Hoot Gibson
Born
August 5, 1892
Died
August 23, 1962 (70 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Tekamah, Nebraska, USA
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.
Known For
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
1976
Ocean's Eleven
Roadblock Deputy (uncredited)
1960
The Horse Soldiers
Sgt. Brown
1959
The Marshal's Daughter
Marshal Ben Dawson
1953
I Married Joan
The Cowboy · (1 episode)
1952
Flight to Nowhere
Sheriff Bradley
1946
Trigger Law
Hoot Gibson
1944
The Utah Kid
Marshal H.R. Higgins
1944
Marked Trails
Hoot Parkford
1944
Sonora Stagecoach
Hoot Gibson
1944
Outlaw Trail
Hoot
1944
Arizona Whirlwind
Hoot Gibson
1944
Westward Bound
Hoot Gibson
1944
Death Valley Rangers
Hoot Gibson
1943
Blazing Guns
Marshal Hoot Gibson
1943
The Law Rides Again
U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson
1943
Wild Horse Stampede
Marshal Hoot Gibson
1943
The Painted Stallion
Walter Jamison
1937
Cavalcade of the West
Clint Knox
1936
Frontier Justice
Brent Halston
1936
The Last Outlaw
Al Goss
1936
The Riding Avenger
Buck 'The Morning Glory Kid' Bonner
1936
Feud of the West
'Whitey' Revel
1936
Lucky Terror
Lucky 'The Lucky Terror' Carson
1936
Swifty
Swifty
1935
Powdersmoke Range
Stony Brooke
1935
Rainbow's End
Neil Gibson Jr.
1935
Sunset Range
Reasonin' Bates
1935
The Fighting Parson
Steve Hartley
1933
The Dude Bandit
'Ace' Cooper posing as Tex
1933
The Cowboy Counsellor
Dan Alton
1932
The Boiling Point
Jimmy Duncan
1932
A Man's Land
Tex Mason
1932
The Spirit of the West
Johnny Ringo - Posing as Ben Bailey
1932
The Local Bad Man
Jim Bonner
1932
The Gay Buckaroo
Clint Hale
1931
The Hard Hombre
William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton
1931
Wild Horse
Jim Wright
1931
We're switching to Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
1931
Clearing the Range
Curt 'El Capitan' Fremont
1931
The Concentratin' Kid
Bill Evans -Concentratin' Kid
1930
Spurs
Bob Merril
1930
Trigger Tricks
Texas Ranger Tim Brennan
1930
Roaring Ranch
Jim Dailey
1930
Trailing Trouble
Ed King
1930
The Mounted Stranger
Pete Ainslee aka The Ridin' Kid
1930
Courtin' Wildcats
Clarence Butts
1929
The Long, Long Trail
The Ramblin' Kid
1929
Points West
Cole Lawson Jr.
1929
Riding for Fame
Scratch 'Em Hank Scott
1929
The Winged Horseman
Skyball Smith
1929
The Lariat Kid
Tom Richards
1929
Smilin' Guns
Jack Purvin
1929
Burning the Wind
Richard Gordon Jr
1929
King of the Rodeo
Chip Jr. - Montana Kid
1929
The Danger Rider
Hal 'Tucson Joe' Doyle
1928
Clearing the Trail
Pete Watson
1928
Hollywood or Bust
1928
The Wild West Show
Rodeo Bill
1928
The Flyin' Cowboy
Bill Hammond
1928
A Trick of Hearts
Benjamin Franklin Tully
1928
The Rawhide Kid
Dennis O'Hara
1928
Galloping Fury
Billy Halen
1927
Painted Ponies
Bucky Simms
1927
Life in Hollywood No. 3
Self
1927
A Hero on Horseback
Billy Garford
1927
The Prairie King
Andy Barden
1927
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Jimmie Roberts
1927
The Denver Dude
Rodeo Randall
1927
The Silent Rider
Jerry Alton
1927
The Buckaroo Kid
Ed Harley
1926
The Texas Streak
Chad Pennington
1926
The Flaming Frontier
Bob Langdon
1926
The Man in the Saddle
Jeff Morgan Jr.
1926
The Phantom Bullet
'Click' Farlane
1926
Chip of the Flying U
Chip Bennett
1926
Arizona Sweepstakes
Coot Cadigan
1926
The Calgary Stampede
Dan Malloy
1925
Spook Ranch
Bill Bangs
1925
Let 'er Buck
Bob Carson
1925
The Saddle Hawk
Ben Johnson
1925
Taming the West
John Carleton
1925
The Hurricane Kid
The Hurricane Kid
1925
The Ridin' Kid from Powder River
Bud Watkins
1924
Hello, 'Frisco
Hoot Gibson
1924
The Sawdust Trail
Clarence Elwood Butts
1924
Hit and Run
'Swat' Anderson
1924
Broadway or Bust
Dave Hollis
1924
40-Horse Hawkins
Luke Hawkins
1924
Ride for Your Life
Bud Watkins
1924
Hook and Ladder
Ace Cooper
1924
The Thrill Chaser
Omar K. Jenkins
1923
The Ramblin' Kid
The Ramblin' Kid
1923
Blinky
Geoffrey Arbuthnot 'Blinky' Islip
1923
Out of Luck
Sam Pertune
1923
Shootin' for Love
Duke Travis
1923
Double Dealing
Ben Slowbell
1923
Dead Game
'Katy' Didd
1923
Single Handed
Hector MacKnight
1923
The Gentleman from America
Dennis O'Shane
1923
Kindled Courage
Andy Walker
1923
Ridin' Wild
Cyril Henderson (as Edward 'Hoot' Gibson)
1922
The Lone Hand
Laramie Lad
1922
The Galloping Kid
'Simplex' Cox
1922
The Loaded Door
Bert Lyons
1922
Trimmed
Dale Garland
1922
Step on It!
Vic Collins
1922
The Bear Cat
The Singin' Kid
1922
Headin' West
Bill Perkins
1922
The Fire Eater
Bob Corey
1921
Sure Fire
Jeff Bransford
1921
Red Courage
Pinto Peters
1921
Action
Sandy Brouke
1921
Beating the Game
1921
The Man Who Woke Up
1921
The Movie Trail
1921
Bandits Beware
1921
The Wild Wild West
1921
Double Crossers
1921
Crossed Clues
1921
Out o' Luck
1921
Who Was the Man?
The Texas Ranger
1921
The Cactus Kid
Dick Harris
1921
The Fightin' Fury
1921
Kickaroo
1921
Sweet Revenge
1921
The Driftin' Kid
The Driftin' Kid
1921
The Saddle King
1921
The Winning Track
1921
The Trail of the Hound
1920
The Man With The Punch
The Stranger
1920
Fight It Out
Sandy Adams
1920
The Brand Blotter
1920
Superstition
Dave Bodie
1920
The Stranger
1920
Tipped Off
Billy Steele
1920
The Two-Fisted Lover
Scot McHale
1920
Double Danger
Jim Marvin / Jerry Marvin (Twin Brothers)
1920
Cinders
Bing Davidson
1920
'in Wrong' Wright
'In Wrong' Wright
1920
The Shootin' Fool
1920
One Law for All
1920
The Grinning Granger
1920
A Gamblin' Fool
1920
The Big Catch
Billy Reeves - the Foreman of the Ranch
1920
The Champion Liar
1920
The Smilin' Kid
1920
The Shootin' Kid
1920
The Fightin' Terror
1920
The Broncho Kid
1920
Thieves' Clothes
1920
Masked
1920
Wolf Tracks
1920
The Texas Kid
1920
The Rattler's Hiss
1920
Held Up for the Makin's
1920
Runnin' Straight
1920
Hair Trigger Stuff
1920
The Sheriff's Oath
1920
Roarin' Dan
Roarin' Dan
1920
West Is Best
1920
The Jay Bird
Tom Jackson
1920
Winning a Home
1920
The Double Hold-Up
The Broncho Kid
1919
The Lone Hand
Jeffrey Halley
1919
The Trail of the Holdup Man
Bob Watson
1919
The Tell-Tale Wire
Steve Larmon
1919
The Face in the Watch
1919
The Crow
Tim McKenzie - the Crow
1919
The Jack of Hearts
The Prairie Dog
1919
The Four-Bit Man
1919
The Fighting Heart
1919
Kingdom Come
1919
Ace High
1919
The Gun Packer
Gang Leader
1919
By Indian Post
Chub -Jode's Helpful Cowboy Friend
1919
Gun Law
Bart 'Smoke Gublen' Stevens
1919
The Rustlers
The Deputy
1919
His Buddy
1919
The Black Horse Bandit
1919
The Fighting Brothers
Lonnie Larkin
1919
Danger, Go Slow
1918
The Midnight Flyer
Danny Morgan
1918
Play Straight or Fight
Dick Rankin
1918
The Branded Man
Sheriff
1918
The Woman in the Web
Vassily - Ivan's Brother
1918
Headin' South
1918
A Marked Man
Undetermined Role
1917
The Secret Man
Chuck Fadden
1917
Straight Shooting
Danny Morgan
1917
Cheyenne's Pal
Cowboy
1917
The Soul Herder
Chuck Rafferty
1917
The Wrong Man
Chip's Pal
1917
The Golden Bullet
'Red' Johnson
1917
A 44-Calibre Mystery
Joe
1917
The Voice on the Wire
1917
The Hazards of Helen
Messenger / Etzer
1917
The Mysterious Cipher
Blanding
1916
The Wedding Guest
1916
The Capture of Red Stanley
Stanley's Henchman
1916
The Passing of Hell's Crown
The Cowboy
1916
The Governor's Special
2nd Nash Henchman (as Ed Gibson)
1916
The Night Riders
1916
Stampede in the Night
Jack Harding
1916
A Knight of the Range
Bob Graham
1916
The Ring of Destiny
Jack
1915
Judge Not; or The Woman of Mona Diggings
1915
The Hazards of Helen Ep33: In Danger's Path
Train Crew (uncredited)
1915
The Pay Train
Orturo
1915
The Hazards of Helen Ep26: The Wild Engine
Messenger on Motorcycle
1915
The Death Train
Etzer - Doyle's Pal
1915
The Man from Texas
Deputy (uncredited)
1915
Buckshot John
Medicine Show Crowd Member (uncredited)
1915
The Man from the East
Butler
1914
The Telltale Knife
1914
Shotgun Jones
Tom Lattier - the Son
1914
Kid Pink and the Maharajah
1914
In the Secret Service
1913
Cowboy Sports and Pastimes
1913
A Four-Footed Hero
Broncho Rider (uncredited)
1912
His Only Son
1912
The New Superintendent
1911
The Two Brothers
1910