Ken Maynard
Ken Maynard (21 July 1895 – 23 March 1973) was an American motion picture stuntman and actor and "singing cowboy".
Born Kenneth Olin Maynard in Vevay, Indiana, he was an accomplished horseman. As a young man, he performed in rodeos and was a trick rider with Buffalo Bill 's Wild West Show and a circus rider with Ringling Brothers. During World War I, he served in the United States Army.
He first appeared in silent motion pictures in 1923 and in addition to acting also did stunt work. Maynard became one of the first singing cowboys with Columbia Records and was also one of the first to make a star out of his white stallion named "Tarzan". With his white cowboy hat, fancy shirt, and pair of six-shooters, from the 1920s to the mid-1940s, Maynard appeared in more than 90 films. However, his alcoholism severely impacted his life and his career ended in 1944. He owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders but eventually lost it to creditors.
The significant amount of money he had earned vanished and he lived a desolate life in a rundown mobile home. During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown benefactor, long-thought to be Gene Autry.
More than 25 years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to two small parts in films in 1970 and 1972.
Ken Maynard died penniless in 1973 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cypress Cemetery in Cypress, California. Maynard's funeral is described in detail in James Horwitz's book They Went Thataway.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ken Maynard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6751 Hollywood Blvd. He is buried in Cypress, California's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
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