1912 wrestling match in Ogden, Utah, and McCarroll was about 21 years old. Jack Harbertson was the winner. 1917 wrestling match in Boise, Idaho. Found no follow up article on who won. |
"BOISE, Jan. 23 (1932) - Frank McCarroll, who made his name known in the rodeo world both here and abroad as a champion bulldogger, announced today he intended to run for sheriff of Ada county." (Boise is the county seat of Ada county; he was not elected sheriff.)
His wife Mary Ellen 'Bonnie' Treadwell (1892 - 1929) was also a rodeo performer and they married in 1914 in Boise, Idaho and Boise became their home base. Bonnie was critically injured while riding the bronc 'Black Cat' at the 1929 Pendleton event and passed away about ten days later.
In the early 1930s, Frank tied the knot with Lorris 'Lorrie' Schiller / Schuller (19?? - 1966) and son Bruce was born in Chicago in 1933.
McCarroll was around forty years of age when he began a new career in movies. From about 1932 - 1953, he worked most often in B westerns, portraying gang members as well as doing extensive stunt work and doubling. He free-lanced anywhere and everywhere and you can spot him in:
In April, 1935 - in his mid forties - Frank did a final rodeo event and won the first place trophy for bulldogging at Hoot Gibson's 10th Annual Saugus, California rodeo.
Newspaper death notices on McCarroll reported that he passed away after a fall at his Burbank, California home. His death certificate indicates an autopsy was performed and cause of death was coronary occlusion (heart attack due to an arterial blockage). However, the death notices and death certificate have contradictory information on his death location.
The death certificate has him passing on March 8, 1954 at 4815 Colfax Avenue, Los Angeles. However, Frank's home was at 623 Whitnall Highway, Burbank, California. Couple possibilities with these different addresses:
1) Perhaps he and wife Lorrie were in the process of buying and re-decorating that Colfax Avenue property.
2) The death certificate notes that Frank had two jobs - actor and painting contractor. Perhaps he succumbed when doing a painting job for a customer on Colfax Avenue.
In May, 2012, the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame inducted Frank McCarroll into their Hall of Fame.
Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Frank McCarroll: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564991/
In addition to rodeoing and wrestling, McCarroll did a handful of boxing matches scattered over the years 1913 - 1933. The Boxing Record and BoxingTreasures websites have more on his brief boxing career: https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/176806
The Library of Congress newspaper collection has many articles on McCarroll as a wrestler and boxer - here's links to a few:
1912 has a large photo of McCarroll: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86091218/1912-03-08/ed-1/seq-3/
1916 has a large photo of McCarroll: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88056024/1916-02-27/ed-1/seq-4/
1916: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88056024/1916-01-27/ed-1/seq-6/
1919: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88056024/1919-12-28/ed-1/seq-8/
The "Bonnie and Frank McCarroll Rodeo Archives" is housed at the Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It includes brief biographies of Frank and his wife Bonnie, and most of the photos are from son Bruce McCarroll:
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/finding-aids/mccarroll/
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-hall-of-fame/5326/
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/rodeo-hall-of-fame/5285/
There's a 4 minute video on YouTube on Bonnie McCarroll's injury riding the bronc 'Black Cat' at the 1929 Pendleton, Oregon rodeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtw-t7nvB8g
Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame inducted Frank McCarroll into their Hall of Fame in 2012: http://pendletonhalloffame.com/?page_id=40
The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), Brigham Young University Western States Marriage Index, the California Death Index, and the death certificate provide more on Frank McCarroll:
Find A Grave website has a photo of the grave marker for McCarroll at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5970964/frank-mccarroll
Bonnie McCarroll (1892 - 1929) is interred at Morris Hill Cemetery, Boise, Ada County, Idaho: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47027856/mary_ellen_%22bonnie%22-ellen-mccarroll
Frank's second wife Lorrie passed away in 1966 and is interred at Zion Gardens, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130812036/lorrie-mccarroll
(Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Frank McCarroll and Roger Williams (without his usual moustache) in a still from BRANDED A COWARD (Supreme, 1935) which starred Johnny Mack Brown. (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above is the title lobby card from BRANDED A COWARD (A. W. Hackel/Supreme, 1935) which starred Johnny Mack Brown. On the left are Frank McCarroll (with white shirt) and Roger Williams. (From Old Corral collection) Above from L-to-R are Kermit Maynard, Dick Curtis, Frank McCarroll and Roger Williams in a lobby card from Kermit's VALLEY OF TERROR (Ambassador/Conn, 1937). (From Old Corral collection) Above are Frank McCarroll (left) and a clean shaven Tex Terry (right) with six-guns leveled at Gene Autry. At the desk is Charles Evans. Lobby card from TWILIGHT ON THE RIO GRANDE (Republic, 1947), one of five films that Gene did for Republic after he returned from World War II duty. He then left Republic, formed his own production company, and released new films through Columbia Pictures. (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above are an older Merrill McCormick (black hat and mustache, left side), Smiley Burnette and an older Frank McCarroll (red shirt). Les Adams adds that McCarroll probably doubled Smiley in this, as he often did Dub Taylor. Lobby card from THE BLAZING TRAIL (Columbia, 1949), one of the Charles Starrett/Durango Kid adventures. |