Si Jenks (born Howard Hansell Jenkins; September 23, 1876 – January 6, 1970) was an American actor. He was involved in 224 films in a career spanning nearly two decades in vaudeville and films.
His best known appearances includes ''
The Village Blacksmith
"The Village Blacksmith" is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1840. The poem describes a local blacksmith and his daily life. The blacksmith serves as a role model who balances his job with the role he plays with his family ...
'', ''
The Rider of the Law
''The Rider of the Law'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury.
Plot summary
Cast
* Bob Steele as Bob Marlow
* Gertrude Messinger as Ann Carver
* Si Jenks as Buffalo Brady
* Lloyd Ingraham as Colonel Carver
* ...
'', ''
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
Zorro's Black Whip
''Zorro's Black Whip'' is a 1944 12-chapter film serial by Republic Pictures starring Linda Stirling. The film was made after the 1940 20th Century-Fox remake of '' The Mark of Zorro'' in order to capitalize on it. Republic was not able to u ...
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...
on September 23, 1876, to parents John and Catherine Jenkins. As a young boy, Jenks would enjoy watching his local champion baseball team. On one occasion, he was summoned to act as
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
after the crowd grew dissatisfied with the person who had been appointed to adjudge the game. Jenks accepted the challenge "with boyish alacrity", surrendering his seat on a
soapbox
A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipme ...
and ultimately was accepted by the audience with his decision making.
From April 1898 to October 1898, he served in the
National Guard of the United States
The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.
Career
Jenks began his career sometime around the early 1890s in theatre, having run away from home and joined Diamond Jack's medicine show in
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...
. He later travelled over the United States with circuses and was associated with Professor Gleason, a noted horse trainer of that time. He was a comedian with the 101 ranch in 1908 and later travelled with them to Mexico.
He found early success on a
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
production of Get Rich Quick Wallingford, playing the role of the rube bus driver for 55 weeks. Jenks later moved into
Hollywood films
The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...
and took
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
roles in movie comedies from around 1921. In 1924, he commented that his work as a comedian was "the hardest work in the world", having experienced dislocated knees, nearly being blinded by stage lights and having paint thrown at him.
During the 1930s, he performed in films such as Naughty Marietta,
Stand Up and Cheer!
''Stand Up and Cheer!'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film directed by Hamilton MacFadden. The screenplay by Lew Brown and Ralph Spence was based upon a story idea by Will Rogers and Philip Klein. The film is about efforts undertaken dur ...
and
Fighting Shadows
''Fighting Shadows'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by David Selman from a screenplay by Ford Beebe, which stars Tim McCoy, Robert Allen, Geneva Mitchell, and Ward Bond.
Cast List
* Tim McCoy as Tim O'Hara
* Robert Allen as Bob ...
.
Personal life
He was married to Lilian Annie Jenkins (née ''Hartford''; 1882 – 1983), who he met during the 1920s and married in 1926 in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. She was born in
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
, Lancashire, England and began her stage career aged 4. She lived around
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' ...
since 1923. They acted on stage together during the 1920s in the act of "Si Jenks and Lilian Hartford" and later moved to a retirement facility in 1965. She was the first resident of the Motion Picture and Television Country Home and Hospital to become a centenarian. The couple had two daughters who pre-deceased Lilian Jenks, who died in June 1983.
According to his
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 ...
draft registration card, he was also earlier married to Victoria A Jenkins. Jenks and Allen were described as "two excellent acts of vaudeville" by the ''
Logansport Pharos-Tribune
The ''Pharos-Tribune'' is a Monday through Saturday (Weekend Edition) morning newspaper based in Logansport, Indiana, covering Cass County, Indiana. The newspaper and its commercial printing facility in Logansport's Industrial Park are owned by Com ...
'' in 1920 and were known as ''"The Small Town Wise Crackers"''.
Death
On January 6, 1970, Jenks died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, of complications after suffering a heart disease. His gravesite is at
Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Histor ...
in Los Angeles.
Filmography
* ''
The Village Blacksmith
"The Village Blacksmith" is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1840. The poem describes a local blacksmith and his daily life. The blacksmith serves as a role model who balances his job with the role he plays with his family ...
'' (1922)
* ''
Picking Peaches
Picking or Pickings may refer to:
Activities
* Fruit picking
* Guitar picking, various techniques for playing a guitar
* Lock picking, the art of unlocking a lock without the original key
* Nose-picking, the act of extracting mucus and/or foreign ...
'' (1924)*short
* ''
Self Defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
(1932)
* ''
Lightning Range
''Lightning Range'' is a 1933 American Western film directed by Victor Adamson and starring Buddy Roosevelt, Patsy Bellamy and Lafe McKee.Pitts p.4
Plot
Cast
* Buddy Roosevelt as Deputy Marshal Buddy
* Patsy Bellamy as Dorothy Horton
* La ...
Charlie Chan's Courage
''Charlie Chan's Courage'' (1934) is the fifth film in which Warner Oland played detective Charlie Chan. It is a remake of the 1927 silent film ''The Chinese Parrot,'' based upon the novel by Earl Derr Biggers''.'' Both are considered lost films.
...
'' (1934)
* ''
Judge Priest
''Judge Priest'' is a 1934 American comedy film starring Will Rogers. The film was directed by John Ford, produced by Sol M. Wurtzel in association with Fox Film, and based on humorist Irvin S. Cobb's character Judge Priest. The picture is set i ...
'' (1934)
* ''
Stand Up and Cheer!
''Stand Up and Cheer!'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film directed by Hamilton MacFadden. The screenplay by Lew Brown and Ralph Spence was based upon a story idea by Will Rogers and Philip Klein. The film is about efforts undertaken dur ...
'' (1934)
* ''
The Rider of the Law
''The Rider of the Law'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury.
Plot summary
Cast
* Bob Steele as Bob Marlow
* Gertrude Messinger as Ann Carver
* Si Jenks as Buffalo Brady
* Lloyd Ingraham as Colonel Carver
* ...
Fighting Shadows
''Fighting Shadows'' is a 1935 American Western film directed by David Selman from a screenplay by Ford Beebe, which stars Tim McCoy, Robert Allen, Geneva Mitchell, and Ward Bond.
Cast List
* Tim McCoy as Tim O'Hara
* Robert Allen as Bob ...