Jack Hoxie(1885-1965)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
American cowboy star of silent films, Jack Hoxie was raised in the
Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and in Idaho, learning riding and
roping at an early age. He became a popular and successful rodeo star,
winning national championships. In 1914, after touring the U.S. in a
Wild West show, he came to Hollywood and got work as a stuntman. He had
a handsome, stalwart quality that, along with his skills as a cowhand,
quickly gained him the attention of producers and studios. Born John
Stone, he changed his name to Hartford Hoxie and then to Art Hoxie when
producer Anthony J. Xydias of Sunset
Productions signed him for a series of low-budget Westerns. By 1921
Hoxie was successful enough to catch the eye of Universal Pictures,
which hired him away and placed in him in more prestigious westerns.
Although not a star of the magnitude of
Douglas Fairbanks or
Charles Chaplin, Hoxie was a prominent
name among western stars. His career faded quickly after sound, as even
though he looked the part of a cowboy, his skills did not extend to
sounding like one (he could barely read). He continued to appear,
albeit in smaller roles, well into the 1930s, when he left Hollywood to
star in his own western-style circus. By the end of the 1930s he had
retired to a ranch in Oklahoma, where he lived out his days in
obscurity. He died in Kansas in 1965 at the age of 80. He was survived
by his brother, lesser-known cowboy actor
Al Hoxie.
