Johnny Mack Brown
Acting
- Born:
- 1904-09-01
- Died:
- 1974-11-14
- Place of birth:
- Dothan, Alabama, USA
Biography
An All-American halfback while attending the University of Alabama, Johnny Mack Brown chose the silver screen over the green grass of the football field when he graduated. Signed to a contract with MGM in 1926, Brown debuted in Slide, Kelly, Slide (1927) with William Haines in a film about - baseball. This was followed by The Bugle Call (1927), which starred the fading Jackie Coogan. In 1928 he appeared in the last Norma Shearer silent film, A Lady of Chance (1928). After that, he worked with Greta Garbo, Marion Davies and Mary Pickford. His muscular good looks only carried him so far in films, however, and by 1930 he had yet to find his place. At MGM Clark Gable was taking the roles that Brown was up for, so he went into a western for director King Vidor, Billy the Kid (1930). While Vidor did not want him for the part to begin with, the picture was successful; however, Brown's career at MGM soon ended. By 1933 he was still making westerns, but they were for low-rung studios like Mascot. More westerns at even lower-rung Supreme Pictures followed, as well as serials like Wild West Days (1937) at Universal. In 1943 Brown took his boots over to Monogram Pictures, where he made over 60 westerns. He started off as "Nevada Jack McKenzie" in the Rough Riders series, but the name soon changed to Johnny. As with most of the early cowboy stars, he was a hero to millions of young children and consistently among the top ten money-makers in westerns from 1942-50. The bubble burst, though, just as it did for Allan Lane, in 1953, as the days of the "B" western came to an end.
Known For
Filmography
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
Legends of the West
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
It's Showtime
Apache Uprising
The Bounty Killer
Requiem for a Gunfighter
Perry Mason
Official Detective
The Marshal's Daughter
Canyon Ambush
This Is Your Life
Dead Man's Trail
Man from the Black Hills
Texas City
Texas Lawmen
Whistling Hills
Oklahoma Justice
Montana Desperado
Blazing Bullets
Man from Sonora
Colorado Ambush
Short Grass
Outlaw Gold
Law of the Panhandle
Six Gun Mesa
Over the Border
West of Wyoming
Western Renegades
Range Justice
West of El Dorado
Stampede
Trails End
Law of the West
Hidden Danger
Gunning for Justice
The Sheriff of Medicine Bow
The Fighting Ranger
Back Trail
Triggerman
Frontier Agent
Crossed Trails
Overland Trails
Gun Talk
Prairie Express
Valley of Fear
Flashing Guns
Code of the Saddle
Trailing Danger
The Law Comes to Gunsight
Land of the Lawless
Raiders of the South
Silver Range
Shadows on the Range
Trigger Fingers
The Gentleman from Texas
Under Arizona Skies
The Haunted Mine
Drifting Along
Border Bandits
Frontier Feud
The Lost Trail
Flame of the West
Stranger from Santa Fe
Gun Smoke
Forever Yours
The Navajo Trail
Ghost Guns
Law of the Valley
Land of the Outlaws
West of the Rio Grande
Range Law
Partners of the Trail
Law Men
Raiders of the Border
The Texas Kid
Outlaws of Stampede Pass
Crazy House
The Lone Star Trail
Six Gun Gospel
The Stranger From Pecos
Raiders of San Joaquin
Cheyenne Roundup
The Ghost Rider
Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
The Old Chisholm Trail
Little Joe, the Wrangler
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
The Silver Bullet
Stagecoach Buckaroo
Ride 'Em Cowboy
Fighting Bill Fargo
Arizona Cyclone
The Masked Rider
Man from Montana
Rawhide Rangers
Law of the Range
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
Pony Post
Law and Order
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
Son of Roaring Dan
Bad Man from Red Butte
Riders of Pasco Basin
Boss of Bullion City
West of Carson City
Chip of the Flying U
Oklahoma Frontier
Desperate Trails
The Oregon Trail
Land of Liberty
Flaming Frontiers
Wells Fargo
Born to the West
Hell Town
Boothill Brigade
Wild West Days
A Lawman Is Born
Guns in the Dark
Bar-Z Bad Men
Lawless Land
Trail of Vengeance
The Gambling Terror
Undercover Man
The Crooked Trail
Everyman's Law
Rogue of the Range
Desert Phantom
Valley of the Lawless
The Courageous Avenger
Between Men
Starlit Days at the Lido
Branded a Coward
Rustlers of Red Dog
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
Against the Law
Belle of the Nineties
Cross Streets
Marrying Widows
St. Louis Woman
Three on a Honeymoon
Son of a Sailor
Female
Saturday's Millions
Fighting With Kit Carson
The Vanishing Frontier
Malay Nights
70,000 Witnesses
Flames
Hollywood Halfbacks
Lasca of the Rio Grande
The Last Flight
The Secret Six
The Great Meadow
Billy the Kid
Montana Moon
Undertow
Jazz Heaven
Hurricane
The Single Standard
The Valiant
Coquette
A Woman of Affairs
A Lady of Chance
Annapolis
Our Dancing Daughters
The Play Girl
Square Crooks
Soft Living
The Divine Woman
The Fair Co-Ed
After Midnight
Mockery
The Bugle Call
Slide, Kelly, Slide