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The Westerner: Recalling Gabby Hayes, king of the western sidekicks

Photo Provided Gabby Hayes and John Wayne in “Tall in the Saddle.”

George Francis Hayes was born in Wellsville, N.Y., on May 7, 1885. As a youth, he ran away from home and joined a traveling road show. He was in vaudeville for many years and appeared in the movie “The Rainbow Man” in 1928. Many parts followed, mostly as a villain. He played opposite John Wayne for many of the Lone Star Productions made in the early ’30s. His big break came in the Hopalong Cassidy series which began production in 1935, where he played a character called Windy.

In 1940, Hayes went to work at Republic Studios where he became Gabby Hayes. He played in 45 Roy Rogers films, as well as with other top western stars such as Wild Bill Elliott in the “Red Ryder” series. In 1943 he was voted one of the top ten cowboys and remained on this list until he quit the movies in 1950. He later appeared on TV in his own Gabby Hayes Show over the NBC Network in June 1950. This show was sponsored by the Quaker Oats Company and was discontinued in 1952.

In 1955 after hosting The Howdy Doody Show for a season, Gabby retired to take it easy, living quietly his remaining years. In all, Gabby played in nearly 250 films.

Gabby Hayes, king of the sidekicks, died of a heart attack on Feb. 9, 1969, at the age of 84.

Personal notes on Gabby Hayes:

Besides all the Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Wild Bill Elliott films he made, he also contributed to some of the 1940s westerns with John Wayne: “Tall in the Saddle” (this movie a favorite of Wayne fans); “In Old Oklahoma” and “Dark Command.” He did four movies with his friend Randolph Scott: “Abilene Town,” “Trail Street,” “Badman’s Territory” and his final movie, “The Caribou Trail,” in 1950.

Dale Evans, wife of Roy Rogers, appeared in many of the shows with Gabby. She said that “he was a very cultured, one of the most well-read men, one of the best educated men I’ve ever met. He wore very natty tweeds, and he smoked a pipe. He was a very distinguished gentleman completely different from his movie character.”

Some of the various actors and actresses I met who worked with Gabby Hayes are: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Kirby Grant, Charles Starrett, Jimmy Ellison, Yakima Canutt and Dale Robertson.

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“The Westerner Magazine — 40th Anniversary Issue” is still available. The magazine covers stories on the Real West and Reel West plus coverage of movie festivals and more. For an autographed copy, contact Crowley at 304-295-3143 or email oldwestshop@aol.com.

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