LeRoy Mason
LeRoy Franklin Mason (July 2, 1903 – October 13, 1947) was an American film actor who worked primarily in Westerns in both the silent and sound film eras. Mason was born in Larimore, North Dakota on July 2, 1903.[1]
LeRoy Mason | |
---|---|
![]() Mason in Texas Terror (1935) | |
Born | LeRoy Franklin Mason July 2, 1903 Larimore, North Dakota, U.S. |
Died | October 13, 1947 44) Van Nuys, California, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1924–1947 |
Spouse(s) | Rita Carewe (1928–1936, divorced) Bo Ling (? - ?) |
Career
1920s
Mason's first film was Hit and Run opposite Hoot Gibson (1924).[2] He was officially credited in Born to Battle (1926) opposite Tom Tyler and Jean Arthur.[2] In 1926, Mason starred in The Arizona Streak opposite Tom Tyler, Frankie Darro, and Ada Mae Vaughn.[2] Also in 1926, he starred in Lightning Hutch opposite Charles Hutchison and Edith Thornton.[2] Mason starred opposite Tom Tyler, Doris Hill, and Frankie Darro in Tom and His Pals (1926). He starred opposite William Fairbanks, Alice Calhoun, and Frank Rice in Flying High (1926).[3] He starred in Closed Gates (1928) opposite John Harron, Jane Novak, and Lucy Beaumont. Mason starred in Golden Shackles (1928) opposite Grant Withers and Priscilla Bonner. He starred in The Avenging Shadow (1928) opposite Margaret Morris. Mason starred in The Law's Lash (1928) opposite Robert Ellis and Mary Mayberry. He starred in Hit of the Show (1928), originally a silent film, opposite Joe E. Brown, Gertrude Olmstead, and William Bailey. Mason starred in Revenge (1928) Dolores del Río, James A. Marcus, and Rita Carewe.[4][5] He starred in The Viking (1928) opposite Pauline Starke and Donald Crisp.[6][7] Mason starred in Bride of the Desert (1929) opposite Alice Calhoun and Ethan Laidlaw. He starred in The Woman Who Was Forgotten (1930) opposite Belle Bennett and Jack Mower.[8]
1930s
Mason starred opposite of Lon Chaney Jr in The Last Frontier (1932).[9] He starred opposite Ray "Crash" Corrigan in The Painted Stallion (1937).[9] Mason starred opposite John Wayne in Wyoming Outlaw (1939)[10] and New Frontier (1939).[11]
1940s
Mason starred opposite David Sharpe in Silver Stallion (1941).[12] He starred opposite Wild Bill Elliott in Hidden Valley Outlaws (1944). In the film, Mason and John James sings the song Oh Susanna.[13]
Personal life and death
Mason married Rita Carewe in 1928 and divorced her in 1936. He was married to actress Bo Ling; they had no children and eventually separated.[14] A shooting accident while he worked on a film in the late 1930s caused him to lose sight in his right eye.[2]
On October 13, 1947, Mason died of "acute myocardial infarction due to coronary thrombosis" in the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital in Van Nuys, California. He had been there for 31 days after suffering a heart attack on the set of California Firebrand.[2] An Associated Press news story published October 14, 1947, says that Mason "collapsed on a Republic Studio set Monday and died a few hours later of a heart ailment."[15]
Selected filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Director (s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1924 | Hit and Run | Spectator | Edward Sedgwick |
|
1926 | Born to Battle | Daley | Robert De Lacey | Silent western film |
The Arizona Streak | Velvet Hamilton | |||
Lightning Hutch | Frank Proctor | Charles Hutchison | Silent action film | |
Tom and His Pals | Courtney | Robert De Lacey | Silent western film | |
Flying High | Lester Swope | Charles Hutchison | Silent action film | |
1928 | Closed Gates | Harvey Newell | Phil Rosen | Silent melodrama film |
Golden Shackles | Herbert Fordyce | Dallas M. Fitzgerald | Silent drama film | |
The Avenging Shadow | George Brooks, Deputy Warden | Ray Taylor | Silent action film | |
The Law's Lash | Pete Rogan - Henchman | Noel M. Smith | ||
Hit of the Show | Woody | Ralph Ince |
| |
Revenge | Jorga | Edwin Carewe | Silent drama film | |
The Viking | Alwin | Roy William Neill |
| |
1929 | Bride of the Desert | Fugitive | Duke Worne | Western film |
1930 | The Woman Who Was Forgotten | Richard Atwell | Richard Thomas |
|
The Climax | Dr. Gardoni | Renaud Hoffman | Thriller film | |
The following were with John Wayne:
- Maker of Men (1931)
- Texas Terror (1935)
- Rainbow Valley (1935)
- California Straight Ahead! (1937)
- Santa Fe Stampede (1938)
- Wyoming Outlaw (1939)
- New Frontier (1939)
Other films:
- See America Thirst (1930)
- Texas Pioneers (1932)
- Maizie (1933)
- Redhead (1934)
- Northern Frontier (1935)
- The Border Patrolman (1936)
- It Happened Out West (1937)
- Jungle Menace (1937)
- Heroes of the Hills (1938)
- The Painted Trail (1938)
- The Range Busters (1940)
- Rocky Mountain Rangers (1940)
- Triple Justice (1940)
- Across the Sierras (1941)
- Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943)
- Raiders of Sunset Pass (1943)
- Lucky Cowboy (1944)
- The Tiger Woman (1944)
- San Fernando Valley (1944)
References
Citations
- Katchmer 2009, p. 236.
- Mayer 2017, p. 205.
- Munden 1997, p. 256.
- Curtis, James (2015). William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Films to Come (1st ed.). New York City: Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0375424724.
- Goble 2011, p. 928.
- Klepper 1999, p. 493.
- Matheson 2011, p. 302.
- Paietta 2007, p. 220.
- Cline 2000, p. 125.
- Reid 2005, p. 212.
- Davis, Ronald L. (1998). Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806130156.
- Holland 1989, p. 173.
- Blottner 2011, p. 64.
- Cho & The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California 2013, p. 30.
- Associated Press (October 14, 1947). "Film Actor Leroy Mason Dies from Heart Attack". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Southam Newspapers. p. 2. Retrieved October 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- Usai 2018, p. 61.
- Helgason 2017, p. 155.
- Reid 2005, p. 237.
Sources
- Blottner, Gene (2011). Wild Bill Elliott: A Complete Filmography (Reprint ed.). New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 64. ISBN 978-0786469031.
- Cho, Jenny; The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (2013). Chinese in Hollywood. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-0738599731.
- Cline, William C. (2000). Serials-ly Speaking: Essays on Cliffhangers. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 125. ISBN 978-0786409181.
- Goble, Alan (2011) [1999]. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film (Reprint ed.). Munich: De Gruyter Saur. p. 928. ISBN 978-3598114922.
- Helgason, Jón Karl (2017). "Leif: When civilization was less civilized". Echoes of Valhalla: The Afterlife of the Eddas and Sagas (Translation ed.). Islington, London: Reaktion Books. p. 155. ISBN 978-1780237152.
- Holland, Ted (1989). B-Western Actors Encyclopedia: Facts, Photos and Filmographies for More Than 250 Familiar Faces. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 173. ISBN 978-0899503066.
- Katchmer, George A. (2009). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 236. ISBN 978-0786446933.
- Klepper, Robert K. (1999). Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 493. ISBN 978-0786405954.
- Matheson, Lister M. (2011). Icons of the Middle Ages: Rulers, Writers, Rebels, and Saints. Greenwood Icons. 1. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 302. ISBN 978-0313340819.
- Mayer, Geoff (2017). Encyclopedia of American Film Serials. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 205. ISBN 978-0786477623.
- Munden, Kenneth White (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-0520209640.
- Paietta, Ann C. (2007). Teachers in the Movies: A Filmography of Depictions of Grade School, Preschool and Day Care Educators, 1890s to the Present. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 220. ISBN 978-0786429387.
- Reid, John (2005). Movies Magnificent: 150 Must-See Cinema Classics. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press, Inc. p. 237. ISBN 978-1411650671.
- Reid, John Howard (2005). Hollywood Gold: Films of the Forties and Fifties. Hollywood Classics (Paperback ed.). Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press, Inc. p. 212. ISBN 978-1411635241.
- Usai, Paolo Cherchi (2018). Silent Cinema: A Guide to Study, Research and Curatorship (3rd ed.). Lambeth, London: British Film Institute. p. 61. ISBN 978-1844575299.