Tim McCoy
One of the great stars of early American Westerns. McCoy was the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. At the end of World War I, he returned to his ranch in Wyoming, only to be called by Governor Bob Carry to the post of Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. The position carried with it the rank of Brigadier General (a brevet promotion) and it has been reported that this made him the youngest general officer in the U.S. Army. His reputation as a friend to the Wind River Reservation Indians, both Arapahoe and Shoshone, preceded him and in 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He resigned from the state position and recruited several hundred Indians to the Utah movie location. When the film wrapped, he was asked to choose several Indians to accompany him to Hollywood. There the production company developed a live 'prologue' to be presented just prior to the movie showing. The idea was a success and McCoy and his Indian group toured the U.S. and eventually, Europe as well. After touring this country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and eventually as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. In 1942 he ran for the Republican Nomination for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. He was defeated and returned to Hollywood and an uncertain future. In 1946 he sold his Wyoming ranch and moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the life of the gentleman farmer. While living there, he met and married Danish writer Inga Arvad. He later built a home in Nogales, Arizona where Inga subsequently died in 1973. He spent his later years as a retired rancher. He died at the U.A. Army hospital at Ft. Hauchuca, Arizona on January 29 1978 at the age of 86. Inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1974. During World War I, he served as an artillery officer in the US Army in France. Spouse Inga Arvad (1945 - 1973) (her death) Alice Miller (? - 1931) (divorced) (3 children)
Known For
Credits
- 1976 · Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch as (archive footage)
- 1972 · Hollywood: The Dream Factory as Self (archive footage)
- 1965 · Requiem for a Gunfighter as Judge Irving Short
- 1957 · Run of the Arrow as Gen. Allen (as Colonel Tim McCoy)
- 1956 · Around the World in Eighty Days as Colonel
- 1946 · Injun Talk as Himself
- 1942 · West of the Law as Marshal Tim McCall
- 1942 · Riders of the West as Marshal Tim McCall
- 1942 · Down Texas Way as U. S. Marshal Tim McCall
- 1942 · Ghost Town Law as Marshal Tim McCall
- 1942 · Below the Border as Marshal Tim McCall
- 1941 · Forbidden Trails as Marshal Tim McCall
- 1941 · The Gunman From Bodie as Marshal Tim McCall
- 1941 · Arizona Bound as Marshal Tim McCall / 'Parson' McCall
- 1941 · The Texas Marshal as Marshal Trigger Tim Rand
- 1941 · Outlaws of the Rio Grande as Marshal Tim Barton
- 1940 · Riders of Black Mountain as Marshal Tim Donovan
- 1940 · Arizona Gang Busters as Trigger Tim Rand
- 1940 · Gun Code as Marshal Tim Hammond posing as Tim Hays
- 1940 · Frontier Crusader as Trigger Tim Rand
- 1940 · Texas Renegades as 'Silent' Tim Smith
- 1939 · Trigger Fingers as 'Lightning' Bill Carson
- 1939 · The Fighting Renegade as Bill Carson posing as El Puma
- 1939 · Straight Shooter as "Lightning" Bill Carson
- 1939 · Outlaws' Paradise as William Carson / Trigger Mallory
- 1939 · Texas Wildcats as 'Lightning' Bill Carson
- 1939 · Code of the Cactus as Bill Carson
- 1938 · Six-Gun Trail as Captain William Carson
- 1938 · Lightning Carson Rides Again as Lightning Bill Carson / Jose
- 1938 · Phantom Ranger as Tim Hayes
- 1938 · Two Gun Justice as Tim
- 1938 · Code of the Rangers as Tim Strong
- 1938 · West of Rainbow's End as Tim Hart
- 1936 · The Traitor as Tim McCoy: Sergeant Tim Vallance - Texas Ranger
- 1936 · Ghost Patrol as Tim Caverly
- 1936 · The Lion's Den as Tim Barton
- 1936 · Aces and Eights as 'Gentleman' Tim Madigan
- 1936 · Lightnin' Bill Carson as Marshal Lightnin' Bill Carson
- 1936 · Border Caballero as Tim Ross
- 1936 · Roarin' Guns as Tim Corwin
- 1935 · Bulldog Courage as Slim Braddock / Tim Braddock
- 1935 · The Man from Guntown as Tim Hanlon
- 1935 · Riding Wild as Tim Malloy / Tex Ravelle
- 1935 · The Outlaw Deputy as Tim Mallory
- 1935 · Justice of the Range as Tim Condon
- 1935 · Fighting Shadows as Constable Tim O'Hara
- 1935 · The Revenge Rider as Tim O'Neil
- 1935 · Law Beyond the Range as Tim McDonald
- 1935 · Square Shooter as Tim Baxter
- 1934 · The Westerner as Tim Addison
- 1934 · Prescott Kid as Tim Hamlin
- 1934 · Beyond the Law as Tim Weston
- 1934 · A Man's Game as Tim Bradley
- 1934 · Hell Bent for Love as Police Captain Tim Daley
- 1934 · Voice in the Night as Tim Dale
- 1934 · Speed Wings as Tim
- 1933 · Straightaway as Tim Dawson
- 1933 · Hold the Press as Tim Collins
- 1933 · Police Car 17 as Tim Conlon
- 1933 · Rusty Rides Alone as Tim Burke
- 1933 · The Whirlwind as Tim Reynolds
- 1933 · Silent Men as Tim Richards
- 1933 · Man Of Action as Ranger Tim Barlow
- 1932 · End of the Trail as Captain Tim Travers
- 1932 · The Western Code as Tim Barrett
- 1932 · Fighting for Justice as Tim Keene
- 1932 · Cornered as Sheriff Tim Laramie
- 1932 · Daring Danger as Tim Madigan
- 1932 · Two-Fisted Law as Tim Clark
- 1932 · Hollywood on Parade as Self
- 1932 · The Riding Tornado as Tim Torrant
- 1932 · Texas Cyclone as Texas Grant
- 1932 · The Fighting Fool as Sheriff Tim Collins
- 1931 · The Fighting Marshal as Tim Benton
- 1931 · Shotgun Pass as Tim Walker
- 1931 · The One Way Trail as Tim Allen
- 1930 · The Indians Are Coming as Jack Manning
- 1929 · The Desert Rider as Jed Tyler
- 1929 · Sioux Blood as Flood
- 1929 · The Overland Telegraph as Captain Allen
- 1929 · Morgan's Last Raid as Capt. Daniel Clairbourne
- 1928 · Beyond the Sierras as The Masked Stranger
- 1928 · The Adventurer as Jim McClellan
- 1928 · The Law of the Range as Jim Lockhart
- 1927 · Spoilers of the West as Lieutenant Lang
- 1927 · Foreign Devils as Capt. Robert Kelly
- 1927 · The Frontiersman as John Dale
- 1927 · California as Capt. Archibald Gillespie
- 1927 · Winners Of The Wilderness as Col. Sir Dennis O'Hara
- 1926 · War Paint as Lt. Tim Marshall
- 1925 · The Thundering Herd as Burn Hudnall