Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917
[ – May 21, 1996) was a Western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s.
]
Early life and education
Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana
Gretna is the second-largest city in, and parish seat of, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
"Gretna, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes),
''City Data'', 2007, webpage:
C-Gretna
"Census ...
in 1917, he was reared in various towns throughout Louisiana, but in his teens the family moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, where he attended St. John's Military Academy and the College of the Pacific.[ Strangely, his California death records reportedly indicate the actor's father's surname was Wilson and that Lash was born in Michigan.]
Career
Film
LaRue was originally screen-tested by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
but was rejected because he looked too much like Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
, then one of the studio's contract stars.
He signed a contract with Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
in 1944 as "Alfred LaRue", appearing in two Deanna Durbin
Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress, who moved to the U.S. from Canada with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1 ...
musicals and a serial. Durbin and LaRue were romantically involved during his tenure there.
In 1945 independent producer Robert Emmett Tansey
Robert Emmett Tansey (June 28, 1897 – June 17, 1951) was an American actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. He was active in cinema in various roles from the 1910s to the 1950s. He was credited under at least 15 pseudonyms, such as Ch ...
, releasing through the small PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...
studio, launched a new Western series with a difference: the features would be filmed in then-unusual Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel an ...
. Singing cowboy Eddie Dean starred, with "Al LaRue" featured as "The Cheyenne Kid" and using a bullwhip
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or for competition cracking.
Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country. A ...
expertly to disarm villains.
LaRue graduated to his own starring series (as "Cheyenne") in 1947, first for PRC, then for its successor Eagle-Lion
Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank created an American distribution company with the name to handle his British films. The following year, under a reciprocal distrib ...
(which continued to use the PRC brand name for its Westerns), and finally for producer Ron Ormond. It was at this time that he developed his image as cowboy hero Lash LaRue, dressed all in black. Al St. John had been Buster Crabbe's comic sidekick in PRC Westerns; after Crabbe left the studio, St. John's character "Fuzzy Q. Jones" was written into the Lash LaRue scripts.
Lash LaRue was different from the usual cowboy hero of the era. Dressed in black, he spoke with a "city tough-guy" accent somewhat like that of Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
, whom he physically resembled. His use of a bullwhip, however, was what set him apart from contemporary cowboy stars such as Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...
and Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer.
Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...
. His influence was felt throughout the dying medium of B-Westerns; for example, he had an imitator, Whip Wilson
Whip Wilson (born Roland Charles Meyers, June 16, 1911 – October 22, 1964) was an American cowboy film actor, film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)#Cowboys and dogs, B-Westerns. ...
, who starred in his own brief series, and even Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer.
Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...
started using a bullwhip in some of his Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...
Westerns made during the same period.
LaRue made frequent personal appearances at small-town movie theaters that were showing his films during his heyday of 1948 to 1951, a common practice for cowboy stars in those days. However, his skillful displays of stunts with his whip, done live on movie theater stages, also convinced young Western fans that there was at least one cowboy hero who could perform in real life the things he did on screen. He continued working in films and television until he retired in 1990.
Television
In the later 1950s, LaRue was featured on the children's program '' The Gabby Hayes Show'' (in footage from his old PRC Westerns). He appeared several times on the syndicated television 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 ...
'', true stories of the Arizona Rangers
The Arizona Rangers are a non-commissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the state of Arizona.
In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Legislature passed Arizona ...
. LaRue also appeared on Jimmie Jackson's television show ''Memory Lane''. He appeared seven times in different roles in the 1956 TV Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
''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 ...
''. One of his roles on ''Judge Roy Bean'' was as the outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...
John Wesley Hardin
John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he ...
. He portrayed another real-life criminal, Doc Barker, in the TV series '' Gangbusters'', which was later recut into the film '' Guns Don't Argue''. LaRue and Steve Brodie shared the role (from 1959–1961) of Sheriff Johnny Behan in Cochise County, Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, on 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 ...
's ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults.[Hugh O'Brian
Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Western (genre), Western television series ' ...](_blank)
. LaRue appeared five times; Brodie, nine times.
A role as the villain in a pornographic
Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...
Western, ''Hard on the Trail'', in 1972, led him to repentance as a missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
for ten years, as he had not been informed of the adult nature of the film and would not have consented to appear in the film. He did not actually appear in any of the pornographic scenes. The film was later released without the pornographic scenes and retitled ''Hard Trail'' in an attempt to eliminate the double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...
.[ Hardy, Phil (editor). '' The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: The Western'', Aurum Press, 1983; ]
Personal life
For a time he was married to Reno Browne, a B-Western film actress, who together with Dale Evans
Dale Evans Rogers (born Frances Octavia Smith; October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the second wife of singing cowboy film star Roy Rogers.
Early life and career
Dale Evans was born ...
was one of only two Western actresses ever to have their own comic book fashioned after their characters. He later married Barbra Fuller, a radio, film and television actress. Their marriage lasted 14 months; they wed February 23, 1951 in Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064.
Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...
, and divorced June 2, 1952. They had no children but did have a godchild, child actor J.P. Sloane, the son of "Television's Singing Troubadour" Jimmie Jackson and "Television's Hollywood Hostess" Anita Coleman.
Death
LaRue died of emphysema
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
in 1996 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center is a Catholic hospital in Burbank, California. The hospital has 446 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. Its address is 501 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California 91505. On the opposit ...
in Burbank
Burbank may refer to:
Places Australia
* Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
United States
* Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County
* Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place
* Burbank, Illinois, ...
, California. He had recently undergone triple-bypass surgery and suffered from emphysema
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
. He was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. He was survived by his wife, Frances Bramlett LaRue,[ ] three sons and three daughters.[ He had reportedly been married at least ten times.][
]
Legacy
Writer/singer/producer Bruce Blackman of the pop group Starbuck wrote and recorded the tribute song "Lash LaRue", included on their 1976 album '' Moonlight Feels Right''.
LaRue is seen on the 1986 Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
and Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music.
Jennings started playing ...
duet album '' Heroes''. On the back cover, LaRue is standing with the duo.
Professional wrestler
Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
Mark LeRoux borrowed his ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
from LaRue, dubbing himself "Lash LeRoux" in 1999.
Filmography
;Comics
''Lash LaRue Western'' comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s were published first by Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...
(issues #1 through 46) and later by Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
(issues #47 through 84), between 1949 and 1961. The first issue alone today is worth upwards of $1,000 in near mint condition. They were among the most popular Western-themed comics of the era. Initially, LaRue and other Western stars weren't paid royalties by Fawcett; they were satisfied with just the publicity. (AC later published two reprint editions in 1990.) LaRue comics sold well with a total of 12 million copies in 1952 alone. Many stories featured his godson, J.P. Sloane.
;Later films
References
Bibliography
* ''Lash LaRue, the King of the Bullwhip'', by Chuck Thornton and David Rothel (Empire Publishing, NC, 1988). .
* ''The King of the Bullwhip: Lash LaRue, the Man, not the Legend'', by Charles M. Sharpe (Sharpeco, NC, 1996). ASIN B0006QS5T6.
External links
*
Lash LaRue-bio
on (re)Search my Trash
{{DEFAULTSORT:LaRue, Lash
1917 births
1996 deaths
People from Gretna, Louisiana
Baptists from Louisiana
Cajun people
American male film actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
Deaths from emphysema
Male actors from Louisiana
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
20th-century American male actors
20th-century Baptists
Western (genre) heroes and heroines