Ian Keith and Weldon Heyburn

The 'brains' and 'action' heavies who had meaty roles and lots of dialog ... and the players who were fathers, ranch owners, lawman, mayors, judges, lawyers, storekeepers, newspaper editors, wardens, etc.

(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Rollin' a cigarette is Al LaRue as the Cheyenne Kid as he cuts the deal with Bob Barron (center, as 'Dixon') and Ian Keith (right, as 'Landow') to ruin Sarah Padden and her ranch and newspaper ... scene from Eddie Dean's first singing western, SONG OF OLD WYOMING (PRC, 1945).

Keith was a well known Broadway performer of the 1920s and also did a lot of silent and talkie screen work for Cecil B. deMille. The story goes that he enjoyed night life and partying, and by the late 1930s, the only work he could find was at B grade film factories. And he can be spotted in series such as Charlie Chan, Dick Tracy, and the Bowery Boys. He did about a dozen westerns at Republic, Columbia and PRC.

John Dunning's On the Air, The Encylopedia of Old Time Radio (Oxford Press, 1998) shows one radio performance credit for Keith, in the 1937 THE O'NEILL CYCLE, a short-lived series consisting of plays by Eugene O'Neill.

One of my favorite Keith roles is his portrayal of the despicable 'Bill Thorpe' who vies for the affection of heroine Marguerite Churchill in John Wayne's first starrer, THE BIG TRAIL (Fox, 1930).

Keith was probably happiest doing legitimate stage work ... and he did a lot of that in his pre- and post-Hollywood periods. At the time of his passing in 1960, he had the role of "Dr. John C. Bates" in the New York play "The Andersonville Trial".

Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Ian Keith: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0445246/

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from L-to-R are Ian Keith, Bill Elliott, George 'Gabby' Hayes and Harry Willingham in a scene from BORDERTOWN GUNFIGHTERS (Republic, 1943).

(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Ian Keith is on the right in the suit, and in the front, from L-to-R are Ken Maynard, Bob Baker and Hoot Gibson in the first Trail Blazers' adventure, WILD HORSE STAMPEDE (Monogram, 1943).

VALLEY OF ZOMBIES (Republic, 1946) was filmed in 1945 and was one of Bob Livingston's last starring roles at Republic. The heroine was Republic contractee Adrian Booth (Lorna Gray). Ian Keith is the ghostly (ghastly) adversary shown left.

(Courtesy of Ed Phillips)

Sunset Carson is about to tangle with Weldon Heyburn (on the left) in CODE OF THE PRAIRIE (Republic, 1944). Check out Sunset's gunbelt with the butts forward. Also note the tape wrapped around the grip on Heyburn's six-shooter.

Some biographies list Weldon Heyburn's birth year as 1904 and birth location as Selma, Alabama. His screen credits run from the early 1930s until shortly before his death in 1951. In total, he did 50+ films. And about twenty were B westerns and most of these were for Republic and Monogram during the years 1940-1946. That small quantity of film work was certainly not enough to keep food on the table.

Hans Wollstein provided some additional info: "Heyburn signed a contract with FOX circa 1931. The following year, he played the juvenile lead in THE SILENT WITNESS opposite Norwegian-born actress Greta Nissen. The couple fell in love and were married March 30, 1932 in a ceremony in Tijuana, Mexico. Wedded bliss was apparently shortlived and they separated in 1934 - but not before co-starring in the low-budget HIRED WIFE. In 1936, Nissen was granted an annulment. "We were much better suited as friends", she explained to the press. Nissen of course is known to B-Western fans for her role opposite George O'Brien in LIFE IN THE RAW (1933), and to everyone for her being replaced by Jean Harlow in the sound version of HELL'S ANGELS (1930)."

Go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral. The California Death Records database has 4 records under the name of 'Heyburn' (3 males and 1 female). There is a record for Welden Heyburn (Welden with an e) - his birth place and date was Washington, DC and 9/19/1910, his death date was 5/18/1951, his mother's maiden name was Pierce.

Some biographies on Heyburn mention that he played football at the University of Alabama. I did send several e-mails to the University of Alabama Sports/Athletic Department. Received no response. In an earlier version of this webpage, I had posed the question about Heyburn being related to Senator Weldon Brinton Heyburn (1852-1912), who was elected US Senator from Idaho for two terms, served from 1903 to 1912, and died in office. Senator Heyburn's wife was Gheretien Yeatman of Pennsylvania (which doesn't match the Mother's maiden name of Pierce in the California Death Records noted above). The Senator was in Washington DC in 1910 when our film perfomer 'Weldon Heyburn' was born.

While researching for their Best Of The Badmen book, authors Boyd Magers, Bob Nareau and Bobby Copeland uncovered the facts on our movie Weldon Heyburn. He was born in Washington, DC in 1910. His father was Wyatt Heyburn, a native of Alabama, and his mother was Marie French of Pennsylvania. He did not play football at the University of Alabama. Weldon Heyburn passed away at the Los Angeles Veterans Hospital in 1951, suffering from pneumonia as well as cancer of the mouth, right adrenal and kidney.

Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Weldon Heyburn: http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0382165/

The U. S. Veterans Administration gravesite locator website at http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ shows that Heyburn is interred at Arlington National Cemetery: