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.

Augie Gomez - 1944 ... and he always pulled his hat down on his forehead.

Augie Gomez Full name: Augustine Whitecloud Gomez 1889 ? - 1966

Augustine Whitecloud Gomez was another B western performer who developed riding, knife throwing and rope twirling skills on wild west shows, circuses, and the vaudeville circuit. Family consensus is that he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and his Native American lineage was Mohawk. His birth date may be August 10, 1889 (death certificate) ... or August 10, 1899 (World War I draft registration) ... or August 10, 1900 (World War II draft registration).

Following are early mentions and timelines from tradezines, circus history publications, newspapers, and other records:

• Couple of excerpts from the book Papers of Will Rogers Volume Two, Wild West and Vaudeville (University of Oklahoma Press, 2000): "From 1913 to 1917 the Tompkinses operated Tompkin's Real Wild West and Frontier Exhibition ..." and "Featured performers in the show included ... Augie Ontevares Gomez (who worked as an extra in Tom Mix's films) ..."
• September, 1918 - Augustine O. Gomez registered for the World War I draft. He's in Danville, Illinois and employed by the Ringling Bros. circus.
• December 31, 1920 Variety noted that Augie was with Gus Hornbrook's Cheyenne Days Revue.
• 1966 issues of Bandwagon (from the Circus Historical Society) had Augie with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1923 - 1924.
• September, 1925 - Oil City and Titusville, Pennsylvania newspapers covered a Wild West Rodeo which was a benefit for the Rotary Club's crippled childrens fund. The September 4, 1925 advertisement mentioned the "Tonight - Public Wedding" of Augie Gomez and Florence Johnson, both members of the troupe. An article also noted that "Gomez, when a boy, was adopted by an Indian woman. His tribal name is 'White Cloud'. " (Question is whether this marriage was real or a publicity stunt to attract customers.)
• January 8, 1927 Billboard - Augie is with Hornbrook's Rodeo Revue on the Keith - Albee vaudeville circuit.
• February 2, 1927 Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania) Times Leader newspaper: "Headlining the vaudeville offerings is Gus Hornbrook's 'Rodeo Revue,' a round-up of laughs and thrills featuring Augie Gomez, master of trick-roping."
• March 10, 1928 Billboard - "LOG CABIN RANCH, Ramsey, N. J., is doing good with this trio of cowboys: Al Goodwin, Augie Gomez and Bill Keen. These hands are putting on a show every Saturday and Sunday."
• March 20, 1929 Variety - Augie is in New York City in a play about rodeos titled 'Buckaroo'. Reviews were poor and the show had a brief run, closing after nine performances in March, 1929 at Erlanger's Theater in New York City. (In addition to Augie, the cast included several folks who did B westerns - Morris Ankrum (Hopalong Cassidy movies) and Chick Hannan / Hannon (townsman / henchman in many films)).
• April 20, 1929 Billboard - after 'Buckaroo' closed, Augie did his knife throwing act with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
• May 18, 1929 Billboard - "Augie Gomez has closed with Cy Compton's Wild West on the Ringling - Barnum Show and expects to go into vaudeville with Hornbrook's Rodeo Revue, doing trick roping."

Augie may have appeared in some silent films - perhaps with Tom Mix - but am unable to confirm that. From movie sightings, we know he was working in Hollywood in the early 1930s and continued through mid 1960s films and television. And he was mostly unbilled / uncredited as a rider, henchman, townsman, barfly ... and sometimes in roles as a Mexican, Indian, or native.

Summer, 1932 newspapers had an article on Tom Mix's first talkie, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (Universal, 1932). Riders in DESTRY included Herman Nolan (Nowlin), Joe Balch, Ed Hendershot, Henry Morris, Clyde Kinney ... and Augie Gomez. Couple years later, Augie, Hendershot, Nolan (Nowlin), and others re-connected with Mix - they were performers in the combined Sam B. Dill - Tom Mix Roundup circus which began their season in Hot Springs, Arkansas in April, 1934.

In the late 1930s, singing cowboy Tex Ritter was doing B westerns for Grand National Pictures ... and Gomez appeared in four. A friendship developed and Augie (along with Tex's movie sidekick Snub Pollard) did personal appearance tours with Ritter in 1937 and 1938.

Movie work continued and Gomez found steady employment in westerns at Republic, Monogram, and Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). His busiest period was the 1940s:

• At Republic Pictures, he did sagebrush adventures with Gene Autry (a dozen), Roy Rogers (5), Allan 'Rocky' Lane (5), Wild Bill Elliott (5), Don Barry (3), others.
• At Monogram, you can spot him in oaters with the Range Busters (5), Johnny Mack Brown (5), Rough Riders (2), Jimmy Wakely (2), the Cisco Kid series (2), more.
• Prolific director Sam Newfield (Neufeld) was at Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), helming sagebrushers with Buster Crabbe, Bob Steele, the Frontier Marshal trio, Lone Riders with George Houston and Bob Livingston, more. Newfield had a "stable of regulars / dependables" that he hired as henchmen, riders, townsmen, etc. Gomez appeared in thirty Newfield movies which were released by PRC in 1940 - 1945.

In the 1950s - mid 1960s, Augie pops up in minor, background roles in dozens of television programs including GUNSMOKE, WYATT EARP, GENE AUTRY SHOW, ROY ROGERS SHOW, RANGE RIDER, CISCO KID, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, BONANZA, lots more.

April 16, 1956 and April 30, 1956 issues of the Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin had articles on Augie and Lillian Walker doing a three-week tour in New York state as part of a publicity campaign for 20th Century Fox's MOHAWK (1956) which starred Scott Brady, Rita Gam, and Neville Brand. The articles noted that "Gomez, who appears in the film, will do his knife-throwing act at theaters, parks, playgrounds and other public gathering places, and is due for several TV appearances en route." and "The Indians are coming back to the Mohawk Valley in New York State. A full-blooded Mohawk Indian, White Cloud, one of Hollywood's leading stunt men and a pretty Iroquois maiden, Lily, are drum-beating the area in connection with the April 100-theater saturation opening of 'Mohawk', 20th-Fox release."

A few examples of Augie on film and TV:

• In Gene Autry's BLUE MONTANA SKIES (Republic, 1939), Augie is billed in the opening titles and credits. He's Indian "Blackfeather", a gang member working for Harry Woods.
• As noted above, Augie was frequently employed in director Sam Newfield's westerns at Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). Among his thirty or so Newfield sagebrushers, Augie appeared in fifteen of the Bob Steele and Buster Crabbe Billy the Kid / Billy Carson series and seven of the Lone Rider escapades.
• He's a knife thrower in the cantina in "The Emerald Saint", a 1954 episode in season two of William Boyd's HOPALONG CASSIDY TV show.

As to his personal life, Augie tied the knot with Marjorie Helen Flory (1908 - 1973) in 1939 in Los Angeles. On their wedding license, Augie identifies himself as divorced. Daughter Gerrie mentioned that his first wife was named "Mary" with an unknown last name. And there's that 1925 newspaper report of a marriage to Florence Johnson when she and Augie were performing in a wild west show in Oil City, Pennsylvania. We have a mystery!

Marjorie and Augie bought a house in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley. Daughter Gale was born in 1942 and daughter Gerrie arrived in 1945.

In their later years, both Augie and Marjorie did extensive fund raising and volunteer work supporting Navajo Relief, San Fernando Valley Youth Band, local YMCA, the P.T.A., Cub Scouts, more.

Suffering from heart disease, Augie passed away on January 1, 1966 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Los Angeles, California.

Augie Gomez's MOVIE stats by year. A fairly busy guy in the 1940s. Includes westerns, serials, shorts, and other films. TV shows are NOT included. I've used the RELEASE dates (not filming dates) from the Internet Movie Database so the results may be a little skewed. Total film count in this chart = 153.
13	5	8	13	13	18	12	10	10	5	9	7	1	4	5	6	14
1932- 1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953- 1961

(Courtesy of the Augie Gomez Family)
Above - Augie doing rope twirling with daughters Gale and Gerrie at their Van Nuys, California home circa late 1950s. Augie owned or co-owned a leather / shoe repair shop and made costumes for himself and daughters. On the right is a 1948 newspaper ad for his leather and boot shop in Van Nuys, California.

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Augie Gomez: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326984/

Article and photos from Augie's daughter Gerrie Gomez Dodd at the Museum of the San Fernando Valley website: http://museumsanfernandovalley.blogspot.com/2013/09/whitecloud-gomez.html

In the early 1980s, Sunset Carson and Jerry Whittington were developing a TV show to be titled "Sunset Carson's Hollywood Nostalgia Theater". And a bunch of interviews were filmed with B western folks. Sunset's guest in this 8 minute video is heroine Peggy Stewart. Around 5 minutes, 30 seconds in, they talk about Augie Gomez being a great knife thrower, gunbelt maker, and doubling Robert 'Bobby' Blake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gevkNdiwMQ8

The Playbill website has Augie portraying "Sam Sundown" in the March, 1929 Broadway production of "Buckaroo" in New York City: https://www.playbill.com/person/augie-gomez-vault-0000103933

There's some clippings online at Newspapers.com:
1937: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27051627/princess_white_cloud_and_augie/
1938: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27050792/princes_white_cloud_and_augie_gomez/
1945: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11647158/objective_burma_knife_wielding_story/
1950: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23139491/augie_gomez_1950/
1951: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23139463/augie_gomez_1951/

Family Search (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), Fold3 Military records, California Death Index, death certificate, and newspaper articles provide more on Augie Gomez and family. Based on newspaper and trade articles, we know he was performing circa 1915 and later. However, his early years remain a mystery - found nothing on Augie in the 1900, 1910, 1920 or 1930 census.

• World War I draft registration dated September 6, 1918 - 19 year old Augustine O. Gomez is in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. He was born August 10, 1899; he is "Indian" and a citizen of Mexico; occupation and employer is "Performer - Ringling Bros., Chicago, Illinois"; and nearest relative is "No one": https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7WC4-F26Z
• July 22, 1939 Los Angeles marriage license of 38 year old Augustine Whitecloud Gomez (born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; color or race: Mexican and American Indian) and Marjorie Helen Flory (born Nebraska). Second marriage for him and first for her. His occupation was "Moving Picture Stuntman - Republic Studios", and his parents were Joe O. Gomez (born Gary, Indiana) and Elizabeth Whitecloud (born Caughnawaga, Canada). Her occupation was "Clerk in Bank - Safe Deposit Manager":
  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93H-CWJ?i=1731&cc=1804002
  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93H-CHY?i=1732&cc=1804002
• 1940 census summary and census takers worksheet - 39 year old Augustine Gamoy [sic] (born Pennsylvania) and his 32 year old wife Marjorie (born Nebraska) own their home at 16134 Cohasset, Los Angeles County, California. His occupation is "Extra - Motion Pictures", and in 1939, he worked 17 weeks and earned $1000.00: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9HK-QMP
• World War II draft registration wasn't available on Family Search, but was on Fold3 military records: 42 year old Augustin [sic] Whitecloud Gomez was born August 10, 1900 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and wife Marjorie Flory Gomez live at 16134 Cohasset, Van Nuys, California. His occupation and employer is "Republic Studio, Studio City, Los Angeles, California". He's 5 feet, 4 inches in height and weighs 140 pounds.
• California Birth Index for daughter Gale - she was born January 19, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, and mother's maiden name was Flory: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VG3Q-585
• California Birth Index for daughter Gerrie - she was born February 21, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, and mother's maiden name was Flory: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VG78-DTV
• Death certificate - 76 year old Augustine Whitecloud Gomez passed away from heart problems on January 1, 1966 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Los Angeles. He was born August 10, 1889 in Pennsylvania and parents were Joe Dannie (born Pennsylvania) and Elizabeth Whitecloud (born Canada). Occupation was "Actor - Free Lance". He and wife Marjorie Flory Gomez lived at 16134 Cohasset Street, Van Nuys, California. Pierce Bros. Hollywood was the funeral director and cremation at Chapel of the Pines.
• California Death Index mirrors the death certificate but has errors - Augustin [sic] W. Gomez was born August 10, 1889 in Pennsylvania, mother's maiden name of Whiteclo [sic], and he passed away January 1, 1966 in the Los Angeles area: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGRG-9HL
• January 9, 1966 Van Nuys Valley News newspaper had an article on the funeral service for 76 year old Augie Whitecloud Gomez which was held at the Pierce Brothers mortuary, Hollywood, California. Western movie and TV performers Rodd Redwing and Iron Eyes Cody were among the attendees. Augie "... died New Year's Day in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital." Survivors were wife Marjorie, daughters Gale and Gerrie, brother Peter and sister Margaret. (Peter and Margaret are in the 1910 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania census below.)
• California Death Index for Augie's wife Marjorie Gomez - she passed away January 24, 1973 in the Los Angeles area: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG2D-4BJS

Find A Grave confirms that Augie Gomez was cremated at Chapel Of The Pines Crematory, Los Angeles, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/209528708/augie-gomez

Records and family trees on Ancestry.com and Family Search indicate that Augie's parents were Elizabeth Rice Simpson and Joseph R. Danay / Daney / AKA White Cloud.

Augie's releationship to the Danay family is unclear to me. And he isn't with the family in the 1910 census.

• Passenger list of the S. S. Campania, sailing from Liverpool to New York City in July, 1905 - passengers included 40 year old White Cloud (occupation "Showman") and his 5 year old son Peter W., and both are shown as American citizens and Indian: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JF7L-1JM
• 1910 census summary and census takers worksheet - but Augie is not present. Living in Ward 13, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are 43 year old White Cloud (born Canada; occupation "Costumer - Own Store"), his 34 year old wife Elizabeth Cloud (born Canada), 11 year old son Peter Cloud (born New York) and 2 year old daughter Margaret Cloud (born Pennsylvania). Elizabeth has had ten children and six are still living. And it appears her age was corrected to 44 on the census takers worksheet: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGDG-N62
• The Library of Congress, Chronicling America website has the Washington D. C. Evening Star newspaper from April 3, 1912: "PHILADELPHIA, April 3 - Chief White Cloud of the Iroquois tribe of Indians, whose home was in Franklin county, N. Y., died here today from turberculosis. During the last fourteen years he was a resident of Philadelphia, and took part in many theatrical entertainments in which a full-blooded Indian was essential. He was forty-six years old.": https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1912-04-03/ed-1/seq-11/
• Ancestry.com had the death certificate on 46 year old "White Cloud" / "Joseph R. Danay". He passed away April 3, 1912 in Philadelphia from heart problems; occupation was "Costumer"; he was married; born Caughnawaga, Canada; and color or race was "Indian".

Above Christmas greeting in the December 31, 1920 issue of Variety (available at the Internet Archive). Gus Hornbrook had acts playing outdoor venues as well as vaudeville theaters, and Augie toured with Hornbrook in 1920. (Various newspapers as well as Variety and Billboard trade publications note that Hornbrook worked for P. T. Barnum, and later, he formed his own wild west show and toured for many years at fairs, rodeos, etc. in the U.S. and overseas.) While on break from shooting his westerns for Grand National Pictures, Tex Ritter did personal appearances. On his 1937 and 1938 tours, Tex was joined by Augie Gomez, Princess White Cloud, and Snub Pollard. Above newspaper ad is for their April, 1938 tour stop and performance in Macon, Missouri. (Courtesy of Dorothy Hack) On the right are George Houston and Al 'Fuzzy' St. John and the still is from THE LONE RIDER IN GHOST TOWN (PRC, 1941). There's lots of faces here, and most we can identify. But there's two unidentifieds, and crops/blowups are shown below. Left to right below are Archie Hall Sr. (mustache), a very young Lane Bradford (John Merton's son), Jack Evans (beard), unidentified (with moustache) and another unidentified (with the beard). Left to right above are Augie Gomez, Frank Ellis (mustache), Lew Morphy, George Houston and Al 'Fuzzy' St. John. Bending over and wearing the 'stache is Budd Buster. (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from left to right are Don Barry, Harry Worth and Milton Kibbee in a scene from Barry's KANSAS CYCLONE (Republic, 1941). In the background between Barry and Worth are Augie Gomez and Matty Roubert. And if you look closely between Worth and Kibbee, you might make out Eddie Dean, about five years before he became PRC's resident singin' cowboy. (From Old Corral collection) THE LAW RIDES AGAIN (Monogram, 1943) was the second of the Monogram Trail Blazers series, and starred Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson. Kenneth Harlan portrayed a crooked Indian Agent who is keeping promised cattle shipments from the Indians. And he was assisted by B-movie vet Jack La Rue (as an escaped convict) and other Harlan henchies were Hank Bell, John Merton and Chief Thunder Cloud. In the above lobby card, Artie Ortego is top center wearing the full headdress and has his bow and arrow at rest. Chief Many Treaties (Bill Hazlett) as 'Chief Barking Fox' is wearing the full headdress and is on the right. That may be Augie Gomez, aiming the rifle, at the bottom center of this lobby card. The other players are unidentified. (Courtesy of Carol Murray and her "Jack Hendricks Photo Album") Above - Marin Sais, the one-time wife of cowboy hero Jack Hoxie, has a brace of six-guns aimed at Jack Ingram and gang. From left to right are Augie Gomez, Jack Hendricks, Artie Ortego, Jack Ingram, and Herman Hack. Still from the Buster Crabbe FRONTIER OUTLAWS (PRC, 1944). Crops/blowups are shown below. Left to right are Augie Gomez, Jack Hendricks, and Artie Ortego. Left to right are Jack Ingram, Herman Hack, and Marin Sais.