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1-11 of 11
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
American character actor primarily of Western "sidekick" roles. Born John Forest Knight in Fairmont, West Virginia, Knight joined a traveling minstrel show as a musician at age 15. He attended The University of West Virginia as a law student, supporting himself as the drummer in his own band. Finding music more rewarding, he left school and played on the vaudeville and cabaret circuits. He appeared in Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1927 and on Broadway as a musical performer in "Here's Howe" and "Ned Wayburn's Gambols." He also played drums for the Irving Aaronson and George Olsen big bands. He appeared in a few short films for MGM and Paramount from 1928 to 1931, performing his "Little Piano" act. Mae West saw Knight in vaudeville and championed him for her film She Done Him Wrong (1933) and gave him his first substantive film role. His comic style and the soft voice which had given him his nickname stood him in good stead in movies, and he appeared in nearly 200 films over the next thirty years. His singing was a memorable part of the films The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) and The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), but it was as a Western sidekick that he gained his greatest fame. He played the comic pal of Johnny Mack Brown and other cowboy heroes in scores of Westerns, and was listed among the Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars in 1940. In the 1950s, he gained new audiences with his sidekick role on Buster Crabbe's TV series Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955). He retired in 1960, but continued to make occasional appearances. He died in his sleep at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California at 74, survived by his wife, actress Patricia Ryan (née Thelma de Long). He is buried in an unmarked grave next to the grave of comedian Maxie Rosenbloom at Valhalla Memorial Park in Burbank, California.- While most actors like to play cowboy, Tom Smith was one. He was born to a family of poor German farmers who were originally from Germany. The shiftless Smith eventually made his way to California where he got into the motion picture business.
Staring in the 1920s, Smith worked in countless westerns. His prowess with a horse, his long hair, and his big bushy mustache was the very ideal image of what an old western outlaw looked like. Smith was so trusted with horses that he was taken across the country in 1930 so he could appear in Raoul Walsh's epic film The Big Trail.
Smith did not usually have dialog in the films that he appeared in but his appearance helped him gain work in countless films and television. By the 1930s, he was constantly appearing in Republic films typically appearing in posse or bar scenes. Through his connections, he was able to gain work in some of the better western productions and frequently appeared in higher-budgeted films as his career went on.
While most cowboys either retired or passed away, Smith found a new avenue of income with the introduction of television. He could regularly be seen appearing in some Universal Studios productions and in some of the more well-known westerns like Gunsmoke but during this period, he primarily did a lot of shows at For Star Productions studios where you can see him appear in bar scenes of shows like Zane Grey Theatre, The Rifleman, Black Saddle, and many other productions.
By the late 1960s, westerns were no longer as plentiful as they once were and Smith's career started to wind itself up. He spent his last few years making sporadic appearances on television shows like Gunsmoke and Barbary Coast until he passed away in 1976 leaving behind a legacy of being a true cowboy on-screen and off of it. - Actress
- Music Department
Davee Decker was born on 28 October 1935 in Etowah Co., Alabama, USA. She was an actress, known for Diary of a Nudist (1961), The Shameless (1962) and The Orgy at Lil's Place (1963). She was married to Nicholas Georgiade. She died on 23 February 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Mavis Villiers was born Mavis Clare Cooney on December 10, 1909 at Neurtal Bay; a suburb of Sydney Harbour's 'north shore', where her father was a milk vendor. Her parents relocated to the mountain-resort town of Katoomba when she was aged four. She began performing at the age of seven and quickly showed a prodigious talent. At age ten she was being tutored to become a professional actress. In 1919 she was invited to perform solo at Sydney's Tivoli Theatre.
In 1921, aged twelve, her family emigrated to Hollywood, USA, in order to further her career. She began her career, as a child film actress, under the stewardship of Mary Pickford, who gave her a role in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921). Her career in Hollywood lasted twelve years; much of her activity is uncredited, undocumented or lost. She was playing female leads in comedies and cowboy movies. In 1933 she emigrated again to London, England, where she began a long career in British film, television and radio; and in live theatre.
She was known for her roles in The Bum's Rush (1927), A Lady's Morals (1930), Saloon Bar (1940), You Can't Do Without Love (1944), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Victim (1961), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1974).
She married an American Pilot Officer who she met in London during WWII. He died in a car accident nine months after they were married. She never remarried and had no children. - Jack Gordon was born on 5 December 1906 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Crime, Inc. (1945). He died on 23 February 1976 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Gabrielle Doulcet was born on 20 February 1890 in Courbevoie, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. She was an actress, known for That Most Important Thing: Love (1975), Au théâtre ce soir (1966) and Police Python 357 (1976). She was married to Fernand Charpin. She died on 23 February 1976 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
- Peggy Hughes was born on 27 June 1895 in Birmingham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Hilda Lessways (1959), Crossroads (1964) and BBC Sunday-Night Play (1960). She died on 23 February 1976 in Birmingham, England, UK.
- Casting Department
- Casting Director
Dick Stockton was born on 17 January 1897 in Arizona, USA. Dick was a casting director, known for Why Bring That Up? (1929), Honey (1930) and Behind the Make-Up (1930). Dick died on 23 February 1976 in San Bernardino, California, USA.- L.S. Lowry was born on 1 November 1887 in Stretford, Manchester, England, UK. He died on 23 February 1976 in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, UK.
- Wanda Lyon was born on 14 May 1892 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. She was an actress, known for The Little Cafe (1919), The Greatest Love of All (1924) and Murder in the Pullman (1932). She was married to James Lymon Pratt. She died on 23 February 1976 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Ewart Wheeler was born on 12 July 1885 in St George Hanover Square, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Black Tulip (1956), The Secret Tent (1956) and Three Golden Nobles (1959). He died on 23 February 1976 in Kensington, London, England, UK.