Bill Elliott

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

204

Gender

Male

Birthday

1904-10-16

Day of death

1965-11-26 (61 years old)

Place of Birth

Pattonsburg, Missouri, USA

Bill Elliott

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wild Bill Elliott (October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965) was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films. By 1925, he was getting occasional extra work in films. He took classes at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in a few stage roles there. By 1927, he had made his first Western, The Arizona Wildcat, playing his first featured role. Several co-starring roles followed, and he renamed himself Gordon Elliott. But as the studios made the transition to sound films, he slipped back into roles as an extra and bit parts, as in Broadway Scandals, in 1929. For the next eight years, he appeared in over a hundred films for various studios, but almost always in unbilled parts as an extra. Elliott began to be noticed in some minor B Westerns, enough so that Columbia Pictures offered him the title role in a serial, The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938). The serial was so successful, and Elliott so personable, that Columbia promoted him to starring in his own series of Western features, replacing Columbia's number-two cowboy star Robert "Tex" Allen. Henceforth Gordon Elliott would be known as Bill Elliott. Within two years, he was among the Motion Picture Herald's Top Ten Western Stars, where he would remain for the next 15 years. In 1943, Elliott signed with Republic Pictures, which cast him in a series of Westerns alongside George "Gabby" Hayes. The first of these, Calling Wild Bill Elliott, gave Elliott the name by which he would be best known and by which he would be billed almost exclusively for the rest of his career. Following several films in which both actor and character shared the name Wild Bill Elliott, he took the role for which he would be best remembered, that of Red Ryder in a series of sixteen movies about the famous comic strip cowboy and his young Indian companion, Little Beaver (played in Elliott's films by Bobby Blake). Elliott played the role for only two years but would forever be associated with it. Elliott's trademark was a pair of six guns worn butt-forward in their holsters. Elliott's career thrived during and after the Red Ryder films, and he continued making B Westerns into the early 1950s. He also had his own radio show during the late 1940s. His final contract as a Western star was with Monogram Pictures, where budgets declined as the B Western lost its audience to television. When Monogram became Allied Artists Pictures Corporation in 1953, it phased out its Western productions, and Elliott finished out his contract playing a homicide detective in a series of five modern police dramas, his first non-Westerns since 1938. Elliott retired from films (except for a couple of TV Western pilots which were not picked up). He worked for a time as a spokesman for Viceroy cigarettes and hosted a local TV program in Las Vegas, Nevada, which featured many of his Western films.

Known For

  • Adam-12

    Adam-12

  • The Greeks Had a Word for Them

    The Greeks Had a Word for Them

  • The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

    The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

  • The Mummy

    The Mummy

  • Going Wild

    Going Wild

  • The Rich Are Always with Us

    The Rich Are Always with Us

  • Hellfire

    Hellfire

  • Restless Youth

    Restless Youth

  • Polo Joe

    Polo Joe

  • Traveling Saleslady

    Traveling Saleslady

  • Born Reckless

    Born Reckless

  • Rebel City

    Rebel City

  • Jewel Robbery

    Jewel Robbery

  • Mojave Firebrand

    Mojave Firebrand

  • Chain of Evidence

    Chain of Evidence

  • Roaring Frontiers

    Roaring Frontiers

  • Delicious

    Delicious

  • Broadminded

    Broadminded

  • Vanity Fair

    Vanity Fair

  • Prairie Gunsmoke

    Prairie Gunsmoke

  • Bitter Creek

    Bitter Creek

  • Kansas Territory

    Kansas Territory

  • Midnight Mary

    Midnight Mary

  • Vigilante Terror

    Vigilante Terror

  • 'G' Men

    'G' Men

  • Wonder Bar

    Wonder Bar

  • Smarty

    Smarty

  • Frontiers of '49

    Frontiers of '49

  • Sunny

    Sunny

  • The Showdown

    The Showdown

  • Bright Lights

    Bright Lights

  • The Payoff

    The Payoff

  • The Homesteaders

    The Homesteaders

  • The Private Life of Helen of Troy

    The Private Life of Helen of Troy

  • Only Yesterday

    Only Yesterday

  • The Maverick

    The Maverick

  • Blonde Crazy

    Blonde Crazy

  • Cheyenne Wildcat

    Cheyenne Wildcat

  • Night Parade

    Night Parade

  • Sudden Danger

    Sudden Danger

  • Dangerous

    Dangerous

  • Colorado Pioneers

    Colorado Pioneers

  • Scarface

    Scarface

  • Topeka

    Topeka

  • The Return of Wild Bill

    The Return of Wild Bill

  • Merrily We Go to Hell

    Merrily We Go to Hell

  • Tucson Raiders

    Tucson Raiders

  • Waco

    Waco

  • The Return of Daniel Boone

    The Return of Daniel Boone

  • Hands Across the Rockies

    Hands Across the Rockies

  • Cocktail Hour

    Cocktail Hour

  • Platinum Blonde

    Platinum Blonde

  • China Clipper

    China Clipper

  • Upperworld

    Upperworld

  • Born to Love

    Born to Love

  • The Plastic Age

    The Plastic Age

  • Sweepstakes

    Sweepstakes

  • The Man from Thunder River

    The Man from Thunder River

  • The Keyhole

    The Keyhole

  • West of Broadway

    West of Broadway

  • The Roaring Twenties

    The Roaring Twenties

  • A Successful Calamity

    A Successful Calamity

  • Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

    Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

  • The Great Divide

    The Great Divide

  • Children of Divorce

    Children of Divorce

  • The Woman in Red

    The Woman in Red

  • The Man from Tumbleweeds

    The Man from Tumbleweeds

  • The Gallant Legion

    The Gallant Legion

  • Swing It Professor

    Swing It Professor

  • The Case of the Black Cat

    The Case of the Black Cat

  • The Goose and the Gander

    The Goose and the Gander

  • Vigilantes of Dodge City

    Vigilantes of Dodge City

  • The Son of Davy Crockett

    The Son of Davy Crockett

  • Personal Maid's Secret

    Personal Maid's Secret

  • Working Girls

    Working Girls

  • Made on Broadway

    Made on Broadway

  • Letter of Introduction

    Letter of Introduction

  • The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

    The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

  • The Right to Live

    The Right to Live

  • Broadway Hostess

    Broadway Hostess

  • Lady with a Past

    Lady with a Past

  • A Lost Lady

    A Lost Lady

  • Fugitive in the Sky

    Fugitive in the Sky

  • It's Showtime

    It's Showtime

  • While the Patient Slept

    While the Patient Slept

  • The Case of the Howling Dog

    The Case of the Howling Dog

  • Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

    Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

  • Night After Night

    Night After Night

  • The Drop Kick

    The Drop Kick

  • Murder in the Clouds

    Murder in the Clouds

  • King of Hockey

    King of Hockey

  • The Savage Horde

    The Savage Horde

  • Private Detective 62

    Private Detective 62

  • The Lady in the Morgue

    The Lady in the Morgue

  • Five and Ten

    Five and Ten

  • Down the Stretch

    Down the Stretch

  • The Fabulous Texan

    The Fabulous Texan

  • Lord Byron of Broadway

    Lord Byron of Broadway

  • Pioneers of the Frontier

    Pioneers of the Frontier

  • Vengeance of the West

    Vengeance of the West

  • Bullets for Bandits

    Bullets for Bandits

  • Go Into Your Dance

    Go Into Your Dance

  • The Last Bandit

    The Last Bandit

  • The Secret Bride

    The Secret Bride

  • Page Miss Glory

    Page Miss Glory

  • Murder by an Aristocrat

    Murder by an Aristocrat

  • A Night at the Ritz

    A Night at the Ritz

  • The Public Defender

    The Public Defender

  • San Antonio Kid

    San Antonio Kid

  • The Lone Star Vigilantes

    The Lone Star Vigilantes

  • The Truth About Youth

    The Truth About Youth

  • Sun Valley Cyclone

    Sun Valley Cyclone

  • Sheriff of Las Vegas

    Sheriff of Las Vegas

  • Dial Red O

    Dial Red O

  • What Men Want

    What Men Want

  • Melody for Two

    Melody for Two

  • One Hour with You

    One Hour with You

  • The Shamrock Handicap

    The Shamrock Handicap

  • The Valley of Vanishing Men

    The Valley of Vanishing Men

  • Double Cross Roads

    Double Cross Roads

  • The Big Noise

    The Big Noise

  • Moonlight on the Prairie

    Moonlight on the Prairie

  • Bullets or Ballots

    Bullets or Ballots

  • The Arizona Wildcat

    The Arizona Wildcat

  • Man of Iron

    Man of Iron

  • The Girl from 10th Avenue

    The Girl from 10th Avenue

  • Wagon Tracks West

    Wagon Tracks West

  • Beyond the Sacramento

    Beyond the Sacramento

  • Love Takes Flight

    Love Takes Flight

  • California Gold Rush

    California Gold Rush

  • The Plainsman and the Lady

    The Plainsman and the Lady

  • Guns of the Pecos

    Guns of the Pecos

  • The Road to Reno

    The Road to Reno

  • Footsteps in the Night

    Footsteps in the Night

  • Calling Wild Bill Elliott

    Calling Wild Bill Elliott

  • God's Gift to Women

    God's Gift to Women

  • Across the Sierras

    Across the Sierras

  • Overland Mail Robbery

    Overland Mail Robbery

  • Gold Diggers of 1933

    Gold Diggers of 1933

  • Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

    Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

  • Wyoming

    Wyoming

  • The Merry Frinks

    The Merry Frinks

  • Great Stagecoach Robbery

    Great Stagecoach Robbery

  • Phantom of the Plains

    Phantom of the Plains

  • Let's Do Things

    Let's Do Things

  • The Girl Said No

    The Girl Said No

  • The Law Comes to Texas

    The Law Comes to Texas

  • In Early Arizona

    In Early Arizona

  • Stars Over Broadway

    Stars Over Broadway

  • The Boy Friend

    The Boy Friend

  • Hidden Valley Outlaws

    Hidden Valley Outlaws

  • Dr. Socrates

    Dr. Socrates

  • North of the Rockies

    North of the Rockies

  • Sheriff of Redwood Valley

    Sheriff of Redwood Valley

  • Old Los Angeles

    Old Los Angeles

  • Stage Mother

    Stage Mother

  • The Forty-Niners

    The Forty-Niners

  • Wagon Wheels Westward

    Wagon Wheels Westward

  • Michael O'Halloran

    Michael O'Halloran

  • Romance in the Air

    Romance in the Air

  • In Old Sacramento

    In Old Sacramento

  • You Can't Have Everything

    You Can't Have Everything

  • The Little Giant

    The Little Giant

  • Left Over Ladies

    Left Over Ladies

  • She Couldn't Say No

    She Couldn't Say No

  • Broadway Gondolier

    Broadway Gondolier

  • Calling Homicide

    Calling Homicide

  • Two Against the World

    Two Against the World

  • Conquest of Cheyenne

    Conquest of Cheyenne

  • Desirable

    Desirable

  • Handlebars

    Handlebars

  • The Case of the Velvet Claws

    The Case of the Velvet Claws

  • Fargo

    Fargo

  • Wife, Doctor and Nurse

    Wife, Doctor and Nurse

  • She Who Gets Slapped

    She Who Gets Slapped

  • Death Valley Manhunt

    Death Valley Manhunt

  • Bells of Rosarita

    Bells of Rosarita

  • Roll Along, Cowboy

    Roll Along, Cowboy

  • The Longhorn

    The Longhorn

  • Boy of the Streets

    Boy of the Streets

  • Bachelor's Affairs

    Bachelor's Affairs

  • King of Dodge City

    King of Dodge City

  • Marshal of Laredo

    Marshal of Laredo

  • The Devil's Trail

    The Devil's Trail

  • Overland with Kit Carson

    Overland with Kit Carson

  • Lone Texas Ranger

    Lone Texas Ranger

  • Trailin' West

    Trailin' West

  • North from the Lone Star

    North from the Lone Star

  • Party Husband

    Party Husband

  • The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

    The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

  • The Wildcat of Tucson

    The Wildcat of Tucson

  • Broadway Scandals

    Broadway Scandals

  • Marshal of Reno

    Marshal of Reno

  • Bordertown Gun Fighters

    Bordertown Gun Fighters

  • Registered Nurse

    Registered Nurse

  • Boots and Saddles

    Boots and Saddles

  • Traveling Husbands

    Traveling Husbands

  • Prairie Schooners

    Prairie Schooners

  • Taming of the West

    Taming of the West

  • Part Time Wife

    Part Time Wife

  • Midnight Court

    Midnight Court

  • Napoleon, Jr.

    Napoleon, Jr.

  • Tank Patrol

    Tank Patrol

  • The Marshall of Trail City

    The Marshall of Trail City