Tim McCoy
Actor
Born April 10, 1891 in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
One of the great stars of early American Westerns. McCoy was the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. At the end of World War I, he returned to his ranch in Wyoming, only to be called by Governor Bob Carry to the post of Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. The position carried with it the rank of Brigadier General (a brevet promotion) and it has been reported that this made him the youngest general officer in the U.S. Army. His reputation as a friend to the Wind River Reservation Indians, both Arapahoe and Shoshone, preceded him and in 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He resigned from the state position and recruited several hundred Indians to the Utah movie location. When the film wrapped, he was asked to choose several Indians to accompany him to Hollywood. There the production company developed a live 'prologue' to be presented just prior to the movie showing. The idea was a success and McCoy and his Indian group toured the U.S. and eventually, Europe as well. After touring this country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and eventually as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. In 1942 he ran for the Republican Nomination for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. He was defeated and returned to Hollywood and an uncertain future. In 1946 he sold his Wyoming ranch and moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the life of the gentleman farmer. While living there, he met and married Danish writer Inga Arvad. He later built a home in Nogales, Arizona where Inga subsequently died in 1973. He spent his later years as a retired rancher. He died at the U.A. Army hospital at Ft. Hauchuca, Arizona on January 29 1978 at the age of 86. Inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1974.
Filmography
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
(archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
Requiem for a Gunfighter
Judge Irving Short
Run of the Arrow
Gen. Allen (as Colonel Tim McCoy)
Around the World in 80 Days
Colonel
Injun Talk
Himself
West of the Law
Marshal Tim McCall
Riders of the West
Marshal Tim McCall
Down Texas Way
U. S. Marshal Tim McCall
Ghost Town Law
Marshal Tim McCall
Below the Border
Marshal Tim McCall
Forbidden Trails
Marshal Tim McCall
The Gunman From Bodie
Marshal Tim McCall
Arizona Bound
Tim McCall
The Texas Marshal
Marshal Trigger Tim Rand
Outlaws of the Rio Grande
Tim Barton
Riders of Black Mountain
Marshal Tim Donovan
Arizona Gang Busters
Trigger Tim Rand
Gun Code
Marshal Tim Hammond posing as Tim Hays
Frontier Crusader
Trigger Tim Rand
Texas Renegades
'Silent' Tim Smith
Trigger Fingers
'Lightning' Bill Carson
The Fighting Renegade
Bill Carson posing as El Puma
Straight Shooter
"Lightning" Bill Carson
Outlaws' Paradise
William Carson / Trigger Mallory
Texas Wildcats
'Lightning' Bill Carson
Code of the Cactus
Bill Carson
Six-Gun Trail
Captain William Carson
Lightning Carson Rides Again
Lightning Bill Carson / Jose
Phantom Ranger
Tim Hayes
Two Gun Justice
Tim
Code of the Rangers
Tim Strong
West of Rainbow's End
Tim Hart
The Traitor
Tim McCoy: Sergeant Tim Vallance - Texas Ranger
Ghost Patrol
Tim Caverly
The Lion's Den
Tim Barton
Aces and Eights
Tim Madigan
Lightnin' Bill Carson
Marshal Lightnin' Bill Carson
Border Caballero
Tim Ross
Roarin' Guns
Tim Corwin
Bulldog Courage
Slim Braddock / Tim Braddock
The Man from Guntown
Tim Hanlon
Riding Wild
Tim Malloy / Tex Ravelle
The Outlaw Deputy
Tim Mallory
Justice of the Range
Tim Condon
Fighting Shadows
Constable Tim O'Hara
The Revenge Rider
Tim O'Neil
Law Beyond the Range
Tim McDonald
Square Shooter
Tim Baxter
The Westerner
Tim Addison
The Prescott Kid
Tim Hamlin
Beyond the Law
Tim Weston
A Man's Game
Tim Bradley
Hell Bent for Love
Police Captain Tim Daley
Voice in the Night
Tim Dale
Speed Wings
Tim
Straightaway
Tim Dawson
Hold the Press
Tim Collins
Police Car 17
Tim Conlon
Rusty Rides Alone
Tim Burke
The Whirlwind
Tim Reynolds
Silent Men
Tim Richards
Man Of Action
Ranger Tim Barlow
End of the Trail
Captain Tim Travers
The Western Code
Tim Barrett
Fighting for Justice
Tim Keene
Cornered
Sheriff Tim Laramie
Daring Danger
Tim Madigan
Two-Fisted Law
Tim Clark
Hollywood on Parade
Self
The Riding Tornado
Tim Torrant
Texas Cyclone
Texas Grant
The Fighting Fool
Sheriff Tim Collins
The Fighting Marshal
Tim Benton
Shotgun Pass
Tim Walker
The One Way Trail
Tim Allen
The Indians Are Coming
Jack Manning
The Desert Rider
Jed Tyler
Sioux Blood
Flood
The Overland Telegraph
Captain Allen
Morgan's Last Raid
Capt. Daniel Clairbourne
Beyond the Sierras
The Masked Stranger
The Adventurer
Jim McClellan
The Law of the Range
Jim Lockhart
Spoilers of the West
Lieutenant Lang
Foreign Devils
Capt. Robert Kelly
The Frontiersman
John Dale
California
Capt. Archibald Gillespie
Winners Of The Wilderness
Col. Sir Dennis O'Hara
War Paint
Lt. Tim Marshall
The Vanishing American
The Thundering Herd
Burn Hudnall
The Covered Wagon