Ken Maynard
Acting • Born 1895-07-21 – Died 1973-03-23
Biography
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.
Filmography
96 credits
Somebody Lied
Movie • 1923
Phantom Rancher
Movie • 1940
Ken Mitchell
Heroes of the Range
Movie • 1936
Ken Smith
Death Rides the Range
Movie • 1939
Ken Baxter
Lightning Strikes West
Movie • 1940
Lightning Ken Morgan
Whirlwind Horseman
Movie • 1938
Ken Morton
Strawberry Roan
Movie • 1933
Ken Masters
Harmony Trail
Movie • 1944
Marshal Ken Maynard
The Lone Avenger
Movie • 1933
Cal Weston
Honor of the Range
Movie • 1934
Sheriff Ken / Brother Clem
Phantom Thunderbolt
Movie • 1933
Thunderbolt Kid
Drum Taps
Movie • 1933
Ken Cartwright
Tombstone Canyon
Movie • 1932
Ken
Mystery Mountain
Movie • 1934
Ken Williams
In Old Santa Fe
Movie • 1934
Ken aka 'Kentucky'
The Pocatello Kid
Movie • 1931
The Pocatello Kid / Sheriff Jim Bledsoe
Branded Men
Movie • 1931
Rod Whitaker
The Phantom City
Movie • 1928
Tim Kelly
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
Fighting Thru
Movie • 1930
Dan Barton
Smoking Guns
Movie • 1934
Ken Masters
Wild Horse Stampede
Movie • 1943
Marshal Ken Maynard
Dynamite Ranch
Movie • 1932
Blaze Howell
Come On, Tarzan
Movie • 1932
Ken Benson
Hollywood on Parade No. A-5
Movie • 1932
Self
Haunted Gold
Movie • 1932
Tim Kelly (archive footage) (uncredited)
King of the Arena
Movie • 1933
Captain Ken Kenton
The Fiddlin' Buckaroo
Movie • 1933
'Fiddlin'
The Trail Drive
Movie • 1933
Ken Benton
Fargo Express
Movie • 1933
Ken Benton
Gun Justice
Movie • 1933
Ken Lance
Wheels of Destiny
Movie • 1934
Ken Manning
Western Frontier
Movie • 1935
Ken Masters
Heir to Trouble
Movie • 1935
Ken Armstrong
Avenging Waters
Movie • 1936
Ken Morley
The Fugitive Sheriff
Movie • 1936
Ken Marshall
Boots of Destiny
Movie • 1937
Ken Crawford
Trailing Trouble
Movie • 1937
John 'Friendly' Fields
Six Shootin' Sheriff
Movie • 1938
Jim 'Trigger' Morton
Flaming Lead
Movie • 1939
Ken Clark
The Law Rides Again
Movie • 1943
U.S. Marshal Ken Maynard
Blazing Guns
Movie • 1943
Marshal Ken Maynard
Death Valley Rangers
Movie • 1943
Ken Maynard
Westward Bound
Movie • 1944
Ken Maynard
Arizona Whirlwind
Movie • 1944
Ken Maynard
Bigfoot
Movie • 1970
Mr. Bennett
The Marshal of Windy Hollow
Movie • 1972
Texas Ranger
Brass Commandments
Movie • 1923
(uncredited)
The Man Who Won
Movie • 1923
Conroy
The Gunfighter
Movie • 1923
(uncredited)
Cameo Kirby
Movie • 1923
(uncredited)
The Devil's Saddle
Movie • 1927
Harry Morrel
Alias: The Bad Man
Movie • 1931
Ranger Ken Neville
Haunted Range
Movie • 1926
Terry Bladwin
The California Mail
Movie • 1929
Bob Scott
Western Courage
Movie • 1935
Ken Baxter
Lawless Riders
Movie • 1935
Ken Manley
The Cattle Thief
Movie • 1936
Ken
$50,000 Reward
Movie • 1924
Tex Sherwood
Janice Meredith
Movie • 1924
Paul Revere
The Demon Rider
Movie • 1925
Billy Dennis
Fighting Courage
Movie • 1925
Richard Kingsley
North Star
Movie • 1925
Noel Blake
The Grey Vulture
Movie • 1926
Bart Miller
Senor Daredevil
Movie • 1926
Don Luis O'Flaherty
The Unknown Cavalier
Movie • 1926
Tom Drury
The Overland Stage
Movie • 1927
Jack Jessup
The Land Beyond the Law
Movie • 1927
Jerry Steele
The Red Raiders
Movie • 1927
Lieutenant John Scott
Gun Gospel
Movie • 1927
Granger Hume
The Wagon Show
Movie • 1928
Bob Mason
The Canyon of Adventure
Movie • 1928
Steven Bancroft
The Upland Rider
Movie • 1928
Dan Dailey
The Code of the Scarlet
Movie • 1928
Bruce Kenton
The Glorious Trail
Movie • 1928
Pat O'Leary
Cheyenne
Movie • 1929
Cal Roberts
The Royal Rider
Movie • 1929
Dick Scott
The Lawless Legion
Movie • 1929
Cal Stanley
The Wagon Master
Movie • 1929
The Rambler
Señor Americano
Movie • 1929
Lieutenant Michael Banning
Parade of the West
Movie • 1930
Bud Rand
Lucky Larkin
Movie • 1930
'Lucky' Larkin
The Fighting Legion
Movie • 1930
Dave Hayes
Mountain Justice
Movie • 1930
Ken McTavish
Song of the Caballero
Movie • 1930
Juan Posing as El Lobo
Sons of the Saddle
Movie • 1930
Jim Brandon
The Two Gun Man
Movie • 1931
'Blackie' Weed
The Arizona Terror
Movie • 1931
The Arizonian
Range Law
Movie • 1931
Hap Conners
The Sunset Trail
Movie • 1932
Jim Brandon
Texas Gun Fighter
Movie • 1932
Bill Dane
Hell-Fire Austin
Movie • 1932
Ken 'Hell-Fire' Austin
Whistlin' Dan
Movie • 1932
'Whistlin' Dan Savage Posing as Ed Black
Between Fighting Men
Movie • 1932
Ken
The Voice of Hollywood No. 9
Movie • 1930
Somewhere in Sonora
Movie • 1927
Bob Bishop