 | Unkempt, rough and tough looking members of the gang, or lynch mob, or vigilantes, or posse riders, or cow herders. They had minimal or no dialog, not much screen time, and were generally not listed in the film credits. Some would show up as a face in the crowd, portraying townspeople, barflies, deputies, wagon drivers, ranch hands, etc. We tend to recognize some of their faces, but have no clue as to their real names. |
 Al Taylor circa 1943 and about 45 years of age. |  | Al Taylor Full name: Alva Lee Taylor 1898 - 1958 appeared in about 180 westerns and 37 serials |
| Al Taylor appeared in 200+ features and serials and most often portrayed a henchman, cowhand, rider, etc. and his film career spanned from 1920s silents through the late 1940s. Early movie appearances include Buddy Roosevelt, Wally Wales and Buffalo Bill, Jr. silent westerns for Action Pictures in the mid 1920s. In the 1930s, he's in a half dozen cliffhangers at Nat Levine's Mascot serial factory; at Universal in chapterplays with Buck Jones and Tim McCoy; many 1930s oaters with Tim McCoy, Buck Jones and Ken Maynard; and a few westerns with Tom Keene at RKO and John Wayne at Warners. He got a lot of work - and paydays - from Republic Pictures which was formed in the mid 1930s. Republic kept him busy in mostly unbilled roles in scores of features and cliffhangers scattered over the years 1935 - 1948. There, he shows up most often with Gene Autry (in 20 films), Roy Rogers (13), Don Barry (11), about two dozen Three Mesquiteers adventures, and over twenty serials.
For many years, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) biography on Al Taylor had him as Albert Clark Taylor (1887-1951). In the late 1940's, he became a steam locomotive engineer for a motion picture studio and that was his occupation on his death certificate. He passed away in 1951 at the VA hospital in West Los Angeles.
In December, 2016, ye Old Corral webmeister received an e-mail and some Taylor family photos from Rob Leavitt: "My Great Uncle was Al Taylor. Alva Lee Taylor was born December 16, 1898 in Sparks, Lincoln County, Oklahoma to William and Luda Taylor. He grew up in North Powder, Oregon and was the second child of six. He went to California in the early 1920s and while there, he married Rose Wurth. He played in movies for about 22 years. After his movie days, Al and Rose moved back to North Powder, Oregon, and then to Baker City, Oregon. Al died on July 31, 1958 in Ontario, Malheur County, Oregon." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 (Courtesy of Rob Leavitt) Above - Al and wife Rose.  (Courtesy of Rob Leavitt) Photo in North Powder, Oregon of Al and the Taylor family. Top row left to right are sister Elsie, sister Marie, mother Luda, and brother Neil. Bottom row left to right are brother Isham, Al, and brother Cecil.  (Courtesy of Rob Leavitt) Above - Al Taylor wearing a sheriff's badge in an unidentified western circa 1940.  (Courtesy of Rob Leavitt) Above is Al Taylor - with a big mustache and a nautical hat - in a credited role as "Claggett", a henchmen working for "Slick Latimer" (Gerald Mohr) in the serial JUNGLE GIRL (Republic, 1941).  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Jack Ingram, Pascale Perry, Fred Kohler, Jr., Tom Tyler, Tom Chatterton, Sam Lufkin (bartender) and Al Taylor in a scene from the Three Mesquiteers RAIDERS OF THE RANGE (Republic, 1942).  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above is a still along with some crops/blowups from the Wild Bill Elliott THE MAN FROM THUNDER RIVER (Republic, 1943). From left to right are Elliott, Roy Brent, Jack Rockwell, Anne Jeffreys, Georgia Cooper, John James and Al Taylor. |
| The Family Search website has information on Al Taylor, movie actor:
Find A Grave website has a photo of the marker for Alva L.Taylor (1898-1958) who is interred at North Powder Cemetery, North Powder, Union County, Oregon: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61438737/alva-lee-taylor |
(Corrected) Internet Movie Database (IMDb) for Al Taylor: