Tim McCoy

Colonel Timothy John Fitzgerald McCoy (April 10, 1891 – January 29, 1978) was an American actor, military officer, and expert on American Indian life. McCoy is most noted for his roles in B-grade Western films. As a popular cowboy film star, he had his picture on the front of a Wheaties cereal box.

Early years Tim McCoy was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on April 10, 1891. His father was an Irish Union Civil War veteran and Police Chief. While attending St. Ignatius College (now Loyola University), McCoy saw a Wild West show that influenced him to purchase a one-way ticket west. He ended up in Lander, Wyoming, where he worked as a ranch hand. While there, he became an expert horseman and roper while developing an extensive knowledge of the customs and languages of the local American Indian tribes.

Military career McCoy enlisted as a soldier in the U.S. Army and served in the cavalry during World War I (although he did not serve in combat nor overseas). He served again in World War II in Europe, rising to the rank of colonel with the Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces. He also served as adjutant general of Wyoming between the wars with the brevet rank of brigadier general. At 28, he was one of the youngest brigadier generals in the history of the U.S. Army.

Acting career

Early career In 1922, David Townsend, president of the Mountain Plains Enterprise Film Company, planned to build "Sunshine Studios" at McCoy's Owl Creek Dude ranch in order to shoot a film titled, "The Dude Wrangler," written by Caroline Lockhart but the project was abandoned.

That same year, he was asked by the head of Famous Players–Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide American Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He brought hundreds of Indians to the Utah location and served as a technical advisor on the film. After filming was completed, McCoy was asked to bring a much smaller group of Indians to Hollywood, for a stage presentation preceding each showing of the film.

McCoy's stage show was popular, running eight months in Hollywood and several more months in London and Paris. McCoy returned to his Wyoming ranch, but Irving Thalberg of MGM soon signed him to a contract to star in a series of outdoor adventures and McCoy rose to stardom. His first MGM feature was War Paint (1926), featuring epic scenes of the Wind River Indians on horseback, staged by McCoy and director Woody Van Dyke. (Footage from War Paint was reused in many low-budget Westerns, well into the 1950s.)

War Paint set the tone for future McCoy Westerns, in that Indians were always portrayed sympathetically, and never as bloodthirsty savages. One notable McCoy feature for MGM was The Law of the Range (1928), in which he starred with Joan Crawford.

The coming of talking pictures, and the temporary difficulty in recording sound outdoors, resulted in MGM terminating its Tim McCoy series and McCoy returning once more to his ranch. In 1929 he was summoned back to Hollywood personally by Carl Laemmle of Universal Pictures, who insisted that McCoy star in the first talking Western serial, The Indians Are Coming. The action was filmed on an epic scale, and footage from The Indians Are Coming was reused for years in Universal westerns and serials. The Indians Are Coming was very successful, leading to another Tim McCoy serial for Universal, Heroes of the Flames (1931).

Columbia Pictures Harry Cohn ran Columbia, then a small, struggling studio trying to improve its standing in the industry. Cohn often hired stars who had just been dismissed by larger companies, giving Columbia features the name value of important players. Tim McCoy joined Columbia in 1931, and remained with the studio for four years. One of his best-known Columbia credits is Two Fisted Law (1932) with John Wayne and Walter Brennan.

In 1935 Cohn decided he wanted a younger cowboy hero (Charles Starrett got the job), and McCoy was released. That same year he signed with independent producer Sam Katzman, whose films had lower budgets and shorter schedules than Columbia's. McCoy had no qualms about working under these lesser conditions, but he did insist on his standard salary of $4,000 weekly (about $96,500 in 2026). Katzman agreed, and McCoy made a string of outdoor adventures.

Then McCoy was temporarily absent from the Hollywood scene. The Ringling Brothers Circus offered him a chance to tour with their show, and then McCoy formed his own "wild west" show. The latter venture was not a success; it was reported to have lost $300,000 (about $6,880,000 in 2026), one third of which was McCoy's own money. It folded in Washington, D.C., and the cowboy performers were each given $5 and McCoy's thanks. The Indians on the show were returned to their respective reservations by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

McCoy was available for pictures again in 1938, and low-budget producers (including Sam Katzman and Maurice Conn) engaged him at his standard salary of $4,000 weekly, for eight films a year. In 1941 Buck Jones recruited McCoy to co-star in "The Rough Riders" series, alongside Jones and Raymond Hatton. The eight films, released by Monogram Pictures, were very popular, and might have continued but McCoy declined to renew his contract, opting to pursue other interests. Monogram made one more picture with Jones and Hatton, and then Jones died in the Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942.

Interrupted by World War II In 1942, McCoy ran for the Republican nomination for the open U.S. Senate Seat from Wyoming. During that campaign, he established the first statewide radio hookup in Wyoming broadcasting history. He lost in the primary and within 48 hours volunteered for active duty with the U.S. Army.

He had maintained his Army Reserve commission and was immediately accepted. McCoy spent the war in the U.S. Army and performed liaison work with the Army Air Forces in Europe, winning several decorations. He retired from the army, and reportedly never lived in Wyoming again. His Eagle's Nest ranch was sold. He retired from acting in films after the war, except for a few cameo appearances much later, as in the all-star blockbuster Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

Television host McCoy hosted a KTLA television show in Los Angeles in 1952, titled The Tim McCoy Show, for children on weekday afternoons and Saturdays, in which he provided authentic history lessons on the Old West and showed his old Western movies. His co-host was the actor Iron Eyes Cody who, while of Italian lineage, played an American Indian both on and off screen. McCoy won a local Emmy for "Best Children's Show" but didn't attend to receive the award. He was competing against Webster Webfoot, a puppet character seen in McCoy's time slot on another station. McCoy refused to show up at the ceremony, saying "I'll be damned if I'm going to sit there and get beaten by a talking duck!"

McCoy launched his own syndicated show in 1955, distributed by U. M. & M. Television Corp. It was successful, ranking between #25 and #35 in popularity in some markets.

McCoy was such an established expert on American Indian lore that he often guested on other radio and TV programs. A 1955 episode of CBS Radio's The Amos 'n' Andy Music Hall had Charles Correll as Andy addressing McCoy, "I guess it was rugged in Wyoming in those days. The Indians weren't too long off the warpath." To which McCoy replied, "Yes, it took a lot of courage to go into an Indian barber shop and say 'just take a little off the top'."

Personal life McCoy’s first wife was the actress Agnes Heron Miller, the daughter of Henry Miller and Bijou Heron. They had two sons and a daughter and were divorced on July 20, 1931. Henry Miller was the director and producer of La Tendresse, in which Ronald Colman made his last stage appearance. Colman was to become McCoys closest friend in Hollywood and godfather to one of his sons, who was named after him. McCoy was best man at Colman’s wedding to Benita Hume and became godfather to his daughter Juliet. McCoy’s second wife was Inga Arvad whom he married in 1947. They had two sons, Ronnie and Terry. McCoy was married to Arvad until her death from cancer in 1973. Arvad was a journalist from Denmark, investigated by the FBI in the early 1940s due to rumors that she was a Nazi spy. There were photographs of Arvad as a guest of Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Olympics, and she had twice interviewed him. This investigation included the wiretapping of Arvad during a brief affair with John F. Kennedy in late 1941 and 1942, when Kennedy was serving in the U.S. Navy. No evidence of spying against Arvad was ever found.

Later years In 1976, he was interviewed at length by author James Horwitz for the cowboy memoir They Went Thataway. McCoy's final, posthumous, appearance was in Hollywood (1980), Kevin Brownlow-David Gill's television history of silent films.

McCoy died on January 29, 1978, at the Raymond W. Bliss Army Medical Center of Ft. Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He was cremated and his ashes returned to his Nogales home. Nine years later his remains, and those of his wife, Inga, who had died in 1973, were returned to his birthplace at Saginaw, Michigan, for burial in the Mount Olivet Cemetery next to his family's plot.

Legacy For his contribution to the film industry, McCoy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1973, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. He was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1974.

On January 16, 2010, McCoy was inducted into the Hot Springs County (Wyoming) Hall of Fame. Accepting the honor on his behalf was his son, Terry. Included in the 2010 class were Governor Dave Freudenthal of the State of Wyoming, Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court Bart Voigt, former Wyoming state treasurer Stan Smith, and local high school teacher Karl Allen.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 1925 The Thundering Herd Burn Hudnall 1926 War Paint Lt. Tim Marshall 1927 Winners of the Wilderness Col. O'Hara California Capt. Archibald Gillespie The Frontiersman John Dale Foreign Devils Capt. Robert Kelly Spoilers of the West Lt. Lang 1928 The Law of the Range Jim Lockhart Wyoming Lt. Jack Colton Riders of the Dark Lt. Crane The Adventurer Jim McClellan Beyond the Sierras The Masked Stranger The Bushranger Edward 1929 Morgan's Last Raid Capt. Daniel Clairbourne The Overland Telegraph Capt. Allen Sioux Blood Flood The Desert Rider Jed Tyler 1930 The Indians Are Coming Jack Manning 12 chapter serial 1931 Heroes of the Flames Bob Darrow 12 chapter serial The One Way Trail Tim Allen Shotgun Pass Tim Walker The Fighting Marshal Tim Benton 1932 The Fighting Fool Sheriff Tim Collins Texas Cyclone 'Texas' Grant (Jim Rawlings) co-starred John Wayne The Riding Tornado Tim Torrant Two-Fisted Law Tim Clark co-starred John Wayne Daring Danger Tim Madigan Cornered Sheriff Tim Laramie Fighting for Justice Tim Keene The Western Code Tim Barrett End of the Trail Captain Tim Travers 1933 Man of Action Tim Barlow Silent Men Tim Richards The Whirlwind Tim Reynolds Rusty Rides Alone Tim 'Rusty' Burke Police Car 17 Tim Conlon Hold the Press Tim Collins Straightaway Tim Dawson 1934 Speed Wings Tim Voice in the Night Tim Dale Hell Bent for Love Police Captain Tim Daley A Man's Game Tim Bradley Beyond the Law Tim Weston The Prescott Kid Tim Hamlin The Westerner Tim Addison 1935 Square Shooter Tim Baxter Law Beyond the Range Tim McDonald The Revenge Rider Tim O'Neil Fighting Shadows Constable Tim O'Hara Justice of the Range Tim Condon The Outlaw Deputy Tim Mallory Riding Wild Tim Malloy / Tex Ravelle The Man from Guntown Tim Hanlon Bulldog Courage Slim Braddock / Tim Braddock 1936 Roarin' Guns Tim Corwin Border Caballero Tim Ross Lightnin' Bill Carson U. S. Marshal 'Lightnin' Bill Carson Aces and Eights 'Gentleman' Tim Madigan The Lion's Den Tim Barton Ghost Patrol Tim Caverly The Traitor Sergeant Tim Vallance, Texas Rangers 1938 West of Rainbow's End Tim Hart Code of the Rangers Tim Strong Two Gun Justice Tim Phantom Ranger Tim Hayes Lightning Carson Rides Again 'Lightning Bill' Carson, posing as Jose as Colonel Tim McCoy Six-Gun Trail Captain William 'Lightning Bill' Carson 1939 Code of the Cactus 'Lightning' Bill Carson posing as Miguel Texas Wildcats 'Lightning' Bill Carson Outlaws' Paradise Captain William 'Lightning Bill' Carson / Trigger Mallory Straight Shooter 'Lightning' Bill Carson / Sam Brown The Fighting Renegade Lightning Bill Carson aka El Puma Trigger Fingers 'Lightning' Bill Carson 1940 Texas Renegades Silent Tim Smith Frontier Crusader 'Trigger' Tim Rand Gun Code Marshal Tim Hammond, alias Tim Hays Arizona Gang Busters 'Trigger' Tim Rand Riders of Black Mountain Marshal Tim Donovan 1941 Outlaws of the Rio Grande Marshal Tim Barton The Texas Marshal Marshal 'Trigger Tim' Rand Arizona Bound Marshal Tim McCall, posing as 'Parson" McCall The Gunman from Bodie Marshal McCall Forbidden Trails Marshal Tim McCall, posing as Ace Porter 1942 Below the Border Marshal Tim McCall Ghost Town Law Marshal Tim McCall Down Texas Way U. S. Marshal Tim McCall Riders of the West Marshal Tim McCall West of the Law Marshal Tim McCall 1952 The Tim McCoy Show (TV, local) Himself 1955 The Tim McCoy Show (TV, syndicated) Himself 1956 Around the World in 80 Days Colonel, U.S. Cavalry as Col. Tim McCoy 1957 Run of the Arrow Gen. Allen as Colonel Tim McCoy 1965 Requiem for a Gunfighter Judge Irving Short (final film role)