Al Ferguson (19 April 1888 – 4 December 1971) was an Irish-born American film actor.
Born in
County Wexford,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, he appeared in nearly 300 films between 1912 and 1956.
[ Billed as Smoke Ferguson, by 1912 he was making Westerns for Selig Polyscope Company. In the 1920s he was the star, producer, and director for several low-budget Western films. He also appeared in some television Westerns in the 1950s.]
Ferguson died in Burbank, California. He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries is an American corporation that owns and operates a chain of cemeteries and mortuaries in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California.
History
The company was founded by a group of ...
.
Selected filmography
* ''Youth's Endearing Charm
''Youth's Endearing Charm'' (also known as ''Youth's Melting Pot'') is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by William C. Dowlan. The film stars Mary Miles Minter, Wallace McDonald, and Harry von Meter. The script for the film was adapte ...
'' (1916) – Joe Jenkins
* '' Where the West Begins'' (1919)
* ''The Timber Queen
''The Timber Queen'' is a 1922 American action film, action Silent film, silent film serial directed by Fred Jackman. The film serial stars Ruth Roland and Bruce Gordon (actor/director), Bruce Gordon. Produced by Pathé, Pathé Exchange, the ser ...
'' (1922)
* ''Boomerang Justice
''Boomerang Justice'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring George Larkin, Fritzi Ridgeway and Al Ferguson.
Cast
* George Larkin as Kit Carson Boone
* Fritzi Ridgeway as Ruth Randolph
* Al Ferguson ...
'' (1922)
* ''The Trail of Vengeance'' (1924)
* ''Officer 444
''Officer 444'' is a 1926 film serial directed by Francis Ford and Ben F. Wilson, produced by Goodwill Productions and released by the independent Davis Distributing Division.
Plot
Officer 444, a heroic policeman, does battle with The Frog, ...
'' (1926)
* ''The Baited Trap
''The Baited Trap'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Stuart Paton and starring Ben F. Wilson, Neva Gerber and Al Ferguson.
Cast
* Ben F. Wilson as Jim Banning
* Neva Gerber as Helen Alder
* Al F ...
'' (1926)
* ''Tentacles of the North
''In the Tentacles of the North'' is a 1926 American silent adventure film directed by Louis Chaudet and starring Gaston Glass, Alice Calhoun and Joseph W. Girard.Munden p.791 Two ships, on a journey lead by Captin Van Horn, become trapped in i ...
'' (1926)
* ''A Captain's Courage
''A Captain's Courage'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Louis Chaudet and starring Edward Earle, Dorothy Dwan and Lafe McKee.Munden p.111
Cast
* Edward Earle
* Dorothy Dwan
* Lafe McKee
* Ashton Dearholt
* Jack Henderson
* Al ...
'' (1926)
* ''West of the Law
''West of the Law'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Adele Buffington. This is the eighth film in Monogram Pictures' ''Rough Riders'' series, and stars Buck Jones as Marshal Buck Roberts, Tim McCoy ...
'' (1926)
* '' Wolves of the Desert'' (1926)
* '' The Wolf Hunters'' (1926)
* '' The Fighting Stallion'' (1927)
* ''Western Courage
''Western Courage'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by Ben Wilson, starring Richard Hatton, Elsa Benham, and Robert Walker.
Cast
* Richard Hatton
* Elsa Benham
* Robert Walker
* Art Mix
* Ed La Niece
* Al Ferguson
Al Fe ...
'' (1927)
* '' The Range Riders'' (1927)
* ''Haunted Island
''Haunted Island'' is a 1928 American silent action film serial directed by Robert F. Hill. The serial was released in 10 chapters of two reels each, with the first episode ("A Night of Fear") released on March 26, 1928. Each episode featured ...
'' (1928)
* ''Tarzan the Mighty
''Tarzan the Mighty'' is a 1928 American action film serial directed by Jack Nelson and Ray Taylor. It was nominally based on the collection ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film is now considered to be lost.
Cast
* ...
'' (1928)
* ''The Avenging Rider
''The Avenging Rider'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Sam Nelson and starring Tim Holt
Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940 ...
'' (1928)
* ''The Little Buckaroo
''The Little Buckaroo'' is a 1928 American silent Western film directed by Louis King and starring Buzz Barton, Milburn Morante and Peggy Shaw.
Cast
* Buzz Barton as David 'Red' Hepner
* Milburn Morante as Toby Jones
* Peggy Shaw as Ann Cr ...
'' (1928)
* ''The Vagabond Cub
''The Vagabond Cub'' is a 1929 American silent Western film directed by Louis King and starring Buzz Barton, Frank Rice and Sam Nelson.Munden, p. 852
Cast
* Buzz Barton as David 'Red' Hepner
* Frank Rice as Hank Robbins
* Sam Nelson as Bob ...
'' (1929)
* ''The Pirate of Panama
''The Pirate of Panama'' is a 1929 American action film serial directed by Ray Taylor. The film is considered to be lost.
Cast
* Jay Wilsey (aka Buffalo Bill Jr.) as Karl
* Natalie Kingston as Evelyn Wallace
* Al Ferguson as Boris Bothwell
* ...
'' (1929)
* ''The Man from Nevada
''The Nevadan'' is a 1950 American Cinecolor Western film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Forrest Tucker, Frank Faylen, and George Macready. Written by George W. George and George F. Slavin, the film is ...
'' (1929)
* ''Tarzan the Tiger
''Tarzan the Tiger'' (1929) is a Universal movie serial based on the novel '' Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It stars Frank Merrill as Tarzan, Natalie Kingston as Jane, and Al Ferguson. It was directed by Henry M ...
'' (1929)
* '' The Saddle King'' (1929)
* ''Pueblo Terror
''Pueblo Terror'' is a 1931 American pre-Code
Western film directed by Alan James and starring Jay Wilsey, Jack Harvey and Wanda Hawley.
Cast
* Jay Wilsey as Bill Sommers
* Jack Harvey as John Weston
* Wanda Hawley as Helen Weston
* James ...
'' (1931)
* ''Riders of the North
''Riders of the North'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Western (genre), Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Bob Custer, Blanche Mehaffey and Eddie Dunn (actor), Eddie Dunn.
Cast
* Bob Custer as Mountie Sergeant Stone
* Blanche Meha ...
'' (1931)
* ''Red Fork Range
''Red Fork Range'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film directed by Alan James and starring Hal Taliaferro, Ruth Mix and Al Ferguson.
Main cast
* Hal Taliaferro as Wally Hamilton
* Ruth Mix as Ruth Farell
* Al Ferguson as Black Bard
* ...
'' (1931)
* ''Two-Gun Caballero
''Two-Gun Caballero'' is a 1931 American Western film directed by Jack Nelson and starring Robert Frazer, Consuelo Dawn and Carmen Laroux.Pitts p.182
Cast
* Robert Frazer as Bob Blake - posing as Lopez
* Consuelo Dawn as Sally Thompson
* Ca ...
'' (1931)
* ''The Hurricane Express
''The Hurricane Express'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code 12-chapter Mascot Pictures film serial. Written by Colbert Clark, Barney Sarecky, Wyndham Gittens, George Morgan, and J.P. McGowan, the serial was directed by Armand Schaeffer and J.P. M ...
'' (1932)
* ''The Lost Special
"The Story of the Lost Special", sometimes abbreviated to "The Lost Special", is a mystery short story by Arthur Conan Doyle first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in August 1898. A minor character in the story is possibly implied to be Doyle ...
'' (1932)
* ''The Desert Trail
''The Desert Trail'' is a 1935 American Monogram Western film starring John Wayne and directed by Lewis D. Collins (credited as Cullin Lewis). The movie also features Eddy Chandler, Mary Kornman, and Paul Fix.
Plot
Rodeo star John Scott an ...
'' (1935)
* '' The Laramie Kid'' (1935)
* ''The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myst ...
'' (1935)
* ''Frontiers of '49
''Frontiers of '49'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Joseph Levering and starring Wild Bill Elliott, Luana Alcañiz and Charles King.Blottner p.53
Cast
* Wild Bill Elliott as Major John Freeman
* Luana Alcañiz as Dolores de Cervan ...
'' (1939)
* ''The Invisible Killer
''The Invisible Killer'' is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Grace Bradley, Roland Drew and William Newell.Gates p.96 It was one of the earliest films made by Producers Releasing Corporation, a low-budget outfi ...
'' (1939)
* ''Deadwood Dick
Deadwood Dick is a fictional character who appears in a series of stories, or dime novels, published between 1877 and 1897 by Edward Lytton Wheeler (1854/5–1885). The name became so widely known in its time that it was used to advantage by s ...
'' (1940)
* ''Billy the Kid's Gun Justice
''Billy the Kid's Gun Justice'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield for Producers Releasing Corporation, and 3rd in PRC's Billy the Kid series. Hal Erickson, Rovi.Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940), ''The New York Times''. ...
'' (1940)
* ''Texas to Bataan
''Texas to Bataan'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the seventeenth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, ...
'' (1942)
* ''Law of the Saddle
''Law of the Saddle'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Melville De Lay and written by Fred Myton. The film stars Robert Livingston as the Lone Rider and Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy Jones", with Betty Miles, Lane Chandler, Jo ...
'' (1943)
* ''The Pearl of Death
''The Pearl of Death'' is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, the ninth of fourteen such films the pair made. The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the ...
'' (1944)
* '' The Utah Kid'' (1944)
* ''Rustlers' Hideout
''Rustlers' Hideout'' is a 1944 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. In 1940 Crabbe had followed and replaced Bob Steele in the role of Billy the Kid in a series of B-Westerns. After 19 films as Billy, the character was renamed Bill ...
'' (1944)
* ''Harmony Trail
''Harmony Trail'' is a 1944 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and starring Ken Maynard, Eddie Dean and Ruth Roman.Pitts p.144 Its early distribution was limited, and it was given a fuller release in 1947 by Astor Pictures ...
'' (1944)
* '' God's Country'' (1946)
* ''Overland Riders
''Overland Riders'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Ellen Coyle. The film stars Buster Crabbe, Al St. John, Patti McCarty, Slim Whitaker, Bud Osborne and Jack O'Shea. The film was released on August 21, ...
'' (1946)
* ''Lightning Raiders
Lightning Raiders were an English pub rock band, with Johnny Hodge being the most prominent member of the group. During their lifetime, they released two singles, an EP, and recorded an album that was not released until 2013.
Career
The Ligh ...
'' (1946)
* ''Along the Great Divide
''Along the Great Divide'' is a 1951 American Western film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Kirk Douglas, Virginia Mayo, John Agar and Walter Brennan. It was Douglas's first Western, a genre that served him well during his long career ...
'' (1951)
* ''The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musi