 | The 'brains' and 'action' heavies who had meaty roles and lots of dialog ... and the players who were fathers, ranch owners, lawman, mayors, judges, lawyers, storekeepers, newspaper editors, wardens, etc. |
| Horace Murphy Full name: |  |  (Courtesy of Jack Tillmany) |
Born in Tennessee, Horace Murphy apparently got into acting via showboats and tent shows, and wound up owning a couple of movie theaters in California. His cinema career started around 1935, when he was in his mid fifties. He appeared primarily in B westerns where his role was that of a long-winded and pompous judge, lawman, townsman, storekeeper, et al.
He also did some sidekick duties with Tex Ritter in his late 1930s Grand National films (portraying several blustery saddle pals, one named 'Stubby' and another named 'Ananias').
Les Adams has Murphy identified in about 120 sound films --- that number includes 95 westerns and 2 serials. His film credits at Republic Pictures numbers about 40 during the period from 1936-1946, and all were westerns. However, about half of these are the A. W. Hackel/Supreme westerns starring Bob Steele and Johnny Mack Brown which were released under the Republic logo soon after the formation of Republic Pictures. Murphy's last screen appearance was around 1946.
Murphy had a rather unique voice and did radio work. You'll hear him as sidekick 'Buckskin Blodgett' in many of the Red Ryder radio shows (I have episodes from 1942-1948 with Murphy as 'Buckskin'). He also portrayed sidekick 'Clackety' on the Roy Rogers radio program --- not sure how long he was on Roy's show but I do have one 1951 episode which feature Murphy. And on occasion, Murphy turned up on the Gene Autry Melody Ranch radio program. The Rogers, Red Ryder and Melody Ranch programs originated from California.
Speculation: note that Murphy's film work ended around 1946. Many of the radio shows that I have (with Horace) date from the mid 1940s into the 1950s. The Radio Gold Index (link below) also shows Murphy in programs during that same post-1946 time period. Perhaps Murphy found that radio work was safer, or easier, or more consistent, or better paying than films ... and so he gave up one medium and specialized in the other.
Go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral, and then click the link for the California Death Records database. There you will find a record for: William H. Murphy, birthdate and location of 6/3/1880 and Tennessee, and he passed away on 1/20/1975. There is a corresponding 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 Horace Murphy: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0614303/
J. David Goldin's RadioGoldIndex website has a listing of 1944-1953 programs in which Murphy appeared (such as Lux Radio Theater, Granby's Green Acres, Red Ryder, Roy Rogers, more): http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p3.cgi?ArtistName=Murphy,+Horace&ArtistNumber=16099
 (From Old Corral image collection) Above, from L-to-R are heroine Lois January, Horace Murphy, and Johnny Mack Brown in ROGUE OF THE RANGE (A. W. Hackel/Supreme, 1936).  (From Old Corral image collection) Before his days with Arkansas 'Slim' Andrews at Monogram, Tex Ritter's most frequent screen pal was Horace Murphy (above, right) who portrayed characters named 'Stubby' or 'Ananias'. On the left is silent clown Snub Pollard, who was also a helper to Tex, and went by the moniker of 'Pee Wee'. This scene is from ROLLIN' PLAINS (Grand National, 1938).  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above, from L-to-R are Snub Pollard, Tex Ritter, and Horace Murphy in a still from FRONTIER TOWN (Grand National, 1938). |
 (Courtesy of Jack Tillmany) | | John H. Elliott 1876 - 1956 |
Iowa born John Elliott had a screen career that spanned about 35 years --- his film credits begin around 1920 in silents and his last is in the mid 1950s.
Les Adams has Elliott identified in about 250 sound era films, and that includes 121 westerns and 14 cliffhangers.
While Elliott did do an occasional baddie role, he most often was the mild mannered father of the heroine, a judge, a ranch owner, a storekeeper, the owner of the local newspaper, etc. Supposedly he did a lot of stage work, and that could be the reason that his dialog delivery was reasonably precise ... though I often felt that he was too soft spoken and his voice was a bit monotone.
Go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral, and then click the link for the California Death Records database. There you will find a record for: John H. Elliott, birthdate and location of 7/5/1876 and Iowa, and he passed away on 12/12/1956.
Got an e-mail from Dan Bates in July, 2001 about his chance meeting with John Elliott around 1954. Dan writes:
"I must have encountered this very familiar face from B-Westerns just before his death. Circa 1954, my parents and I were tourists visiting Hollywood, and we stayed in a motel on Hollywood Boulevard, several blocks down the street from the Pantages. We took to having breakfast every morning in a corner restaurant --- nothing fancy, as I recall --- and, one morning, my late father spotted Elliott sitting at the counter, and urged me into asking the old actor for his autograph. I quickly mustered some sufficient courage --- I was, after all, only 16 years old --- and did so. (I have long since misplaced that autograph, it saddens me to report.) The next day, our regular waitress told us that Elliott was absolutely thrilled that a youth of my age actually knew who he was."
Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on John Elliott: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0254502/
 (Courtesy of Ed Tabor) Above from L-to-R are: Vane Calvert, Bob Custer, Victoria Vinton, Eddie Phillips, John Elliott and Wally Wales in AMBUSH VALLEY (Reliable, 1936).  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Eddie Phillips, Denver Dixon (aka Victor Adamson), Bob Custer, John Elliott and Jack Evans in AMBUSH VALLEY (Reliable, 1936).  (From Old Corral image collection) Above, John Elliott, Tom Tyler and the seated Robert Manning in VANISHING MEN (Monogram, 1932).  (From Old Corral image collection) Above, from L-to-R are Walter Miller, Ken Maynard, Beth Marion and John Elliott in Maynard's THE FUGITIVE SHERIFF (1936).  (From Old Corral image collection) Above from L-to-R are Rin-Tin-Tin Jr., Victoria Vinton, Bob Custer, John Elliott, and prone on the floor is Wally West, in VENGEANCE OF RANNAH (Reliable, 1936).  (From Old Corral image collection) Above from L-to-R are John Elliott, John 'Dusty' King, Sheila Darcy and Ray 'Crash' Corrigan in a scene from TUMBLEDOWN RANCH IN ARIZONA (Monogram, 1941), one of the Range Busters' series.  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Lee Powell, John Elliott and Karl Hackett in the Frontier Marshals' ROLLING DOWN THE GREAT DIVIDE (PRC, 1942). |