Wally Wales / Hal Taliaferro

Year	Title	Leading Lady	Director
1925	TEARIN' LOOSE	Jean Arthur	Richard Thorpe
1925	THE HURRICANE HORSEMAN	Jean Arthur	Robert Eddy
1925	GALLOPING ON	Jessie Cruzon	Richard Thorpe
1926	VANISHING HOOFS	Alma Rayford	J. P. McCarthy
1926	ACE OF ACTION	Alma Rayford	William Bertram
1926	DOUBLE DARING	Jean Arthur	Richard Thorpe
1926	TWISTED TRIGGERS	Jean Arthur	Richard Thorpe
1926	THE FIGHTING CHEAT	Jean Arthur	Richard Thorpe
1927	RIDING RIVALS (see footnote)	Jean Arthur	Richard Thorpe
1927	THE CYCLONE COWBOY	Violet Bird	Richard Thorpe
1927	TEARIN' INTO TROUBLE	Olive Hasbrouck	Richard Thorpe
1927	THE MEDDLIN' STRANGER	Nola Luxford	Richard Thorpe
1927	SKEDADDLE GOLD	Betty Baker	Richard Thorpe
1927	WHITE PEBBLES	Olive Hasbrouck	Richard Thorpe
1927	SODA WATER COWBOY	Beryl Roberts	Richard Thorpe
1927	THE DESERT OF THE LOST	Peggy Montgomery	Richard Thorpe
1928	DESPERATE COURAGE	Olive Hasbrouck	Richard Thorpe
1928	SADDLE MATES	Peggy Montgomery	Richard Thorpe
1928	THE FLYING BUCKAROO	Duane Thompson	Richard Thorpe
Richard Thorpe (1896 - 1991) helmed most of the Wales films as well as many of the Buffalo Bill Jr. and Buddy Roosevelt silents for Lester F. Scott's Action Pictures. Thorpe spent most of his later years at MGM directing many Tarzan films, spectacles such as IVANHOE (MGM, 1952) with Robert Taylor, Mario Lanza in THE GREAT CARUSO (MGM, 1951), and Elvis Presley in JAILHOUSE ROCK (MGM, 1957) and FUN IN ACAPULCO (MGM, 1963). Thorpe was the director on Judy Garland's THE WIZARD OF OZ ... but was replaced by George Cukor ... who was replaced by Victor Fleming. Also on Lester F. Scott's payroll was future A film actress Jean Arthur. She was the leading lady in six of the Wales silents, four with Buffalo Bill, Jr., and a couple with Buddy Roosevelt. Footnote: some sources list RIDING RIVALS / RIDIN' RIVALS as one of the Buddy Roosevelt series. Theater advertisements from 1927 confirm that RIDING RIVALS starred Wales and Jean Arthur - clippings: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76946428/theater-ad-for-wally-wales-and-jean/ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76946488/the-modesto-bee/

Above - trade ad for Wales' second batch of westerns for Lester F. Scott Jr.'s Action Pictures. These 1926 - 1927 releases were initially distributed by Associated Exhibitors and then by Pathe.

Trade ad for the 1926 - 1927 series of silent oaters starring Buddy Roosevelt, Wally Wales, and Buffalo Bill, Jr. from Lester F. Scott Jr.'s Action Pictures ... and released through Pathe's exchanges.

Trade ad for the 1927 - 1928 release season which was the last batch of silent westerns from Lester F. Scott Jr.'s Action Pictures ... and our three heroes are now two. Buddy Roosevelt had jumped ship and in early 1928, he began a series of westerns for Rayart.

(From Old Corral collection)

Above is a still from the Wales silent WHITE PEBBLES (Action Pictures/Pathe, 1927). That's Wales third from the left with his shirt unbuttoned. And on the far right with vest and disheveled hair is old timer Harry Todd. The WHITE PEBBLES director was Richard Thorpe who helmed most of the Wales silents. Could the player wearing the vest and dark hat be a youngish Bob Burns?

(Image courtesy of Jay Wilsey's granddaughter and
daughter, Tamera Mankini and Frances Eldene Wolski)

Above from left to right are Bill Cody, an unidentified man, Wally Wales, and kneeling is Jay Wilsey (Buffalo Bill, Jr.). This was taken circa 1927 during a Pathé Company/Pathé Exchange exhibitor/distributor get-together. The back of this still has a notation of "Jean Brainerd Okla City" which may be the unidentified man. Wilsey and Wales were starring in westerns for Lester F. Scott Jr.'s Action Pictures and distributed by Pathé. Circa 1927, Bill Cody also did a few silents for Pathé. There's a few more photos of Wilsey, Cody and Wales from this Pathé meeting in the Old Corral section on Buffalo Bill, Jr.

Lester F. Scott Jr.
(1892 - 1958)
Full name: Lester Fremont Scott, Jr.
Photo right is of Scott circa 1922.

Lester Fremont Scott, Jr. was born March 14, 1892 in Los Angeles to Lester Fremont Scott, Sr. and Carrie Betts. Father Lester was a busy and respected real estate developer, broker, and mining engineer and involved in several mining ventures in the 1910s - 1920s.

Newspapers and trade publications from 1915 - 1916 have Scott as an assistant director with the Lasky Film company; assistant to director Francis J. Grandon at Mutual; and assistant to director Oscar Apfel at Fox. In 1916, he married actress Irene Hunt (real name: Irene A. Murtaugh), and there was a messy divorce in February, 1920 (with Scott admitting that he was the cause of the breakup). In the 1920s, he was doing sales and distribution for producer Bert Lubin, and later, for C. C. Burr.

Striking out on his own in early 1924, he formed the independent Approved Pictures Corporation which quickly became Action Pictures, Inc., and Scott hired three real westerners as cowboy movie heroes ... and all three got name changes to improve saleability of their cinema adventures:

Kenneth Stanhope Sanderson became "Buddy Roosevelt".
Wilbert Jay Wilsey became "Buffalo Bill, Jr.".
Floyd Taliaferro Alderson became "Wally Wales".

The Buddy Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill, Jr. features began in late 1924. Wales' first for Scott was TEARIN' LOOSE and released in 1925. From 1924 - 1928, Scott produced about sixty westerns with those three heroes.

In the 1930s, Scott held various jobs including production supervisor at Tiffany; a brief stint as sales manager for Nat Levine's Mascot serial factory; and he also produced a few films for Mayfair and Harry S. Webb's Metropolitan Pictures.

In 1939, he married Dolores Emma Voght (1897 - 1981) and she was secretary to Roy and Walt Disney from 1930 - 1965.

Circa 1940, Scott disappears from Hollywood ... and based on his death certificate and other information, he did a career change and got involved in California gold mining. Guessing he learned that trade from his father.

Scott's death certificate confirms his March 14, 1892 California birth date and parents as Lester, Sr. and Carrie Betts. Suffering from arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular - renal disease, 66 year old Lester Fremont Scott, Jr. passed away from a heart attack on September 10, 1958 at Braewood Sanitarium, South Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California. His employer and occupation were "self employed" and "Gold Mining operator". Forest Lawn was in charge and he was cremated at Forest Lawn Crematory.