Bill Elliott

October 16, 1904

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wild Bill Elliott (October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965) was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films. By 1925, he was getting occasional extra work in films. He took classes at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in a few stage roles there. By 1927, he had made his first Western, The Arizona Wildcat, playing his first featured role. Several co-starring roles followed, and he renamed himself Gordon Elliott. But as the studios made the transition to sound films, he slipped back into roles as an extra and bit parts, as in Broadway Scandals, in 1929. For the next eight years, he appeared in over a hundred films for various studios, but almost always in unbilled parts as an extra. Elliott began to be noticed in some minor B Westerns, enough so that Columbia Pictures offered him the title role in a serial, The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938). The serial was so successful, and Elliott so personable, that Columbia promoted him to starring in his own series of Western features, replacing Columbia's number-two cowboy star Robert "Tex" Allen. Henceforth Gordon Elliott would be known as Bill Elliott. Within two years, he was among the Motion Picture Herald's Top Ten Western Stars, where he would remain for the next 15 years. In 1943, Elliott signed with Republic Pictures, which cast him in a series of Westerns alongside George "Gabby" Hayes. The first of these, Calling Wild Bill Elliott, gave Elliott the name by which he would be best known and by which he would be billed almost exclusively for the rest of his career. Following several films in which both actor and character shared the name Wild Bill Elliott, he took the role for which he would be best remembered, that of Red Ryder in a series of sixteen movies about the famous comic strip cowboy and his young Indian companion, Little Beaver (played in Elliott's films by Bobby Blake). Elliott played the role for only two years but would forever be associated with it. Elliott's trademark was a pair of six guns worn butt-forward in their holsters. Elliott's career thrived during and after the Red Ryder films, and he continued making B Westerns into the early 1950s. He also had his own radio show during the late 1940s. His final contract as a Western star was with Monogram Pictures, where budgets declined as the B Western lost its audience to television. When Monogram became Allied Artists Pictures Corporation in 1953, it phased out its Western productions, and Elliott finished out his contract playing a homicide detective in a series of five modern police dramas, his first non-Westerns since 1938. Elliott retired from films (except for a couple of TV Western pilots which were not picked up). He worked for a time as a spokesman for Viceroy cigarettes and hosted a local TV program in Las Vegas, Nevada, which featured many of his Western films.

Cast

Jewel Robbery

(Policeman Following Blonde (uncredited))

The Arizona Wildcat

(Roy Schyler (as Gordon Elliott))

Boots and Saddles

(Jim Neale)

Five and Ten

(Wedding Guest (uncredited))

Chain of Evidence

(Andy Doyle)

Calling Homicide

(Andy Doyle)

Footsteps in the Night

(Andy Doyle)

One Hour with You

(Party Guest (uncredited))

Midnight Mary

(Party Guest (uncredited))

Night After Night

(Escort (uncredited))

The Showdown

(Shadrach Jones)

Sudden Danger

(Andy Doyle)

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

(Kenneth Martin)

Michael O'Halloran

(Little Lord Fauntleroy (uncredited))

Letter of Introduction

(Backgammon Man (uncredited))

Wonder Bar

(Norman (uncredited))

The Return of Daniel Boone

(Wild Bill Boone)

The Goose and the Gander

(Teddy)

The Case of the Velvet Claws

(Carl Griffin)

The Savage Horde

(Ringo)

Marshal of Reno

(Red Ryder)

Sheriff of Redwood Valley

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

San Antonio Kid

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Tucson Raiders

(Red Ryder)

The Girl from 10th Avenue

(James, Clerk at College Club)

Broadway Scandals

(George Halloway)

The Gallant Legion

(Gary Conway)

The Fabulous Texan

(Josie Allen)

Melody for Two

(Walter Wilson)

The Marshall of Trail City

(Wild Bill Elliott)

The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

The Drop Kick

(Aggressive Student at Dance)

A Lost Lady

(Polo Match Spectator (uncredited))

Dr. Socrates

(Tom Collins - Greer's Associate)

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

((archive footage))

The Plainsman and the Lady

(Sam Colton)

Swing It Professor

(Randall)

Roll Along, Cowboy

(Odie Fenton)

Boy of the Streets

(Dr. Allan)

Love Takes Flight

(Bill Parker)

Polo Joe

(Don Trumbeau)

Overland with Kit Carson

(Kit Carson)

The Man from Tumbleweeds

(Wild Bill Saunders)

The Private Life of Helen of Troy

(Telemachus)

Phantom of the Plains

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

The Valley of Vanishing Men

(Wild Bill Tolliver)

Dial Red O

(Andy Flynn / Andy Doyle)

The Greeks Had a Word for Them

(Wedding Guest (uncredited))

Bachelor's Affairs

(Ship's Passenger / Dance Extra (uncredited))

The Lady in the Morgue

(Chauncey Courtland)

The Shamrock Handicap

(Well-Wishing Villager)

The Girl Said No

(Wedding Guest)

The Homesteaders

(Mace Corbin)

The Forty-Niners

(Sam Nelson)

Murder by an Aristocrat

(Dave Thatcher (as Gordon Elliott))

Lone Texas Ranger

(Red Ryder)

Lord Byron of Broadway

(Party-Goer)

The Boy Friend

(Gordon Elliot)

Restless Youth

(George Baxter)

The Return of Wild Bill

(Wild Bill Saunders)

Fargo

(Bill Martin)

Part Time Wife

(Golfer (uncredited))

Hellfire

(Zeb Smith)

God's Gift to Women

(Minor Role (uncredited))

Let's Do Things

(Music Store Customer (uncredited))

Registered Nurse

(Male Nurse)

Broadminded

(Hotel Guest on Veranda)

You Can't Have Everything

(Lulu's Bathing Companion (uncredited))

Traveling Husbands

(Hotel Dining Room Guest)

Broadway Gondolier

(Reporter)

Hands Across the Rockies

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Death Valley Manhunt

(Marshal Wild Bill Elliott (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Bordertown Gun Fighters

(Wild Bill Elliott)

The Right to Live

(Wedding Guest)

Broadway Hostess

(Playboy in 'Playboy of Paree' Number (uncredited))

Sweepstakes

(Night Club Patron)

The Great Divide

(Ruth's Friend (uncredited))

Fugitive in the Sky

(Ramon Duval)

Desirable

(Party Guest)

Sunny

(One of Tom's War Buddies)

Going Wild

(Physical Exam Onlooker)

The Case of the Black Cat

(Sam Laxter)

Dangerous

Personal Maid's Secret

(Warren Sherrill)

Hidden Valley Outlaws

(Bill Elliott)

Stage Mother

(Audience Member / Dexter's Party Guest)

Stars Over Broadway

(Minor Role)

The Big Noise

(Sharp, Board of Directors Member (uncredited))

Guns of the Pecos

(Wellman, a Dude)

The Public Defender

(Country Club Guest)

Night Parade

(Party Guest)

Born to Love

(Hotel Dancer (uncredited))

Vigilantes of Dodge City

(Red Ryder)

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

King of Hockey

(2nd Radio Announcer)

The Son of Davy Crockett

(Dave Crockett)

The Roaring Twenties

(Bootlegger (uncredited))

Across the Sierras

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Sheriff of Las Vegas

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

While the Patient Slept

(Bank Teller (uncredited))

Lady with a Past

(Alex Brown (Uncredited))

Prairie Gunsmoke

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Frontiers of '49

(John Freeman)

Midnight Court

(City Attorney Seabrook)

The Devil's Trail

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

The Mummy

(Party Guest (uncredited))

Pioneers of the Frontier

(Wild Bill Saunders)

Traveling Saleslady

(Freddie)

Man of Iron

(Charlie Fagan)

The Wildcat of Tucson

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Wagon Tracks West

(Wild Bill Elliott)

Prairie Schooners

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Trailin' West

(Jefferson Duane)

The Woman in Red

(Stuart Wyatt)

The Secret Bride

(Governor's Secretary (uncredited))

Handlebars

(Bicyclist (uncredited))

Calling Wild Bill Elliott

(Wild Bill Elliott)

Moonlight on the Prairie

(Jeff Holt)

The Payoff

(Maxine's Casino Escort (uncredited))

Down the Stretch

(Robert Bates)

In Old Sacramento

(Johnny Barrett / Spanish Jack)

Gold Diggers of 1933

(Night Club Patron (uncredited))

The Little Giant

(Guest at Polly's Party (uncredited))

Kansas Territory

(Joe Daniels (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Waco

(Matt Boone (as Wild Bill Elliott))

The Maverick

(Pete Devlin)

Wife, Doctor and Nurse

(Bruce Thomas)

Delicious

(Larry's Friend)

A Night at the Ritz

(Vincent's Assistant (uncredited))

Beyond the Sacramento

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Bright Lights

(Backstage Actor)

The Truth About Youth

(Nightclub Patron (uncredited))

Children of Divorce

(Party Guest (uncredited))

Vengeance of the West

(Joaquin Murietta aka The Black Shadow)

The Longhorn

(Jim Kirk)

Great Stagecoach Robbery

(Red Ryder)

Marshal of Laredo

(Red Ryder)

Cheyenne Wildcat

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Sun Valley Cyclone

(Red Ryder)

California Gold Rush

(Red Ryder)

Colorado Pioneers

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Wagon Wheels Westward

(Red Ryder (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Conquest of Cheyenne

(Red Ryder)

The Man from Thunder River

(Wild Bill Elliott)

North of the Rockies

(Sergeant Bill Cameron)

Roaring Frontiers

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

North from the Lone Star

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

The Lone Star Vigilantes

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

She Who Gets Slapped

(Poker Player)

Bullets for Bandits

('Wild' Bill Hickok / Prince Katey)

Overland Mail Robbery

(Wild Bill Elliott)

King of Dodge City

('Wild' Bill Hickok)

Mojave Firebrand

(Wild Bill Elliott (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Bells of Rosarita

(Wild Bill Elliott)

The Road to Reno

(Party Boy)

Wyoming

(Charles Alderson)

Old Los Angeles

(Bill Stockton (as William Elliott))

The Last Bandit

(Frank Norris / Frank Plummer (as William Elliott))

Rebel City

(Frank Graham)

Topeka

(Jim Levering)

Vigilante Terror

(Tack Hamlin)

Bitter Creek

(Clay Tyndall (as Wild Bill Elliott))

Tank Patrol

(Bluey)

Vanity Fair

(Bit Role)

Left Over Ladies

(Escort (uncredited))

Working Girls

(Dance Extra / Lobby Extra)

Party Husband

(Wedding Party Guest)

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

(Self (archive footage))

What Men Want

(Party Boy)

Murder in the Clouds

(Lt. Saunders)

The Plastic Age

(Athlete (uncredited))

Only Yesterday

(New Year's Eve Reveler (Uncredited))

It's Showtime

(Self (archive footage))

The Case of the Howling Dog

(Reporter in Courtroom (uncredited))

'G' Men

(Bootlegger Who Gives Eddie the Bottle Outside the Club (uncredited))

Page Miss Glory

(Reporter (uncredited))

The Rich Are Always with Us

(Gambler (uncredited))

The Keyhole

(Partygoer (uncredited))

Blonde Crazy

(Nightclub Patron (uncredited))

Scarface

(Man Outside Theatre (uncredited))

Bullets or Ballots

(Hunter - Bank Worker (uncredited))

Two Against the World

(News Commentator (uncredited))

China Clipper

(Pilot (uncredited))

The Merry Frinks

(Dancer (uncredited))

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

(Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited))

Go Into Your Dance

(Jackson's Secretary / Dorothy's Dance Partner)

Merrily We Go to Hell

(Party Guest (uncredited))

A Successful Calamity

(Polo Player (uncredited))

The Taming of the West

(Wild Bill Saunders)

Smarty

(Nightclub Patron (uncredited))

Private Detective 62

(Man at Roulette Table (Uncredited))

Napoleon, Jr.

(Flora's Father)

She Couldn't Say No

(Gangster)

Platinum Blonde

(Ann's Beau (uncredited))

Cocktail Hour

(Party Guest (uncredited))

Made on Broadway

(Night Club Patron)

Adam-12

(Officer Grant)