Ken Maynard

Ken Maynard
Maynard with his horse Tarzan (1936)
Born	Kenneth Olin Maynard (1895-07-21)July 21, 1895 Vevay, Indiana, U.S.
Died	March 23, 1973(1973-03-23) (aged 77) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn, Cypress, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, producer
Years active	1923–1972
Spouse(s)	Mary Leeper Maynard (m. 1926–1939)[1] Bertha Maynard (m. 1940–1968)[2]
Relatives	Kermit Maynard (brother)

Kenneth Olin Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973)^[3] was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood.

Maynard was also an occasional screenwriter and director. In 1960, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.

Biography

Maynard was born in

Maynard served in the

He first appeared in silent motion pictures in 1923 as a stuntman or supporting actor.^[3] In 1924, he began working in western features, where his horsemanship and rugged good looks made him a cowboy star. Maynard's silent features showcased his daredevil riding, photographed fairly close so audiences could see that Maynard was doing his own stunts with his white stallion "Tarzan." The action scenes were so spectacular that they were often reused in films of the 1930s, starring either Maynard himself or John Wayne, or Dick Foran. (Wayne, and later Foran, starred in westerns for Warner Bros. and were costumed like Maynard to match the old footage.)

Maynard made a successful transition to talking pictures and became the movies' first singing cowboy in 1929 Talkie Hit from Universal Picture The Wagon Master were he sang both The Cowboy's Lament and The Lone Star Trail. He recorded eight songs for Columbia Records "The Cowboy's Lament (Columbia 2310-D 149832 and "The Lone Star Trail" (Columbia 2310=D 149833) became the only issued album. Ken Maynard gifted the eight one sided pressings of his 4/14/1930 recording session with Columbia Records to the John Edwards Memorial Foundation.

Maynard's first talkies were made for

In 1934, producer Nat Levine hired Ken Maynard for a serial, Mystery Mountain, and planned to make a series of western features with Maynard, beginning with In Old Santa Fe. Maynard's unprofessionalism cost him the job; after In Old Santa Fe Levine replaced Maynard with a singer in his supporting cast, Gene Autry. Maynard kept working in Hollywood, but in smaller productions, until 1940.

He returned to the screen in 1943 for low-budget Monogram Pictures in a new series called "The Trail Blazers." He was teamed with fellow veteran stars Hoot Gibson and Bob Steele, and the trio offered action for the kids and nostalgia for their elders. It was not long before Maynard's raging temperament again cost him the job; he liked Gibson but did not like Steele, and left the series after seven films. One final film, Harmony Trail, was made by independent producer Walt Mattox in 1944; just as one of Maynard's films had introduced cowboy star Gene Autry, this final Maynard film introduced the new singing cowboy Eddie Dean.

Maynard turned his back on the movies and made appearances at state fairs and rodeos. He owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders, but eventually lost it to creditors. His substantial wealth had vanished, and he lived a desolate life as an alcoholic in a rundown trailer. During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown benefactor, long thought to be Gene Autry.^[6] More than 25 years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to the screen in two small roles in Bigfoot (1970) and The Marshal of Windy Hollow (filmed in 1972 but never released).

Death

Maynard died of

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ken Maynard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6751 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography

References