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 Private Life of Helen of Troy

    The Private Life of Helen of Troy

  • West of Broadway

    West of Broadway

  • The Law Comes to Texas

    The Law Comes to Texas

  • Beyond the Sacramento

    Beyond the Sacramento

  • A Night at the Ritz

    A Night at the Ritz

  • Sun Valley Cyclone

    Sun Valley Cyclone

  • The Roaring Twenties

    The Roaring Twenties

  • King of Hockey

    King of Hockey

  • Born Reckless

    Born Reckless

  • Stage Mother

    Stage Mother

  • The Great Divide

    The Great Divide

  • The Goose and the Gander

    The Goose and the Gander

  • The Arizona Wildcat

    The Arizona Wildcat

  • Phantom of the Plains

    Phantom of the Plains

  • She Who Gets Slapped

    She Who Gets Slapped

  • Left Over Ladies

    Left Over Ladies

  • Calling Homicide

    Calling Homicide

  • Go Into Your Dance

    Go Into Your Dance

  • The Case of the Howling Dog

    The Case of the Howling Dog

  • Vigilante Terror

    Vigilante Terror

  • Overland Mail Robbery

    Overland Mail Robbery

  • Jewel Robbery

    Jewel Robbery

  • The Gallant Legion

    The Gallant Legion

  • The Truth About Youth

    The Truth About Youth

  • Bachelor's Affairs

    Bachelor's Affairs

  • Letter of Introduction

    Letter of Introduction

  • Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

    Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

  • What Men Want

    What Men Want

  • Made on Broadway

    Made on Broadway

  • Bright Lights

    Bright Lights

  • North of the Rockies

    North of the Rockies

  • Wyoming

    Wyoming

  • Wonder Bar

    Wonder Bar

  • The Mummy

    The Mummy

  • The Drop Kick

    The Drop Kick

  • Bullets for Bandits

    Bullets for Bandits

  • In Early Arizona

    In Early Arizona

  • The Valley of Vanishing Men

    The Valley of Vanishing Men

  • Across the Sierras

    Across the Sierras

  • California Gold Rush

    California Gold Rush

  • Swing It Professor

    Swing It Professor

  • The Fabulous Texan

    The Fabulous Texan

  • Fugitive in the Sky

    Fugitive in the Sky

  • Melody for Two

    Melody for Two

  • The Big Noise

    The Big Noise

  • Topeka

    Topeka

  • Scarface

    Scarface

  • Frontiers of '49

    Frontiers of '49

  • The Maverick

    The Maverick

  • Hands Across the Rockies

    Hands Across the Rockies

  • The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

    The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

  • Kansas Territory

    Kansas Territory

  • The Man from Thunder River

    The Man from Thunder River

  • Rebel City

    Rebel City

  • It's Showtime

    It's Showtime

  • In Old Sacramento

    In Old Sacramento

  • The Return of Daniel Boone

    The Return of Daniel Boone

  • Bitter Creek

    Bitter Creek

  • Moonlight on the Prairie

    Moonlight on the Prairie

  • Pioneers of the Frontier

    Pioneers of the Frontier

  • While the Patient Slept

    While the Patient Slept

  • Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

    Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

  • Vigilantes of Dodge City

    Vigilantes of Dodge City

  • The Son of Davy Crockett

    The Son of Davy Crockett

  • Double Cross Roads

    Double Cross Roads

  • The Plastic Age

    The Plastic Age

  • The Homesteaders

    The Homesteaders

  • Chain of Evidence

    Chain of Evidence

  • Man of Iron

    Man of Iron

  • Restless Youth

    Restless Youth

  • Sudden Danger

    Sudden Danger

  • The Man from Tumbleweeds

    The Man from Tumbleweeds

  • Dangerous

    Dangerous

  • Polo Joe

    Polo Joe

  • The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

    The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

  • Sunny

    Sunny

  • The Rich Are Always with Us

    The Rich Are Always with Us

  • Hellfire

    Hellfire

  • Born to Love

    Born to Love

  • The Savage Horde

    The Savage Horde

  • Dial Red O

    Dial Red O

  • The Right to Live

    The Right to Live

  • A Successful Calamity

    A Successful Calamity

  • Merrily We Go to Hell

    Merrily We Go to Hell

  • Waco

    Waco

  • Private Detective 62

    Private Detective 62

  • Murder by an Aristocrat

    Murder by an Aristocrat

  • Traveling Saleslady

    Traveling Saleslady

  • Roaring Frontiers

    Roaring Frontiers

  • Going Wild

    Going Wild

  • Cheyenne Wildcat

    Cheyenne Wildcat

  • Smarty

    Smarty

  • Personal Maid's Secret

    Personal Maid's Secret

  • Five and Ten

    Five and Ten

  • Dr. Socrates

    Dr. Socrates

  • 'G' Men

    'G' Men

  • Down the Stretch

    Down the Stretch

  • The Girl from 10th Avenue

    The Girl from 10th Avenue

  • Cocktail Hour

    Cocktail Hour

  • Lord Byron of Broadway

    Lord Byron of Broadway

  • The Greeks Had a Word for Them

    The Greeks Had a Word for Them

  • Tucson Raiders

    Tucson Raiders

  • The Taming of the West

    The Taming of the West

  • The Case of the Black Cat

    The Case of the Black Cat

  • Sheriff of Redwood Valley

    Sheriff of Redwood Valley

  • The Showdown

    The Showdown

  • Love Takes Flight

    Love Takes Flight

  • Vengeance of the West

    Vengeance of the West

  • The Return of Wild Bill

    The Return of Wild Bill

  • Sheriff of Las Vegas

    Sheriff of Las Vegas

  • The Woman in Red

    The Woman in Red

  • Desirable

    Desirable

  • Colorado Pioneers

    Colorado Pioneers

  • Great Stagecoach Robbery

    Great Stagecoach Robbery

  • Prairie Gunsmoke

    Prairie Gunsmoke

  • Children of Divorce

    Children of Divorce

  • Footsteps in the Night

    Footsteps in the Night

  • The Merry Frinks

    The Merry Frinks

  • Trailin' West

    Trailin' West

  • Vanity Fair

    Vanity Fair

  • Midnight Mary

    Midnight Mary

  • Wagon Tracks West

    Wagon Tracks West

  • Night Parade

    Night Parade

  • Broadway Hostess

    Broadway Hostess

  • Broadminded

    Broadminded

  • Old Los Angeles

    Old Los Angeles

  • Lady with a Past

    Lady with a Past

  • San Antonio Kid

    San Antonio Kid

  • Mojave Firebrand

    Mojave Firebrand

  • Murder in the Clouds

    Murder in the Clouds

  • Napoleon, Jr.

    Napoleon, Jr.

  • China Clipper

    China Clipper

  • Traveling Husbands

    Traveling Husbands

  • The Little Giant

    The Little Giant

  • Only Yesterday

    Only Yesterday

  • Gold Diggers of 1933

    Gold Diggers of 1933

  • The Public Defender

    The Public Defender

  • Boy of the Streets

    Boy of the Streets

  • The Secret Bride

    The Secret Bride

  • The Last Bandit

    The Last Bandit

  • Broadway Gondolier

    Broadway Gondolier

  • One Hour with You

    One Hour with You

  • A Lost Lady

    A Lost Lady

  • The Lady in the Morgue

    The Lady in the Morgue

  • Night After Night

    Night After Night

  • Romance in the Air

    Romance in the Air

  • The Girl Said No

    The Girl Said No

  • The Forty-Niners

    The Forty-Niners

  • Fargo

    Fargo

  • Delicious

    Delicious

  • Guns of the Pecos

    Guns of the Pecos

  • Page Miss Glory

    Page Miss Glory

  • Platinum Blonde

    Platinum Blonde

  • Sweepstakes

    Sweepstakes

  • Two Against the World

    Two Against the World

  • Calling Wild Bill Elliott

    Calling Wild Bill Elliott

  • Hidden Valley Outlaws

    Hidden Valley Outlaws

  • Upperworld

    Upperworld

  • Handlebars

    Handlebars

  • Bullets or Ballots

    Bullets or Ballots

  • You Can't Have Everything

    You Can't Have Everything

  • Stars Over Broadway

    Stars Over Broadway

  • The Lone Star Vigilantes

    The Lone Star Vigilantes

  • Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

    Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

  • Blonde Crazy

    Blonde Crazy

  • Wagon Wheels Westward

    Wagon Wheels Westward

  • Party Husband

    Party Husband

  • Wife, Doctor and Nurse

    Wife, Doctor and Nurse

  • The Payoff

    The Payoff

  • The Road to Reno

    The Road to Reno

  • North from the Lone Star

    North from the Lone Star

  • God's Gift to Women

    God's Gift to Women

  • The Plainsman and the Lady

    The Plainsman and the Lady

  • Part Time Wife

    Part Time Wife

  • The Keyhole

    The Keyhole

  • Michael O'Halloran

    Michael O'Halloran

  • The Boy Friend

    The Boy Friend

  • Bordertown Gun Fighters

    Bordertown Gun Fighters

  • The Shamrock Handicap

    The Shamrock Handicap

  • Death Valley Manhunt

    Death Valley Manhunt

  • Registered Nurse

    Registered Nurse

  • Midnight Court

    Midnight Court

  • Working Girls

    Working Girls

  • Let's Do Things

    Let's Do Things

  • Broadway Scandals

    Broadway Scandals

  • Boots and Saddles

    Boots and Saddles

  • Lone Texas Ranger

    Lone Texas Ranger

  • The Longhorn

    The Longhorn

  • Prairie Schooners

    Prairie Schooners

  • The Wildcat of Tucson

    The Wildcat of Tucson

  • Marshal of Laredo

    Marshal of Laredo

  • She Couldn't Say No

    She Couldn't Say No

  • The Devil's Trail

    The Devil's Trail

  • The Case of the Velvet Claws

    The Case of the Velvet Claws

  • Roll Along, Cowboy

    Roll Along, Cowboy

  • The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

    The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

  • Overland with Kit Carson

    Overland with Kit Carson

  • Tank Patrol

    Tank Patrol

  • Marshal of Reno

    Marshal of Reno

  • Bells of Rosarita

    Bells of Rosarita

  • The Marshall of Trail City

    The Marshall of Trail City

  • Conquest of Cheyenne

    Conquest of Cheyenne

  • King of Dodge City

    King of Dodge City