buck-jones-c-1935-260x347.jpgBUCK JONES
Information From IMDb
Date of Birth
4 December 1889, Vincennes, Indiana, USA (some sources say 12 December 1891)
Date of Death
30 November 1942, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (fire)
Birth Name
Charles Frederick Gebhart
Height
6' (1.83 m)
Spouse
Odelle Osborne (11 August 1915 - 30 November 1942) (his death)
Trivia
His daughter Maxine Jones was born in 1918; she married actor Noah Beery Jr..
His body had been so badly burned in the Cocoanut Grove fire that skin from his fingers had been pulled off onto the fingerprint card sent to the Technical Section of the FBI's Identification Division. It took nearly 48 hours to identify the prints because so many fingers had to be searched in so many different places.
In 1928 he formed his own production company but the stock market crashed the following year and took him for everything. In response, he formed his own 'Wild West' show performing on his white steed Silver. His wife, Odille Osborne, rode her own horse "Bumper" and their 11-year-old daughter Maxine rode her little pony. The tour was also a failure, and he returned to the movies after being off screen for over a year.
On the night of the tragic Cocoanut Grove fire, a large number of guests and close friends was at the club for a combination testimonial dinner in honor of Buck and a promotional event for his "Rough Rider" series for Monogram Pictures. Although the story is that Jones managed to escape the fire but returned back inside to help rescue people, the truth is that he was trapped inside along with all the others and never made it out. Monogram's studio head Scott R. Dunlap was one of those critically injured in the fire that killed over 500 people. Buck died two days later in a hospital before his wife, who luckily was out of town that night, could reach him.
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1973.
On his World War I draft registration filed on May 28, 1917, he gave 24 years as his age.
He gave permission for his name to be used in a comic book series that was later taken over by the Dell Publishing House. The series ran roughly until 1953 and was a needed source of revenue for his wife Odille.
Profiled in "Back in the Saddle: Essays on Western Film and Television Actors", Gary Yoggy, ed. (McFarland, 1998).
Mini Biography
One of the greatest of the B-Western stars. Although born in Indiana, Jones grew up on a ranch near Red Rock in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and there learned the riding and shooting skills that would stand him in good stead as a hero of Westerns. He joined the army as a teenager and served on US-Mexican border before seeing service in the Moro uprising in the Philippines. Though wounded, he recuperated and reenlisted, hoping to become a pilot. He was not accepted for pilot training and left the army in 1913. He took a menial job with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show and soon became champion bronco buster for the show. He moved on to the Julia Allen Show, but with the beginning of the First World War, Jones took work training horses for the Allied armies. After the war, he and his wife, 'Odelle Osborne', whom he had met in the Miller Brothers show, toured with the Ringling Brothers circus, then settled in Hollywood, where Jones got work in a number of Westerns starring Tom Mix and Franklyn Farnum. William Fox put Jones under contract and promoted him as a new Western star. He used the name Charles Jones at first, then Charles 'Buck' Jones, before settling on his permanent stage name. He quickly climbed to the upper ranks of Western stardom, playing a more dignified, less gaudy hero than Tom Mix, if not as austere as William S. Hart. With his famed horse Silver, Jones was one of the most successful and popular actors in the genre, and at one point he was receiving more fan mail than any actor in the world. At the outbreak of World War II, Jones reentered the army and was sent on a bond-selling tour. On November 28, 1942, he was a guest of local citizens in Boston at the famed Coconut Grove nightclub. Fire broke out and nearly five hundred people died in one of the worst fire disasters on record. Jones was horribly burned and died two days later before his wife Dell could arrive to comfort him. Although legend has it that he died returning to the blaze to rescue others (a story probably originated by producer Trem Carr for whatever reason), the actual evidence indicates that he was trapped with all the others and succumbed as most did, trying to escape. He remains, however, a hero to thousands who followed his film adventures.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver
Filmography
Actor
1. Dawn on the Great Divide (1942) .... Buck Roberts
2. West of the Law (1942) .... Marshal Buck Roberts
3. Riders of the West (1942) .... Marshal Buck Roberts
4. Down Texas Way (1942) .... U. S. Marshal Buck Roberts
5. Ghost Town Law (1942) .... Marshal Buck Roberts
6. Below the Border (1942) .... Marshal Buck Roberts posing as John Robbins
7. Forbidden Trails (1941) .... Marshal Buck Roberts
8. The Gunman from Bodie (1941) .... Marshal Buck Roberts, alias Bob 'Bodie' Bronson
... aka Gun Man from Bodie
9. Arizona Bound (1941) .... Marshal Buck Roberts
... aka Rough Riders
10. Riders of Death Valley (1941) .... Tombstone
11. White Eagle (1941/I) .... White Eagle
12. Wagons Westward (1940) .... Sheriff Jim McDaniels
13. Unmarried (1939) .... Slag Bailey
14. California Frontier (1938) .... Buck Pearson
15. Law of the Texan (1938) .... Sergeant Buck Weaver, Texas Rangers
16. The Stranger from Arizona (1938) .... Buck Weylan
17. The Overland Express (1938) .... Buck Dawson
18. Headin' East (1937) .... Buck Benson
19. Sudden Bill Dorn (1937) .... Bill Dorn
20. Boss of Lonely Valley (1937) .... Steve Hanson
21. Hollywood Round-Up (1937) .... Buck Kennedy
22. Law for Tombstone (1937) .... Alamo Bowie
23. Black Aces (1937) .... Ted Ames
24. Smoke Tree Range (1937) .... Lee Cary
25. Left-Handed Law (1937) .... Alamo Bowie
26. Sandflow (1937) .... Buck Hallett
27. Empty Saddles (1936) .... Buck Devlin
28. The Boss Rider of Gun Creek (1936) .... Larry Day/Gary Elliott
29. Ride 'Em Cowboy (1936) .... Jess Burns
... aka Cowboy Roundup (USA: TV title)
30. The Phantom Rider (1936) .... Buck Grant
31. The Cowboy and the Kid (1936) .... Steve Davis
32. For the Service (1936) .... Buck O'Bryan
33. Silver Spurs (1936) .... Jim Fentriss
... aka Silverspurs (USA: copyright title)
34. Sunset of Power (1935) .... Cliff Lea
35. The Ivory-Handled Gun (1935) .... Buck Ward
... aka Ivory-Handled Guns
36. The Throwback (1935) .... Buck Saunders
37. Outlawed Guns (1935) .... Buck Rivers
38. The Roaring West (1935) .... Montana Larkin
39. Border Brigands (1935) .... Sergeant Buck Barry, RCMP
40. Stone of Silver Creek (1935) (as Charles Buck Jones) .... T. William Stone
41. The Crimson Trail (1935) .... Billy Carter
42. When a Man Sees Red (1934) (as Charles Buck Jones) .... Buck Benson
43. Rocky Rhodes (1934) (as Charles Buck Jones) .... 'Rocky' Rhodes
44. The Red Rider (1934) .... 'Red' Davidson
45. The Man Trailer (1934) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Track Ames aka Dan Lane
46. The Fighting Ranger (1934) (as Charles ' Buck' Jones) .... Jim Houston
47. The Fighting Code (1933) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Ben Halliday
48. Gordon of Ghost City (1933) .... Buck Gordon
49. Unknown Valley (1933) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Joe Gordon
50. The Thrill Hunter (1933) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Buck Crosby
51. The California Trail (1933) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Santa Fe Stewart
52. Treason (1933) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Jeff Connors, posing as Chet Dawson
53. Child of Manhattan (1933) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Panama Kelly
54. Sundown Rider (1932) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Camp O'Neil
... aka The Sundown Rider (USA: reissue title)
55. Forbidden Trail (1932) .... Tom Devlin
56. White Eagle (1932) .... White Eagle
57. McKenna of the Mounted (1932) .... Sergeant Tom McKenna
58. Hello Trouble (1932) .... Jeff Douglas
59. High Speed (1932) .... Bill Toomey
60. South of the Rio Grande (1932) .... Sgt. Carlos Olivarez
... aka South of Rio Grande (USA: reissue title)
61. One Man Law (1932) .... Brand Thompson
62. Ridin' for Justice (1932) .... Buck Randall
63. The Deadline (1931) .... Buck Donlin
64. Range Feud (1931) .... Sheriff Buck Gordon
65. Border Law (1931) .... Jim Houston - Texas Ranger
66. Branded (1931) .... Cuthbert Chauncy Dale
67. The Fighting Sheriff (1931) .... Sheriff Bob Terry
68. The Texas Ranger (1931) .... Jim Logan, Texas Ranger
69. The Avenger (1931) .... Joaquin Murietta aka The Black Shadow
70. Desert Vengeance (1931) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Jim Cardew
71. The Dawn Trail (1930) .... Sheriff Larry Williams
72. Men Without Law (1930) .... Buck Healy
73. Shadow Ranch (1930) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Sim Baldwin
74. The Lone Rider (1930) .... Jim Lanning
75. The Big Hop (1928) .... Buck Bronson
76. The Branded Sombrero (1928) .... Starr Hallett
77. Blood Will Tell (1927) .... Buck Peters
78. Black Jack (1927/I) .... Phil Dolan
79. Chain Lightning (1927) .... Steve Lannon
80. Good As Gold (1927) .... Buck Brady
81. Hills of Peril (1927) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... Laramie
82. Whispering Sage (1927) .... Buck Kildare
83. A Rough Shod Fighter (1927) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones)
84. The War Horse (1927) .... Buck Thomas
85. Desert Valley (1926) .... Fitzsmith
86. 30 Below Zero (1926) .... Don Hathaway Jr.
87. The Flying Horseman (1926) .... Mark Winton
88. The Gentle Cyclone (1926) .... Absolem Wales
89. Black Paradise (1926)
90. A Man Four-Square (1926) .... Craig Norton
91. The Fighting Buckaroo (1926) .... Larry Crawford
92. The Cowboy and the Countess (1926) .... Jerry Whipple
93. The Desert's Price (1925) .... Wils McCann
94. Lazybones (1925) .... Lazybones
95. Durand of the Bad Lands (1925) .... Dick Durand
96. Timber Wolf (1925) .... Bruce Standing
97. Hearts and Spurs (1925) .... Hal Emory
98. Gold and the Girl (1925) .... Dan Prentiss
99. The Trail Rider (1925) .... Tex Hartwell
100. Dick Turpin (1925) (uncredited) .... Unconfirmed Fight Extra
101. The Arizona Romeo (1925) .... Tom Long
102. The Man Who Played Square (1924) .... Matt Black
103. Winner Take All (1924) .... Perry Blair
104. The Desert Outlaw (1924) .... Sam Langdon
105. Against All Odds (1924) .... Chick Newton
106. Western Luck (1924) (as Charles Jones) .... Larry Campbell
107. The Circus Cowboy (1924) (as Charles Jones) .... Buck Saxon
108. The Vagabond Trail (1924) (as Charles Jones) .... Donnegan
109. Not a Drum Was Heard (1924) (as Charles Jones) .... Jack Mills
110. Cupid's Fireman (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Andy McGee
111. Big Dan (1923) .... Dan O'Hara
112. Hell's Hole (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Tod Musgrave
113. Second Hand Love (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Andy Hanks
114. Skid-Proof (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Jack Darwin
115. The Eleventh Hour (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Brick McDonald
116. Snowdrift (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Carter Brent
117. The Footlight Ranger (1923) (as Charles Jones) .... Bill Moreland
118. The Boss of Camp Four (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Chet Fanning
... aka The Boss of Camp 4
119. Bells of San Juan (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Roderick Norton
120. The Fast Mail (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Stanley Carson
121. West of Chicago (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Conroy Daly
122. Trooper O'Neil (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Trooper O'Neil
123. Roughshod (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... 'Steel' Brannon
124. Western Speed (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Red Kane
125. Pardon My Nerve! (1922) (as Charles Jones) .... Racey Dawson
126. Riding with Death (1921) (as Charles 'Buck' Jones) .... 'Dynamite' Steve Dorsey
127. Bar Nothing (1921) .... Duke Smith
128. To a Finish (1921) .... Jim Blake
129. Straight from the Shoulder (1921) .... The Mediator
130. Get Your Man (1921) .... Jock MacTier
131. The One-Man Trail (1921) .... Tom Merrill
132. The Big Punch (1921) .... Buck
133. Two Moons (1920) .... Bill Blunt
134. Just Pals (1920) .... Bim
135. Sunset Sprague (1920) .... Sunset Sprague
136. Firebrand Trevison (1920) .... Firebrand Trevison
137. Square Shooter (1920) .... Chick crandall
138. The Spirit of Good (1920) (uncredited)
139. Forbidden Trails (1920) .... Quinton 'Squint' Taylor
140. The Last Straw (1920) .... Tom Beck
141. The Cyclone (1920) (uncredited)
142. The Cowboy and the Rajah (1919)
143. The Feud (1919) (uncredited)
144. Cupid's Roundup (1919) (unconfirmed)
145. Breezy Bob (1919) (unconfirmed)
146. The Speed Maniac (1919) .... Bit part
147. Brother Bill (1919) .... Roy Dexter
148. Rough-Riding Romance (1919) (uncredited)
149. When Pals Fall Out (1919) .... Bill
150. Shackles of Fate (1919)
151. The Wilderness Trail (1919)
152. The Puncher and the Pup (1919)
153. The Coming of the Law (1919) (uncredited)
154. The Uphill Climb (1919) .... Rockcliffe Stone
155. Vengeance and the Girl (1919)
156. Pitfalls of a Big City (1919) (uncredited) .... Extra
157. Hell's Fury Gordon (1919) (unconfirmed)
158. Fighting for Gold (1919) (uncredited) .... Cowboy
159. The Sheriff's Son (1919) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
160. The Two Doyles (1919) .... Outlaw Henchman
161. The Desert Rat (1919) .... Standing Bear
162. The Rainbow Trail (1918) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
163. Riders of the Purple Sage (1918) (uncredited) .... Bit part
164. Selfish Yates (1918) (uncredited) .... Member of the Posse
165. True Blue (1918) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
166. Western Blood (1918) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
167. ????? (1913) .... Sergeant
