Johnny Mack Brown
Born
September 1, 1904
Died
November 14, 1974 (70 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Dothan, Alabama, USA
An All-American halfback while attending the University of Alabama, Johnny Mack Brown chose the silver screen over the green grass of the football field when he graduated. Signed to a contract with MGM in 1926, Brown debuted in Slide, Kelly, Slide (1927) with William Haines in a film about - baseball. This was followed by The Bugle Call (1927), which starred the fading Jackie Coogan. In 1928 he appeared in the last Norma Shearer silent film, A Lady of Chance (1928). After that, he worked with Greta Garbo, Marion Davies and Mary Pickford. His muscular good looks only carried him so far in films, however, and by 1930 he had yet to find his place. At MGM Clark Gable was taking the roles that Brown was up for, so he went into a western for director King Vidor, Billy the Kid (1930). While Vidor did not want him for the part to begin with, the picture was successful; however, Brown's career at MGM soon ended. By 1933 he was still making westerns, but they were for low-rung studios like Mascot. More westerns at even lower-rung Supreme Pictures followed, as well as serials like Wild West Days (1937) at Universal. In 1943 Brown took his boots over to Monogram Pictures, where he made over 60 westerns. He started off as "Nevada Jack McKenzie" in the Rough Riders series, but the name soon changed to Johnny. As with most of the early cowboy stars, he was a hero to millions of young children and consistently among the top ten money-makers in westerns from 1942-50. The bubble burst, though, just as it did for Allan Lane, in 1953, as the days of the "B" western came to an end.

Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
(archive footage)
2000

Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
Self (archive footage)
1994

Legends of the West
Billy the Kid in 'Billy the Kid'
1992

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
1976

It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
1976

Apache Uprising
Sheriff Ben Hall
1965

The Bounty Killer
Sheriff Green
1965

Requiem for a Gunfighter
Enkoff
1965

Perry Mason
Warner Griffith · (1 episode)
1957
Official Detective
(1 episode)
1957

The Marshal's Daughter
Johnny Mack Brown - Poker-Game Player
1953

Canyon Ambush
Johnny Mack Brown
1952

This Is Your Life
Self · (1 episode)
1952

Dead Man's Trail
Johnny Mack Brown
1952

Man from the Black Hills
Johnny Mack Brown
1952

Texas City
Johnny Mack Brown
1952

Texas Lawmen
Marshal Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Whistling Hills
Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Oklahoma Justice
Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Montana Desperado
Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Blazing Bullets
Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Man from Sonora
Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Colorado Ambush
Johnny Mack Brown
1951

Short Grass
Sheriff Ord Keown
1950

Outlaw Gold
Johnny Mack Brown
1950

Law of the Panhandle
U.S. Marshal Johnny Mack Brown
1950

Six Gun Mesa
Johnny Mack Brown
1950

Over the Border
Johnny Mack Brown
1950

West of Wyoming
Johnny Mack Brown
1950

Western Renegades
Johnny Mack Brown
1949

Range Justice
Johnny Mack Brown
1949

West of El Dorado
Johnny Mack
1949

Stampede
Sheriff Aaron Ball
1949

Trails End
Johnny Mack
1949

Law of the West
Federal Agent Johnny Mack
1949

Hidden Danger
Johnny Mack
1948

Gunning for Justice
Johnny Mack
1948

The Sheriff of Medicine Bow
Johnny Mack Brown
1948

The Fighting Ranger
Johnny Brown
1948

Back Trail
Johnny Mack
1948

Triggerman
Johnny Mack Brown
1948

Frontier Agent
Johnny Mack Brown
1948

Crossed Trails
Johnny Mack
1948

Overland Trails
Johnny Murdock
1948

Gun Talk
Johnny McVey
1947

Prairie Express
Johnny Hudson
1947

Valley of Fear
Johnny Williams
1947

Flashing Guns
Johnny Mack
1947

Code of the Saddle
John Macklin
1947

Trailing Danger
Johnny
1947

The Law Comes to Gunsight
Johnny Mackey
1947

Land of the Lawless
Johnny Mack
1947

Raiders of the South
Captain Brownell posing Johnny Langdon
1947

Silver Range
Johnny Bronton
1946

Shadows on the Range
Steve Mason posing as Steve Saunders
1946

Trigger Fingers
Sam Hurricane Benton
1946

The Gentleman from Texas
Johnny Macklin
1946

Under Arizona Skies
Dusty Smith
1946

The Haunted Mine
Nevada Jack McKenzie
1946

Drifting Along
Steve Garner
1946

Border Bandits
Marshal Nevada
1946

Frontier Feud
Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
1945

The Lost Trail
Marshal 'Nevada Jack' McKenzie
1945

Flame of the West
Dr. John Poore
1945

Stranger from Santa Fe
U.S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie, posing as Roy Ferris
1945

Gun Smoke
Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
1945

Forever Yours
Maj. Tex O'Connor
1945

The Navajo Trail
Marshal Nevada McKenzie
1945

Ghost Guns
Marshal Nevada McKenzie
1944

Law of the Valley
Marshal Nevada McKenzie
1944

Land of the Outlaws
Marshal Nevada McKenzie
1944

West of the Rio Grande
U.S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie
1944

Range Law
U. S. Marshal Nevada McKenzie
1944

Partners of the Trail
Jack McKenzie
1944

Law Men
U.S. Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
1944

Raiders of the Border
Nevada Jack McKenzie
1944

The Texas Kid
Jack McKenzie
1943

Outlaws of Stampede Pass
Marshal Nevada Jack McKenzie
1943

Crazy House
Johnny Mack Brown
1943

The Lone Star Trail
Blaze Barker
1943

Six Gun Gospel
Marshal Jack McKenzie
1943

The Stranger From Pecos
Nevada Jack McKenzie
1943

Raiders of San Joaquin
Rocky Morgan aka The Black Rider
1943

Cheyenne Roundup
Buck Brandon & Gils Brandon
1943

The Ghost Rider
Nevada Jack McKenzie
1943

Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
Wade Benson
1943

The Old Chisholm Trail
Dusty Gardner
1942

Little Joe, the Wrangler
Neal Wallace
1942

Deep in the Heart of Texas
Jim Mallory
1942

Boss of Hangtown Mesa
Steve Collins
1942

The Silver Bullet
Silver Jim Donovan
1942

Stagecoach Buckaroo
Steve Hardin
1942

Ride 'Em Cowboy
Alabam' Brewster
1942

Fighting Bill Fargo
Bill Fargo
1941

Arizona Cyclone
Tom Baxter
1941

The Masked Rider
Larry Prescott
1941

Man from Montana
Sheriff Bob Dawson
1941

Rawhide Rangers
Brand Calhoun
1941

Law of the Range
Steve Howard
1941

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
Joe Henderson
1941

Pony Post
Cal Sheridan
1940

Law and Order
Bill Ralston
1940

Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Steve Logan
1940

Son of Roaring Dan
Jim Reardon (Posing as Horace McPhail)
1940

Bad Man from Red Butte
Gils Brady / Buck Halliday
1940

Riders of Pasco Basin
Lee Jamison
1940

Boss of Bullion City
Tom Bryant
1940

West of Carson City
Jim Bannister
1940

Chip of the Flying U
'Chip' Bennett
1939

Oklahoma Frontier
Jeff McLeod
1939

Desperate Trails
Steve Hayden
1939

The Oregon Trail
Jeff Scott
1939

Land of Liberty
Billy the Kid (edited from 'Billy the Kid')
1939

Flaming Frontiers
Tex Houston
1938

Wells Fargo
Talbot Carter
1937

Born to the West
Tom Fillmore
1937

Boothill Brigade
Lon Cardigan
1937

Wild West Days
Kentucky Wade
1937

A Lawman Is Born
Tom Mitchell
1937

Guns in the Dark
Johnny Darrel
1937

Bar-Z Bad Men
Jim Waters
1937

Lawless Land
Ranger Jeff Hayden
1937

Trail of Vengeance
Dude Ramsay
1937

The Gambling Terror
Jeff Hayes
1937

Undercover Man
Steve McLain
1936

The Crooked Trail
Jim Blake
1936

Everyman's Law
Johnny- aka The Dog Town Kid
1936

Rogue of the Range
Dan Doran
1936

Desert Phantom
Billy Donovan
1936

Valley of the Lawless
Bruce Reynolds
1936

The Courageous Avenger
Kirk Baxter
1935

Between Men
Johnny Wellington Jr.
1935

Starlit Days at the Lido
Self
1935

Branded a Coward
Johnny Hume
1935

Rustlers of Red Dog
Jack Wood
1935

Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
Self
1934

Against the Law
Steve Wayne
1934

Belle of the Nineties
Brooks Clayburn
1934

Cross Streets
Adam Blythe
1934

St. Louis Woman
Jim Warren
1934

Three on a Honeymoon
Chuck Wells
1934

Son of a Sailor
'Duke'
1933

Female
George P. Cooper
1933

Saturday's Millions
Alan Barry
1933

Fighting With Kit Carson
Kit Carson
1933

The Vanishing Frontier
Kirby Tornell
1933
Malay Nights
Jim Wilson
1932

70,000 Witnesses
Wally Clark
1932

Flames
Charlie
1932
Hollywood Halfbacks
1931
Lasca of the Rio Grande
Miles Kincaid
1931

The Last Flight
Bill Talbot
1931

The Secret Six
Hank Rogers
1931

The Great Meadow
Berk Jarvis (as John Mack Brown)
1931

Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
1930

Montana Moon
Larry
1930

Undertow
Paul Whalen
1930

Jazz Heaven
Barry Holmes
1929

Hurricane
Dan
1929

The Single Standard
Tommy Hewlett
1929

The Valiant
Robert Ward
1929

Coquette
Michael Jeffery
1929

A Woman of Affairs
David Furness
1928

A Lady of Chance
Steve Crandall
1928

Annapolis
Bill
1928

Our Dancing Daughters
Ben Blaine
1928

The Play Girl
Bradley Lane
1928

Soft Living
Stockney Webb
1928

The Divine Woman
Jean Lery
1928

The Fair Co-Ed
Bob
1927

After Midnight
Party Boy (uncredited)
1927

Mockery
Russian Officer (uncredited)
1927

The Bugle Call
Bit (uncredited)
1927

Slide, Kelly, Slide
Johnny Mack Brown
1927