Tim McCoy
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Apr 10, 1891
- Died
- Jan 29, 1978 (aged 86)
- Place of birth
- Saginaw, Michigan, USA
- Credits
- 97
One of the great stars of early American Westerns. McCoy was the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. At the end of World War I, he returned to his ranch in Wyoming, only to be called by Governor Bob Carry to the post of Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. The position carried with it the rank of Brigadier General (a brevet promotion) and it has been reported that this made him the youngest general officer in the U.S. Army. His reputation as a friend to the Wind River Reservation Indians, both Arapahoe and Shoshone, preceded him and in 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He resigned from the state position and recruited several hundred Indians to the Utah movie location. When the film wrapped, he was asked to choose several Indians to accompany him to Hollywood. There the production company developed a live 'prologue' to be presented just prior to the movie showing. The idea was a success and McCoy and his Indian group toured the U.S. and eventually, Europe as well. After touring this country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and eventually as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. In 1942 he ran for the Republican Nomination for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. He was defeated and returned to Hollywood and an uncertain future. In 1946 he sold his Wyoming ranch and moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the life of the gentleman farmer. While living there, he met and married Danish writer Inga Arvad. He later built a home in Nogales, Arizona where Inga subsequently died in 1973. He spent his later years as a retired rancher. He died at the U.A. Army hospital at Ft. Hauchuca, Arizona on January 29 1978 at the age of 86.
Inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1974.
During World War I, he served as an artillery officer in the US Army in France.
Spouse Inga Arvad (1945 - 1973) (her death)
Alice Miller (? - 1931) (divorced) (3 children)
Known for
Filmography
Hollywood
1980TV
Self
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
1976Movie
(archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972Movie
Self (archive footage)
Requiem for a Gunfighter
1965Movie
Judge Irving Short
Run of the Arrow
1957Movie
Gen. Allen (as Colonel Tim McCoy)
Around the World in 80 Days
1956Movie
Colonel
Injun Talk
1946Movie
Himself
West of the Law
1942Movie
Marshal Tim McCall
Riders of the West
1942Movie
Marshal Tim McCall
Down Texas Way
1942Movie
U. S. Marshal Tim McCall
Ghost Town Law
1942Movie
Marshal Tim McCall
Below the Border
1942Movie
Marshal Tim McCall
Forbidden Trails
1941Movie
Marshal Tim McCall
The Gunman From Bodie
1941Movie
Marshal Tim McCall
Arizona Bound
1941Movie
Tim McCall
The Texas Marshal
1941Movie
Marshal Trigger Tim Rand
Outlaws of the Rio Grande
1941Movie
Tim Barton
Riders of Black Mountain
1940Movie
Marshal Tim Donovan
Arizona Gang Busters
1940Movie
Trigger Tim Rand
Gun Code
1940Movie
Marshal Tim Hammond posing as Tim Hays
Frontier Crusader
1940Movie
Trigger Tim Rand
Texas Renegades
1940Movie
'Silent' Tim Smith
Trigger Fingers
1939Movie
'Lightning' Bill Carson
The Fighting Renegade
1939Movie
Bill Carson posing as El Puma
Straight Shooter
1939Movie
"Lightning" Bill Carson
Outlaws' Paradise
1939Movie
William Carson / Trigger Mallory
Texas Wildcats
1939Movie
'Lightning' Bill Carson
Code of the Cactus
1939Movie
Bill Carson
Six-Gun Trail
1938Movie
Captain William Carson
Lightning Carson Rides Again
1938Movie
Lightning Bill Carson / Jose
Phantom Ranger
1938Movie
Tim Hayes
Two Gun Justice
1938Movie
Tim
Code of the Rangers
1938Movie
Tim Strong
West of Rainbow's End
1938Movie
Tim Hart
The Traitor
1936Movie
Tim McCoy: Sergeant Tim Vallance - Texas Ranger
Ghost Patrol
1936Movie
Tim Caverly
The Lion's Den
1936Movie
Tim Barton
Aces and Eights
1936Movie
Tim Madigan
Lightnin' Bill Carson
1936Movie
Marshal Lightnin' Bill Carson
Border Caballero
1936Movie
Tim Ross
Roarin' Guns
1936Movie
Tim Corwin
Bulldog Courage
1935Movie
Slim Braddock / Tim Braddock
The Man from Guntown
1935Movie
Tim Hanlon
Riding Wild
1935Movie
Tim Malloy / Tex Ravelle
The Outlaw Deputy
1935Movie
Tim Mallory
Justice of the Range
1935Movie
Tim Condon
Fighting Shadows
1935Movie
Constable Tim O'Hara
The Revenge Rider
1935Movie
Tim O'Neil
Law Beyond the Range
1935Movie
Tim McDonald
Square Shooter
1935Movie
Tim Baxter
The Westerner
1934Movie
Tim Addison
The Prescott Kid
1934Movie
Tim Hamlin
Beyond the Law
1934Movie
Tim Weston
A Man's Game
1934Movie
Tim Bradley
Hell Bent for Love
1934Movie
Police Captain Tim Daley
Voice in the Night
1934Movie
Tim Dale
Speed Wings
1934Movie
Tim
Straightaway
1933Movie
Tim Dawson
Hold the Press
1933Movie
Tim Collins
Police Car 17
1933Movie
Tim Conlon
Rusty Rides Alone
1933Movie
Tim Burke
The Whirlwind
1933Movie
Tim Reynolds
Silent Men
1933Movie
Tim Richards
Man Of Action
1933Movie
Ranger Tim Barlow
End of the Trail
1932Movie
Captain Tim Travers
The Western Code
1932Movie
Tim Barrett
Fighting for Justice
1932Movie
Tim Keene
Cornered
1932Movie
Sheriff Tim Laramie
Daring Danger
1932Movie
Tim Madigan
Two-Fisted Law
1932Movie
Tim Clark
Hollywood on Parade
1932Movie
Self
The Riding Tornado
1932Movie
Tim Torrant
Texas Cyclone
1932Movie
Texas Grant
The Fighting Fool
1932Movie
Sheriff Tim Collins
The Fighting Marshal
1931Movie
Tim Benton
Shotgun Pass
1931Movie
Tim Walker
The One Way Trail
1931Movie
Tim Allen
Heroes of the Flames
1931Movie
Bob Darrow
The Indians Are Coming
1930Movie
Jack Manning
The Desert Rider
1929Movie
Jed Tyler
Sioux Blood
1929Movie
Flood
The Overland Telegraph
1929Movie
Captain Allen
Morgan's Last Raid
1929Movie
Capt. Daniel Clairbourne
The Bushranger
1928Movie
Edward
Beyond the Sierras
1928Movie
The Masked Stranger
The Adventurer
1928Movie
Jim McClellan
Riders of the Dark
1928Movie
Lt. Crane
Wyoming
1928Movie
Lt. Jack Colton
The Law of the Range
1928Movie
Jim Lockhart
Spoilers of the West
1927Movie
Lieutenant Lang
Foreign Devils
1927Movie
Capt. Robert Kelly
The Frontiersman
1927Movie
John Dale
California
1927Movie
Capt. Archibald Gillespie
Winners of the Wilderness
1927Movie
Col. Sir Dennis O'Hara
War Paint
1926Movie
Lt. Tim Marshall
The Thundering Herd
1925Movie
Burn Hudnall
The Man Who Would Not Die
1924Movie