Slim Cole (born Nathan Cole Hebert, and sometimes credited as King Cole) was an American actor and stuntman who appeared in a string of

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

westerns during Hollywood's

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

Biography

Early years

Slim was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Joseph Hebert and Hallie Cole. His mother's father, Nathan Cole, was once mayor of St. Louis. Joseph Hebert, Slim's father, died when Slim was a toddler, and he was raised by his mother in the Los Angeles area.

Career as a forest ranger

While working as a forest ranger in the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

, he learned how to ride a motorcycle, a skill that would serve him well when he entered the motion picture industry around 1915. "They laughed at me when I started patrolling the forests on motorcycle, but after I got the knack for following old trails and making new ones, I showed them that I could cover as much territory as four rangers on mounted horses."

Career in Hollywood

After being spotted by a motion picture director, Slim was soon in demand for his willingness to perform all sorts of death-defying stunts. He often worked with fellow stunt performer and actress Grace Cunard. Early on, he was employed by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

's studio. In 1922, he briefly returned to St. Louis with the ambition of starting a motion picture industry in his hometown. He also aimed to give his body a rest after years of being roughed up on the job. "I'm getting too old for the business," he told a reporter with '' The St. Louis Post Dispatch''. "I'm only 29, but I've been through a lot, and I don't have to wait for a psychic hunch." He did continue to act, but his roles got smaller and smaller until he was pretty much only landing bit parts.

Personal life

Cole married Katherine Fay in 1915; the couple divorced in 1921. After his last film was released in 1932, it's unknown what happened to Cole.

Partial filmography

*''

His Day Out ''His Day Out'' is a surviving 1918 American silent comedy short film featuring Oliver Hardy. Cast * Billy West as Billy * Leatrice Joy as Joy * Oliver Hardy as Oliver * Leo White * Joe Bordeaux * Ethel Marie Burton * Bud Ross as The Fathe ...

'' (1918) *'' A Dog's Life'' (1918) *'' Shoulder Arms'' (1918) *''

Smashing Barriers ''Smashing Barriers'' is a lost 1919 15-part 1919 American film serial directed by and starring William Duncan. It was produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. This serial was condensed down to a 6-reel feature and rerelease ...

'' (1919) *'' Where Is This West?'' (1923) *''

Beasts of Paradise ''Beasts of Paradise'' is a 1923 American adventure silent film serial in 15 episodes directed by William James Craft. The film stars William Desmond and Eileen Sedgwick and was produced and released by Universal Pictures. The film is presumed ...

'' (1923) *'' The Ghost City'' (1923) *''

Reckless Speed ''Reckless Speed'' is a 1924 American silent action film directed by William James Craft and starring Frank Merrill, Virginia Warwick and Joseph W. Girard.Connelly p.400 Synopsis The son of an oil magnate discovers that the foreman of their work ...

'' (1924) *'' Ridin' Pretty'' (1925) *''

The Great Circus Mystery ''The Great Circus Mystery'' is a 1925 American adventure film serial directed by Jay Marchant. Cast Chapter titles # Pact of Peril # A Cry for Help # A Race with Death # The Plunge of Peril # The Ladder of Life # A Leap for Liberty # Harvest ...

'' (1925) *'' The Fighting Ranger'' (1925) *'' Prowlers of the Night'' (1926) *''

Desert Dust ''Desert Dust'' is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Ted Wells, Lotus Thompson and Bruce Gordon. The film's sets were designed by the art director David S. Garber. Cast * Ted Wells as Frank Fortune * ...

'' (1927) *'' The Texas Bad Man'' (1932) *'' The Last Frontier'' (1932) *'' Gold'' (1932)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Slim American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors American stunt performers 1892 births Male actors from St. Louis Year of death missing