1. Charles Robert Starrett was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the Durango Kid westerns.
23 Facts About Charles Starrett
1. 2.
Charles Starrett graduated from the Worcester Academy in Massachusetts in 1922, then from Dartmouth College.
3.
Bitten by the acting bug, Charles Starrett played minor roles in films and leading roles in stage plays.
4.
Charles Starrett played the romantic lead in his first movie, Fast and Loose, which starred Frank Morgan, Miriam Hopkins, and Carole Lombard.
5.
Charles Starrett starred in the Canadian production The Viking, a rugged outdoor adventure filmed on location in Newfoundland, which had begun as a Paramount Pictures project.
6.
Charles Starrett was very active for the next two years, playing juvenile leads for both major and minor studios.
7.
Charles Starrett was featured in Our Betters, Murder on the Campus, and as a young doctor named Orion in "Along Came Love", opposite Irene Hervey.
8.
Charles Starrett ultimately signed four contracts with Columbia, becoming the studio's number-one cowboy star.
9.
Charles Starrett cast an appealing figure with his tall stature, strong jawline, confident voice, and air of quiet authority.
10.
Charles Starrett hadn't planned on making an entire career out of westerns, and agreed to make them for two years, with the understanding that his bosses would then cast him in plainclothes roles.
11.
Charles Starrett could carry a tune but left the songs to professional vocalists.
12.
Charles Starrett made two dozen westerns under his new contract, and they tend to resemble each other because the production unit was very close-knit.
13.
Charles Starrett finally accepted his permanent cowboy status, and returned to Columbia in March 1941 as "The Medico": Steven Monroe, cowboy doctor.
14.
Columbia then added former Hopalong Cassidy co-star Russell Hayden and comedian-musician Cliff Edwards to the Charles Starrett company, following the "trigger trio" format popular at the time: three name stars in a western series, like The Three Mesquiteers, The Rough Riders, and The Range Busters.
15.
Charles Starrett played an amiable cowpoke named Steve, who would become angered by an injustice and go after the villains as the mysterious, elusive Durango Kid.
16.
The Durango Kid rejuvenated Charles Starrett's career, winning him a new generation of loyal fans, a new five-year contract, and even a comic-book adaptation, Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid, published by Magazine Enterprises.
17.
In Cyclone Fury, footage from four older Charles Starrett westerns is worked into the plot.
18.
Charles Starrett retired at age 48, when his last Columbia contract lapsed.
19.
Charles Starrett himself was approached to host the program, and he liked the idea but disapproved of the logistics: he would have to appear live in the studio every Saturday afternoon, and the studio was in New York City.
20.
Charles Starrett, long established as a California resident, was understandably reluctant to commute across the country every week, and asked if his segments could be filmed in California.
21.
The Charles Starrett series ran for almost seven months, through March 9,1957.
22.
Charles Starrett was pleased by the interest and made guest appearances at a few film conventions and revivals.
23.
Charles Starrett died of cancer in Borrego Springs, California, on March 22,1986, six days short of his 83rd birthday.