.
Filmography
207 credits
Jewel Robbery
Movie • 1932
Policeman Following Blonde (uncredited)
The Arizona Wildcat
Movie • 1927
Roy Schyler
Boots and Saddles
Movie • 1937
Jim Neale
Five and Ten
Movie • 1931
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Chain of Evidence
Movie • 1957
Andy Doyle
Calling Homicide
Movie • 1956
Andy Doyle
Footsteps in the Night
Movie • 1957
Andy Doyle
One Hour with You
Movie • 1932
Party Guest (uncredited)
Midnight Mary
Movie • 1933
Party Guest (uncredited)
Night After Night
Movie • 1932
Escort (uncredited)
The Showdown
Movie • 1950
Shadrach Jones
Sudden Danger
Movie • 1955
Andy Doyle
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
Movie • 1936
Kenneth Martin
Michael O'Halloran
Movie • 1937
Little Lord Fauntleroy (uncredited)
Letter of Introduction
Movie • 1938
Backgammon Man (uncredited)
Wonder Bar
Movie • 1934
Norman (uncredited)
The Return of Daniel Boone
Movie • 1941
Wild Bill Boone
The Goose and the Gander
Movie • 1935
Teddy
The Case of the Velvet Claws
Movie • 1936
Carl Griffin
The Savage Horde
Movie • 1950
Ringo
Marshal of Reno
Movie • 1944
Red Ryder
Sheriff of Redwood Valley
Movie • 1946
Red Ryder
San Antonio Kid
Movie • 1944
Red Ryder
Tucson Raiders
Movie • 1944
Red Ryder
The Girl from 10th Avenue
Movie • 1935
James, Clerk at College Club
Broadway Scandals
Movie • 1929
George Halloway
The Fabulous Texan
Movie • 1947
Josie Allen
The Gallant Legion
Movie • 1948
Gary Conway
Melody for Two
Movie • 1937
Walter Wilson
The Marshall of Trail City
Movie • 1950
Wild Bill Elliott
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
Movie • 1938
'Wild' Bill Hickok
The Drop Kick
Movie • 1927
Aggressive Student at Dance
Dr. Socrates
Movie • 1935
Tom Collins - Greer's Associate
A Lost Lady
Movie • 1934
Polo Match Spectator (uncredited)
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
The Plainsman and the Lady
Movie • 1946
Sam Colton
Swing It Professor
Movie • 1937
Randall
Roll Along, Cowboy
Movie • 1937
Odie Fenton
Boy of the Streets
Movie • 1938
Dr. Allan
Love Takes Flight
Movie • 1937
Bill Parker
Polo Joe
Movie • 1936
Don Trumbeau
Overland with Kit Carson
Movie • 1939
Kit Carson
The Man from Tumbleweeds
Movie • 1940
Wild Bill Saunders
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
Movie • 1927
Telemachus
Phantom of the Plains
Movie • 1945
Red Ryder
The Valley of Vanishing Men
Movie • 1942
Wild Bill Tolliver
Dial Red O
Movie • 1955
Andy Flynn / Andy Doyle
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
Movie • 1932
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Bachelor's Affairs
Movie • 1932
Ship's Passenger / Dance Extra (uncredited)
The Lady in the Morgue
Movie • 1938
Chauncey Courtland
The Shamrock Handicap
Movie • 1926
Well-Wishing Villager
The Girl Said No
Movie • 1930
Wedding Guest
The Homesteaders
Movie • 1953
Mace Corbin
The Forty-Niners
Movie • 1954
Sam Nelson
Murder by an Aristocrat
Movie • 1936
Dave Thatcher
Lone Texas Ranger
Movie • 1945
Red Ryder
Lord Byron of Broadway
Movie • 1930
Party-Goer
The Boy Friend
Movie • 1928
Gordon Elliot
Restless Youth
Movie • 1928
George Baxter
The Return of Wild Bill
Movie • 1940
Wild Bill Saunders
Fargo
Movie • 1952
Bill Martin
Part Time Wife
Movie • 1930
Golfer (uncredited)
Hellfire
Movie • 1949
Zeb Smith
God's Gift to Women
Movie • 1931
Minor Role (uncredited)
Let's Do Things
Movie • 1931
Music Store Customer (uncredited)
Registered Nurse
Movie • 1934
Male Nurse
Broadminded
Movie • 1931
Hotel Guest on Veranda
You Can't Have Everything
Movie • 1937
Lulu's Bathing Companion (uncredited)
Traveling Husbands
Movie • 1931
Hotel Dining Room Guest
Broadway Gondolier
Movie • 1935
Reporter
Hands Across the Rockies
Movie • 1941
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Death Valley Manhunt
Movie • 1943
Wild Bill Elliott
Bordertown Gun Fighters
Movie • 1943
Wild Bill Elliott
The Right to Live
Movie • 1935
Wedding Guest
Broadway Hostess
Movie • 1935
Playboy in 'Playboy of Paree' Number (uncredited)
Sweepstakes
Movie • 1931
Night Club Patron
The Great Divide
Movie • 1929
Ruth's Friend (uncredited)
Fugitive in the Sky
Movie • 1936
Ramon Duval
Desirable
Movie • 1934
Party Guest
Sunny
Movie • 1930
One of Tom's War Buddies
Going Wild
Movie • 1930
Physical Exam Onlooker
The Case of the Black Cat
Movie • 1936
Sam Laxter
Dangerous
Movie • 1935
Personal Maid's Secret
Movie • 1935
Warren Sherrill
Hidden Valley Outlaws
Movie • 1944
Bill Elliott
Stage Mother
Movie • 1933
Audience Member / Dexter's Party Guest (uncredited)
Stars Over Broadway
Movie • 1935
Minor Role
The Big Noise
Movie • 1936
Sharp, Board of Directors Member (uncredited)
Guns of the Pecos
Movie • 1936
Wellman, a Dude
The Public Defender
Movie • 1931
Country Club Guest
Night Parade
Movie • 1929
Party Guest
Born to Love
Movie • 1931
Hotel Dancer (uncredited)
Vigilantes of Dodge City
Movie • 1944
Red Ryder
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Movie • 1930
King of Hockey
Movie • 1936
2nd Radio Announcer
The Son of Davy Crockett
Movie • 1941
Dave Crockett
The Roaring Twenties
Movie • 1939
Bootlegger (uncredited)
Across the Sierras
Movie • 1941
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Sheriff of Las Vegas
Movie • 1944
Red Ryder
While the Patient Slept
Movie • 1935
Bank Teller (uncredited)
Lady with a Past
Movie • 1932
Alex Brown (Uncredited)
Prairie Gunsmoke
Movie • 1942
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Frontiers of '49
Movie • 1939
John Freeman
Midnight Court
Movie • 1937
City Attorney Seabrook
The Devil's Trail
Movie • 1942
'Wild' Bill Hickok
The Mummy
Movie • 1932
Party Guest (uncredited)
Pioneers of the Frontier
Movie • 1940
Wild Bill Saunders
Traveling Saleslady
Movie • 1935
Freddie
Man of Iron
Movie • 1935
Charlie Fagan
The Wildcat of Tucson
Movie • 1940
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Wagon Tracks West
Movie • 1943
Wild Bill Elliott
Prairie Schooners
Movie • 1940
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Trailin' West
Movie • 1936
Jefferson Duane
The Woman in Red
Movie • 1935
Stuart Wyatt
The Secret Bride
Movie • 1934
Governor's Secretary (uncredited)
Handlebars
Movie • 1933
Bicyclist (uncredited)
Calling Wild Bill Elliott
Movie • 1943
Wild Bill Elliott
Moonlight on the Prairie
Movie • 1935
Jeff Holt
The Payoff
Movie • 1935
Maxine's Casino Escort (uncredited)
Down the Stretch
Movie • 1936
Robert Bates
In Old Sacramento
Movie • 1946
Johnny Barrett / Spanish Jack
The Little Giant
Movie • 1933
Guest at Polly's Party (uncredited)
Gold Diggers of 1933
Movie • 1933
Night Club Patron (uncredited)
Waco
Movie • 1952
Matt Boone
Kansas Territory
Movie • 1952
Joe Daniels
The Maverick
Movie • 1952
Pete Devlin
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
Movie • 1937
Bruce Thomas
Delicious
Movie • 1931
Larry's Friend
A Night at the Ritz
Movie • 1935
Vincent's Assistant (uncredited)
Beyond the Sacramento
Movie • 1940
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Bright Lights
Movie • 1935
Backstage Actor
The Truth About Youth
Movie • 1930
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Children of Divorce
Movie • 1927
Party Guest (uncredited)
Vengeance of the West
Movie • 1942
Joaquin Murietta aka The Black Shadow
The Longhorn
Movie • 1951
Jim Kirk
Cheyenne Wildcat
Movie • 1944
Red Ryder
Marshal of Laredo
Movie • 1945
Red Ryder
Great Stagecoach Robbery
Movie • 1945
Red Ryder
Wagon Wheels Westward
Movie • 1945
Red Ryder
California Gold Rush
Movie • 1946
Red Ryder
Colorado Pioneers
Movie • 1945
Red Ryder
Sun Valley Cyclone
Movie • 1946
Red Ryder
Conquest of Cheyenne
Movie • 1946
Red Ryder
The Man from Thunder River
Movie • 1943
Wild Bill Elliott
North of the Rockies
Movie • 1942
Sergeant Bill Cameron
Roaring Frontiers
Movie • 1941
'Wild' Bill Hickok
North from the Lone Star
Movie • 1941
'Wild' Bill Hickok
The Lone Star Vigilantes
Movie • 1942
'Wild' Bill Hickok
She Who Gets Slapped
Movie • 1930
Poker Player
Bullets for Bandits
Movie • 1942
'Wild' Bill Hickok / Prince Katey
Overland Mail Robbery
Movie • 1943
Wild Bill Elliott
King of Dodge City
Movie • 1941
'Wild' Bill Hickok
Mojave Firebrand
Movie • 1944
Wild Bill Elliott
Bells of Rosarita
Movie • 1945
Wild Bill Elliott
The Road to Reno
Movie • 1931
Party Boy
Wyoming
Movie • 1947
Charles Alderson
Old Los Angeles
Movie • 1948
Bill Stockton
The Last Bandit
Movie • 1949
Frank Norris / Frank Plummer
Rebel City
Movie • 1953
Frank Graham
Vigilante Terror
Movie • 1953
Tack Hamlin
Topeka
Movie • 1953
Jim Levering
Bitter Creek
Movie • 1954
Clay Tyndall
Tank Patrol
Movie • 1941
Bluey
Vanity Fair
Movie • 1932
Bit Role
Left Over Ladies
Movie • 1931
Escort (uncredited)
Working Girls
Movie • 1931
Dance Extra / Lobby Extra (uncredited)
Party Husband
Movie • 1931
Wedding Party Guest
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie • 1975
Self (archive footage)
What Men Want
Movie • 1930
Party Boy
Murder in the Clouds
Movie • 1934
Lt. Saunders
The Plastic Age
Movie • 1925
Athlete (uncredited)
Only Yesterday
Movie • 1933
New Year's Eve Reveler (Uncredited)
It's Showtime
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
The Case of the Howling Dog
Movie • 1934
Reporter in Courtroom (uncredited)
'G' Men
Movie • 1935
Bootlegger Who Gives Eddie the Bottle Outside the Club (uncredited)
Page Miss Glory
Movie • 1935
Reporter (uncredited)
The Rich Are Always with Us
Movie • 1932
Gambler (uncredited)
The Keyhole
Movie • 1933
Partygoer (uncredited)
Blonde Crazy
Movie • 1931
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Scarface
Movie • 1932
Man Outside Theatre (uncredited)
Bullets or Ballots
Movie • 1936
Hunter - Bank Worker (uncredited)
Two Against the World
Movie • 1936
News Commentator (uncredited)
China Clipper
Movie • 1936
Pilot (uncredited)
The Merry Frinks
Movie • 1934
Dancer (uncredited)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Movie • 1925
Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
Go Into Your Dance
Movie • 1935
Jackson's Secretary / Dorothy's Dance Partner
Merrily We Go to Hell
Movie • 1932
Party Guest (uncredited)
A Successful Calamity
Movie • 1932
Polo Player (uncredited)
Taming of the West
Movie • 1939
Wild Bill Saunders
Smarty
Movie • 1934
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Private Detective 62
Movie • 1933
Man at Roulette Table (Uncredited)
Napoleon, Jr.
Movie • 1926
Flora's Father
She Couldn't Say No
Movie • 1930
Gangster
Platinum Blonde
Movie • 1931
Ann's Beau (uncredited)
Cocktail Hour
Movie • 1933
Party Guest (uncredited)
Made on Broadway
Movie • 1933
Night Club Patron
In Early Arizona
Movie • 1938
Whit Gordon
The Law Comes to Texas
Movie • 1939
John Haynes
Born Reckless
Movie • 1930
Customer at Beretti's
Double Cross Roads
Movie • 1930
Party Guest
Romance in the Air
Movie • 1936
Announcer
West of Broadway
Movie • 1931
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Upperworld
Movie • 1934
Police Photographer (uncredited)
Lone Star Pioneers
Movie • 1939
Pat Barret
Speed to Spare
Movie • 1937
Steve Fellows
Beyond London Lights
Movie • 1928
Colin Drummond
Adam-12
TV • 1968
Officer Grant