Tim McCoy
Known For: Acting
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: April 10, 1891
Day of Death: January 29, 1978 (87 years old)
Place of Birth: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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)
1976
1972
1965
1957
1956
1946
1942
1941
1940
1939
1938
1936
1935
Actor Slim Braddock / Tim Braddock
Bulldog Courage
Actor Tim Hanlon
The Man from Guntown
Actor Tim Mallory
The Outlaw Deputy
Actor Tim Condon
Justice of the Range
Actor Constable Tim O'Hara
Fighting Shadows
Actor Tim Baxter
Square Shooter
Actor Tim O'Neil
The Revenge Rider
Actor Tim McDonald
Law Beyond the Range
Actor Tim Malloy / Tex Ravelle
Riding Wild
1934
1933
1932
Actor Texas Grant
Texas Cyclone
Actor Tim Clark
Two-Fisted Law
Actor Self
Hollywood on Parade
Actor Tim Barrett
The Western Code
Actor Sheriff Tim Laramie
Cornered
Actor Tim Torrant
The Riding Tornado
Actor Sheriff Tim Collins
The Fighting Fool
Actor Tim Madigan
Daring Danger
Actor Tim Keene
Fighting for Justice
Actor Captain Tim Travers
End of the Trail
