Rex Lease
AKA: Rex Lloyd Lease
Birthday: 1903-02-11
Died: 1966-01-03
Birthplace: Central City [now part of Huntington], West Virginia, USA
From Wikipedia
Rex Lloyd Lease (February 11, 1903 – January 3, 1966) was an American actor. He appeared in over 300 films, mainly in westerns.
Lease arrived in Hollywood in 1924. He found bit and supporting parts at Film Booking Office (FBO), Rayart, more, and was given the opportunity to play a few leads. His first film was A Woman Who Sinned (1924).
Rex's earliest westerns were a pair of Tim McCoy silents at MGM, one of which was The Law of the Range (1928) which had a very young Joan Crawford as the heroine and Rex as the "Solitaire Kid". Tim and Lease became friends, and over the next dozen or so years he appeared in seven more McCoy westerns.
He had a featured role in director Frank Capra's The Younger Generation (1929), a tale of a Jewish family that move to a more upscale neighborhood.
He successfully made the transition to talkies, and starred in melodramas, action flicks, old dark house mysteries, and comedies as well as a couple of western serials and about a dozen low-budget sagebrush yarns and outdoor adventures.
In between lead roles, Lease did featured parts in some B westerns. He was Hoot Gibson's brother in Cavalcade of the West (1936); Rex played the "Pecos Kid" in McCoy's Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936); and he worked in a couple of Tom Tylers, Ridin' On (1936) and Fast Bullets (1936). Rex's finale as a star had him teaming up with Rin-Tin-Tin Jr. in The Silver Trail (1937).
Though no longer afforded star billing, he continued in smaller roles into the 1950s in films and on TV.
Filmography
Character: Lynch Mob Member (uncredited)
Character: Capt. Jim Parker
Character: Airport Attendant (uncredited)
Character: Townsman (uncredited)
Character: Townsman (uncredited)
Character: Clallan County Sheriff (uncredited)
Character: Asa Knox aka Ace Carter
Character: Mr. White (uncredited)
Character: Cattleman at Meeting (uncredited)
Character: Jose Hernandez
Character: Rancher who finds dog
Character: Henchman Buck posing as Billy the Kid
Character: Corporal Daniels aka Tombstone Kid
Character: Spectator (uncredited)
Character: Fred Rand aka The Pecos Kid
Character: Walter Jameson
Character: M.P. Lieutenant (uncredited)
Character: Colonel William B. Travis
Character: Joaquin Florenz
Character: The Spirit of the Bottle
Character: Captain Matthews
Character: Red's Henchman
Character: Sergeant Blane (uncredited)
Character: Jim the Cheyenne Kid
Character: Clarence Walker
Character: Cop (uncredited)
Character: Officer (uncredited)
Character: Tony - Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Character: Garage Henchman
Character: Plant Cafeteria Worker (uncredited)
Character: Sheriff Clay Mathews
Character: Bank Robber (uncredited)
Character: German soldier
Character: Sheriff Ben Jeffers
Character: Henchman Whitey
Character: Henchman Ben Rankin
Character: Engineer Reynolds
Character: Marshal Jim Collins
Character: Stanley, Jane's Editor
Character: Personnel Manager
Character: Henchman Joe - Pete in Credits
Character: Kit Cardigan / John C. Cardigan
Character: First Toll Collector Henchman
Character: Masked Henchman
Character: Henchman Gregg
Character: Gold Strike Rider
Character: Bridge Henchman
Character: Father of Twins
Character: Sergeant Jim Rodney
Character: Ambulance Attendant
Character: Richard Kennedy
Character: Sheriff Wright (uncredited)
Character: Sgt. Makepeace
Character: Appleby's Chauffeur (uncredited)
Character: Track Spectator (uncredited)
Character: Onlooker (uncredited)
Character: Briggs (uncredited)
Character: Cab Driver (uncredited)
Character: Man at Mailbox (uncredited)
Character: Stranger (uncredited)
Character: Card Player (uncredited)
Character: Drunk (uncredited)