Russell "Lucky" Hayden (born Hayden Michael "Pate" Lucid; June 12, 1912 – June 9, 1981) was an American

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He is best known for his portrayal as Lucky Jenkins in

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

's popular

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He wa ...

film series.

Early life

He was born as Hayden Michael "Pate" Lucid, son of Francis J. Lucid and the former Minnie Harvey. He later took the name Russell Hayden to honor a friend, cameraman

Russell Harlan Russell B. Harlan, A.S.C. (September 16, 1903 – February 28, 1974) was an American cinematographer. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Russell Harlan witnessed the city's development from the construction of its first film studi ...

Career

Hayden's screen debut was in ''

Hills of Old Wyoming ''Hills of Old Wyoming'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Nate Watt and written by Maurice Geraghty, the 10th film of the 66 Hopalong Cassidy movies. The film stars William Boyd, George "Gabby" Hayes, Morris Ankrum, Russell Hayden ...

'' (1937), a ''

'' film. In 27 films, he played Lucky Jenkins, one of a trio of heroes in the Cassidy

Westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

starring William Boyd. In 1941

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

hired Hayden to appear with its leading cowboy star

Charles Starrett Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...

in eight Westerns. After this apprenticeship, Columbia gave Hayden his own series of starring Westerns. In 1946, he joined Robert L. Lippert's

Screen Guild Productions Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert. History Robert L. Lippert (1909–1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frust ...

, and played a country parson in the

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

drama '' Rolling Home''. He played both the main hero and villain in the film '' Trail of the Mounties''. In 1948 Hayden teamed with another Hopalong Cassidy alumnus,

James Ellison James Ellison may refer to: * James O. Ellison (1929–2014), U.S. federal judge * James T. Ellison (1862–1920s), New York gangster *James Ellison (actor) (1910–1993), American film actor * James Ellison (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1958), E ...

(as "Lucky" and "Shamrock") in a series of Western features for Lippert. In 1950, Hayden appeared as "Marshal #1" in several episodes of the live-broadcast and short-lived

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

series '' The Marshal of Gunsight Pass''. In the 1952–1953 season, Hayden teamed with former child star

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'' (1921) made him one o ...

in the 39-episode syndicated series '' Cowboy G-Men''. In the late 1950s, Hayden produced and directed through his Quintet Productions two syndicated Western series, ''

26 Men ''26 Men'' is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members. By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States. The program was also bro ...

'',Erickson, Hal (1989). ''Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 101.

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

program starring Tristram Coffin, and ''

Judge Roy Bean Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 – March 16, 1903) was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along ...

'', a

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

production, with

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and '' The Bever ...

, Jack Buetel, and

Jackie Loughery Jackie Loughery (sometimes credited as Evelyn Avery; April 18, 1930 – February 23, 2024), born Jacqueleen Virginia Loughery, was an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned "Miss Rockaway Point" in 1949 before becoming c ...

. Hayden also appeared himself as Steve, a Texas Ranger, in twelve episodes of ''Judge Roy Bean'', a family-oriented program considered at odds with the real Roy Bean. Hayden and fellow Western actor Dick Curtis helped to develop Pioneertown, a Western movie set near Palm Springs, which has been used in Western films and television episodes. Hayden was married from 1938 to 1943 to actress

Jan Clayton Jan Clayton (August 26, 1917 – August 28, 1983) was a film, musical theater, and television actress. She starred in the popular 1950s TV series '' Lassie''. Early years Born in 1917 in Tularosa, New Mexico, the only child of two schooltea ...

, who was later cast as the first mother on the ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a 1940 full-length novel, '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with anot ...

'' television series on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. The couple had a daughter, Sandra Hayden (1940–1956). In 1946 Hayden wed screen actress Lillian Porter, who retired from pictures. The Haydens remained happily married until his death on June 9, 1981, three days before his 69th birthday. Hayden is interred at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in

Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area around the town was home to Native Americans, who left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish beginn ...

References

External links

* *
Russell Hayden biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Russell American male film actors American male television actors Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery People from Chico, California Male actors from Palm Springs, California 1912 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople Columbia Pictures contract players