Guess Who

[Dismuke]

The gentleman in the photo was the star of several 1930s movies. He also achieved fame in a different career besides that of an actor. Let's see if anyone here can guess who he was.

 

[Kentucky Blues]

that isn't bob hope, is it?

 

[Dismuke]

that isn't bob hope, is it?

No - not Bob Hope.

 

[BellyTank]

Those Saddle Oxfords are just like mine...

Is he a McHugh?

B
T

 

[K.D. Lightner]

That's not an early George Murphy photo is it? The hair is different, I think his was a bit curly. But the style then was to slick in back, a la Valentino style.

Intrigung picture.

karol

 

[ITG]

audie murphy?

 

[Dismuke]

Is he a McHugh?

McHugh? I am afraid I don't even know who McHugh is. But whoever he is, he is not the person in the photo.

Here is a clue. According to the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) between 1936 and 1951 he appeared in 16 motion pictures and had the staring role in several.

 

[Dismuke]

audie murphy?

No - not Audie Murphy. However, like Murphy he was a Texan.

 

[Dismuke]

That's not an early George Murphy photo is it? The hair is different, I think his was a bit curly. But the style then was to slick in back, a la Valentino style.

Intrigung picture.

karol

Sorry I missed your posting earlier. No, it is not George Murphy either.

Let's see if we can go for another hint. This gentleman had a rather unusual name. His first name is actually very common but, at the same time, it is quite rare.

 

[ITG]

AAAAAAAH! Howard Hughes!

 

[Dismuke]

AAAAAAAH! Howard Hughes!

No. Not Howard Hughes.

Here is another hint: In addition to being an actor, he was a very well known singer. He sang in the movies, on network radio and made many, many records. You can hear him sing on this record he made in 1929 exactly one day before the stock market crashed - which make the lyrics on this recording very ironic.

The audio file is in mp3 format and is at a low enough bit rate that it should stream for most people - or you can download it and listen: Lady Luck - mp3

 

[jamespowers]

How about Roy Rogers?

 

[Dismuke]

How about Roy Rogers?

It is not Roy Rogers - but your guess is the closest so far and you are very much on the right track.

 

[jamespowers]

Ok, how about Gene Autry then? The time line sounds about right.

 

[Dismuke]

Ok, how about Gene Autry then? The time line sounds about right.

No. It is not Gene Autry. But that is not a bad guess.

Here are two more photographs of him. In the first picture, he is the man in the chair in the light colored suit. That picture was taken in 1929. All of the other people in the photo worked for him, by the way - a fact which provides yet another clue.

The second picture was taken a few years later. Both photos are accurate reflections of how he typically presented himself at different points in his career.

 

[scotrace]

Narrowing it Down

It doesn't seem to be Rex Allen or Tex Ritter...

Hmmm....

 

[BellyTank]

In case you were interested...

The McHughs I speak of were two actor brothers, active in the late '20s and '30s whose family were investors in the Movie industry...
That's all...

B
T

 

[Brad Bowers]

Sykes "Smith" Ballew , and, no, I didn't know the answer right off, just had to do some research. Sounds like an interesting fellow!


Herb Jeffries is another cowboy actor I ran across, and he sang with Duke Ellington. Apparently, he's the only black lead actor to star in B Westerns.

Brad

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Well, I don't feel so bad now. I have never heard of him. Thought I knew most of those singing cowboys, but I thought wrong....

karol

 

[Dismuke]

Sykes "Smith" Ballew , and, no, I didn't know the answer right off, just had to do some research. Sounds like an interesting fellow!

Yes, indeed, it is Smith Ballew - though he didn't ever go by "Sykes," at least professionally. He did, however, make a number of records under the pseudonym of "Buddy Blue and His Texans."

During the late '20s and early '30s he had his own band - which was heard in that recording of "Lady Luck" that I put up earlier in the thread. He was also very much in demand in the recording studios as a vocalist and performed on a ton of records recorded by a number of other bands. Here is a really nice recording he made in 1929 for the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra: Sunny Side Up Here is another he made with the Ben Selvin Orchestra earlier in that same year: Am I Blue

Smith Ballew gave up the band and his work in the recording studios in the mid 1930s to concentrate on his movie career. After he gave up movies in the early 1950s, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas where he worked for many years at Convair, which later became General Dynamics. Sadly, he is just as forgotten by the present generation here in Fort Worth as he is elsewhere.

I have a few of his singing cowboy movies. They are ok - about what you would expect of the genre. I have a great many of his recordings - mostly because he made so many records.

You can also read more about Smith Ballew at: http://www.redhotjazz.com/ballew.html