Sunset Carson (born Winifred Maurice Harrison or Michael Harrison; November 12, 1920 – May 1, 1990) was an American B-western

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

of the 1940s.

Early life, acting

Carson was born on November 12, 1920, at Gracemont, Oklahoma, as either Winifred Maurice Harrison or Michael Harrison, to Maurice Greely Harrison and Azalee Belle McAdams. He moved to

Plainview, Texas Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,187 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Plainview began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe establ ...

, as a child (per the 1930 US Census Hale County, Texas). Carson became an accomplished

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

rider in his youth. For a time he worked in a western show owned by early cowboy actor

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western (genre), Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were s ...

. In 1940 he traveled to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where he competed in rodeos for two years. After his return to the U.S., he played small parts in the 1943 film ''

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers w ...

'', and the big budget 1944 film '' Janie'', both having him billed as "Michael Harrison". Catching the attention of

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 ...

executive Lou Grey, he was signed to a contract and given his own series of B-westerns beginning in 1944, changing his name to "Sunset Carson".

Fame and career climb

Within two years, Carson was on the top-10 list of money makers for western stars. He was given a horse named "Cactus", and starred in a string of semi-successful western genre films. In 1944 he starred in '' Bordertown Trail'', '' Code of the Prairie'', and '' Firebrands of Arizona'' opposite

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and ...

. In 1945 (the peak of his career), his first film was '' Sheriff of Cimarron'', followed by '' Santa Fe Saddlemates'', '' Bells of Rosarita'', ''

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

'', '' Bandits of the Badlands'', ''

Rough Riders of Cheyenne ''Rough Riders of Cheyenne'' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Thomas Carr and written by Elizabeth Beecher. The film stars: Sunset Carson, Peggy Stewart, Mira McKinney, Monte Hale, Wade Crosby and Michael Sloane. The film was rel ...

'', and '' The Cherokee Flash''. In 1946, Carson began the year strongly, starring in '' Days of Buffalo Bill'' and '' Alias Billy the Kid''. He followed those with '' The El Paso Kid'', '' Red River Renegades'', and '' Rio Grande Raiders''. However, by the end of 1946, Carson and Republic Pictures were having disputes. He claimed the disputes were over his contract. Republic Pictures would later claim that he was fired by Republic creator and executive officer

Herbert Yates Herbert John Yates (August 24, 1880 – February 3, 1966), a Hollywood mini-mogul, was the founder and President of Republic Pictures. With his contract, he had launched the film careers of such Western stars as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and John ...

after attending a studio function while intoxicated and in the company of an underage girl. By year’s end, he and Republic had parted company. He would never again achieve any large degree of acting success.

Career decline, retirement and death

In 1948 he starred for

Astor Pictures Astor Pictures was a film distribution, motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later release ...

in '' Fighting Mustang'', '' Deadline'', and '' Sunset Carson Rides Again''. Then in 1949 he starred in ''

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

'', and in 1950 he starred as the lead character, for the last time, in '' Battling Marshal''. By the following year, his career was all but over as a leading actor of the day. For the next several years he obtained small bit parts. Years later, he played the lead in a B-movie called '' The Marshal of Windy Hollow'' (1972), a film that co-starred a host of old time actors, including

Ken Maynard Kenneth Olin Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western (genre), Western stars in Hollywood. Maynard was also an occa ...

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

, and Bill Cody, Jr. He then had a bit part in the film ''Buckstone County Prison'' in 1978, and another bit part in the 1985

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

movie ''Alien Outlaw'' (his last film role). He toured for five years with "Tommy Scott's Country Music Circus". In the early 1980s, Carson hosted ″Six-Gun Heroes″, a South Carolina Educational TV (SCETV) show produced by Jim Welch presenting classic B Westerns. In 1985, Carson appeared in an episode of the

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

''.

Death

Carson retired to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. He died there on May 1, 1990. He was survived by his fifth wife and his two children. He is buried at Highland Memorial Gardens in Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee.

Filmography

* '' Call of the Rockies'' (1944) co-starred Kirk Alyn,

* '' Bordertown Trail'' (1944) * '' Code of the Prairie'' (1944) co-starred Roy Barcroft * '' Firebrands of Arizona'' (1944) co-starred

Roy Barcroft 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 Republi ...

* '' Sheriff of Cimarron'' (1945) co-starred

Linda Stirling Linda Stirling (born Louise Schultz; October 11, 1921 – July 20, 1997) was an American showgirl, Model (person), model, and actress. In her later years, she had a second career as a college English professor for more than two decades. She ...

* '' Santa Fe Saddlemates'' (1945) co-starred Roy Barcroft,

Kenne Duncan Kenne Duncan (February 17, 1903 – February 5, 1972) was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but ...

, Linda Stirling * '' Bells of Rosarita'' (1945) co-starred Roy Rogers, Red Barry, Rocky Lane and Gabby Hayes * ''

'' (1945) co-starred Kenne Duncan, Monte Hale * '' Bandits of the Badlands'' (1945) co-starred Monte Hale * ''

'' (1945) co-starred Monte Hale, Kenne Duncan * '' The Cherokee Flash'' (1945) co-starred Linda Stirling, Roy Barcroft * '' Days of Buffalo Bill'' (1946) * '' Alias Billy the Kid'' (1946) co-starred Roy Barcroft * '' The El Paso Kid'' (1946) * '' Red River Renegades'' (1946) co-starred Kenne Duncan * '' Rio Grande Raiders'' (1946) co-starred Linda Stirling, Bob Steele (actor),

Tris Coffin Tristram Chockley Coffin (August 13, 1909 – March 26, 1990) was a former film and television actor from the latter 1930s through the 1970s, usually in Westerns or other B-movie action-adventure productions. Early years Coffin's mother wa ...

, Kenne Duncan,

Bobby Barber Bobby Barber (December 18, 1894 – May 24, 1976) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films. Barber is notable for his work as a foil for Abbott and Costello on and off screen. Biography Barber was born Robert S. Barbera in New York. ...

* '' Fighting Mustang'' (1948) * '' Deadline'' (1948) * '' Sunset Carson Rides Again'' (1948) co-starred Ron Ormond * ''

'' (1949) * '' Battling Marshal'' (1950)McGillis, Roderick (2009). He Was Some Kind of Man: Masculinities in the B Western. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 4. . * '' The Marshal of Windy Hollow'' (1972) * ''Buckstone County Prison'' (1978) * ''Alien Outlaw'' (1985)

References

External links

*
Sunset Carson
at b-westerns.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Sunset Male Western (genre) film actors Male actors from Oklahoma American male film actors 1920 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American male actors Western (genre) heroes and heroines