Hoot Gibson
Acting
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.
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
Ocean's Eleven
Roadblock Deputy (uncredited)
The Horse Soldiers
Sgt. Brown
The Marshal's Daughter
Marshal Ben Dawson
Flight to Nowhere
Sheriff Bradley
Trigger Law
Hoot Gibson
The Utah Kid
Marshal H.R. Higgins
Marked Trails
Hoot Parkford
Sonora Stagecoach
Hoot Gibson
Outlaw Trail
Hoot
Arizona Whirlwind
Hoot Gibson
Westward Bound
Hoot Gibson
Death Valley Rangers
Hoot Gibson
Blazing Guns
Marshal Hoot Gibson
The Law Rides Again
U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson
Wild Horse Stampede
Marshal Hoot Gibson
The Painted Stallion
Walter Jamison
Frontier Justice
Brent Halston
Cavalcade of the West
Clint Knox
The Last Outlaw
Al Goss
The Riding Avenger
Buck 'The Morning Glory Kid' Bonner
Feud of the West
'Whitey' Revel
Lucky Terror
Lucky 'The Lucky Terror' Carson
Swifty
Swifty
Powdersmoke Range
Stony Brooke
Rainbow's End
Neil Gibson Jr.
Sunset Range
Reasonin' Bates
The Fighting Parson
Steve Hartley
The Dude Bandit
'Ace' Cooper posing as Tex
The Cowboy Counsellor
Dan Alton
The Boiling Point
Jimmy Duncan
A Man's Land
Tex Mason
The Spirit of the West
Johnny Ringo - Posing as Ben Bailey
The Local Bad Man
Jim Bonner
The Gay Buckaroo
Clint Hale
The Hard Hombre
William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton
Wild Horse
Jim Wright
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
Clearing the Range
Curt 'El Capitan' Fremont
The Concentratin' Kid
Bill Evans -Concentratin' Kid
Spurs
Bob Merril
Trigger Tricks
Texas Ranger Tim Brennan
Roaring Ranch
Jim Dailey
Trailing Trouble
Ed King
The Mounted Stranger
Pete Ainslee aka The Ridin' Kid
Courtin' Wildcats
Clarence Butts
The Long, Long Trail
The Ramblin' Kid
Points West
Cole Lawson Jr.
Riding for Fame
Scratch 'Em Hank Scott
The Winged Horseman
Skyball Smith
The Lariat Kid
Tom Richards
Smilin' Guns
Jack Purvin
Burning the Wind
Richard Gordon Jr
King of the Rodeo
Chip Jr.
The Danger Rider
Hal 'Tucson Joe' Doyle
Clearing the Trail
Pete Watson
Hollywood or Bust
The Wild West Show
Rodeo Bill
The Flyin' Cowboy
Bill Hammond
A Trick of Hearts
Benjamin Franklin Tully
The Rawhide Kid
Dennis O'Hara
Galloping Fury
Billy Halen
Painted Ponies
Bucky Simms
Life in Hollywood No. 3
Self
A Hero on Horseback
Billy Garford
The Prairie King
Andy Barden
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Jimmie Roberts
The Denver Dude
Rodeo Randall
The Silent Rider
Jerry Alton
The Buckaroo Kid
Ed Harley
The Texas Streak
Chad Pennington
The Flaming Frontier
Bob Langdon
The Man in the Saddle
Jeff Morgan Jr.
The Phantom Bullet
'Click' Farlane
Chip of the Flying U
Chip Bennett
Arizona Sweepstakes
Coot Cadigan
The Calgary Stampede
Dan Malloy
Spook Ranch
Bill Bangs
Let 'er Buck
Bob Carson
The Saddle Hawk
Ben Johnson
Taming the West
John Carleton
The Hurricane Kid
The Hurricane Kid
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
Bud Watkins
Hello, 'Frisco
Hoot Gibson
Hit and Run
'Swat' Anderson
The Sawdust Trail
Clarence Elwood Butts
Broadway or Bust
Dave Hollis
40-Horse Hawkins
Luke Hawkins
Ride for Your Life
Bud Watkins
Hook and Ladder
Ace Cooper
The Thrill Chaser
Omar K. Jenkins
The Ramblin' Kid
The Ramblin' Kid
Blinky
Geoffrey Arbuthnot 'Blinky' Islip
Out of Luck
Sam Pertune
Shootin' for Love
Duke Travis
Double Dealing
Ben Slowbell
Dead Game
'Katy' Didd
Single Handed
Hector MacKnight
The Gentleman from America
Dennis O'Shane
Kindled Courage
Andy Walker
Ridin' Wild
Cyril Henderson (as Edward 'Hoot' Gibson)
The Lone Hand
Laramie Lad
The Galloping Kid
'Simplex' Cox
The Loaded Door
Bert Lyons
Trimmed
Dale Garland
Step on It!
Vic Collins
The Bear Cat
The Singin' Kid
Headin' West
Bill Perkins
The Fire Eater
Bob Corey
Sure Fire
Jeff Bransford
Red Courage
Pinto Peters
Action
Sandy Brouke
Beating the Game
The Man Who Woke Up
The Movie Trail
Bandits Beware
The Wild Wild West
Double Crossers
Crossed Clues
Out o' Luck
Who Was the Man?
The Texas Ranger
The Cactus Kid
Dick Harris
The Fightin' Fury
Kickaroo
Sweet Revenge
The Driftin' Kid
The Driftin' Kid
The Winning Track
The Saddle King
The Trail of the Hound
The Man with a Punch
The Stranger
Fight It Out
Sandy Adams
The Brand Blotter
The Stranger
Superstition
Dave Bodie
Tipped Off
Billy Steele
The Two-Fisted Lover
Scot McHale
Double Danger
Jim Marvin / Jerry Marvin (Twin Brothers)
Cinders
Bing Davidson
'in Wrong' Wright
'In Wrong' Wright
The Shootin' Fool
One Law for All
The Grinning Granger
A Gamblin' Fool
The Big Catch
Billy Reeves - the Foreman of the Ranch
The Champion Liar
The Smilin' Kid
The Shootin' Kid
The Fightin' Terror
The Broncho Kid
Thieves' Clothes
Masked
Wolf Tracks
The Texas Kid
The Rattler's Hiss
Held Up for the Makin's
Runnin' Straight
Hair Trigger Stuff
The Sheriff's Oath
Roarin' Dan
Roarin' Dan
West Is Best
The Jay Bird
Tom Jackson
Winning a Home
The Double Hold-Up
The Broncho Kid
The Lone Hand
Jeffrey Halley
The Trail of the Holdup Man
Bob Watson
The Tell-Tale Wire
Steve Larmon
The Face in the Watch
The Crow
Tim McKenzie - the Crow
The Jack of Hearts
The Prairie Dog
The Four-Bit Man
The Fighting Heart
Kingdom Come
Ace High
The Gun Packer
Gang Leader
By Indian Post
Chub -Jode's Helpful Cowboy Friend
Gun Law
Bart 'Smoke Gublen' Stevens
The Rustlers
The Deputy
His Buddy
The Black Horse Bandit
The Fighting Brothers
Lonnie Larkin
Danger, Go Slow
The Midnight Flyer
Danny Morgan
Play Straight or Fight
Dick Rankin
The Branded Man
Sheriff
The Woman in the Web
Vassily - Ivan's Brother
Headin' South
A Marked Man
Undetermined Role
The Secret Man
Chuck Fadden
Straight Shooting
Danny Morgan
Cheyenne's Pal
Cowboy
The Soul Herder
Chuck Rafferty
The Wrong Man
Chip's Pal
The Golden Bullet
'Red' Johnson
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Joe
The Voice on the Wire
The Hazards of Helen
Messenger / Etzer
The Mysterious Cipher
Blanding
The Capture of Red Stanley
Stanley's Henchman
The Wedding Guest
The Governor's Special
2nd Nash Henchman (as Ed Gibson)
The Passing of Hell's Crown
The Cowboy
The Night Riders
Stampede in the Night
Jack Harding
A Knight of the Range
Bob Graham
The Ring of Destiny
Jack
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
In Danger's Path
Train Crew (uncredited)
The Pay Train
Orturo
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
Messenger on Motorcycle
The Death Train
Etzer - Doyle's Pal
The Man from Texas
Deputy (uncredited)
Buckshot John
Medicine Show Crowd Member (uncredited)
The Man from the East
Butler
The Telltale Knife
Shotgun Jones
Tom Lattier - the Son
Kid Pink and the Maharajah
In the Secret Service
Cowboy Sports and Pastimes
A Four-Footed Hero
Broncho Rider (uncredited)
His Only Son
The New Superintendent
The Two Brothers