Remembering the Character Actresses These veteran (older) actresses show up in credited and unbilled roles in various A and B grade films including B westerns and serials. In oaters, they played the mother of the hero or heroine ... she was a ranch owner or wife of the ranch owner ... or a settler or wagon train member ... a townswoman ... a housekeeper, maid, or cook ... or just a face in the crowd. When I have the time, will add a few more including Minerva Urecal. |
 (From Old Corral collection) Above are Sarah Padden (1881 - 1967), as strong-willed "Ma Conway", and Al LaRue (in his days before becoming "Lash") in singing cowboy Eddie Dean's first starring effort, the Cinecolor SONG OF OLD WYOMING (PRC, 1945). Padden also had a great role in the Rough Riders adventure, RIDERS OF THE WEST (Monogram, 1942). And in 1946 - 1948, she was "Mom Palooka" in the Joe Palooka series at Monogram which starred Leon Errol and Joe Kirkwood Jr. Padden worked in nearly 200 movies and a few TV shows and her career spanned from 1920s silents to the mid 1950s.
Find A Grave reports that Sarah Padden is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83945810/sarah-ann-padden  (From Old Corral collection) Left to right are Sarah Padden, Emmett Lynn, Eddie Dean, Jennifer Holt and Al LaRue in a lobby card from the Cinecolor SONG OF OLD WYOMING (PRC, 1945). |
 (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from L-to-R in the front are Fred Burns, Maude Eburne (1875 - 1960), Carol Hughes and Hal Taliaferro. L-to-R on horseback are Bob Card, Ted Mapes and Jack Montgomery. Crop from a lobby card from the Roy Rogers starrer, THE BORDER LEGION (Republic, 1940). Some fun moments in that with Gabby Hayes courtin' Eburne. Maude was great as the feisty and tough ranch owner in George O'Brien's HOLLYWOOD COWBOY (RKO, 1937; alternate title WINGS OVER WYOMING). And in Roy Rogers' MAN FROM OKLAHOMA (Republic, 1945), she plays Dale Evans' grandmother and has a feud with Gabby Hayes.
Find A Grave reports that Maude Eburne was cremated and cremains were given to family or friend: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7901275/maude-eburne |
 Above are Charles K. French and Rose Plumer / Rose Plummer (1876 - 1955) as Bob Steele's parents in a screen capture from Steele's THE BRAND OF HATE (Supreme, 1934). Rose had mostly uncredited background roles in about 200 films and TV shows during a twenty five year career that ran from the 1930s - mid 1950s. Roughly a third of her film work was westerns and serials. A good example of a Rose Plumer role is her portrayal of a landlady in the crime drama SHADOWS OF THE ORIENT (Monogram, 1935) which starred Regis Toomey and Esther Ralston.
Find A Grave reports that Rose Spinney Plumer is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85489604/rose-plumer  (Courtesy of Les Adams) Jack Hendricks is on the left. Then leading lady Kathleen Eliot, Steve Clark, and Bob Steele. And on the far right is Rose Plumer. Lobby card from Steele's PAROLED - TO DIE (A. W. Hackel/Republic, 1938). |
 (Image courtesy of Jay Wilsey's granddaughter and daughter, Tamera Mankini and Frances Eldene Wolski)  The above is from LIGHTNING BILL (Superior, 1934). From left to right are Eva McKenzie (1889 - 1967), Bud Osborne, Alma Rayford, and hero Buffalo Bill Jr. (Jay Wilsey). Eva played the ranch cook.She appeared in over a hundred films beginning in silents and her last was circa 1949. On the right is Eva's husband, character actor Bob McKenzie (1880 - 1949), and they married in 1907 in Golden, Colorado. They had three daughters that wound up in movies - Ella, Ida, and Fay. Daughter Fay McKenzie is best remembered by B western fans as she was leading lady in five of Gene Autry's early 1940s oaters at Republic Pictures.
Find a Grave reports that Eva Heazlit McKenzie was cremated: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/232368114/eva-mckenzie |
 (From Old Corral collection) Standing from left to right in this still from FRONTIER OUTLAWS (PRC, 1944) are Kansas Moehring, Tex Cooper and star Buster Crabbe. Sitting from left to right are Al 'Fuzzy' St. John, Marin Sais, and Frances Gladwin. Marin Sais (1890 - 1971) began her film career in silents and she starred in scores of shorts for Kalem circa 1915 - early 1920s. Her Hollywood career amounted to nearly 300 films circa 1910 - mid 1950s. Among her last films was playing 'the Duchess', Red Ryder's aunt, in the four Cinecolor Red Ryder adventures that starred Jim Bannon in 1949. Sais was married to Jack Hoxie but they divorced in the mid 1920s after about five years of marriage.
Find A Grave reports that Marin Sais is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12387/marin-sais |
| Right are Bob Steele and Helen Gibson (1892 - 1977) in Steele's LAST OF THE WARRENS (Supreme, 1936). Hoot Gibson's first wife was Rose Wenger, an equestrian who rode in the Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West Show. She met Hoot in Pendleton, Oregon in 1913 and they tied the knot on September 6, 1913, just prior to both performing in the annual Pendleton Round-up and rodeo. Rose Wenger Gibson went to Hollywood with hubby Hoot, and circa 1915, she took over the "Hazards of Helen" role from Helen Holmes. When that occurred, she became 'Helen Gibson'. She and Hoot divorced in 1920. She was a busy stunt woman and her acting career amounted to about 200 films scattered over the years 1912 - early 1960s.
|  (From Old Corral collection) |
| The Smithsonian has a large article and many photos of Rose Wenger / Helen Gibson: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hollywoods-first-professional-stuntwoman-jumped-from-planes-and-swung-onto-trains-180982036/?utm_source=digg | |
 (From Old Corral collection) | Left - Robert 'Bobby' Blake was 'Little Beaver' to both Bill Elliott and Allan Lane in their 1940s Red Ryder westerns at Republic Pictures. With Blake is Alice Fleming (1882 - 1952) who played 'the Duchess' in the early Ryder films.
|
 (From Old Corral collection) Above from right to left are Wild Bill Elliott, Alice Fleming, Peggy Stewart and Bob Steele (as the "Reno Kid") in SHERIFF OF REDWOOD VALLEY (Republic, 1946). | |
 (From Old Corral collection) Martha Wentworth (1889 - 1974) took over the role of 'the Duchess' in the Red Ryder series from Alice Fleming. Wentworth was a gifted and prolific voice-over artist and radio performer, and her credits include playing the 'Wintergreen Witch' in the 'Cinnamon Bear' Christmas radio program. She also had voice roles in various cartoons as well as some animated features for Walt Disney.
Find A Grave reports that Martha Wentworth was cremated and ashes scattered: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18192182/martha-wentworth  (From Old Corral collection) Above is another lobby card from OREGON TRAIL SCOUTS. From L-to-R are Roy Barcroft, unidentified player (possibly Pat Michaels), Martha Wentworth, John War Eagle, Chief Yowlachie, and on horseback is Frank Lackteen. |
 (Courtesy of Minard Coons)  C. Montague Shaw, as 'Professor Faxon', is on the couch while Max Terhune, Ray Corrigan, Bob Livingston, heroine Mary Russell and other cast members look on in this scene from the Three Mesquiteers' RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL (Republic, 1937). The actress kneeling and wearing the pith helmet is Fern Emmett (1896 - 1946).Fern appeared in a few westerns but was busiest doing small roles in over 200 A and B grade films - a good example is her portraying the secretary receiving Monty Wooley's attention when he sings "Miss Otis Regrets" in the Cole Porter biography NIGHT AND DAY (Warners, 1946). Fern was married to actor Henry Roquemore (1886 - 1943).
Find A Grave reports that Fern Emmett is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10359/fern-emmett |
 (From Old Corral collection) Above - Emma Tansey (1870 - 1942) and Lafe McKee as "Mr. and Mrs. Lane" in the Fred Scott KNIGHT OF THE PLAINS (Spectrum, 1938). Emma was the mother of child actor John Tansey, B western henchman Sherry Tansey, and prolific producer / director / writer Robert Emmett 'Bob' Tansey. She worked in a few oaters as well as playing a lady in the background or a crowd scene in several dozen A and B grade features. Most of her roles were uncredited. The April 1, 1942 issue of Variety had a death announcement:
"Mrs. Emma Tansey, 58, stage and screen actress and mother of Robert Tansey, producer of western films, died March 23 (1942) in Los Angeles. Beginning her career as a child actress in 'Little Lord Fauntleroy,' Mrs. Tansey toured the country for years until 1923, when she settled in California and entered pictures. Her last screen role was in 'Meet John Doe.'"
Find A Grave reports that Emma Tansey was cremated: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101940440/emma-tansey |
 (From Old Corral collection) Above from left to right are John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Murdock MacQuarrie and Mary MacLaren (1896 - 1985) in Wayne's THE NEW FRONTIER (Republic, 1935). Her 30+ year film career ran from 1916 - 1948 and amounted to nearly two hundred movies. Her biography at the IMDb is sad - there were car accidents, injuries, and she was broke and destitute in her later years.
Find A Grave reports that Mary MacLaren is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6336/mary-maclaren |
 (From Old Corral collection) | Soledad Jiménez (1874 - 1966) was born in Spain and appeared in about 65 films during the years 1928 - early 1950s. She played cooks, relative of the heroine ... and various ethnic roles. Left is a screen capture of Soledad as a housekeeper in Tom Tyler's THE PHANTOM OF THE RANGE (Victory, 1936). She was credited in this, but the spelling of her name was mangled in the opening titles and credits - she's listed as "Saladad Jeminez". Spelling errors weren't unusual in the ol' B western.
|
 (Courtesy of Les Adams) Above from left to right are Eva Puig, Bob Steele, Gertrude Chorre, and Carl Mathews in a crop/blowup from Steele's THE NAVAJO KID (PRC, 1945).
Find A Grave reports that Eva Puig is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169131087/eva-de_puig
Find A Grave reports that Gertrude Chorre is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33453302/gertrude-chorre |
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Sarah Padden: