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Chesebro in western features
and western themed serials.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

L-to-R are Franklyn Farnum, Bob Custer, and George Chesebro mixing it up in Custer's MARK OF THE SPUR (Big 4, 1932).



(Courtesy of Ed Tabor)

TEX TAKES A HOLIDAY (Argosy, 1932) was shot in "Multicolor", an early two-strip color process. Robert J. Horner was the producer. The star was Wallace MacDonald (with light blue shirt and moustache above), and he had a brief fling in front of the camera before becoming a B film producer at Columbia Pictures. He also worked for Multicolor. The player with the handful of knives is Steve Clemento / Clemente, who was a knife-throwing expert. On the far right with the brown suit is George Chesebro. TEX TAKES A HOLIDAY (Argosy, 1932) is one of the lost / missing westerns.



(Courtesy of Jay Wilsey's granddaughter and
daughter, Tamera Mankini and Frances Eldene Wolski)

Left to right are William Barrymore / Boris Bullock (in vest), Duke Lee (suited man with the badge), George Chesebro, Genée Boutell and hero Buffalo Bill Jr. (Jay Wilsey) in a scene from THE WHIRLWIND RIDER (American Pictures, 1933), a grade Z oater churned out by Robert J. Horner. Genée Boutell and Wilsey were husband and wife.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Left to right are Lafe McKee, George Chesebro, Jack Perrin, Slim Whitaker, Benny Corbett (on Whitaker's back), and at the desk is Charles K. French. Scene from RIDIN' GENTS (Reliable, 1934), one of the Bud 'n' Ben shorts starring Perrin and Corbett.



(From Old Corral collection)

Left to right are a young Fay McKenzie, hero Buddy Roosevelt, Frances Morris, and George Chesebro in BOSS COWBOY (California Motion Picture Enterprises/Superior, 1934). Fay McKenzie is best remembered for her work with Gene Autry at Republic, where she was the feminine interest in DOWN MEXICO WAY (Republic, 1941), SIERRA SUE (Republic, 1941), HOME IN WYOMIN' (Republic, 1942), HEART OF THE RIO GRANDE (Republic, 1942) and COWBOY SERENADE (Republic, 1942).



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above is Frank McGlynn, Jr. (as George Armstrong Custer) - and holding the flag is George Chesebro - in a chapter 15 lobby card from CUSTER'S LAST STAND (Weiss/Stage and Screen, 1936). Chesebro played a cavalry officer court-martialed for drunkenness and spends most of the serial on the wrong side of the law. Transformed at the end, he holds up the flag and dies with Custer at the Little Big Horn.



Courtesy of Boyd Magers)

Left to right are George Chesebro, Emmett Vogan, Anderson Lawler, Dick Foran, Tom Brower, and Patricia Walthall in a scene from Foran's EMPTY HOLSTERS (Warners, 1937).



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

In OUTLAWS OF SONORA (Republic, 1938), Bob Livingston had dual roles as Three Mesquiteers character 'Stony Brooke' as well as baddie 'Dude Brannen'. In the barroom brawl finale, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan (as 'Tucson') is on the left and has Merrill McCormick subdued. On the right, Max Terhune (as 'Alibi') is caring for George Chesebro. And in the center, Bob Livingston (as 'Stony') is besting the duplicate Stony.



(Courtesy of the Robert Webb Family)

Above is the cover of the pressbook for Bob Steele's SMOKY TRAILS (Metropolitan, 1939), one of eight films that Bob starred in for Harry S. Webb's Metropolitan Pictures company in 1939-1940. That's Steele mixing it up with Bob Terry at the top. Frank Larue is wearing the badge in the lower left. And Ted Adams and George Chesebro are beatin' up on Steele in the bottom right. The heroine is incorrectly listed as Joan Carmen - she's Jean Carmen and is best remembered as the rider of the paint horse in Republic's 1937 serial THE PAINTED STALLION.



(From Old Corral collection)

L-to-R are cowboy star Jack Randall, Kenne Duncan, Glenn Strange, Jack Perrin, and George Chesebro.  Carl Mathews is in back with the neckhold on Strange. From Randall's LAND OF SIX GUNS (Monogram, 1940).



(From Old Corral collection)

Above - Steve Clark (middle) tries to break up a brawl between hero Jack Randall and George Chesebro in LAND OF SIX GUNS (Monogram, 1940). The mild-mannered Clark was the "brains heavy" in this film.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above- Tim McCoy tends to a wounded George Chesebro in McCoy's RIDERS OF BLACK MOUNTAIN (PRC, 1940). Chesebro was a gang member reporting to Jack Rutherford and Alden 'Stephen' Chase.



(From Old Corral collection)

Above is the title lobby card from THE LONE RIDER AMBUSHED (PRC, 1941). In this yarn, George Houston has a dual role - as Tom Cameron (The Lone Rider) and outlaw Keno Harris. L-to-R are George Chesebro, Jack Ingram, Frank Hagney (kneeling) and an unidentified performer. In this, Hagney was "Blackie Dawson", the brains heavy. In the inset on the lower left, Houston is about to launch a right hand at an unidentified player, while Jack Ingram and barkeep Ralph Peters look on. Notice anything unusual about the large image of Houston on the right? Take a look at his six-shooter ... and note the flip-out cartridge loading gate and cartridge ejector on the left side of the sixgun. The Colt Single Action has the loading gate and ejector on the right side. That image of George has been reversed. Not the first error in a lobby card or poster.



(From Old Corral collection)

Left to right are George Chesebro, Bill "Cowboy Rambler" Boyd, Art Davis - with a neck hold on Glenn Strange - and Lee Powell on the stairs in the title lobby card from ROLLING DOWN THE GREAT DIVIDE (PRC, 1942). This was one of the six 'Frontier Marshal' trio series.



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Left to right are George Chesebro, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, Budd Buster (top hat), Jimmy Aubrey, Archie Ricks, and Herman Hack in a saloon scene from the Range Busters BOOT HILL BANDITS (Monogram, 1942). The partial face behind Corrigan's left shoulder is Richard Cramer doing barkeep duty.



(From Old Corral collection)

Cornering Bob Steele are veteran baddies Al Ferguson (left) and George Chesebro (right) in a lobby card from DEATH VALLEY RANGERS (Monogram, 1943). Both Ferguson and Chesebro were born in 1888, and in their mid fifties. This was the fourth Trail Blazers film ... and the first with Bob Steele (which made the Trail Blazers a trio versus the earlier duo of Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson).



(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Left to right are Dennis Moore, Bud Osborne, and George Chesebro in a scene from one of the last of the Range Busters series, COWBOY COMMANDOS (Monogram, 1943). Take a gander at Dennis Moore's unique gunbelt with twin six-shooters - it has buckles on the left and right side, not a single buckle in the center.



(From Old Corral collection)

Above - 5 feet, 11 inches tall George Chesebro with Sunset Carson in SANTA FE SADDLEMATES (Republic, 1945).



(Courtesy of Pat LaRosa)

Left to right are George Chesebro, Chick Hannan/Hannon, Charles Starrett, and a very old looking Bob Kortman in a lobby card from GUNNING FOR VENGEANCE (Columbia, 1946), one of Starrett's Durango Kid series.

On the trail of George Chesebro.

  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on George Chesebro: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0156173/

The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), California Death Index, newspapers, trade publications, and the death certificate provide more on George Chesebro and family. The Chesebro family genealogy website (link further down this webpage) mentions that George's first wife was Dolly Higgins Chesebro. There is an April 15, 1908 marriage license for George and Emma A. Higgins - perhaps Dolly was her nickname. George's second marriage was to Sophie / Sophia Gladys Barman in 1922 and they were together through his passing in 1959.

  • Birth index record (not the birth certificate) for George Newell Chesebro, born July 29, 1888 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, and parents were James Fred Chesebro and Margaret Bell Grant: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDMC-Z6P
  • 1890 census is unavailable - it was lost in a 1921 fire (and water damage) at the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C.
  • 1900 census summary and census takers worksheet - living in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota were 40 year old James F. Chesebro (born Connecticut; occupation "Manager - R G Dunn Co."), his 37 year old wife Margaret B. (born Kentucky), 12 year old son George N., and two other sons: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M9SV-M9Q
  • 1905 Minnesota census - living in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota were James F. Chesebro (occupation "Mgr - R. G. Dunn Co."), wife Margaret, and four sons, one of which is 17 year old George N. Chesebro: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SP37-1MF
  • April 15, 1908 Hennepin County, Minnesota marriage application and license of 20 year old George N. Chesebro and 19 year old Emma A. Higgins. George's mother Margaret was a witness at the marriage:
    https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJGB-9N4X
    https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKNT-6K9
  • 1910 census summary and census takers worksheet - 21 year old Emma Chesebro (born Minnesota; occupation "Actress - Vaudeville") was living in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota with her parents, George B. Higgins and Emma Higgins. The census takers worksheet shows 1 child born to Emma Chesebro (possibly an error as there is no Chesebro child shown). George was not present: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2G4-R97
  • World War I draft registration dated June 5, 1917 - 28 year old George Newell Chesebro was born July 29, 1888 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was married (wife's name not listed); home address was 1746 Wilcox Avenue, Hollywood, California; occupation/employer was "Photo Player-Universal Film Co."; and he was responsible for support of wife and mother: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-26182-10524-61?cc=1968530
  • December 8, 1917 Motion Picture News - "Members of the Triangle producing organization, and friends of the film colony, are this week offering consolation to George Chesebro of the Triangle organization, who is mourning the death of his mother which occurred at a Los Angeles hospital early last week."
  • Veterans Administration index card for George N. Chesebro, Private, Battery A, 143rd Field Artillery, and he served from July 23, 1918 to January 10, 1919: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZC-FSR7
  • April 14, 1922 Los Angeles marriage license of 32 year old George Newell Chesebro (occupation "Actor") and 27 year old Sophie Barman. Both were divorced, and this was the second marriage for both: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K889-DVF
  • April 29, 1922 issue of Camera! magazine had marriage news - "George Chesebro, motion picture serial star, and Sophie Barman, a member of Hollywood's younger social set, were united in marriage recently. The bridal pair are now honeymooning in the Yosemite, where Mr. Chesebro's company is shooting exterior location scenes for the sixth picture of the N. W. Mounted Police series ..."
    May, 1922 marriage announcements in Moving Picture World and Variety had her as Sophia Barman.
  • 1930 census summary and census takers worksheet - renting at 260 Oakhurst Drive, Beverly Hills Township, Los Angeles County, California were 41 year old George N. Chesebro (born Minnesota), his 32 year old wife Sophie G. (born California), and 11 year old stepson Fred A. Basman / Barman (born California). George was a World War I veteran and occupation was "Actor - Motion Pictures": https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCFF-QQK
  • 1940 census summary and census takers worksheet - 53 year old George N. Chesebro (born Minnesota), 50 year old wife Sophia G. (born California), 21 year old stepson Fred A. Barnum [sic] (born California; occupation "Mail clerk - Motion Pictures"), and 54 year old sister-in-law Albena G. Jones were living in Los Angeles. The Chesebro family owned their home at 4736 Morella (sp?), Los Angeles, and lived in the Los Angeles area in 1935. George's occupation was "Actor - Motion Pictures", and in 1939, he worked 26 weeks and earned $2166.00: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K9H2-H5Q
  • 1942 World War II draft registration: George Newell Chesebro was born July 29, 1888 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and his occupation was "Free Lance Motion Picture Actor - Various studios". He was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds. He and wife Sophie Gladys Chesebro lived at 11759 Blix Street, North Hollywood: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-16367-14118-22?cc=1861144
  • 1950 census summary and census takers worksheet - living in Los Angeles were 61 year old George N. Chesebro (born Minnesota: occupation "Actor - Motion Picture") and his 61 year old wife Sophie G. (born California): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XG7-RV3K?lang=en
  • Death certificate: George Newell Chesebro was born July 29, 1888 in Minnesota; occupation was "Actor - Free Lance - Motion Picture"; wife was Sophie G. Chesebro; he was a World War I veteran; parents were James F. Chesebro (born Connecticut) and Margaret B. Grant (born Kentucky). He passed away at his home at 1929 Manhattan Avenue, Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles County, California on May 28, 1959. Cause of death was Decompensated Left Heart Failure (1 year duration), Hypertension (15 years duration) and Arteriosclerosis (20 years duration). Cremation at Pacific Crest Crematory.
  • California Death Index mirrors the death certificate - George Newell Chesebro was born 7/29/1888 in Minnesota, Mother's maiden name of Grant, and he passed away on 5/28/1959 in the Los Angeles area: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPNC-9L1
  • May 29, 1959 Torrance, California Daily Breeze had a death and funeral announcement for Chesebro: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-breeze-death-notice-for-actor/176853971/
  • Find A Grave confirms that Chesebro was cremated and cremains scattered in an unmarked garden area at Pacific Crest Cemetery, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles County, California: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9918842/george-chesebro
  • California Death Index and Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for George's second wife, Sophie / Sophia Chesebro. She was born March 5, 1889 in California and passed away October 5, 1983:
    https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VG13-NZK
    https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JTCQ-12Q

Chesebro family genealogy site confirms his full name of George Newell Chesebro, date and birthplace of July 29, 1888 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and he passed away May 28, 1959 in Los Angeles.

Go to the Chesebro website search page, and enter George Chesebro in the last name and first name fields. On the subsequent page, scroll down the list of names in the left side column until you find

Chesebro, George Newell

and click on that. When the search is done, you should find a record for George Chesebro, his wife Dolly Higgins Chesebro, and info on his father (Chesebro, James Fredrick "Fred" (1860 - 1907)); his mother (Grant, Margaret Bell (1861-1917)); and their five children (which includes George).

The search page is at: http://www.chesebro.net/tng/searchform.php


Links.

YouTube has Roy Rogers in TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD (Republic, 1950) and George is one of Roy's movie buddies who give help. He says to youngster Carol Nugent that "after making twenty pictures with Jack Holt, he reformed me Honey." By the way, Chesebro introduces himself as "Hi boys ... I'm George Chesebro" - and he pronounces his last name as "Cheese bro", not "Chez bro". Link to that intro from George: https://youtu.be/qgqBEsK1ao8?t=3292

You can view or download WOLFBLOOD (Ryan Bros. Productions, 1925) from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22wolfblood%22+%2B%22chesebro%22

Boyd Magers Western Clippings website has a profile on Chesebro: http://www.westernclippings.com/heavies/georgechesebro_charactersheavies.shtml

Daniel Neyer's "The Files of Jerry Blake" serial website has more on George Chesebro doing serials: https://filesofjerryblake.com/serial-henchmen/george-chesebro/

George shows up in a few Three Stooges comedy shorts at Columbia Pictures: https://threestooges.net/cast/actor/429/


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