Ken Maynard, a cowboy star who worked in Lone Pine several times, might just be the saddest success story you have ever heard. By the late 1920's and early 1930's he had achieved enormous popularity. He is noted today for his expert riding and stunts that set the standard for several decades, and for introducing the "singing cowboy" to B westerns years before Gene Autry. Yet, by the end of the decade Ken Maynard was out of pictures and living in a trailer alone, a haunted alcoholic, broke and suffering from malnutrition. He died in the Motion Picture Actors Home in March of 1973.

He is a remembered today for a quote that summed up his personal life but not his screen persona. "I've made a lot of money in this business, and have spent several fortunes foolishly, I know, but I'm just a dumb cowboy, and probably would do the same thing all over again!"

Maynard was born on July 21, 1895 in Veray, Indiana. The Studio, always more concerned with impact than truth, claimed he was born in Mission, Texas. Maynard became a trick rider with touring shows, having run away at an early age to join one of the shows that came through his hometown. His father brought him back but, now to make a career in show business, he joined the Kit Carson show and then the Ringling Brothers Wild West Show. He went into the army during WWI and came out to join Pawnee Bill's show dressed as Buffalo Bill. Throughout his career, when things got tough, Maynard would return to the rodeo and circus circuit. He entered rodeos and became a well-known champion, which led to his first screen appearance.

In 1923 he was cast in the first directorial assignment of noted Director William Wellman, which just happened to have been filmed on location in Lone Pine. The film was entitled THE MAN WHO WON, and starred Dustin Farnum. (You read about the film two issues ago). His next appearance in Lone Pine, to our knowledge, was in a 1927 film entitled SENIOR DAREDEVIL, filmed at the Ranch leased by Russ Spainhower. Russ' daughter Joy Anderson recalled Ken Maynard vividly in a recent interview. She and the other kids were big fans.

"As kids one of our favorites was Ken Maynard. He was very good looking and he had been a trick rider, could do all those fancy things on horseback. Ride on the side of a horse, leap from ground to saddle. We always cheered for Ken Maynard when we saw his picture. Kermit Maynard (a brother) was here briefly. He was with the company…probably had a job, but not a prominent part."

Joy continued, painting a picture of the kids watching quietly off to the side. "We were just kids and we sat off in the background and watched. The reflectors and the light just had to be just right. In between scenes we would all laugh. They would come over and powder Ken Maynard's face to make him look pretty. We snickered at that."

At the time of Maynard's film SENOR DAREDEVIL, the filming was done up at what the family calls "the old place." It was located behind the rodeo grounds and the Museum lot. Many of the pictures in Joy's family album are of this production. Ken Maynard's horses were kept at the corrals of the "old Place," and a special caretaker oversaw their welfare.

"The buildings were old sheep buildings. These horses were a little fancier. I started to feed one of the palominos what we fed our horses one time and the wrangler said, 'Don't do that!'
"'What's wrong with them; our horses eat them.'
"'Not these.'
"So they were well taken care of, these horses."
Tarzan was one of the most famous movie horses.
Maynard had bought the palomino in Newhall, California for $50 and named him after the Edgar Rice Burroughs character. Burroughs sued but settled out of court

Joy continued, talking about Maynard's horse Tarzan.
"There was only one Tarzan, as far as I know. But he had several doubles. He was the smart one. In the films, he always came when he was whistled for. We always used to enjoy watching Ken Maynard riding on the side of galloping horses. We would peak at him from one side." Maynard was reported to have been very close to his brilliant horse. Later his mistreatment of the horse was a sign just how badly his drinking was effecting his life.'"

SENOR DAREDEVIL was the first high budget film that Maynard did for First National and was budgeted at $75,000. Maynard brought dexterity, physical skill and a sense of humor that added to the production's popularity. Harry Joe Brown, later to work with Randolph Scott here in several Budd Boetticher directed films, was given credit for the 18 films Maynard made for First National. Maynard was a star!

Maynard moved on to Universal where he was able to have control over the production and had Brown again, this time as director. Then he moved onto Tiffany to make all sound pictures. One of his pictures made in Lone Pine was The FIDDLING BUCKAROO (1933) which Maynard himself directed. He lived up to the title of the film. In this film, Maynard fiddled, and the heroine and even the bandits performed musically. WHEELS OF DESTINY (1934), another Lone Pine film starring Maynard, also contained the title song, which he had composed when on vacation in Europe.

Even though he was drinking heavily at this time, Maynard remained in control of his movies by developing scripts, hiring directors and cast, setting shooting schedule and even overseeing editing. By 1934 things were starting to fall apart. Maynard got into screaming fights with Carl Laemmle about cost overruns. Some of the pictures were starting to be confusing and of poor quality. Finally, he was replaced by a young actor named Gene Autry for the serial PHANTOM EMPIRE: Autry had actually been introduced in a Maynard film for Mascot a year before.

Maynard became more and more difficult. WESTERN FRONTIER (1935), the first and most expensive of the eight Columbia films Maynard did next, was also made in Lone Pine and had a story supplied by Maynard. A brother and sister were separated when their wagon train was attacked and went on to grow-up one good, one bad.

In 1943 Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson, now both overweight and aging, starred in the Trail Blazers series. However, happiness and career success had passed Ken Maynard and he spent most of the rest of his life in obscurity.

(NOTE: Photos from the Russ Spainhower Family Album, thanks to Joy Anderson)