Editing Ken Maynard (section)

==Biography==
Maynard was born in [[Vevay, Indiana]], United States,<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> one of five children, another of whom, his [[lookalike]] younger brother, [[Kermit Maynard|Kermit]], would also become an actor;<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> most audience members assumed that Kermit was his brother's identical twin. Ken Maynard began working at [[Traveling carnival|carnival]]s and [[circus]]es, where he became an accomplished horseman. As a young man, he performed in [[rodeo]]s and was a trick rider with ''[[Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show|Wild West Show]]''.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} 

Maynard served in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War I]]. After the war, Maynard returned to show business as a circus rider with [[Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus|Ringling Brothers]]. When the circus was playing in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], actor [[Buck Jones]] encouraged Maynard to try working in the movies. Maynard soon had a contract with [[Fox Film|Fox Studios]].<ref name=cowboy>Phillips, Robert W. ''Singing Cowboy Stars''. Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith, 1994. pp. 14-16</ref>

He first appeared in [[silent film|silent motion pictures]] in 1923 as a stuntman or supporting actor.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> In 1924, he began working in western features, where his horsemanship and rugged good looks made him a cowboy star. Maynard's silent features showcased his daredevil riding, photographed fairly close so audiences could see that Maynard was doing his own stunts with his white stallion "Tarzan." The action scenes were so spectacular that they were often reused in films of the 1930s, starring either Maynard himself or [[John Wayne]], or [[Dick Foran]]. (Wayne, and later Foran, starred in westerns for [[Warner Bros.]] and were costumed like Maynard to match the old footage.){{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} 

Maynard made a successful transition to talking pictures and became the movies' first singing cowboy in 1929 Talkie Hit from Universal Picture ''[[The Wagon Master]]'' where he sang both ''The Cowboy's Lament'' and ''The Lone Star Trail''. He recorded eight songs for [[Columbia Records]] "The Cowboy's Lament (Columbia 2310-D 149832 and "The Lone Star Trail" (Columbia 2310=D 149833) became the only issued album. Ken Maynard donated the eight one-sided pressings of his 4/14/1930 recording session with Columbia Records to the John Edwards Memorial Foundation.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} 
[[File:Fiddlin' Buckaroo lobby card.JPG|thumb|left|Maynard and Tarzan in ''The Fiddlin' Buckaroo'', 1933]]

Maynard's first talkies were made for [[Universal Pictures]]. His reckless screen personality spilled over into his private life, with alcoholism and high living resulting in production delays and temper tantrums on the set. This made Maynard a problem employee, and he was released from Universal after one year. Other independent producers took a chance on the hotheaded star—among them [[Tiffany Productions]] and [[Sono Art-World Wide Pictures]]—before he returned to Universal in 1933. Maynard played several musical instruments, and was featured that year on the [[fiddle|violin]] in ''[[The Fiddlin' Buckaroo]]'',  and on the [[banjo]] in ''[[The Trail Drive]]''.  Author James Horwitz has recounted the end of Maynard's tenure at Universal: when studio head [[Carl Laemmle]] asked Maynard why his latest production was such a very bad picture, the frustrated Maynard retorted, "Mr. Laemmle, I have made you ''eight'' very bad pictures," and walked out on Laemmle and Universal.<ref name="Horwitz, James 1978">Horwitz, James. ''They Went Thataway'' (1978). Ballantine Books; . {{ISBN|0-345-27126-2}}</ref>
[[File:Cropped screenshot of Ken Maynard in In Old Santa Fe film, 1934.png|thumb|Maynard in ''[[In Old Santa Fe]]'' (1934)]]
In 1934, producer [[Nat Levine]] hired Ken Maynard for a serial, ''[[Mystery Mountain (serial)|Mystery Mountain]]'', and planned to make a series of western features with Maynard, beginning with ''[[In Old Santa Fe]]''. Maynard's unprofessionalism cost him the job; after ''In Old Santa Fe'' Levine replaced Maynard with a singer in his supporting cast, [[Gene Autry]]. Maynard kept working in Hollywood, but in smaller productions, until 1940.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} 

He returned to the screen in 1943 for low-budget [[Monogram Pictures]] in a new series called "The Trail Blazers." He was teamed with fellow veteran stars [[Hoot Gibson]] and [[Bob Steele (actor)|Bob Steele]], and the trio offered action for the kids and nostalgia for their elders. It was not long before Maynard's raging temperament again cost him the job; he liked Gibson but did not like Steele, and left the series after seven films. One final film, ''[[Harmony Trail]]'', was made by independent producer Walt Mattox in 1944; just as one of Maynard's films had introduced cowboy star [[Gene Autry]], this final Maynard film introduced the new singing cowboy [[Eddie Dean (singer)|Eddie Dean]].{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} 

Maynard turned his back on the movies and made appearances at [[state fair]]s and rodeos. He owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders, but eventually lost it to creditors. His substantial wealth had vanished, and he lived a desolate life as an alcoholic in a rundown [[mobile home|trailer]]. During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown benefactor, long thought to be [[Gene Autry]].<ref>''Singing In The Saddle'', by Ranger Douglas B. Green. {{ISBN|0-8265-1506-1}}</ref> More than 25 years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to the screen in two small roles in ''[[Bigfoot (1970 film)|Bigfoot]]'' (1970) and  ''[[The Marshal of Windy Hollow]]'' (filmed in 1972 but never released).