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Unkempt, rough and tough looking members of the gang (or lynch mob, or vigilantes, or posse or cow herders) who had minimal or no dialog.  They are generally not listed in the film credits.  We tend to recognize some of their faces, but have no clue as to their real names.


Cliff Parkinson

Full name:
Clifford Emmitt Parkinson

1898 - 1950

appeared in at least 36 westerns and 3 serials ... and still counting.


Special thanks to Patricia L. Manson for the photos and information on her uncle Cliff Parkinson who was stuntman, double and henchman.

Lynda Anne Parkinson: your yahoo e-mail address is no longer working as of August, 2009. Please shoot the Old Corral webmaster an e-mail.



(Courtesy of Patricia L. Manson)
My Memories of Cliff Parkinson

I always called Cliff "Uncle Bucky".

His wife was Francis and they had a daughter Nancy (who Cliff called "Peaches") and a son Joseph (who I called "Little Bucky"). Nancy was my age, born in 1932, and Little Bucky was about four years younger. Little Bucky and I had fun playing together. I guess I was a tomboy and Nancy was more lady like ... so I've been told.

My mother, who was named Madeline, became ill with cancer when I was eight years old and died when I was ten. She was thirty-two. I spent summers, Easter and Christmas with my uncle's family. My uncle was very kind to me and I know he loved my Mom who was his baby sister. They also had a sister named Ethel, and to me, she was "Aunt Babe".

Sometimes when I was with them, we would go on location (Lone Pine) and to previews of films at Republic Studios. That was exciting. Once we watched him ride a horse off a cliff and was caught in a net, horse and all. That was scary. I know Cliff was a double or stand in for Joel McCrea.

I saw Nancy one time after I was married and that was when our Aunt Babe was dying. Nancy was married and had a son. After that, we got busy with our lives and lost contact.

One more memory - my uncle was a good friend of Ronald Reagan. When Reagan and Jane Wyman split up, Reagan brought his horses to my uncle's little ranch in Van Nuys, California. Cliff had a small house in back of the family home and Mr. Reagan would spend the night there. He was popular then. I had always hoped that he would be there when I came to visit, but no luck. I know they lived in Van Nuys when I was married (December 9, 1949). In 1951, Aunt Francis and Little Bucky lived in Lakewood, California and my husband and I went to visit them (that was after Cliff had passed away).

Patricia L. Manson
May, 2005



You may want to check the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral and then the California Death Records database. There you will find a record for: Clifford Emmitt Parkinson, born 9/3/1898 in Kansas, Mother's maiden name of Pixley, and he passed away on 10/1/1950.

Lynda Anne Parkinson e-mailed me about her grandfather: "I have little info on him myself. I remember my grandmother telling me he died of cancer and he was an extra and stunt man in western films. He had two children by the names of Nancy and Joseph (Joe was Lynda's dad). My Aunt Nancy died of cancer in the mid 60's. My father died in early 95."

  Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Cliff Parkinson: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0662830/



(Courtesy of Dale Crawford & Jim Sorensen)		Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, California, Lot 4, Section 7765, Memorial G.



(Courtesy of Patricia L. Manson)

Above from L-to-R are an unidentified player, Cliff Parkinson and Fred Kohler, Jr. in a scene from THE PECOS KID (Commodore, 1935), one of a pair of mid 1930s oaters in which the younger Kohler was the lead and hero.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from L-to-R are Herman Hack, Henry Wills, Cliff Parkinson and Tom London in THE SAN ANTONIO KID (Republic, 1944), one of the Red Ryder series starring Bill Elliott.



(Courtesy of Patricia L. Manson)

Above are Cliff Parkinson (left) with Tito Guizar (real name: Federico Arturo Guízar Tolentino, 1908-1999). Guizar is remembered by B-western fans for his appearances in a pair of Roy Rogers oaters, ON THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL (Republic, 1947) and THE GAY RANCHERO (Republic, 1948).



(Courtesy of Patricia L. Manson)

No date or info on the background location on the above photo of Cliff Parkinson, probably mid to late 1930s. Possibly at Republic Pictures or another studio?



(Courtesy of Patricia L. Manson)

Cliff Parkinson, probably early 1930s, wearing a sombrero, a Spanish costume ... and regular shoes.



(Courtesy of Patricia L. Manson)

Above is a very young Cliff Parkinson and his trusty Ford. Enlargement of the license plates shows Hawaii 1922 on the bottom plate and the top plate is California 1927.


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