Broncho Billy Anderson

Broncho Billy Anderson (March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, director, and producer, who is best-known as the first star of the Western film genre.

Related Topics:
March 21 - 1880 - January 20 - 1971 - American - Western film

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was born Max H. Aronson to a Jewish family in Little Rock, Arkansas (Although he is claimed by Pine Bluff). Raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas till he was 8. Then he moved to St. Louis and lived there til he was 18, then he moved to New York. Anderson worked as a photographer's model and newspaper vendor before drifting into acting. He performed in vaudeville before joining forces with Edwin S. Porter as an actor and occasional script collaborator.

Related Topics:
Jew - Little Rock - Arkansas - Pine Bluff, Arkansas - Vaudeville - Edwin S. Porter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Porter's early motion picture The Great Train Robbery (1903), Anderson played three roles. After seeing the film for the first time at a vadville theater and, being overwhelmed by the audiences reaction, Anderson decided the film industry was for him. Using the stage name Gilbert M. Anderson, he began to write, direct, and act in his own Westerns. he became the first cowboy star of movies through a large collection of silent shorts in which he was known as "Broncho Billy."

Related Topics:
Motion picture - The Great Train Robbery - 1903 - Stage name - Silent

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1907, he and George K. Spoor founded Essanay Studios (S for spoor, A for anderson), one of the predominant early movie studios. Anderson gained enormous popularity in a series of hundreds of Western shorts, playing the first real cowboy hero, "Broncho Billy." Spoor stayed in Chicago running the company like a factory, while Anderson traveled the western United States by train with a film crew shooting movies.

Related Topics:
1907 - George K. Spoor - Essanay Studios - Movie studio

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writing, acting and, directing most of these movies, Anderson also found time to direct a series of "Alkali Ike" comedy Westerns starring Augustus Carney In 1916, Anderson sold his ownership in Essanay and retired from acting. He returned to New York, bought the Longacre Theatre and produced plays, but without permanent success. He then made a brief comeback as a producer with a series of shorts with Stan Laurel, but conflicts with the studio, Metro, led him to retire again after 1920.

Related Topics:
Augustus Carney - 1916 - New York - Longacre Theatre - Stan Laurel - 1920

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He resumed producing movies, as owner of Progressive Pictures, into the 1950s, then retired again. In 1958, he received an Honorary Academy Award as a "motion picture pioneer," for his "contributions to the development of motion pictures as entertainment."

Related Topics:
Progressive Pictures - 1950s - 1958 - Honorary - Academy Award

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In his seventies, Anderson came out of retirement for a cameo role in The Bounty Killer (1965).

Related Topics:
The Bounty Killer - 1965

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He died in 1971 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. He was cremated and his ashes are stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
1971 - Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital - Woodland Hills, California - Chapel of the Pines Crematory - Los Angeles

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anderson was honored posthumously in 1998 with his image on a U.S. postage stamp. In 2002, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Related Topics:
1998 - U.S. postage stamp - 2002 - Western Performers Hall of Fame - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1651 Vine Street in Hollywood.

Related Topics:
Hollywood Walk of Fame - Hollywood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~