Tom London

Tom London and colleague Virginia Brown Faire (1920)

Tom London , born in Leonard Clapman , (born August 24, 1889 in Louisville , Kentucky , † December 5, 1963 in North Hollywood , California ) was an American actor who played mainly in westerns . According to the Guinness Book of Records , London is said to be the actor with the most film appearances, namely in around 2000 films over a period of almost 50 years.

Life

Leonard Clapham was born in Kentucky to Harry R. Clapham and Mary J. Huesman. He first worked as a salesman in New York and Chicago before becoming a film actor. Some sources state that he made his film debut in The Great Train Robbery (1903) at the age of 14 , but this is now considered unlikely. In Chicago he joined the film company Selig as a prop master , later he moved on to Hollywood with them . Clapham made his film debut in 1915, but interrupted his film career for a service in World War I between 1917 and 1918. Because he was good horse riding and had a rough appearance since childhood, the western became his cinematic home. After initially appearing in films under his maiden name, he changed his name to Tom London in 1925 . London, graying at an early age, acted as a character actor in comic roles as well as a villain or henchman. Many of the supporting actor's film appearances were not mentioned in the credits. He made the jump from silent films to talkies at the end of the 1920s without any problems.

Most of his countless, mostly smaller western films have been forgotten today, but his appearances also include well-known films such as Twelve Noon , Ritt zum Ox-Bow and The Man from the West . At twelve noon in 1952, London played its probably best-known role as Sam, the loyal servant of the hotel owner Helen Ramirez ( Katy Jurado ). Although it has half a dozen scenes, it was not mentioned in the credits . In the course of his film career, London also appeared in other genres , for example in the anti-war film In the West Nothing New and the comedy Lady for a Day . In the 1940s he played the sidekick of B-Western star Sunset Carson in several films. When the B-Western disappeared due to the advent of television, it shifted to Western TV series such as The Roy Rogers Show and At the Foot of the Blue Mountains in the 1950s . He had his last appearance in the year he died in the television series The Dakotas .

How many films Tom London actually appeared in during his career is unknown. The Internet Movie Database lists around 600 films and some television programs. In fact, however, he has appeared in significantly more films and it is estimated that there will be up to 2000 films. The Guinness Book of Records lists him as the actor with the most film appearances. London itself didn't know how many films he appeared in either: “I don't know how many films I've starred in. It's like asking how many socks you've worn in your life. If you put on socks every day in 50 years, that's a lot. I've been in the film business for 50 years and that's a lot of films. "

He has been described by colleagues as a professional and friendly actor. He was married to the actress Edith Stayart (1890-1970), with whom he played in the film Nan of the North . According to the American census , he must have separated from Stayart in the 1930s and from then on lived with his sister and brother-in-law. Tom London died in 1963 at the age of 74 and is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale .

Filmography (selection)

1915: Lone Larry
1916: Liberty, A Daughter of the USA
1918: The Lion's Claw
1919: The Lion Man
1921: Nan of the North
1923: Darn hospitality (Our Hospitality)
1923: The Social Buccaneer
1926: The Bar-C Mystery
1926: Snowed In
1927: King of Kings (The King of Kings)
1927: The Golden Stallion
1927: The Return of the Riddle Rider
1929: Gallows Birds (Hell's Hereos)
1929: The Black Watch
1929: The Yellow Cameo
1930: on the Western Front (All Quiet on the Western Front)
1931: The Secret Six
1931: The Arizona Terror
1931 Dishonored (Dishonored)
1931: Warnings are given against blondes (Platinum Blonde)
1931: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
1932: The Lost Special
1933: The Whispering
1933: Lady for a Day
1933: Between Today and Tomorrow (Gabriel over the White House)
1933: I'm No Angel
1933: Clancy of the Mounted
1933: The Wolf Dog
1934: Mystery Mountain
1934: Hollywood Party
1934: Shirley's big game (Baby take a Bow)
1934: The Vanishing Shadow
1935: Tom Mix, der Wunderreiter (The Miracle Rider)
1935: Talk of the Town (The Whole Town's Talking)
1935: The Fighting Marines
1935: The San Francisco Casino (Barbary Coast)
1935: The Roaring West
1936: The Phantom Rider
1937: This Is My Affair
1937: The attack on the Gold Express (Gold Guard)
1937: Zorro Rides Again
1937: Jungle Menace
1937: The Mysterious Pilot
1938: The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1938: The Lone Ranger
1938: Santa Fe Stampede
1938: The Spider's Web
1939: The Night Riders
1939: An ideal couple (Made for each other)
1939: Jesse James, Man Without a Law (Jesse James)
1939: The Eerie Avenger (Flaming Lead)
1940: Deadwood Dick
1940: The Mysterious Horseman (Phantom Rancher)
1940: Northwest Passage (Northwest Passage)
1940: The Daredevil (Boom Town)
1940: The Shadow
1940: A Cowboy Lives Dangerously (Trailing Double Trouble)
1941: Ridin 'on a Rainbow
1941: The Spider Returns
1941: The Last Bandit (Billy the Kid)
1942: Spy Smasher
1942: Perils of the Royal Mounted
1942: Valley of the Sun
1942: The King of Texas (American Empire)
1942: The Valley of Vanishing Men
1943: Daredevils of the West
1943: Ride to the Ox-Bow (The Ox-Bow Incident)
1943: Batman and Robin (Batman and Robin)
1943: To Life and Death (The Renegade)
1943: The Hell of Oklahoma (In Old Oklahoma)
1944: The Tiger Woman
1944: Alarm in the Pacific (The Fighting Seabeas)
1944: The Avenger with the Mask (Zorro's Black Whip)
1945: Earl Carroll Vanities
1945: Oregon Trail
1945: Federal Operator 99
1946: Conquest of Cheyenne
1946: The Phantom Rider
1946: Gunfire at the Ranch (My Pal Trigger)
1947: Son of Zorro
1947: Hyenas of the Prairie (Wyoming)
1947: Jesse James Rides Again
1949: Riders in the Sky
1949: Hands up, Old Boy (Red Desert)
1950–1954: The Gene Autry Show (TV series, 8 episodes)
1950: Cody of the Pony Express
1951: Retaliation at Teufelssee (The Secret of Convict Lake)
1951–1953: The Range Rider (TV series, 8 episodes)
1952: Angel of the Hunted (Rancho Notorious)
1952: Twelve noon (High Noon)
1952–1955: The Roy Rogers Show (TV series, 7 episodes)
1953: The Lone Ranger (TV series, 3 episodes)
1956–1959: Wyatt Earp intervenes (TV series, 7 episodes)
1956: Alluring Temptation (Friendly Persuasion)
1957: The Stormrider
1958: The Sheepman in Colorado
1958: To the last cartridge (The Saga of Hemp Brown)
1958: The Man of the West
1959–1960: The Texan (TV series, 5 episodes)
1959–1961: Bat Masterson (TV series, 5 episodes)
1959–1961: At the foot of the blue mountains (TV series, 7 episodes)
1961: Everything on one card (Underworld USA)
1962: The Tiger Is Among Us (13 West Street)
1963: The Dakotas (TV series, 1 episode)

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Tom London at Western Clippings

↑ Tom London at Matineeclassics ( Memento of the original from February 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Tom London at B-Westerns, cf. He easily migrated to talking pictures
^ Patrick Robertson: Film Facts (2001), p. 97
↑ Edith Stayart on the Internet Movie Database
↑ Tom London (as Leonard Clapham) in the United States Census 1930
↑ Tom London (as Leonard Clapham) in the United States Census 1940

personal data
SURNAME	London, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Clapman, Leonard (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH	August 24, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH	Louisville , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH	5th December 1963
Place of death	North Hollywood , California

[A-1] Tom London at Western Clippings