Hoot Gibson
Known for: 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.
Filmography
Series
I Married Joan
The Cowboy
1952
Film
Ocean's Eleven
Roadblock Deputy (uncredited)
1960
Film
The Horse Soldiers
Sgt. Brown
1959
Hello, 'Frisco
Hoot Gibson
1924
Ace High
1919
Film
Shotgun Jones
Tom Lattier - the Son
1914
Double Crossers
1921
Film
Kindled Courage
Andy Walker
1923
Film
Danger, Go Slow
1918
Film
Headin' South
1918
Film
Courtin' Wildcats
Clarence Butts
1929
Film
Trimmed
Dale Garland
1922
Tipped Off
Billy Steele
1920
Film
Galloping Fury
Billy Halen
1927
Film
Ride for Your Life
Bud Watkins
1924
Film
Ridin' Wild
Cyril Henderson (as Edward 'Hoot' Gibson)
1922
Film
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
1976
Film
Powdersmoke Range
Stony Brooke
1935
Film
The Riding Avenger
Buck 'The Morning Glory Kid' Bonner
1936
Film
Action
Sandy Brouke
1921
Film
The Dude Bandit
'Ace' Cooper posing as Tex
1933
Film
Double Danger
Jim Marvin / Jerry Marvin (Twin Brothers)
1920
Film
Single Handed
Hector MacKnight
1923
Film
Points West
Cole Lawson Jr.
1929
Film
The Wild Wild West
1921
Superstition
Dave Bodie
1920
Film
Spurs
Bob Merril
1930
Film
Sonora Stagecoach
Hoot Gibson
1944
Film
The Capture of Red Stanley
Stanley's Henchman
1916
Film
The Denver Dude
Rodeo Randall
1927
Film
The Calgary Stampede
Dan Malloy
1925
Wolf Tracks
1920
Film
The Broncho Kid
1920
Film
Blinky
Geoffrey Arbuthnot 'Blinky' Islip
1923
Sweet Revenge
1921
Film
The Last Outlaw
Al Goss
1936
Film
Sunset Range
Reasonin' Bates
1935
Film
The Rawhide Kid
Dennis O'Hara
1928
Film
Arizona Sweepstakes
Coot Cadigan
1926
Film
The Fighting Parson
Steve Hartley
1933
Film
Flight to Nowhere
Sheriff Bradley
1946
Bandits Beware
1921
Film
Crossed Clues
1921
Kickaroo
1921
Film
The Painted Stallion
Walter Jamison
1937
Film
Buckshot John
Medicine Show Crowd Member (uncredited)
1915
Film
The Gun Packer
Gang Leader
1919
Film
The Lone Hand
Jeffrey Halley
1919
Film
The Thrill Chaser
Omar K. Jenkins
1923
Film
Taming the West
John Carleton
1925
Film
Broadway or Bust
Dave Hollis
1924
Film
Straight Shooting
Danny Morgan
1917
Film
Burning the Wind
Richard Gordon Jr
1929
Film
Westward Bound
Hoot Gibson
1944
Film
Thieves' Clothes
1920
Film
The Loaded Door
Bert Lyons
1922
Film
The Governor's Special
2nd Nash Henchman (as Ed Gibson)
1916
Film
The Cowboy Counsellor
Dan Alton
1932
Film
Cavalcade of the West
Clint Knox
1936
Film
The Law Rides Again
U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson
1943
Film
The Cactus Kid
Dick Harris
1921
Film
The Secret Man
Chuck Fadden
1917
Film
The Voice on the Wire
1917
Film
Marked Trails
Hoot Parkford
1944
Play Straight or Fight
Dick Rankin
1918
Film
The Woman in the Web
Vassily - Ivan's Brother
1918
Film
Let 'er Buck
Bob Carson
1925
Film
Rainbow's End
Neil Gibson Jr.
1935
Film
Death Valley Rangers
Hoot Gibson
1943
Film
The Lariat Kid
Tom Richards
1929
Film
The Buckaroo Kid
Ed Harley
1926
Film
The Double Hold-Up
The Broncho Kid
1919
The Fighting Heart
1919
Film
The Man in the Saddle
Jeff Morgan Jr.
1926
Film
The Gentleman from America
Dennis O'Shane
1923
Film
The Wild West Show
Rodeo Bill
1928
Film
The Local Bad Man
Jim Bonner
1932
Film
Hook and Ladder
Ace Cooper
1924
Film
The Mounted Stranger
Pete Ainslee aka The Ridin' Kid
1930
Film
Lucky Terror
Lucky 'The Lucky Terror' Carson
1936
Film
Wild Horse
Jim Wright
1931
Film
Double Dealing
Ben Slowbell
1923
Film
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
Bud Watkins
1924
Film
The Spirit of the West
Johnny Ringo - Posing as Ben Bailey
1932
Film
Shootin' for Love
Duke Travis
1923
Film
The Flaming Frontier
Bob Langdon
1926
Film
The Champion Liar
1920
Film
Hit and Run
'Swat' Anderson
1924
Film
Feud of the West
'Whitey' Revel
1936
Film
The Two Brothers
1910
Film
Painted Ponies
Bucky Simms
1927
Film
The Night Riders
1916
Film
Outlaw Trail
Hoot
1944
Film
Smilin' Guns
Jack Purvin
1929
Film
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
1931
The Big Catch
Billy Reeves - the Foreman of the Ranch
1920
The Ring of Destiny
Jack
1915
Film
The Galloping Kid
'Simplex' Cox
1922
Film
Step on It!
Vic Collins
1922
Film
The Flyin' Cowboy
Bill Hammond
1928
Film
The Boiling Point
Jimmy Duncan
1932
Film
Out of Luck
Sam Pertune
1923
Film
Clearing the Range
Curt 'El Capitan' Fremont
1931
Film
The Winged Horseman
Skyball Smith
1929
Film
The Mysterious Cipher
Blanding
1916
Film
The Gay Buckaroo
Clint Hale
1931
Film
His Only Son
1912
Film
The Saddle Hawk
Ben Johnson
1925
Film
Riding for Fame
Scratch 'Em Hank Scott
1929
Film
A Marked Man
Undetermined Role
1917
Film
The Death Train
Etzer - Doyle's Pal
1915
Stampede in the Night
Jack Harding
1916
Film
Arizona Whirlwind
Hoot Gibson
1944
Film
Roarin' Dan
Roarin' Dan
1920
Film
The Pay Train
Orturo
1915
The Saddle King
1921
Film
The New Superintendent
1911
Film
The Sawdust Trail
Clarence Elwood Butts
1924
Film
In Danger's Path
Train Crew (uncredited)
1915
Film
Spook Ranch
Bill Bangs
1925
Film
The Jay Bird
Tom Jackson
1920
Film
The Fighting Brothers
Lonnie Larkin
1919
Film
The Sheriff's Oath
1920
Film
Wild Horse Stampede
Marshal Hoot Gibson
1943
The Two-Fisted Lover
Scot McHale
1920
Film
The Fire Eater
Bob Corey
1921
Film
The Prairie King
Andy Barden
1927
Film
The Bear Cat
The Singin' Kid
1922
Film
Gun Law
Bart 'Smoke Gublen' Stevens
1919
Film
Chip of the Flying U
Chip Bennett
1926
The Movie Trail
1921
A Four-Footed Hero
Broncho Rider (uncredited)
1912
Film
The Marshal's Daughter
Marshal Ben Dawson
1953
Film
By Indian Post
Chub -Jode's Helpful Cowboy Friend
1919
Film
A Man's Land
Tex Mason
1932
Film
The Lone Hand
Laramie Lad
1922
Film
The Ramblin' Kid
The Ramblin' Kid
1923
Masked
1920
Film
The Hurricane Kid
The Hurricane Kid
1925
Film
The Concentratin' Kid
Bill Evans -Concentratin' Kid
1930
Film
The Long, Long Trail
The Ramblin' Kid
1929
Film
Roaring Ranch
Jim Dailey
1930
Kingdom Come
1919
Film
Cheyenne's Pal
Cowboy
1917
Film
Headin' West
Bill Perkins
1922
The Branded Man
Sheriff
1918
Film
Frontier Justice
Brent Halston
1936
Film
The Soul Herder
Chuck Rafferty
1917
Film
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Jimmie Roberts
1927
Film
The Hard Hombre
William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton
1931
Film
Red Courage
Pinto Peters
1921
Film
The Phantom Bullet
'Click' Farlane
1926
Film
The Four-Bit Man
1919
Film
The Texas Streak
Chad Pennington
1926
Beating the Game
1921
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
1915
The Midnight Flyer
Danny Morgan
1918
Film
West Is Best
1920
Film
Hair Trigger Stuff
1920
Kid Pink and the Maharajah
1914
Film
The Utah Kid
Marshal H.R. Higgins
1944
Film
The Golden Bullet
'Red' Johnson
1917
The Driftin' Kid
The Driftin' Kid
1921
Film
Trigger Law
Hoot Gibson
1944
The Wedding Guest
1916
Film
One Law for All
1920
Film
The Man from Texas
Deputy (uncredited)
1915
The Man from the East
Butler
1914
Film
The Rattler's Hiss
1920
Film
The Silent Rider
Jerry Alton
1927
Film
A Knight of the Range
Bob Graham
1916
Hollywood or Bust
1928
Film
The Jack of Hearts
The Prairie Dog
1919
Film
King of the Rodeo
Chip Jr.
1929
The Fightin' Fury
1921
Film
Sure Fire
Jeff Bransford
1921
Film
The Face in the Watch
1919
Film
Swifty
Swifty
1935
Film
The Tell-Tale Wire
Steve Larmon
1919
The Crow
Tim McKenzie - the Crow
1919
Film
The Telltale Knife
1914
Film
Blazing Guns
Marshal Hoot Gibson
1943
Film
The Rustlers
The Deputy
1919
His Buddy
1919
Film
Clearing the Trail
Pete Watson
1928
Film
40-Horse Hawkins
Luke Hawkins
1924
Film
The Shootin' Kid
1920
The Passing of Hell's Crown
The Cowboy
1916
Film
A Trick of Hearts
Benjamin Franklin Tully
1928
Film
Trigger Tricks
Texas Ranger Tim Brennan
1930
The Grinning Granger
1920
Film
The Texas Kid
1920
Film
The Danger Rider
Hal 'Tucson Joe' Doyle
1928
The Wrong Man
Chip's Pal
1917
Film
Life in Hollywood No. 3
Self
1927
'in Wrong' Wright
'In Wrong' Wright
1920
The Man Who Woke Up
1921
Film
Held Up for the Makin's
1920
Film
The Shootin' Fool
1920
Film
Runnin' Straight
1920
Film
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Joe
1917
Film
The Smilin' Kid
1920
The Black Horse Bandit
1919
Film
Cinders
Bing Davidson
1920
Film
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
Messenger on Motorcycle
1915
Film
The Man with a Punch
The Stranger
1920
Film
Fight It Out
Sandy Adams
1920
Film
Dead Game
'Katy' Didd
1923
Film
Who Was the Man?
The Texas Ranger
1921
Film
Trailing Trouble
Ed King
1930
Film
A Hero on Horseback
Billy Garford
1927
The Stranger
1920
Film
The Hazards of Helen
Messenger / Etzer
1917
Out o' Luck
1921
Winning a Home
1920
The Trail of the Hound
1920
Film
The Trail of the Holdup Man
Bob Watson
1919
A Gamblin' Fool
1920
The Fightin' Terror
1920
Pride Of The Range
In the Secret Service
1913
The Winning Track
1921
The Brand Blotter
1920
Cowboy Sports and Pastimes
1913