Hoot Gibson
Hoot Gibson was a colorful figure, a light-hearted, fun-loving personality on screen and off. Hoot’s cheerful westerns included a significant amount of comedy. His mild, peaceful character rarely carried a gun. As an expert horseman, Hoot was always impressive on a galloping horse. Gibson’s film career began in 1910 with a few films for the Biograph Company interspersed among rodeo competitions. In 1914 he was a stuntman for the serial The Hazards of Helen, doubling the serial’s star Helen Holmes. His stunts included fights on trains and transfers from a train to a horse. He had supporting roles in numerous Western short films, including playing the villain in A Knight of the Range (1916) opposite popular western star Harry Carey. He appeared in three of the Westerns made by Carey and director John Ford in 1917: Straight Shooting, The Secret Man, and A Marked Man. Hoot’s starring career at Universal Studios was launched in two films directed by Ford, Action (1921) and Sure Fire (1921). In these films, Hoot plays a wandering cowboy who rescues the pretty young co-star from outlaws. Hoot became a popular western star for Universal. Film titles such as Ridin’ Wild (1922), Thrill Chaser (1923), Hit and Run (1924), Hurricane Kid (1925), and Galloping Fury (1927) guaranteed Hoot’s fans five reels of action and fun. Hoot’s easygoing approach gave his films a lighthearted tone. A deft comedian, he featured as much comedy as drama. As talkies arrived, Hoot continued as a Western star, but with lower budget producers such as M.H. Hoffman Inc. (distributed on a state rights basis by Allied Pictures Corporation) and Walker Futter Productions (Diversion Pictures). In 1935, Hoot co-starred with Harry Carey in Powdersmoke Range, advertised by RKO as the "Barnum and Bailey of Westerns" (whatever that means). The cast list of this "all star" (B western stars) film included Bob Steele, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Tom Tyler, William Farnum, and other Westerners from the silent era. In 1937 at Republic, he made a serial, The Painted Stallion, in support of new cowboy star Ray Corrigan. An aging Hoot retained his fine horsemanship and comic flair, but fan interest had moved to the new singing cowboys, especially Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Hoot’s Westerns had lost their appeal. In the late thirties, out of movies, Hoot toured with circuses and appeared at rodeos and fairs. In 1943, after seven years off the screen, Hoot returned in the Trail Blazer series at Monogram Studios. In these Westerns, Marshall Hoot Gibson, initially co-starred with Ken Maynard and later with Bob Steele and Chief Thundercloud, upholds the law and captures outlaws and crooked businessmen threatening the lives and property of innocent citizens. Hoot made eleven Trail Blazer films; the last was Trigger Law (1944). John Ford brought Hoot back for a cameo role in The Horse Soldiers (1959). His last screen appearance was as a sheriff’s deputy in Ocean’s Eleven (1960), another cameo.
Filmography · 175
Ocean's Eleven
1960 · Roadblock Deputy (uncr...
I Married Joan
1952 · The Cowboy
The Horse Soldiers
1959 · Sgt. Brown
Spurs
1930 · Bob Merril
Shotgun Jones
1914 · Tom Lattier - the Son
Headin' South
1918
Sunset Range
1935 · Reasonin' Bates
Arizona Sweepstakes
1926 · Coot Cadigan
Points West
1929 · Cole Lawson Jr.
Double Danger
1920 · Jim Marvin / Jerry Mar...
Kindled Courage
1923 · Andy Walker
Ridin' Wild
1922 · Cyril Henderson (as Ed...
The Loaded Door
1922 · Bert Lyons
Trimmed
1922 · Dale Garland
Single Handed
1923 · Hector MacKnight
Courtin' Wildcats
1929 · Clarence Butts
Danger, Go Slow
1918
Action
1921 · Sandy Brouke
Blinky
1923 · Geoffrey Arbuthnot 'Bl...
Straight Shooting
1917 · Danny Morgan
Ride for Your Life
1924 · Bud Watkins
Sonora Stagecoach
1944 · Hoot Gibson
Crossed Clues
1921
The Gun Packer
1919 · Gang Leader
The Riding Avenger
1936 · Buck 'The Morning Glor...
A Marked Man
1917 · Undetermined Role
The Secret Man
1917 · Chuck Fadden
Rainbow's End
1935 · Neil Gibson Jr.
Galloping Fury
1927 · Billy Halen
The Gay Buckaroo
1931 · Clint Hale
Taming the West
1925 · John Carleton
Feud of the West
1936 · 'Whitey' Revel
The Fighting Parson
1933 · Steve Hartley
The New Superintendent
1911
The Death Train
1915 · Etzer - Doyle's Pal
Cavalcade of the West
1936 · Clint Knox
The Dude Bandit
1933 · 'Ace' Cooper posing as...
The Concentratin' Kid
1930 · Bill Evans -Concentrat...
The Pay Train
1915 · Orturo
Thieves' Clothes
1920
The Sawdust Trail
1924 · Clarence Elwood Butts
The Capture of Red Stanley
1916 · Stanley's Henchman
The Mounted Stranger
1930 · Pete Ainslee aka The R...
Burning the Wind
1929 · Richard Gordon Jr
The Wild Wild West
1921
Death Valley Rangers
1943 · Hoot Gibson
Cheyenne's Pal
1917 · Cowboy
Powdersmoke Range
1935 · Stony Brooke
Wild Horse Stampede
1943 · Marshal Hoot Gibson
The Sheriff's Oath
1920
The Cactus Kid
1921 · Dick Harris
The Mysterious Cipher
1916 · Blanding
Flight to Nowhere
1946 · Sheriff Bradley
Let 'er Buck
1925 · Bob Carson
Hair Trigger Stuff
1920
In Danger's Path
1915 · Train Crew (uncredited...
The Lone Hand
1922 · Laramie Lad
Broadway or Bust
1924 · Dave Hollis
Roarin' Dan
1920 · Roarin' Dan
The Fighting Brothers
1919 · Lonnie Larkin
Buckshot John
1915 · Medicine Show Crowd Me...
Hook and Ladder
1924 · Ace Cooper
Double Dealing
1923 · Ben Slowbell
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
1976 · (archive footage)
The Double Hold-Up
1919 · The Broncho Kid
Spook Ranch
1925 · Bill Bangs
The Wild West Show
1928 · Rodeo Bill
The Winged Horseman
1929 · Skyball Smith
The Saddle Hawk
1925 · Ben Johnson
The Bear Cat
1922 · The Singin' Kid
The Calgary Stampede
1925 · Dan Malloy
Wild Horse
1931 · Jim Wright
The Flaming Frontier
1926 · Bob Langdon
The Painted Stallion
1937 · Walter Jamison
The Last Outlaw
1936 · Al Goss
Westward Bound
1944 · Hoot Gibson
Out of Luck
1923 · Sam Pertune
The Thrill Chaser
1923 · Omar K. Jenkins
The Man in the Saddle
1926 · Jeff Morgan Jr.
Riding for Fame
1929 · Scratch 'Em Hank Scott
The Spirit of the West
1932 · Johnny Ringo - Posing...
The Governor's Special
1916 · 2nd Nash Henchman (as...
The Two Brothers
1910
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
1927 · Jimmie Roberts
The Boiling Point
1932 · Jimmy Duncan
The Marshal's Daughter
1953 · Marshal Ben Dawson
Smilin' Guns
1929 · Jack Purvin
The Man from Texas
1915 · Deputy (uncredited)
Outlaw Trail
1944 · Hoot
We’re Switching to Hollywood
1931 · Self (uncredited)
Painted Ponies
1927 · Bucky Simms
The Golden Bullet
1917 · 'Red' Johnson
The Lariat Kid
1929 · Tom Richards
The Local Bad Man
1932 · Jim Bonner
Shootin' for Love
1923 · Duke Travis
Frontier Justice
1936 · Brent Halston
By Indian Post
1919 · Chub -Jode's Helpful C...
The Lone Hand
1919 · Jeffrey Halley
Red Courage
1921 · Pinto Peters
The Rawhide Kid
1928 · Dennis O'Hara
The Ramblin' Kid
1923 · The Ramblin' Kid
Hit and Run
1924 · 'Swat' Anderson
Roaring Ranch
1930 · Jim Dailey
The Law Rides Again
1943 · U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibs...
The Flyin' Cowboy
1928 · Bill Hammond
The Long, Long Trail
1929 · The Ramblin' Kid
Headin' West
1922 · Bill Perkins
The Gentleman from America
1923 · Dennis O'Shane
Arizona Whirlwind
1944 · Hoot Gibson
The Jay Bird
1920 · Tom Jackson
Clearing the Range
1931 · Curt 'El Capitan' Frem...
The Jack of Hearts
1919 · The Prairie Dog
The Prairie King
1927 · Andy Barden
The Champion Liar
1920
Lucky Terror
1936 · Lucky 'The Lucky Terro...
The Man with a Punch
1920 · The Stranger
The Utah Kid
1944 · Marshal H.R. Higgins
The Broncho Kid
1920
The Fire Eater
1921 · Bob Corey
Chip of the Flying U
1926 · Chip Bennett
The Hazards of Helen
1917 · Messenger / Etzer
Blazing Guns
1943 · Marshal Hoot Gibson
A Man's Land
1932 · Tex Mason
The Voice on the Wire
1917
Held Up for the Makin's
1920
Sure Fire
1921 · Jeff Bransford
One Law for All
1920
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
1924 · Bud Watkins
His Only Son
1912
The Rustlers
1919 · The Deputy
King of the Rodeo
1929 · Chip Jr.
The Texas Kid
1920
West Is Best
1920
The Hard Hombre
1931 · William Penn 'Peaceful...
Swifty
1935 · Swifty
The Silent Rider
1927 · Jerry Alton
The Hurricane Kid
1925 · The Hurricane Kid
The Night Riders
1916
Step on It!
1922 · Vic Collins
Clearing the Trail
1928 · Pete Watson
The Cowboy Counsellor
1932 · Dan Alton
Marked Trails
1944 · Hoot Parkford
The Denver Dude
1927 · Rodeo Randall
Gun Law
1919 · Bart 'Smoke Gublen' St...
The Galloping Kid
1922 · 'Simplex' Cox
A Hero on Horseback
1927 · Billy Garford
The Soul Herder
1917 · Chuck Rafferty
The Phantom Bullet
1926 · 'Click' Farlane
The Danger Rider
1928 · Hal 'Tucson Joe' Doyle
Trigger Tricks
1930 · Texas Ranger Tim Brenn...
Dead Game
1923 · 'Katy' Didd
The Shootin' Kid
1920
Life in Hollywood No. 3
1927 · Self
The Buckaroo Kid
1926 · Ed Harley
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
1915 · Messenger on Motorcycl...
The Face in the Watch
1919
Fight It Out
1920 · Sandy Adams
The Woman in the Web
1918 · Vassily - Ivan's Broth...
The Texas Streak
1926 · Chad Pennington
A Knight of the Range
1916 · Bob Graham
The Shootin' Fool
1920
The Four-Bit Man
1919
Trailing Trouble
1930 · Ed King
The Rattler's Hiss
1920
The Smilin' Kid
1920
A Trick of Hearts
1928 · Benjamin Franklin Tull...
Who Was the Man?
1921 · The Texas Ranger
A 44-Calibre Mystery
1917 · Joe
Runnin' Straight
1920
Trigger Law
1944 · Hoot Gibson
The Trail of the Holdup Man
1919 · Bob Watson
40-Horse Hawkins
1924 · Luke Hawkins
Cinders
1920 · Bing Davidson
The Telltale Knife
1914
The Tell-Tale Wire
1919 · Steve Larmon