Ken Maynard

Did you know?!

1. A first

   In 1929, Ken Maynard moved successfully into talking pictures. With the Universal release The Wagon Master, he sang The Cowboy's Lament and The Lone Star Trail, making him the movies' first singing cowboy.

2. 

   A role that slipped away

   After In Old Santa Fe, producer Nat Levine replaced Maynard with Gene Autry, a singer from the supporting cast, costing Maynard the planned series of western features.

3. Own stunts

   Maynard did his own daredevil riding stunts with his white stallion Tarzan, filmed close enough for audiences to see it was him, and the footage was reused in later films.

4. A change of course

   Maynard started out at carnivals and circuses, and there he grew into a skilled horseman. As a young man he took part in rodeos and worked as a trick rider with Wild West Show.

5. Big break

   After the war, Maynard worked again in show business, riding in the Ringling Brothers circus. While the circus played in Los Angeles, California, actor Buck Jones urged him to try movies, and Fox Studios soon gave him a contract.

6. Own stunts

   Maynard could play several musical instruments. In The Fiddlin' Buckaroo he was featured on the violin, and in The Trail Drive he was featured on the banjo.