Horses in Films
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:32 am
HORSES in FILMS
In Los Angeles, I grew up with television from the late 40's and 50's. One of the main sources of programming were western movies and the TV shows that followed. Probably the biggest stars were Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and of course, the Duke himself, John Wayne. Many stars owned their own horses, while some had their studio rent them from a local livery stable.
The best known horses were Trigger, Champion and Topper, but did you know that Trigger's original registered name was Golden Cloud? In the movie Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland is seen riding Golden Cloud, a beautiful Palomino. Roy Rogers was on the set, saw Golden Cloud and soon purchased him. Gabby Hayes (who did not learn to ride until he was 40, became famous as side kick to John Wayne, Roy Rogers and others) suggested a name change and that is how Trigger came to be.
Gene Autry, the singing cowboy and only person with five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame also had a famous horse. His name was Champion, a Palomino. Later, Autry went on to ride Champion Jr., but these horses were not related. I was fortunate enough to see another Palomino, Loco by name, ridden by Leo Carillo (Pancho in the Cisco Kid series) in a Hollywood parade. Loco's tail was brushed and groomed so that it almost touched the ground. Loco was outfitted with a very expensive, flashy and beautiful silver saddle. By the way, Duncan Reynaldo who played the Cisco Kid was born in Romania.
William Boyd who played Hopalong Cassidy was a silent film star and leading man, but was probably most popular in the early 50's on television while riding a beautiful white horse he called Topper.
John Wayne was rarely identified with one famous specific horse, but rode different horses in his many movies, among which were, Dollor (sic), Banner and Steel.
White horses were popular with many stars as Buck Jones rode a horse by the name of Silver, Ken Maynard rode Tarzan, Buster (Flash Gordon) Crabbe rode Falcon and White Flash was ridden by Tex Ritter, who also sang the theme song for the movie High Noon.
Another famous white horse and also named Silver, was the one ridden by the Lone Ranger. Many horses were so valuable and identified with their stars who rode them that they had stunt doubles. Silver's doubles included one who was good at rearing up on his hind legs. Another was a more docile one who could be around people and ridden in parades and a third which was ridden in filming of the series. However, none of the “Ranger's” horses were particularly fast as Jay Silverheels' horse Scout was faster and “Tonto” had to rein him in when racing alongside Silver. The stunt double Traveler was also used as the “Trojan Horse” during USC football games.
There are many other unsung heroes who carried their riders in person, on stage and screen. Let's not forget their acting was just as important or else the human stars would never have gotten anywhere. While one could not pick him out of a crowd, an interesting horse was the one ridden by Richard Boone who played in the series, Have Gun Will Travel. His name was Rafter.
KIR RICH
In Los Angeles, I grew up with television from the late 40's and 50's. One of the main sources of programming were western movies and the TV shows that followed. Probably the biggest stars were Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and of course, the Duke himself, John Wayne. Many stars owned their own horses, while some had their studio rent them from a local livery stable.
The best known horses were Trigger, Champion and Topper, but did you know that Trigger's original registered name was Golden Cloud? In the movie Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland is seen riding Golden Cloud, a beautiful Palomino. Roy Rogers was on the set, saw Golden Cloud and soon purchased him. Gabby Hayes (who did not learn to ride until he was 40, became famous as side kick to John Wayne, Roy Rogers and others) suggested a name change and that is how Trigger came to be.
Gene Autry, the singing cowboy and only person with five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame also had a famous horse. His name was Champion, a Palomino. Later, Autry went on to ride Champion Jr., but these horses were not related. I was fortunate enough to see another Palomino, Loco by name, ridden by Leo Carillo (Pancho in the Cisco Kid series) in a Hollywood parade. Loco's tail was brushed and groomed so that it almost touched the ground. Loco was outfitted with a very expensive, flashy and beautiful silver saddle. By the way, Duncan Reynaldo who played the Cisco Kid was born in Romania.
William Boyd who played Hopalong Cassidy was a silent film star and leading man, but was probably most popular in the early 50's on television while riding a beautiful white horse he called Topper.
John Wayne was rarely identified with one famous specific horse, but rode different horses in his many movies, among which were, Dollor (sic), Banner and Steel.
White horses were popular with many stars as Buck Jones rode a horse by the name of Silver, Ken Maynard rode Tarzan, Buster (Flash Gordon) Crabbe rode Falcon and White Flash was ridden by Tex Ritter, who also sang the theme song for the movie High Noon.
Another famous white horse and also named Silver, was the one ridden by the Lone Ranger. Many horses were so valuable and identified with their stars who rode them that they had stunt doubles. Silver's doubles included one who was good at rearing up on his hind legs. Another was a more docile one who could be around people and ridden in parades and a third which was ridden in filming of the series. However, none of the “Ranger's” horses were particularly fast as Jay Silverheels' horse Scout was faster and “Tonto” had to rein him in when racing alongside Silver. The stunt double Traveler was also used as the “Trojan Horse” during USC football games.
There are many other unsung heroes who carried their riders in person, on stage and screen. Let's not forget their acting was just as important or else the human stars would never have gotten anywhere. While one could not pick him out of a crowd, an interesting horse was the one ridden by Richard Boone who played in the series, Have Gun Will Travel. His name was Rafter.
KIR RICH
