Russell Hayden
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Russell "Lucky" Hayden (June 12, 1912, Chico, California-June 9, 1981, Palm Springs, California) was an American film and television actor.
He was born as Pate Lucid, son of Francis J. and Minnie Harvey Lucid, but later took the name Russell Hayden in honor of his friend, cameraman Russell Harlan.
[edit] Early life
Hayden worked behind the scenes in films in jobs such as sound recorder, film cutter, and assistant cameraman before he became an actor in the mid 1930s. In the beginning of his acting career, he mainly starred in Westerns and was voted one of the Top Ten Cowboy stars.
He played Lucky Jenkins, one of a trio of heroes in many Hopalong Cassidy westerns starring William Boyd, then co-starred with Charles Starrett in a significant number of westerns. In the 1950s, he produced and directed TV Westerns, including the series 26 Men and Judge Roy Bean. He also helped build Pioneertown, a western movie set located in Southern California which was used in many Western films and TV series.
[edit] Trivia
- Hayden, along with fellow cowboy actor Dick Curtis, helped develop Pioneertown, a western movie set location in southern California that was used for many films and TV westerns.