 Above is Joe Strauch, Jr. (1929 - 1986). During 1941 - 1944, Strauch appeared in 6 westerns for Republic Pictures, five with Gene Autry and one with Bob Livingston. His first was Autry's UNDER FIESTA STARS (Republic, 1941). His screen role was Smiley Burnette's nephew 'Tadpole', and he wore an outfit similar to Burnette as shown in the above photo. Basically, he played a younger version of the Burnette character 'Frog Millhouse'. Strauch also did 'stand-in' duty for Spanky McFarland in a few OUR GANG comedies. According to his death certificate, 57 year old Joseph George Strauch was born May 18, 1929 in Illinois, Mother's maiden name was Schaefer, and he passed away on May 31, 1986 at Stanford Hospital, Santa Clara, California. Strauch worked retail sales for J. C. Penney, and he and wife Mary Jane lived in San Jose, California. Cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia, myocardial failure, and longtime coronary artery disease.  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Joe Strauch, Jr.: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833734/
Death and funeral notice in the June 3, 1986 Chicago Tribune for Joseph George Strauch who was born in Chicago and passed away May 31, 1986 in California: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101808589/chicago-tribune/ The notice in the Chicago Tribune mentions that Strauch was to be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California. Find A grave has no info on Joe Strauch, Jr.'s interment: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124227662/joseph-c-strauch |
 (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above are Bill Cody and Andy Shuford (1917 - 1995) in a scene from LAND OF WANTED MEN (Monogram, 1932). Shuford's last name has one 'f', not two. He was the saddle pal to Cody in the "Bill and Andy Series" series of eight westerns released 1931 - 1932 by Monogram. A year or two later, Bill Cody was using his real son, Bill, Jr. as his sidekick / helper. Boyd Magers had more details on Shuford: Memphis born Shuford had the distinction of appearing in John Wayne's first starring film, THE BIG TRAIL ('30), before teaming up with Cody in a series of eight for the '31-'32 season. He later appeared in support roles in six OUR GANG comedies. Around 1942, 18 year old Andy enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corp and was highly decorated after flying 35 missions out of England. Col. Shuford never returned to films after WWII, settling down in Tennessee. He died 5/19/95 at 77. The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) has a record for William Shuford, born December 16, 1917, passed away on May 19, 1995, and his last residence was Monteagle, Tennessee. Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Andy Shuford: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795599/ (Courtesy of Ed Tabor) Above from L-to-R are Andy Shuford, Sheila Mannors (Sheila Bromley) and Bill Cody in a lobby card from LAND OF WANTED MEN (Monogram, 1932). Shuford is also pictured in the circular inset on the bottom right. |
 (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Franklyn Farnum, Lafe McKee, Bill Cody, Ada Ince and Bill Cody, Jr. in FRONTIER DAYS (Spectrum, 1934). Bill Cody, Jr. (1925-1989), whose real name was William Joseph Cody, was the son of silent and 1930s sagebrush hero Bill Cody. He did some kid helper roles in four of his father's Spectrum westerns in the mid 1930s. You can also spot him playing the part of singer Nelson Eddy as a child in the Jeanette MacDonald THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST (MGM, 1938). His other films were cliffhangers SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE (Universal, 1939), THE OREGON TRAIL (Universal, 1939) and SKY RAIDERS (Universal, 1941), as well as B westerns with Tom Keene, Johnny Mack Brown, Charles Starrett, and the Frontier Marshal trio series for PRC. Cody, Jr. enlisted in the Navy during World War II and never went back to the film business upon returning home from military service. Researcher Luther Hathcock provided info about Cody, Jr.'s death in a December, 1989 writeup in Classic Images: "Bill Cody, Jr., the long lost western kid star of the 1930s is dead at age 64. He died in his Studio City, California apartment on August 11, 1989, a suicide. In a note left for his family, he stated how hard the past sixteen months had been without his beloved wife, Liz, and that he missed her so much that he no longer cared to go on living without her. Mrs. Cody died in 1988 of cancer." The California Death Index has a record for William Joseph Cody, born 4/18/1925, Mother's maiden name of Kanah, passed away on 8/11/1989, and last resided in the Los Angeles area. I did not find a record in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Bill Cody, Jr.: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168559/Find A Grave website has a picture of the grave marker for Bill Cody, Jr. at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19761/bill-cody Bill Jr. is interred next to his wife Elizabeth: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85860504/elizabeth-m-cody  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above - Bill Cody and son Bill Jr. taking a break with Catherine Cotter during the filming of OUTLAWS OF THE RANGE (Spectrum, 1936). |
