Ken Maynard

1895-1973

Ken Maynard was born on July 21, 1895, in Mission, Texas. He was educated at the Virginia Military Institute and at fourteen joined a wagon show. After service with the Army he became a trick rider with Ringling Brothers Circus in 1923. He was signed by Independent producer J. Charles Davis for a series of eight westerns and his first starring role was in $50,000 Reward in 1924. Maynard became a tremendous success in these westerns, and he was signed by the First National to star in a series of higher-budgeted westerns from 1926 to 1929. In 1929 Maynard went to Universal where he made films that were part talking and part sound. From 1930 through 1932 he made his first series of all-talking westerns for Tiffany-Stahl Studios. He made eight westerns for World Wide Productions in 1932-33 and then returned to Universal for another series in 1933-34. He made his only serial for Mascot films, “Mystery Mountain,” in late 1934. In 1935-1936 he made a series of eight westerns for Columbia Pictures and in 1937-38 four more for Grand National. He ended his work in the 1930s by appearing in Four Colony “State-Righters,” Flaming Lead, Death Rides the Range, Phantom Rancher, and Lightning Strikes West. In 1943-1944 he teamed up with Hoot Gibson for Monogram’s famous “Trail Blazers” series. The first three-Wild Horse Stampede, The Law Rides Again, and Blazing Guns - were made by Gibson and Maynard. In the last three, Bob Steele co-starred - Death Valley Rangers, Westward Bound, and Arizona Whirlwind. Maynard’s last film, White Stallion, was made in 1945. Maynard was married for 28 years to a former Ringling Brothers aerialist who died in 1968. He keeps active performing at rodeos and state fairs. (Maynard’s horse, Tarzan, lived for over 25 years and appeared in most of his films.) He now lives quietly in San Fernando, California.

From "Western Films Heroes, Heavies and Sagebrush",
by Author F. McClure and Ken D. Jones

KEN MAYNARD DIES; ONE-TIME 101 RANCH COWBOY

Ponca City News March 25, 1973

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (AP)

“Ken Maynard, one of the first of the singing cowboys and the star of nearly 300 early western movies, is dead at the age of 77. His early days were with the 101 Ranch Wild West show. Maynard died Friday in the Motion Picture Country Hospital. He had been in failing health for some time and death was attributed to old age. He rode Hollywood’s Wild West range at the same time as Tom Mix. Buck Jones and Hoot Gibson-considered the Big Four of early Western actors. Maynard’s pioneering song was “The Lone Star Trail” in a picture of the same name. Maynard starred in the first film in 1924 and in his last 20 years later. He had drifted to Hollywood in 1923 to visit Jones and Mix and began working in the movies.”

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Ken Maynard