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. |
Lew Morphy Full name: Lewis Harris Morphy 1904-1958 appeared in at least 80 westerns ... and counting. His film career ran from about 1931 - early 1950s. |
Ken Jones, co-author of Heroes, Heavies and Sagebrush provides the following biographical info: Lewis Harris Morphy was a movie stuntman, sometime actor and an expert marksman. He once toured rodeos and the vaudeville circuits with a shooting act. He started his stage career under the name of "Cheyenne Sharpshooter Murphy". One of his acts was shooting chalk cigarettes and candles from the mouths of pretty girls on the stage. He gradually drifted into movie stuntwork and could be seen in many western films as a henchman or a face in the crowd. On November 7, 1958 Morphy shot and killed his wife, Kaye, former speedboat champion, and her mother in the couple's Laurel Canyon home. Spared when Murphy ran berserk was his father-in-law and 2 children. He called a friend and told him what he had done then went to the bedroom and shot and killed himself. Morphy was known to have a violent temper and had become increasingly despondent since the death of his mother and was also brooding over the financial failure of a resort he owned in Tennessee.
The Unsung Joe website has a writeup on Lew Morphy and his wife "Boots" ... and the tragic ending of their lives in 1958: http://morethanyouneededtoknow.typepad.com/the_unsung_joe/2009/04/index.html Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Lew Morphy: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606186/ There were a few traces on Lew Morphy at Family Search (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), the Newspaper Archive, and California Death Index:
E-mail the Old Corral webmaster if you'd like a copy of his death certificate and/or newspaper articles on the death of Morphy, his wife and mother-in-law. That tragic event was front page news in several California newspapers. Articles also mention: "As a stuntman in motion pictures, he (Morphy) was a stand-in for comedian Pat Buttram in Gene Autry films." |
(Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Chick Hannan/Hannon, Hank Worden, Lew Morphy, Bob Baker, Wally West and Bob Card in THE SINGING OUTLAW (Universal, 1938). That's Herman Hack in the back row center with his hand in the air. High in the upper right corner is Art Mix (George Kesterson). (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are William Desmond, Tom Smith, Charles Starrett and Lew Morphy in DOWN RIO GRANDE WAY (Columbia, 1942). (From Old Corral collection) Johnny Mack Brown and Raymond Hatton (with shotgun) have the drop on Marshall Reed (black shirt) and Terry Frost (red shirt) in a lobby card and a crop/blowup from GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS (Monogram, 1946). Left to right in the background are Steve Clark (suit) and Lew Morphy (behind JMB's horse). |
Herman Nowlin / Herman Nolan Full name: Herman Franklin Nowlin 1892-1951 appeared in at least 44 westerns and 1 serial, and his film career ran from about 1930 through the early 1950s. |
Another B western background player was Illinois born Herman Nolan/Nowlin. Most of his film appearances were uncredited roles as a deputy, henchman, townsman, etc. Summer, 1932 newspapers had an article on Tom Mix's first talkie, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (Universal, 1932). Riders in the film included Herman Nolan, Joe Balch, Ed Hendershot, Henry Morris, Clyde Kinney, more. Couple years later, Nolan, Hendershot, 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. Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Herman Nowlin: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0634276/ The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), newspapers, California Death Index, and the death certificate provide more information on Herman Nolan/Nowlin:
Find A Grave website notes that Herman Franklin Nowlin/Herman Nolan and wife Lula are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85479436 |
(Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Tommy Coats, Bob Clark, Tom London, Herman Willingham, Herman Nowlin/Nolan, and Clyde Kinney in GHOST VALLEY RAIDERS (Republic, 1940), which starred Don Barry. (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Herman Nowlin/Nolan, Eddie Dew and Bud Osborne in a scene from RIDING THE WIND (RKO, 1942), which starred Tim Holt. |
Pascale Perry Real name: Harvey Pascale Poirier 1886 or 1888 - 1953 appeared in at least 96 westerns and 8 serials, and his film career ran from about 1931 - 1949. |
Born in Canada, Harvey Pascale Poirier became "Pascale Perry" in his days on stage and vaudeville in the 1910s-1920s. And he continued that persona when he began doing movies circa 1931. In a film career that spanned about twenty years, he was another of the B western background performers who did mostly uncredited roles as a ranch hand, henchman, townsman, barfly, lawman, etc. As mentioned, Perry worked for years on the vaudeville circuit doing a sharp-shooting and roping act. Below is a description of Pascale Perry and Co.'s traveling western "Frontier Sports" show from the theater section of a 1922 newspaper:
from a 1922 newspaper Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Pascale Perry: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675243/ The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), California Death Index, newspaper funeral notice and the death certificate provide more on Pascale Perry. Note the several different birth years - 1886, 1888, and 1895 as well as the change of his birth location from Canada to Arizona.
Find A Grave website notes the Harvey Pascale Poirier/Pascale Perry is interred at Chapel of the Pines (and that may be in error as the newspaper funeral notice mentions Glenhaven Memorial Park): https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115590885/harvey-pascale-poirier |
(Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R are Jack Kirk (drivin' the wagon) while Roy Rogers has Yakima Canutt and Pascale Perry under his six-gun in this crop from a lobby card from BAD MAN OF DEADWOOD (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 from left to right are Jess Cavin, Rex Lease, Pascale Perry, Earle Hodgins and Bob Wilke in a crop from a lobby card from the Sunset Carson FIREBRANDS OF ARIZONA (Republic, 1944). |