Addison Byron Owen Randall(May 12, 1906 – July 16, 1945) was an American film actor, chiefly inWesterns.He often used a pseudonym for his film work, chieflyJack Randall,and he played roles asAllen ByronandByron Vance.
Jack Randall | |
|---|---|
 Randall inGirls in Chains(1943) | |
| Born | Addison Byron Owen Randall May 12, 1906 |
| Died | July 16, 1945(aged 39) |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park,Glendale, California |
| Other names | Allen Byron Byron Vance |
| Years active | 1933–1943 |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Stanley (m.19??;div.19??) |
| Relatives | Robert Livingston(brother) |
Early life
editRandall was born May 12, 1906, in San Fernando, California. He attendedKemper Military SchoolinBoonville, Missouri.The reference bookWho's Who in Hollywoodgives Randall's place of birth as Quincy, Illinois.[1]
Film career
editRandall began his career as a supporting actor and foil atRKO,but he left whenMonogram Picturespromised him the chance to star in films. They were true to their word, and he appeared in a series of Western films through the 1930s and 1940s. (In 1935, he actually played a star of Westerns in RKO'sAnother Face,released in 1935.)
Many of Randall's earlyB-movieswith Monogram feature him as asinging cowboy,but his later roles were generally straight Western stories, and all were hampered by the low budgets typical of this studio. Many of his cowboy characters were named "Jack". His older brotherRobert Livingston(born Robert Edward Randall) was also an actor in Western films of the time.
Randall adopted his new "Allen Byron" identity in the 1940s in an effort to boost his fading professional fortunes, but the roles he received with new studioProducers Releasing Corporationwere not up to the task.
Death
editHe died unexpectedly in 1945 while filming aserialcalledThe Royal Mounted Rides AgainforUniversal Studios,after a fall from a horse atCanoga Park,California, in which he struck a tree.[2]Some sources attribute his death to injuries sustained during the fall, which in those versions resulted from an attempt to recover a hat he had dropped, while others state that he suffered a fatal heart attack before falling.[3]He is interred atForest Lawn Memorial Parkin Glendale, California, in the Garden of Memory, near his older brother, Robert Livingston.[4][5]
Personal life
editRandall twice married and divorced actressLouise Stanley,and carried on an affair with former silent film actressLouise Brooks.At the time of his death, he was married to his second wife, actressBarbara Bennett,sister of actressesConstance BennettandJoan Bennett.[3]
Partial filmography
edit- His Family Tree(1935) as Mike Donovan
- Another Face(1935) as Tex Williams
- Two in the Dark(1936) as Duke Reed
- Love on a Bet(1936) as Jackson
- Mariners of the Sky(1936) akaNavy Bornas Lt. Tex Jones
- Don't Turn 'Em Loose(1936) as Al - Henchman
- Red Lights Ahead(1936) as Nordingham
- Flying Hostess(1936) as Earl Spencer
- Danger Valley(1937) as Jack Bruce
- Stars Over Arizona(1937) as Jack Dawson
- Riders of the Dawn(1937) as Marshal Josh Preston
- Blazing Barriers(1937) as Arthur Forsythe
- Wild Horse Canyon(1938) as Jack Gray
- Gun Packer(1938) as Jack Denton
- The Mexicali Kid(1938) as Jack Wood
- Man's Country(1938) as Jack Haid
- Gunsmoke Trail(1938) as Jack Lane
- Land of Fighting Men(1938) as Jack Lambert
- Where the West Begins(1938) as Jack Manning
- Overland Mail(1939) as Jack Mason
- Oklahoma Terror(1939) as Jack Ridgley
- Across the Plains(1939) as Jack Winters, Cherokee
- Trigger Smith(1939) as Jack 'Trigger' Smith aka Arizona Jones
- Drifting Westward(1939) as Jack Martin
- Riders from Nowhere(1940) as Jack Rankin
- Wild Horse Range(1940) as Jack Wallace
- The Kid from Santa Fe(1940) as Santa Fe Kid
- Land of the Six Guns(1940) as Jack Rowan
- Covered Wagon Trails(1940) as Jack Cameron
- The Cheyenne Kid(1940) as The Cheyenne Kid
- Pioneer Days(1940) as Jack Dunham
- High Explosive(1943) as Joe
- Girls in Chains(1943) as Johnny Moon
- Danger! Women at Work(1943) as Danny
- Cry 'Havoc'(1943) as Lt. Thomas Holt
References
edit- ^Rowan, Terry (2015).Who's Who In Hollywood!.Lulu.com. pp. 292–293.ISBN9781329074491.RetrievedApril 28,2017.
- ^Associated Press, "Cowboy Actor - Husband Of Barbara Bennett Killed",The San Bernardino Daily Sun,San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 17 July 1945, Volume 51, page 1.
- ^ab"Addison Randall",Allmovie reprinted in theNew York Timesonline, accessed June 27, 2006.
- ^Profile,B-westerns.com. Accessed November 28, 2022.
- ^Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries.Accessed November 28, 2022.
External links
edit
