Kenneth Olin Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

stars in Hollywood. Maynard was also an occasional

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. In 1960, he was honored with a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

for his contributions to the film industry.

Biography

Maynard was born in

Vevay, Indiana Vevay ( ) is a town located in Jefferson Township and the county seat of Switzerland County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,683 at the 2010 census. History The first settlers who arrived in 1802 were Swiss im ...

, United States, one of five children, another of whom, his

lookalike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

younger brother, Kermit, would also become an actor; most audience members assumed that Kermit was his brother's identical twin. Ken Maynard began working at

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

s and

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

es, where he became an accomplished horseman. As a young man, he performed in

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

s and was a trick rider with ''

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

Wild West Show Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of ...

''. Maynard served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, Maynard returned to show business as a circus rider with

Ringling Brothers The Ringling brothers (originally Rüngling) were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers ...

. When the circus was playing in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, actor

Buck Jones Buck Jones (born Charles Frederick Gebhart; December 12, 1891 – November 30, 1942) was an American actor, known for his work in many popular Western movies. In his early film appearances, he was credited as Charles Jones. Early life, milita ...

encouraged Maynard to try working in the movies. Maynard soon had a contract with

Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

.Phillips, Robert W. ''Singing Cowboy Stars''. Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith, 1994. pp. 14-16 He first appeared in silent motion pictures in 1923 as a stuntman or supporting actor. In 1924, he began working in western features, where his horsemanship and rugged good looks made him a cowboy star. Maynard's silent features showcased his daredevil riding, photographed fairly close so audiences could see that Maynard was doing his own stunts with his white stallion "Tarzan." The action scenes were so spectacular that they were often reused in films of the 1930s, starring either Maynard himself or

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

, or

Dick Foran John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. Early years Foran was born in Flemington, New Jers ...

. (Wayne, and later Foran, starred in westerns for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and were costumed like Maynard to match the old footage.) Maynard made a successful transition to talking pictures and became the movies' first singing cowboy in 1929 Talkie Hit from Universal Picture "The Wagon Master" were he sang both The Cowboy's Lament and The Lone Star Trail. He recorded eight songs for Columbia Records "The Cowboy's Lament (Columbia 2310-D 149832 and "The Lone Star Trail" (Columbia 2310=D 149833) became the only issued album. Ken Maynard gifted the eight one sided pressings of his 4/14/1930 recording session with Columbia Records to the John Edwards Memorial Foundation. Fiddlin' Buckaroo lobby card

Maynard's first talkies were made for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. His reckless screen personality spilled over into his private life, with alcoholism and high living resulting in production delays and temper tantrums on the set. This made Maynard a problem employee, and he was released from Universal after one year. Other independent producers took a chance on the hotheaded star—among them

Tiffany Productions Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overal ...

and

Sono Art-World Wide Pictures Sono Art-World Wide Pictures was an American film distribution and production company in operation from 1927 to 1933. Their first feature film was ''The Rainbow Man'' (1929), while one of their most prominent was ''The Great Gabbo'' (1929) starri ...

—before he returned to Universal in 1933. Maynard played several musical instruments, and was featured that year on the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

in ''The Fiddlin' Buckaroo'', and on the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

in ''The Trail Drive''. Author James Horwitz has recounted the end of Maynard's tenure at Universal: when studio head

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

asked Maynard why his latest production was such a very bad picture, the frustrated Maynard retorted, "Mr. Laemmle, I have made you ''eight'' very bad pictures," and walked out on Laemmle and Universal.Horwitz, James. ''They Went Thataway'' (1978). Ballantine Books; . In 1934, producer

Nat Levine Nat Levine (July 26, 1899 – August 6, 1989), was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. He was personal secretary to Marcus Loew, formed Mascot Pictures in 1927, and merged Mascot with Herbert Yates's Rep ...

hired Ken Maynard for a serial, ''Mystery Mountain,'' and planned to make a series of western features with Maynard, beginning with ''In Old Santa Fe''. Maynard's unprofessionalism cost him the job; after ''In Old Santa Fe'' Levine replaced Maynard with a singer in his supporting cast,

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

. Maynard kept working in Hollywood, but in smaller productions, until 1940. He returned to the screen in 1943 for low-budget

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

in a new series called "The Trail Blazers." He was teamed with fellow veteran stars

Hoot Gibson Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson (August 6, 1892 – August 23, 1962) was an American rodeo champion, film actor, film director, and producer. While acting and stunt work began as a sideline to Gibson's focus on rodeo, he successfully transitione ...

and Bob Steele, and the trio offered action for the kids and nostalgia for their elders. It was not long before Maynard's raging temperament again cost him the job; he liked Gibson but did not like Steele, and left the series after seven films. One final film, ''Harmony Trail'', was made by independent producer Walt Mattox in 1944; just as one of Maynard's films had introduced cowboy star

, this final Maynard film introduced the new singing cowboy Eddie Dean. Maynard turned his back on the movies and made appearances at

state fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

s and rodeos. He owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders, but eventually lost it to creditors. His substantial wealth had vanished, and he lived a desolate life as an alcoholic in a rundown trailer. During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown benefactor, long thought to be

. More than 25 years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to the screen in two small roles in ''

Bigfoot Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...

'' (1970) and '' The Marshal of Windy Hollow'' (filmed in 1972 but never released).

Death

Maynard died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

in 1973 at the

Motion Picture Home The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cypress Cemetery, in

Cypress, California Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 50,151 at the 2020 census. History The first people living in the area now known as Cypress were the Gabrieleno, a Native American tribe of the Ton ...

. Maynard's funeral is described in detail in James Horwitz's book '' They Went Thataway''. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ken Maynard has a star on the

at 6751 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography

References

External links

*
b-westerns bio

Ken Maynard Collection at the Autry National Center
*
The Colt Revolver in the American West—Ken Maynard's Single Action Army Pair

Ken Maynard
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Maynard, Ken 1895 births 1973 deaths American male film actors Singing cowboys American stunt performers United States Army personnel of World War I Burials in Orange County, California Male actors from Indiana Wild West shows Male Western (genre) film actors People from Vevay, Indiana 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers Columbia Pictures contract players Trick riding 20th-century American male singers