Since wrapping up a commentary for El Paso (1949), the Pine-Thomas Western starring John Payne, Gail Russell and Sterling Hayden, I’ve been thinking about Gabby Hayes.
George Francis “Gabby” Hayes was born in his father’s hotel, the Hayes Hotel, in Stannards, New York. He played semiprofessional baseball in high school — and ran away from home at 17. He toured with a stock company, joined a circus, and became a successful vaudevillian.
Hayes married Olive E. Ireland in 1914, and she joined him in vaudeville. Hayes was so successful that by 1928, at just 43, he retired to Long Island. But he lost everything in the 1929 stock-market crash, and Olive persuaded George to try his luck in the movies. They moved to Los Angeles.
In his early days in Hollywood, Hayes played all kinds of roles — sometimes two parts in a single film. He did well in Westerns, though he didn’t know how to ride a horse until he was in his 40s and had to learn for a movie. In fact, he didn’t care much for Westerns.
From 1935 to 39, Hayes played Windy Halliday, the sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy (played by William Boyd). In 1939, Hayes left Paramount in a salary dispute and moved over to Republic. Paramount owned the name Windy Halliday, so he became Gabby.
As Gabby Whitaker, he appeared in more than 40 pictures between 1939 and 1946, usually with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry or Wild Bill Elliott — and often working with director Joseph Kane.
Hayes, Wayne and Rogers would all appear in Raoul Walsh’s The Dark Command (1940). Its dream cast also includes Claire Trevor, Walter Pigeon, Marjorie Main and Joe Sawyer. Its success would spur Yates to put more money into their John Wayne movies, and it hints at the bigger pictures Republic would do heading into the 50s. It’s a good one.
George “Gabby” Hayes’ last feature was The Cariboo Trail (1950) with Randolph Scott. He then headed to TV and hosted The Gabby Hayes Show from 1950 to 1954 on NBC and on ABC in 1956. When the series ended, Hayes retired from show business for a second time. He passed away in February 1969.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 
I love Gabby in his overly-familiar persona, but I love even more the opportunities to see him stretch his acting muscles in earlier movies. Retirement for the old Vaudevillian wasn’t exactly as he envisioned, was it?
Same thing happened to Walter Brennan — he had to go back to work after the ’29 Crash.
That was a horrible event, but at least it put Brennan back in circulation so he could play Stumpy in Rio Bravo!
I don’t think I have ever seen a film with Gabby Hayes, from his Hoppies onward, that didn’t make me chuckle at regular intervals. He was ‘the master’ sidekick, no doubt about it.
Apparently, he was one of Hollywood’s best dressed men (!). He and his wife Olive never had children, I believe, but called each other ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’. How charming.
The last film I saw Gabby Hayes in (just a week ago), he was a rather nasty villain, giving Bob Steele a hard time in “Brand of Hate” (1934). Seen the film several times before over the years, but it had been a long while. I always remember this one mainly because it also serves up familiar character actor James Flavin as a particularly unsavory, tobacco-chawing villain who keeps making moves on the delicate little leading-lady, Lucile Browne. The kicker being that, in real-life, Flavin and Browne were husband-and-wife. Browne had already been the ingenue opposite Steele in the previous year’s “Mystery Squadron” serial. The Flavins remained married up to their passings in the 1970s.
But back to Gabby, I think I do rank him as the best of the cowboy sidekicks. Especially when he was with Hoppy. He tended to hit just the right note. The legion of b-western sidekicks isn’t exactly brimming with standouts. You got a lot of Fuzzy Knights and Emmett ‘Pappy’ Lynns out there, and to be frank, even Smiley Burnette can wear awfully thin (for me) at times, with his juvenile schtick. Makes me really appreciate ol’ Gabby. I also think Eddy Waller was pretty good in some of the Allan ‘Rocky’ Lane films. And if you push me enough, I will admit to being impressed with how some of the old-time vaudeville comedians-turned-sidekicks were able to genuinely make something out of non-existent material, enlivening the proceedings when needed… Lee ‘Lasses’ White, Fuzzy St. John, and even (although I might be alone in my assessment) Wally Vernon, among others.
Some sidekicks have a way of bringing the movie to a grinding halt while they do their thing. If they can’t fit into the story, why have them there? Gabby usually fits.
I’m a big fan of Richard Martin from the Tim Holt pictures — he’s certainly one of the last of the sidekicks.
Lee White had one of his last roles in El Paso. (It might’ve been his last.) He’s the stage driver.
When I think of stage drivers, I usually think of the omnipresent Bud Osborne. It’s always amazing to see him busily menacing the heroes in all sorts of antique silent-era westerns, and yet, still see him up on top of a stage in a “Have Gun, Will Travel” episode, all those years later.
So many of the old-timers still pop up in small bits and crowd scenes in the westerns, well into the 1950s and sometimes 1960s. I’m always spotting folks like Rex Lease, Tom London, Lane Chandler, Reed Howes, and others. There’s a really fascinating little lineage going on in the genre, from decade to decade, even up to all the tv-westerns.
Half the fun of the films is spotting the familiar faces, some like Ray Jones never even spoke but could always be spotted in the saloon, the lynch mob etc.
I agree wholeheartedly about Richard Martin. I really like that Tim and Chito are buddies, equals, often just cowhands mending fence together etc. Good relationship.
Also liked Eddy Waller a lot in the Lane films. In fact, he had a regular spot as stage driver Mose Allison in the “LARAMIE” TV series. Following in the boots of Bud Osborne?
Gabby Hayes was a colourful character.
I not a big fan of courtroom dramas but two films ,TRUE GRIT and BROKEN LANCE have some of the best if not colourful scenes in a movie .Spencer Tracy -“then you’d better lower the tone of your voice sonny”. John Wayne -Uh -shot or killed”
There are two films, Badman’s Territory (19460 and Wyoming (1947) in which Gabby, always sympathetic and downright lovable is murder onscreen. A daring move on the producer’s part and dramatically worthwhile, especially in the Bill Elliott picture, which is one of my personal favorites. In fact, I see Wyoming as Shane in reverse, and all the better for it.
correction ….murdered…