Lash LaRue: A Man and His Memories
1992 · Movie
Lash LaRue
1917-06-15
•
Gretna, Louisiana, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 – May 21, 1996) was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional skill with the bullwhip and taught Harrison Ford how to use a bullwhip for the Indiana Jones movies. LaRue was one of the first recipients of the Golden Boot Awards in 1983. LaRue was originally screen tested by Warner Bros. but was rejected because he looked too much like Humphrey Bogart, then one of the studio's contract stars . He began acting in films in 1944 (at age 27) as Al LaRue, appearing in two musicals and a serial before being given a role in a Western film that would result in his being cast in a cowboy persona for virtually the rest of his career. He was given the name Lash because of the 18-foot (5.5 m)-long bullwhip he used to help bring down the bad guys. The popularity of his first role as the Cheyenne Kid, a sidekick of singing cowboy hero Eddie Dean, not just brandishing a whip but using it expertly to disarm villains, paved the way for LaRue to be featured in his own series of Western films. After appearing in all three of the Eddie Dean Cinecolor singing Westerns in 1945-46, he starred in quirky B-westerns from 1947 to 1951, at first for Poverty Row studio PRC, then for Eagle-Lion when they took over the studio, and later for producer Ron Ormond. He developed his image as the cowboy hero Lash LaRue, dressed all in black, and inherited from Buster Crabbe a comic sidekick in the form of "Fuzzy Q. Jones" played by Al St. John. LaRue played the Cheyenne Kid sidekick in about 8 films, before he starred in his own film series, playing a character actually named "Marshall Lash LaRue". Those 11 films (from 1948-1951) are the ones that western movie fans refer to as the "Lash LaRue" film series. He was different from the usual cowboy hero of the era: dressed in black, he spoke with a "city tough-guy" accent somewhat like that of Humphrey Bogart, whom he physically resembled. His use of a bullwhip, however, was what set him apart from bigger cowboy stars such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. His influence was felt throughout the dying medium of B-westerns; for example, he had an imitator, Whip Wilson, who starred in his own brief series, and even Roy Rogers started picking up and using a bullwhip in some of his Republic Studios Westerns made in the same period. He also made frequent personal appearances at small-town movie theaters that were showing his films during his heyday of 1948-51, a common practice for cowboy stars in those days. However, his skillful displays of stunts with his whip, done live on movie theater stages, also convinced young Western fans that there was at least one cowboy hero who could do in real life the same things he did on screen. He continued working in films and television until he retired in 1990. LaRue died of emphysema in 1996 (age 78) at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, and was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. He was survived by his wife, Frances Bramlett LaRue, three sons and three daughters.
Filmography
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Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys
1992 · Movie
as Himself (archive footage)
Pair of Aces
1990 · Movie
as Henry
Escape
1989 · Movie
as Gas Station Owner
A Tribute to Houdini
1987 · Movie
as Self
Stagecoach
1986 · Movie
as Lash
The Dark Power
1985 · Movie
as Ranger Girard
Alien Outlaw
1985 · Movie
as Alex Thompson
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
1976 · Movie
as (archive footage)
Hard on the Trail
1971 · Movie
as Slade
Lanton Mills
1969 · Movie
as Phantom
Please Don't Touch Me
1963 · Movie
as Dr. Warren
Guns Don't Argue
1957 · Movie
as 'Doc' Barker
26 Men
1957 · TV Show
Cheyenne
1955 · TV Show
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
1955 · TV Show
Judge Roy Bean
1955 · TV Show
Lash of the West
1953 · TV Show
as Marshal Lash La Rue
The Frontier Phantom
1952 · Movie
as Lash La Rue
The Black Lash
1952 · Movie
as U.S. Marshal Lash LaRue
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Gang Busters
1952 · TV Show
The Thundering Trail
1951 · Movie
as Marshal Lash LaRue
The Vanishing Outpost
1951 · Movie
as Lash LaRue
Racket Squad
1951 · TV Show
King of the Bullwhip
1950 · Movie
as Lash LaRue
The Daltons' Women
1950 · Movie
as Lash LaRue
Outlaw Country
1949 · Movie
as Lash La Rue / Frontier Phantom
Son of a Badman
1949 · Movie
as Lash La Rue
Son of Billy the Kid
1949 · Movie
as Jack Garrett
Frontier Revenge
1948 · Movie
as Lash La Rue
Dead Man's Gold
1948 · Movie
as Lash LaRue
Mark of the Lash
1948 · Movie
as Lash LaRue
The Enchanted Valley
1948 · Movie
as Pretty Boy
Law of the Lash
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
Border Feud
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
Cheyenne Takes Over
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
Stage to Mesa City
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
Heartaches
1947 · Movie
as DeLong aka Trigger Malone (as Al LaRue)
Ghost Town Renegades
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
The Fighting Vigilantes
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
Pioneer Justice
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
Return of the Lash
1947 · Movie
as Marshal Cheyenne Davis
The Caravan Trail
1946 · Movie
as Cherokee (as Al La Rue)
Wild West
1946 · Movie
as Stormy Day (as Al LaRue)
The Master Key
1945 · Movie
as Migsy
Song of Old Wyoming
1945 · Movie
as The Cheyenne Kid
Lady on a Train
1945 · Movie
as Circus Club Waiter / Henchman
Christmas Holiday
1944 · Movie
as Man (uncredited)
