Roy Barcroft (born Howard Harold Ravenscroft; September 7, 1902 – November 28, 1969) was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...

. Film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of f ...

acclaimed Barcroft as "Republic Pictures' number one bad guy".

Background

Barcroft was born to a farming family in

Crab Orchard, Nebraska Crab Orchard is a village in Johnson County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 47. History Crab Orchard was platted in 1883 when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was extended to that point. It ...

, in 1902. In 1917, at the age of 15, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

to fight in France, where he was wounded in action. After leaving the military, he drifted through several jobs (including ranch hand,

roughneck Roughneck is a term for a person whose occupation is hard manual labor. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with the workers on a drilling rig. The ideal of the hard-working, tough roughneck has been ...

, railroad worker and seaman) before reenlisting and being stationed in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

. After leaving the Army for the second time, he played clarinet and saxophone for dance bands around Chicago until he and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1929.

Career

In 1929, he moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and worked as an extra and as a salesman. He was discovered while acting in an amateur theatre production, a hobby which he took up to improve his speaking voice as a salesman. He appeared in the film serials ''Flash Gordon'' (1936), ''The President's Mystery'' (1936), and ''

S.O.S. Coast Guard ''S O S Coast Guard'' is a 1937 Republic film serial. It was the seventh of the sixty-six serials made by Republic. The plot concerns the mad scientist Boroff (Bela Lugosi) attempting to sell a superweapon to the highest bidder, opposed by Coast ...

''. He worked for many different studios in the years that followed until 1943, when he signed an exclusive 10-year contract with Republic. Under this contract, he starred in almost 150 films and film serials, becoming instantly recognized as the villain to the audiences of the day. His career slowed with the decline of B-Westerns, but he found work in television and B-movies during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1954 to 1956, Barcroft appeared in different roles in eight episodes of the

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

western series '' Annie Oakley''. He also played the bit role of the marshal in the 1955 film adaptation of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells ...

''. That same year he appeared as the Marshal in the western movie '' The Spoilers''. Between 1955 and 1957 he played Col. Jim Logan, the kindly owner of the Triple-R Boys' Ranch, in the serial '' Spin and Marty'', seen on television's '' Mickey Mouse Club''. A DVD version of the 1955 season, ''The Adventures of Spin & Marty'', was released in 2005 as part of the ''

Walt Disney Treasures Walt Disney Treasures is a series of two-disc DVD collections of Disney cartoons, television episodes and other material. They cover material from the studio's earliest days to its more recent work. There were nine waves, each containing two ...

'' series. In 1960, he played the role of “George Farr” (a hired killer) on James Arness’s TV Western Series ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'' in the episode “Say Uncle” (S4E4), again in its 1965 offering “Circus Trick” (S10E20) & as “Jonas” in the 1967 in “The Returning” (S12E22). In 1961 on “Have Gun Will Travel” he played Shep Montrose in the episode “The Long Weekend (S4E29). On May 23, 1961, Barcroft played Doc Longley in the episode "Badge of the Outsider" on the television western series '' Laramie'', playing a retired outlaw framed for the murder of the deputy sheriff in Laramie. He appeared in a 1961 episode, "Heat Wave," of the adventure drama series '' Straightaway''. Barcroft was cast in the 1967 episode "Halo for a Badman" of the syndicated western series, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the progra ...

'', as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Las Animas, Colorado Las Animas is the Statutory City that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,410 at the 2010 United States Census. Las Animas i ...

. In the film-focused newspaper '' Classic Images'', Laura Wagner wrote that Barcroft's work as a voice actor is often overlooked. She commented, "Barcroft can be heard in movies and on TV as narrators, radio operators, announcers, and various stray voices." In marked contrast to his villainous movie persona, Barcroft off-screen "had a reputation as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood," said

in 2005.

Personal life

Barcroft married Vera Thompson in 1932, and they had two children.

Death

Barcroft died of kidney cancer at the

Motion Picture Country Hospital The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

in 1969. His body was donated to medical science.

Selected filmography

* '' The Frontiersmen'' (1938) * '' Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars'' (1938, Serial) - Martian Soldier h. 2(uncredited) * '' Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'' (1940, Serial) - Ming's Soldier h 6, 10–12/ Arborian Sentry

h 6 H6, H06, or H-6 may refer to: Science * British NVC community H6, an ecological designation * Sanguiin H-6, a dimeric ellagitannin found in ''Sanguisorba officinalis'', the great burnet * Hydrogen-6 (H-6 or 6H), an isotope of hydrogen Transportat ...

(uncredited) * '' Man from Texas'' (1939) * '' Crashing Thru'' (1939) * '' Trailing Double Trouble'' (1940) * '' The Bandit Trail'' (1941) * '' The Lone Rider in Cheyenne'' (1942) * '' Hoppy Serves a Writ'' (1943) * '' Canyon City'' (1943) * '' Sheriff of Sundown'' (1944) * '' Call of the South Seas'' (1944) * '' Girls of the Big House'' (1945) * '' Along the Navajo Trail'' (1945) * ''

The Purple Monster Strikes ''The Purple Monster Strikes'' is a 1945 Republic Movie serial. It was also released as a Century 66 television film under the title ''D-Day on Mars'' (1966). The original production title for the serial was ''The Purple Shadow Strikes''. The ...

'' (1945) * ''

Sunset in El Dorado '' Sunset in El Dorado '' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Roy Rogers. Cast * Roy Rogers as Himself * Trigger as Roy's horse * Dale Evans as Lucille Wiley/Kansas Kate * George 'Gabby' Hayes as Gabby * M ...

'' (1945) * '' Oregon Trail Scouts'' (1947) * '' Vigilantes of Boomtown'' (1947) * '' The Wild Frontier'' (1947) * ''

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

'' (1947) * ''

The Bold Frontiersman ''The Bold Frontiersman'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Philip Ford and written by Robert Creighton Williams. The film stars Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, Roy Barcroft, John Alvin, Francis McDonald and Fred Graham. The film was relea ...

'' (1948) * ''

The Far Frontier '' The Far Frontier '' is a 1948 American Western film starring Roy Rogers. Plot Tom Sharper of the border patrol stops a truck to inspect its cargo. He is knocked cold by the drivers, who report back to their boss, Bart Carroll. Coming fro ...

'' (1948) * '' Oklahoma Badlands'' (1948) * ''

Renegades of Sonora ''Renegades of Sonora'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by M. Coates Webster. The film stars Allan Lane, Eddy Waller, Roy Barcroft, Frank Fenton, Mauritz Hugo and George J. Lewis. The film was release ...

'' (1948) * '' Train to Alcatraz'' (1948) * '' Frontier Investigator'' (1949) * '' The Dakota Kid'' (1951) * '' Radar Men from the Moon'' (1953; Commando Cody/Rocketman series) * '' Down Laredo Way'' (1953) * '' Man Without a Star'' (1955) * ''

'' (1955) * '' The Spoilers'' (1955) * '' Band of Angels'' (1957) as Gillespie * '' Bandolero!'' (1968) * '' Monte Walsh'' (1970)

References

External links

* * * *
Roy Barcroft at B-Westerns

Roy Barcroft, Great Character Actor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcroft, Roy 20th-century American male actors American male film actors United States Army personnel of World War I American male stage actors American male television actors Male Western (genre) film actors Male film serial actors Deaths from kidney cancer Male actors from Nebraska People from Johnson County, Nebraska Military personnel from Nebraska Male actors from Los Angeles Deaths from cancer in California 1902 births 1969 deaths Western (genre) television actors