My Train of Thought

THE FINAL ROUNDUP

TCM’s month-long tribute to the singing cowboys has come to an end; however, three more horses will be spotlighted here.  Rex Allen was the first of the evening to appear on the screen.    For some studios making westerns, the actor was required to furnish his own horse and clothing.  So, on to the horse….

 

Allen’s horse had unusual markings – a dark chocolate, chestnut body with white mane and tail.   In his own words, Mr. Allen stated that “purposely I looked for a horse that was different, that no cowboy had used”.   Dubbed "The Miracle Horse of the Movies", Koko, a Quarter and Morgan mix was Rex’s personal equine.  Rex was determined to be different from other cowboys who preceded him.  In addition to finding a unique horse, he wore his guns backwards in their holsters. Allen acquired Koko at the age of ten after he arrived in California from famed Hollywood trainer Glen Randall.  Randall, who also trained Trigger, continued to train Koko until his death.  Ironically, Koko was supposed to have been Dale Evans’ horse, but the stallion proved too much for her to handle.  Rex, on the other hand, was a very good horseman and provided the firm hand needed for this horse to appear in movies.  Koko had his own IMDb, and while only thirteen films are listed, the steed was featured in about thirty, though many of his appearances were made before animals were credited along with their human counterparts.  

Unlike many famous horses, Koko’s unique color combination made it difficult to provide doubles for him, so he had to perform most of his own stunts.  And while some horses were dyed in an attempt to resemble Koko, they were used primarily for long distance shots.  As Rex himself put it, “I just had to run Koko to death on nearly every film because we just couldn’t double him that close.”  For five years, Rex and Koko were a team in the movies and then they went on tour together until the horse was retired in 1963.  Both man and horse maintained a hectic schedule, for in the summers, Allen and Koko would perform in rodeos, theaters and auditoriums across the country, and then return to Hollywood for a week of movie filming.  One of the tricks for Koko was lying down next to Rex and then pulling the blankets off Rex with his teeth and onto himself.

Koko had many offspring as a stud, although Rex kept only one who resembled his father.  He was named Koko Jr. and he made public appearances with Allen, but the colt never had the same abilities as his father.  The Miracle Horse spent the rest of his days on Allen’s Diamond X Ranch until his death.   

  

Originally, he was buried on the ranch; however, when Rex relocated to a ranch near Tucson, he created Railroad Park in Willcox, Arizona, his home town.  A life-sized bronze statue of Allen was placed in the park; and Koko was exhumed and reburied at the foot of the statue.  The grave marker states Koko was 27 and bears a tribute to the horse.

The first film, Under Mexicali Stars, featured veteran bad guy Roy Barcroft and Buddy Ebsen as Rex’s sidekick.  The second one, The Last Musketeer, featured Slim Pickens as Allen’s companion.  In later years, Rex lent his distinctive voice for the narration of the wildlife segments on The Wonderful World of Disney.  As for the two familiar faces who rode along with Allen, Ebsen would go on to appear as George Russel in Disney’s Davy Crockett, Barnaby Jones in the show of the same name and later as Jed Clampett in The Beverly Hillbillies.  Slim Pickens would guest star on many television series of the 1950s-1960s.  Slim, a lifelong friend to Allen was also an artist, and some of his art hung in Rex’s home.

Before mentioning the noble steed, I feel it’s important to say a bit about his rider, Herb Jeffries, known as “The Bronze Buckaroo”.  Mr. Jeffries was born in Detroit as Herbert Jeffrey.  His mother, a Caucasian of Irish descent, ran a boarding house.  His father had Sicilian, Ethiopian, French, Italian and Moorish roots, although Herb never really knew him.  Growing up, his neighborhood had many multicultural families, so racial bias was not found in his environs, while prevalent in other parts of the city and country.  A move to Chicago afforded Herb the singing opportunities with clubs and bands that included Duke Ellington, and would benefit him in years to come.  While not the first African American cowboy to appear on the silver screen, as the first Black singing cowboy, he may have been the most influential.  Mr. Jeffries appeared in the first all black western after the introduction of talkies.  Both Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938) and Harlem Rides the Range (1939) were shot at H.B. Murphy’s Black Dude Ranch in Victorville, California.  Jeffries was no stranger to horses as he learned to ride on his grandfather’s dairy farm in northern Michigan.  And like so many other youths of the day, he spent his Saturday afternoons watching white cowboys Buck Jones and Tom Mix on the big screens of Detroit theaters.  A proponent of African American dignity, Jeffries refused to take parts in all-white films or those that placed men of color in subservient or demeaning roles.  He pondered why there were no black cowboy pictures, and thus he began the quest of obtaining financing for western serials featuring African American actors. 

 Unlike some of the other equines, very little is known of Stardusk.  He was born on a ranch in Santa Ynez, California, although the ranch name and his owner are unknown.  Two weeks before filming the first picture,  Jeffries spent time getting acquainted with Stardusk.   As Jeffries stated, “We were pretty much in love with each other”.   Part of Jeffries’ contract was for the studio to purchase Stardusk.  Jeffries would visit

  him often as he had relocated from Detroit to a boarding house in L.A.  As soon as Stardusk would see Jeffries, he’d start whinnying.  Once these films ended, Stardusk was returned to his native ranch and no other information is available including how long he lived.  His name was a bit distinctive and as indicated in the poster at the right, he was often called Stardust.  His name was perfect, with dusk as the twilight of the day while his coat was as bright as a star.

 

  
A stark contrast was evident between rider and horse.  Jeffries, dressed in a dark cowboy outfit, yet sporting a light colored or white hat, sat atop this majestic white horse.  As Tonto would say, Stardusk was “silver white”.  While his trappings were not as elaborate as some of the other horses from films, his bridle and breastplate stood out against his white coat.  

Two-Gun Man from Harlem had some well known Black actors such as Mantan Moreland, who portrayed Jeffries’ brother and sidekick.  Moreland, known for his wide-eyed expressions, appeared as Charlie Chan’s chauffeur or in horror films. 


 

 After eight years as one of the 

famous Little Rascals, Matthew “Stymie” Beard left the Gang, and worked in a variety of films including this one.  

Spencer Williams, Jr. not only appeared in the films, but he wrote the screenplay for Harlem Rides the Range.  He was best known as Andy of the popular Amos ‘n’ Andy show.  

  

Harlem Rides the Range (1939) was Jeffries’ last film as music called him back from the ranches and horses.  He recorded songs through the 1940s and appeared on television shows as of 1967 on up through the 1970s.  Still living, Mr. Jeffries attended the TCM Hollywood event in April.

 

Tarzan - note spot on forehead

Born in 1925, Tarzan, "The Wonder Horse" was a star of 63 movies, circus, and rodeo.   He was half Arabian and half American saddle horse.  In the mid 1920s, Ken Maynard purchased the horse for $50 and was also his trainer.  Tarzan was an incredibly intelligent animal.  In the silent films, a hand signal beckoned the horse and when talkies were the norm, a simple whistle summoned the steed who came at a full gallop.  Maynard named his horse after the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character.  Burroughs was not pleased, so he sued Maynard. Part of the out of court settlement was that the horse’s name be changed so he became Tarzan the Wonder Horse.

While there was only one Tarzan, he too had his stunt doubles.  These look-alike horses were used in the chase and hard riding scenes so as not to risk injuring Tarzan.  They also performed the dangerous stunts, much the same way Little Trigger did for his original counterpart.  This horse was another who was featured at the top of the credits and his likeness graced many posters, lobby cards and comic books.  The bond between cowboy and horse was phenomenal by the number of tricks that Maynard taught Tarzan which have never been duplicated in films.  As one source indicated: 

While previous Wonder Horses had been used by their cowboy costars to perform impressive stunts, actor Ken Maynard was the first to take advantage of the merits of a talented horse. While Tarzan could perform stunts like jumping off cliffs, he was known better for his tricks, such as dancing, bowing, nodding his head to answer questions, playing dead, untying ropes, dragging Maynard to safety, or nuzzling him into the arms of the leading lady.

Gene Autry & Smiley Burnette

When Tarzan died in 1940, Ken was devastated.  He attempted to replace the palomino with a white horse named Tarzan II, but this horse did not have the same potential.  Ken Maynard was the pioneer for the singing cowboy and horse star tradition.  In fact, Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette appeared in some of Maynard’s early westerns.  Gene owed part of his success to the pattern from Maynard that he imitated.

findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8425882

classicmovies.org/articles/aa092897

b-westerns.com/rallen

herbjeffries.com/HJarticles/CST051393

herbjeffries.com/bronzebuckaroo.

herbjeffries.com

findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11572372

Wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Horses

Good-bye, Amigos!  See you soon!