Lash LaRue
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Lash LaRue | |
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Born | Alfred LaRue June 15, 1917 Gretna, Louisiana, U.S. |
Died | May 21, 1996 Burbank, California, U.S. | (aged 78)
Other names | Al LaRue |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1944–1990 |
Spouses |
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Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917[1] – May 21, 1996) was a western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s.
Biography
Early life and education
Born Alfred LaRue in
Film career
LaRue was originally screen tested by Warner Bros. but was rejected because he looked too much like Humphrey Bogart, then one of the studio's contract stars.[4]
He signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1944 as "Alfred LaRue", appearing in two Deanna Durbin musicals and a serial. Durbin and LaRue were romantically involved during his tenure there.
In 1945 independent producer
LaRue graduated to his own starring series (as "Cheyenne") in 1947, first for PRC, then for its successor
Lash LaRue was different from the usual cowboy hero of the era. Dressed in black, he spoke with a "city tough-guy" accent somewhat like that of Humphrey Bogart, whom he physically resembled. His use of a bullwhip, however, was what set him apart from contemporary cowboy stars such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. His influence was felt throughout the dying medium of B-westerns; for example, he had an imitator, Whip Wilson, who starred in his own brief series, and even Roy Rogers started using a bullwhip in some of his Republic Pictures Westerns made during the same period.
LaRue made frequent personal appearances at small-town movie theaters that were showing his films during his heyday of 1948 to 1951, a common practice for cowboy stars in those days. However, his skillful displays of stunts with his whip, done live on movie theater stages, also convinced young Western fans that there was at least one cowboy hero who could perform in real life the things he did on screen. He continued working in films and television until he retired in 1990.
Personal life
For a time he was married to
Television
In the later 1950s, LaRue was featured on the children's program
A role as the villain in a
Death
LaRue died of emphysema in 1996 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He had recently undergone triple-bypass surgery and suffered from emphysema. He was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. He was survived by his wife, Frances Bramlett LaRue,[2] three sons and three daughters.[3] He had reportedly been married at least ten times.[3]
Legacy
LaRue was mentioned in the 1973 song "Childhood – 1949", written and recorded by Bobby Goldsboro as the B-side to his hit single "Summer (The First Time)".
He is one of many classic western stars mentioned in the 1974
Writer/singer/producer Bruce Blackman of the pop group Starbuck wrote and recorded the tribute song "Lash LaRue", included on their 1976 album Moonlight Feels Right.[9]
He was mentioned in the Shel Silverstein song "The Great Conch Train Robbery" in Silverstein's 1980 album of the same name.
A fifth season episode of
LaRue is seen on the 1986 Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings duet album Heroes. On the back cover, LaRue is standing with the duo.
In Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction, Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) jokingly refers to Vincent Vega (John Travolta) as "Lash LaRue".
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Studio | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1944 | Christmas Holiday | Man | Universal Pictures | Uncredited |
1945 | The Master Key | Migsy | Serial; credited as "Alfred La Rue" | |
Lady on a Train | Circus club waiter | |||
1945 | Song of Old Wyoming | The Cheyenne Kid | Producers Releasing Corporation | Credited as "Al La Rue" |
1946 | The Caravan Trail | Cherokee | ||
Wild West | Stormy Day | Aka Prairie Outlaws | ||
1947 | Law of the Lash | Cheyenne Davis | First lead role | |
Border Feud | ||||
Pioneer Justice | ||||
Heartaches | DeLong / Trigger Malone | |||
Ghost Town Renegades | Cheyenne Davis | |||
Stage to Mesa City | ||||
Return of the Lash | ||||
The Fighting Vigilantes | ||||
Cheyenne Takes Over | ||||
1948 | The Enchanted Valley | Pretty Boy | Eagle-Lion Films | |
Dead Man's Gold | Marshal Lash LaRue | Western Adventure Productions, Inc. | ||
Mark of the Lash | ||||
Frontier Revenge | ||||
1949 | Outlaw Country | |||
Son of Billy the Kid | Jack Garrett | |||
Son of a Bad Man | Marshal Lash LaRue | |||
1950 | The Daltons' Women | |||
King of the Bullwhip | ||||
1951 | The Thundering Trail | |||
The Vanishing Outpost | ||||
1952 | The Black Lash | |||
The Frontier Phantom
|
- Comics
Lash LaRue Western comic books were published first by Fawcett Comics (issues #1 through 46) and later by Charlton Comics (issues #47 through 84), between 1949 and 1961. The first issue alone today is worth upwards of $1,000 in near mint condition. They were among the most popular Western-themed comics of the era. Initially, LaRue and other Western stars weren't paid royalties by Fawcett; they were satisfied with just the publicity. (AC later published two reprint editions in 1990.) LaRue comics sold well with a total of 12 million copies in 1952 alone. Many stories featured his godson, J.P. Sloane.[citation needed]
- Later films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1963 | Please Don't Touch Me | Bill | |
1969 | Lanton Mills | Phantom | Short |
1972 | Hard on the Trail | Slade | Pornographic film |
1984 | Chain Gang | ||
1985 | The Dark Power | Ranger Girard | |
Alien Outlaw | Alex Thompson | ||
1986 | Stagecoach | Lash | Television film |
1989 | Escape | Gas station owner | |
1990 | Pair of Aces | Henry | Television film |
References
- ^ a b Ernest N. Corneau (1969), The Hall of Fame of Western film stars, p. 254
- ^
- ^ a b c d Grimes, William (May 31, 1996). "Lash LaRue, 79, Western Star With a Whip". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ p. 21 Lewis, Jack C. White Horse, Black Hat: A Quarter Century on Hollywood's Poverty Row Scarecrow Press, October 16, 2002.
- ^ Wyatt, Tom and Greenland, David. "B Western Cowboys: Part I", Classic Images. September 2022
- ^ "Wife, 26, Divorces Movie Cowboy". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. United Press. June 3, 1952. p. 40. Retrieved May 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ The Hollywood Reporter (US) November 10, 1950, Vol. CXI, Iss. 31, pg. 10, by: Dan Jenkins, "Lash LaRue guest on Jimmie Jackson's MEMORY LANE"
- ISBN 0-906053-57-9
- ^ "Starbuck". Moonlightfeelsright.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
Bibliography
- Lash LaRue, the King of the Bullwhip, by Chuck Thornton and David Rothel (Empire Publishing, NC, 1988). ISBN 0-944019-06-4.
- The King of the Bullwhip: Lash LaRue, the Man, not the Legend, by Charles M. Sharpe (Sharpeco, NC, 1996). ASIN B0006QS5T6.
External links
- Lash LaRue at IMDb
- Lash LaRue-bio on (re)Search my Trash