Whip Wilson(1911-1964)
- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
He was obviously handed one of those unique stage names, like
Lash La Rue, in order for audiences
(especially the kiddies) to immediately associate him with western
heroics and the trademark he would be remembered for in films. Not one
of the better remembered sagebrush heroes in today's world, Whip Wilson
came along at the tail end of the huge western craze of the late 40s
and early 50s and managed a three-year career at Monogram Pictures that
encompassed about two dozen oaters.
Born with the more proper name of Roland Charles Meyers on June 16,
1911, in Granite, Illinois, he was one of eight children. A talented
singer before going to Hollywood, he supposedly sang in a few pictures
but was not considered or ever promoted as a "singing cowboy" per se.
It was Scott R. Dunlap, a Monogram
Pictures studio executive, who handed Whip his career on a silver
platter. A close friend and business partner of the late western star
Buck Jones, Dunlap had been searching for a
replacement ever since Buck perished in the Boston Cocoanut Grove
nightclub fire in 1942. He was caught off guard when he met Whip, who
happened to bear a strong resemblance to Jones. Dunlop excitedly signed
him up despite having no prior experience. Cowboy star
Lash La Rue had already displayed cowboy
heroics cracking a bull whip so Dunlap decided to capitalize on the
popular gimmick and handed Wilson a whip as well, grooming him into a
combination of LaRue and Buck Jones.
To whip up (sorry) a bit of experience in front of the camera, Dunlap
gave the movie tenderfoot a part in the
Jimmy Wakely oater
Silver Trails (1948). By the next
year Whip was starring in his own tailor-made vehicles, the first being
Crashing Thru (1949) as a
white-hatted, white steed-mounting hero, accompanied by his very own
sidekick in the form of veteran comic actor
Andy Clyde. After about a dozen pictures,
Clyde left the series and was replaced by
Fuzzy Knight and/or
Jim Bannon. Both blonde bombshell
Reno Browne and dark-haired beauty
Phyllis Coates served as frequent
"prairie flower" co-stars in Whip's films. Browne was once married to
cowboy actor LaRue and Coates was better known for playing Lois Lane on
film and TV's
Adventures of Superman (1952).
After only three years as a movie cowboy Whip rode off into the sunset
after starring in the western programmer
Wyoming Roundup (1952). He worked
only one more time in the industry when he was hired to provide
whip-wielding instructions to
Burt Lancaster in a couple of scenes and
also appeared unbilled in the western
The Kentuckian (1955). He
managed a Los Angeles apartment complex in later years. Whip died of a
heart attack on October 22, 1964 at the relatively young age of 53, and
was survived by third wife Monica. He had no children and was buried in
his native state of Illinois.
Lash La Rue, in order for audiences
(especially the kiddies) to immediately associate him with western
heroics and the trademark he would be remembered for in films. Not one
of the better remembered sagebrush heroes in today's world, Whip Wilson
came along at the tail end of the huge western craze of the late 40s
and early 50s and managed a three-year career at Monogram Pictures that
encompassed about two dozen oaters.
Born with the more proper name of Roland Charles Meyers on June 16,
1911, in Granite, Illinois, he was one of eight children. A talented
singer before going to Hollywood, he supposedly sang in a few pictures
but was not considered or ever promoted as a "singing cowboy" per se.
It was Scott R. Dunlap, a Monogram
Pictures studio executive, who handed Whip his career on a silver
platter. A close friend and business partner of the late western star
Buck Jones, Dunlap had been searching for a
replacement ever since Buck perished in the Boston Cocoanut Grove
nightclub fire in 1942. He was caught off guard when he met Whip, who
happened to bear a strong resemblance to Jones. Dunlop excitedly signed
him up despite having no prior experience. Cowboy star
Lash La Rue had already displayed cowboy
heroics cracking a bull whip so Dunlap decided to capitalize on the
popular gimmick and handed Wilson a whip as well, grooming him into a
combination of LaRue and Buck Jones.
To whip up (sorry) a bit of experience in front of the camera, Dunlap
gave the movie tenderfoot a part in the
Jimmy Wakely oater
Silver Trails (1948). By the next
year Whip was starring in his own tailor-made vehicles, the first being
Crashing Thru (1949) as a
white-hatted, white steed-mounting hero, accompanied by his very own
sidekick in the form of veteran comic actor
Andy Clyde. After about a dozen pictures,
Clyde left the series and was replaced by
Fuzzy Knight and/or
Jim Bannon. Both blonde bombshell
Reno Browne and dark-haired beauty
Phyllis Coates served as frequent
"prairie flower" co-stars in Whip's films. Browne was once married to
cowboy actor LaRue and Coates was better known for playing Lois Lane on
film and TV's
Adventures of Superman (1952).
After only three years as a movie cowboy Whip rode off into the sunset
after starring in the western programmer
Wyoming Roundup (1952). He worked
only one more time in the industry when he was hired to provide
whip-wielding instructions to
Burt Lancaster in a couple of scenes and
also appeared unbilled in the western
The Kentuckian (1955). He
managed a Los Angeles apartment complex in later years. Whip died of a
heart attack on October 22, 1964 at the relatively young age of 53, and
was survived by third wife Monica. He had no children and was buried in
his native state of Illinois.