HOOT GIBSON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Hoot Gibson was born on August 6th, 1892 in Tekamah, Nebraska with the birth name Edmund Richard Gibson. Hoot was raised on a ranch and by the age of two he already owned his first pony. When he was seven years old his family relocated to California and at the age of thirteen he ran away from home to join a circus.
He later returned to his roots of ranching and worked as a horse wrangler. By 1907 he signed a contract with the Dick Stanley-Bud Atkinson Wild West Show and would tour throughout the nation.
Three years later he broke into the film industry working as a stuntman. He began appearing on such films as, "Pride of the Range" (1910) and "The Two Brothers" (1910). Along with acting he remained working on the Rodeo circuit making a decent income doing both acting and Rodeo even winning the title of, "All Around Champion Cowboy" in 1912.
He continued to work on films appearing in 1912 in the short, "His Only Son" directed by Jack Conway. Gibson continued to make connections in Hollywood and became friends with director John Ford. He alter appeared in more films such as, "Cheyenne's Pal" (1917), "Straight Shooting" (1917), "The Secret Man" (1917) and "A Marked Man" (1917).
During World War I, he took a brief break from acting as well as the rodeo circuit to join the United States Army where he reached the rank of sergeant. Upon completing his military service, Gibson had no issues returning right back to where he left off.
As his career progressed some other films he added to his resume were roles in, "The Fighting Brothers" (1919), "The Blackhorse Bandit" (1919), "Rustlers" (1919), "Gun Law" (1919), "The Gun Packer" (1919), "By Indian Post" (1919), "The Trail of the Holdup Man" (1919), "The Sheriff's Oath" (1920) and "The Wild Wild West" (1921).
After a number of shorts being added to his credits he reached a decent level of success when he starred in, "Action" (1921), directed by John Ford and being his first full-length feature film. It was this film that really began his western career success.
When the silent era came to an end, he made the transition to sound films with ease. During this time he added such films to his resume as, "The Long, Long Trail" (1929), "Trigger Tricks" (1930) and "Clearing the Range" (1931).
Finally at the height of his career, he lost his contract with Universal and the quality of film roles he took on were less successful than he had become accustomed to. Other western stars such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were being offered the better roles but he did still manage to appear in some successful films such as, "Powdersmoke Range" (1935) and "The Painted Stallion" (1937).
With his career in films on a downfall he decided to leave Hollywood and joined the Robbins Brothers and Russell Brothers Circus for about a year. He then retired from show business and dabbled in real estate for a couple years.
In 1943 Monogram Pictures approached him and offered him a role in their "Trail Blazers" series which were a total of almost a dozen films. Sadly, no other offers came out of this opportunity and therefore, after filming the last of the series, "Trigger Law" (1944), he for the most part retired from acting and returned back to making a living in real estate. On occasion he did return for small appearances on, "Flight to Nowhere" (1946), "The Horse Soldiers" (1959) starring John Wayne and William Holden and his last appearance was on, "Ocean's Eleven" (1960) starring Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Conte and Dean Martin to name a few.
He married four times throughout his lifetime. First to Helen Gibson in 1913 but by 1920 this marriage came to an end. He then married Helen Johnson in 1922 and they had one child before this marriage also ended in 1930. His third wife was Sally Eilers whom he wed in 1930 but by 1933 another marriage had become unsuccessful. His fourth and final marriage was to Dorothea Dunstan in 1942 and they remained together until he passed away at the age of seventy from cancer on August 23rd, 1962 in Woodland Hills, California. His remains are buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Although he suffered a number of up's and downs in his professional and personal life with failed marriages and financial turmoil, he was still an amazing actor and Hollywood honored him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the Motion Picture Industry. He was also inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
Filmography
1960 Ocean's Eleven
1959 The Horse Soldiers
1955 I Married Joan
1953 The Marshal's Daughter
1946 Flight to Nowhere
1944 Trigger Law
1944 The Utah Kid
1944 Marked Trails
1944 Sonora Stagecoach
1944 Outlaw Trail
1944 Arizona Whirlwind
1944 Westward Bound
1943 Death Valley Rangers
1943 Blazing Guns
1943 The Law Rides Again
1943 Wild Horse Stampede
1937 The Painted Stallion
1936 Cavalcade of the West
1936 The Riding Avenger
1936 The Last Outlaw
1936 Feud of the West
1936 Lucky Terror
1936 Frontier Justice
1935 Swifty
1935 Powdersmoke Range
1935 Rainbow's End
1935 Sunset Range
1933 The Fighting Parson
1933 The Dude Bandit
1932 The Cowboy Counsellor
1932 The Boiling Point
1932 A Man's Land
1932 Spirit of the West
1932 The Gay Buckaroo
1932 The Local Bad Man
1931 The Hard Hombre
1931 Wild Horse
1931 Clearing the Range
1930 The Concentratin' Kid
1930 Spurs
1930 Trigger Tricks
1930 Roaring Ranch
1930 Trailin' Trouble
1930 The Mounted Stranger
1929 Courtin' Wildcats
1929 The Long, Long Trail
1929 Points West
1929 The Winged Horseman
1929 The Lariat Kid
1929 Smilin' Guns
1929 Burning the Wind
1929 King of the Rodeo
1928 The Danger Rider
1928 Clearing the Trail
1928 Hollywood or Bust
1928 Riding for Fame
1928 The Wild West Show
1928 The Flyin' Cowboy
1928 A Trick of Hearts
1928 The Rawhide Kid
1927 Galloping Fury
1927 Painted Ponies
1927 A Hero on Horseback
1927 The Prairie King
1927 Hey! Hey! Cowboy
1927 The Denver Dude
1927 The Silent Rider
1926 The Buckaroo Kid
1926 The Texas Streak
1926 The Shoot 'Em Up Kid
1926 The Man in the Saddle
1926 The Phantom Bullet
1926 The Flaming Frontier
1926 Chip of the Flying U
1926 Arizona Sweepstakes
1925 The Calgary Stampede
1925 Spook Ranch
1925 Let 'er Buck
1925 The Saddle Hawk
1925 The Taming of the West
1925 The Hurricane Kid
1924 The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
1924 Hit and Run
1924 Sawdust Trail
1924 Broadway or Bust
1924 40-Horse Hawkins
1924 Ride for Your Life
1924 Hook and Ladder
1923 The Thrill Chaser
1923 The Ramblin' Kid
1923 Blinky
1923 Out of Luck
1923 Shootin' for Love
1923 Double Dealing
1923 Dead Game
1923 Single Handed
1923 The Gentleman from America
1923 Kindled Courage
1922 Ridin' Wild
1922 The Lone Hand
1922 The Galloping Kid
1922 The Loaded Door
1922 Trimmed
1922 Step on It!
1922 The Bearcat
1922 Headin' West
1921 The Fire Eater
1921 Sure Fire
1921 Red Courage
1921 Action
1921 Beating the Game
1921 The Man Who Woke Up
1921 The Movie Trail
1921 Bandits Beware
1921 The Wild Wild West
1921 Double Crossers
1921 Crossed Clues
1921 Who Was the Man?
1921 The Cactus Kid
1921 Out o' Luck
1921 The Fightin' Fury
1921 Kickaroo
1921 Sweet Revenge
1921 The Driftin' Kid
1921 The Winning Track
1921 The Saddle King
1920 The Trail of the Hound
1920 The Man with the Punch
1920 Fight It Out
1920 The Brand Blotter
1920 The Stranger
1920 Superstition
1920 Tipped Off
1920 The Two-Fisted Lover
1920 Double Danger
1920 Cinders
1920 'In Wrong' Wright
1920 The Shootin' Fool
1920 One Law for All
1920 The Grinning Granger
1920 A Gamblin' Fool
1920 The Big Catch
1920 The Champion Liar
1920 The Smilin' Kid
1920 The Shootin' Kid
1920 The Fightin' Terror
1920 The Broncho Kid
1920 Thieves' Clothes
1920 Masked
1920 Wolf Tracks
1920 His Nose in the Book
1920 The Rattler's Hiss
1920 Held Up for the Makin's
1920 Runnin' Straight
1920 Hair Trigger Stuff
1920 The Sheriff's Oath
1920 Roarin' Dan
1920 West Is Best
1920 The Jay Bird
1920 Winning a Home
1919 The Double Hold-Up
1919 The Lone Hand
1919 The Trail of the Holdup Man
1919 The Tell Tale Wire
1919 The Face in the Watch
1919 The Jack of Hearts
1919 The Four-Bit Man
1919 The Fighting Heart
1919 Kingdom Come
1919 The Gun Packer
1919 By Indian Post
1919 Gun Law
1919 Rustlers
1919 Ace High
1919 The Rustler
1919 His Buddy
1919 The Fighting Brothers
1919 The Black Horse Bandit
1918 Danger, Go Slow
1918 The Branded Man
1918 The Midnight Flyer
1918 Play Straight or Fight
1918 The Woman in the Web
1918 Headin' South
1917 A Marked Man
1917 The Secret Man
1917 The Texas Sphinx
1917 Straight Shooting
1917 Cheyenne's Pal
1917 The Soul Herder
1917 The Wrong Man
1917 The Golden Bullet
1917 A 44-Calibre Mystery
1917 The Voice on the Wire
1916 The Mysterious Cipher
1916 The Treasure Train
1916 The Capture of Red Stanley
1916 The Wedding Guest
1916 The Governor's Special
1916 The Passing of Hell's Crown
1916 The Night Riders
1916 Stampede in the Night
1916 A Knight of the Range
1915 Stingaree
1915 The Ring of Destiny
1915 Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
1915 The Pay Train
1915 The Death Train
1915 The Man from Texas
1915 Buckshot John
1914 The Man from the East
1914 The Hazards of Helen
1914 The Telltale Knife
1914 Shotgun Jones
1913 In the Secret Service
1913 Cowboy Sports and Pastimes
1912 His Only Son
1911 The New Superintendent
1910 The Two Brothers
1910 Pride of the Range
