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Hoot Gibson

Hoot Gibson

Birthday: 1892-08-06 | Place of Birth: Tekamah, Nebraska, USA

Hoot Gibson was a colorful figure, a light-hearted, fun-loving personality on screen and off. Hoot’s 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. Gibson’s 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 serial’s 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. Hoot’s 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 co-star 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 Hoot’s fans five reels of action and fun. Hoot’s 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 M.H. Hoffman Inc. (distributed on a state rights basis by Allied Pictures Corporation) and Walker Futter Productions (Diversion Pictures). In 1935, Hoot co-starred 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. Hoot’s 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 co-starred 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 sheriff’s deputy in Ocean’s Eleven (1960), another cameo.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1959
The Horse Soldiers

as    Sgt. Brown

1944
Outlaw Trail

as    Hoot

1944
Westward Bound

as    Hoot Gibson

1944
Arizona Whirlwind

as    Hoot Gibson

1944
Marked Trails

as    Hoot Parkford

1943
Death Valley Rangers

as    Hoot Gibson

1943
Wild Horse Stampede

as    Marshal Hoot Gibson

1943
Blazing Guns

as    Marshal Hoot Gibson

1943
The Law Rides Again

as    U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson

1937
The Painted Stallion

as    Walter Jamison

1936
The Last Outlaw

as    Al Goss

1936
The Riding Avenger

as    Buck 'The Morning Glory Kid' Bonner

1936
Lucky Terror

as    Lucky 'The Lucky Terror' Carson

1935
Sunset Range

as    Reasonin' Bates

1935
Powdersmoke Range

as    Stony Brooke

1935
Swifty

as    Swifty

1933
The Dude Bandit

as    'Ace' Cooper posing as Tex

1931
The Hard Hombre

as    William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton

1927
The Prairie King

as    Andy Barden

1926
Chip of the Flying U

as    Chip Bennett

1925
Spook Ranch

as    Bill Bangs

1925
Taming the West

as    John Carleton

1917
Straight Shooting

as    Danny Morgan

1915
The Man from Texas

as    Deputy (uncredited)