1. James Shorttel Bannon was an American actor and radio announcer known for his work on the I Love a Mystery and Red Ryder series during the 1940s and 1950s.
17 Facts About Jim Bannon
1. 2.
Jim Bannon began his broadcasting career on local radio station KCKN, then briefly at KMOX in St Louis.
3.
Jim Bannon moved to Los Angeles in 1937, beginning his show-business career in radio as an announcer on The Great Gildersleeve, The Chase and Sanborn Hour, and Stars over Hollywood, among others, with his most prominent acting role being that of Detective Jack Packard in the serial I Love a Mystery.
4.
Jim Bannon left radio in 1946 to sign with Columbia as a contract player in his attempt to become a Western movie star, but then left the next year for Republic Pictures.
5.
Jim Bannon first served as a stuntman and double before being cast as the lead in his first picture with the company, the 1948 serial Dangers of the Canadian Mounted.
6.
Jim Bannon teamed with Whip Wilson and Fuzzy Knight in five low-budget Westerns for Monogram Pictures, all released in 1951.
7.
Jim Bannon is best known for being the last of four actors to portray the fictional cowboy Red Ryder in the long-running B-movie series, completing between 1949 and 1950 what would be the final four pictures in the franchise that were distributed by Eagle-Lion Films, after Republic had let its series rights expire.
8.
Jim Bannon openly campaigned for the part by outfitting his car with a Texas Longhorn hood ornament and a Colt 45-style gearshift knob while dressing in Western attire.
9.
Jim Bannon had a starring role in Flying A Productions' 1955 series The Adventures of Champion, which lasted for one 26-episode season.
10.
Jim Bannon then filmed two guest appearances on another Flying A show, Annie Oakley, the next year.
11.
Jim Bannon relocated to Chicago in 1955 to film one season of soap opera Hawkins Falls, Population 6200.
12.
Jim Bannon worked sporadically in the 1960s with bit parts on programs such as Sea Hunt, Wagon Train, and Lassie.
13.
Jim Bannon's final role was a one-time guest spot on Death Valley Days in 1965.
14.
Jim Bannon then moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to join radio station KTAR as a morning news broadcaster and the host of his own afternoon show.
15.
Jim Bannon was the first husband of American actress and comedian Bea Benaderet.
16.
In 1961, Jim Bannon married Barbara Cork, 23 years his junior; the couple divorced in 1981.
17.
Jim Bannon died in Ventura, California, on July 28,1984, at age 73.