Rex Lease

Born Rex Lloyd Lease in West Virginia on February 11, 1903 (not 1901, according to Social Security records found), future cowboy actor 'Rex Lease' (qv) was raised in Columbus, Ohio and very briefly attended Ohio Wesleyan University initially interested in the ministry. When this fell through, he decided to attempt an acting career instead. Setting his sights on Hollywood at age 19 in 1924, he broke into silent films as an extra and bit player.Rex's first role of any significance was as the adult son of 'Irene Rich' (qv) and 'Morgan Wallace' (qv) in the melodrama _A Woman Who Sinned (1924)_ (qv). Within a couple of years the strapping, exceedingly handsome actor had made it into the silent co-star ranks of romantic drama, jazz-age comedy, canine adventures and rugged action in such fare as _Somebody's Mother (1926)_ (qv), _Mystery Pilot (1926)_ (qv), _The Timid Terror (1926)_ (qv), _The Outlaw Dog (1927)_ (qv), _Clancy's Kosher Wedding (1927)_ (qv), _The College Hero (1927)_ (qv) and as the murderous bad guy, The Solitaire Kid, in the silent 'Tim McCoy' (qv) western _The Law of the Range (1928)_ (qv) co-starring a very young 'Joan Crawford' (qv).Lease made an easy transition come the advent of sound and continued on as heroes and romantic leading men types in such early talkies as _Borrowed Wives (1930)_ (qv), _Troopers Three (1930)_ (qv), _The Sign of the Wolf (1931)_ (qv), _Chinatown After Dark (1931)_ (qv), _The Monster Walks (1932)_ (qv) and _Inside Information (1934)_ (qv). Having appeared in the title role of the western _The Utah Kid (1930)_ (qv), within a few years Rex hit minor cowboy hero stardom with such offerings as _The Cowboy and the Bandit (1935)_ (qv), _Cyclone of the Saddle (1935)_ (qv), _Fighting Caballero (1935)_ (qv), _The Ghost Rider (1935)_ (qv), _Rough Riding Ranger (1935)_ (qv), _Custer's Last Stand (1936)_ (qv), _Cavalcade of the West (1936)_ (qv) and _The Silver Trail (1937)_ (qv). Just as quickly, however, his hero status fell aside and he found himself, more often than not, shuffled back to playing secondary partners or villains for a host of other established or ascending sagebrush stars such as his old pal 'Tim McCoy' (qv), as well as 'Gene Autry' (qv), 'Roy Rogers' (qv), 'Hoot Gibson' (qv), 'Johnny Mack Brown' (qv), 'Tex Ritter' (qv), 'Tom Tyler' (qv), 'Bob Steele' (qv), 'Allan Lane' (qv), 'Bill Elliott' (qv) and a quickly rising 'John Wayne' (qv).By the late 1930's, Rex was finding himself with little to no billing at all -- appearing as a bank robber in the Laurel & Hardy comedy _A Chump at Oxford (1939)_ (qv), a cop in _The Grapes of Wrath (1940)_ (qv), and minor henchmen in such second-string westerns as _Saddlemates (1941)_ (qv), _Jesse James at Bay (1941)_ (qv), _Idaho (1943)_ (qv), _King of the Cowboys (1943)_ (qv), _Rough Riders of Cheyenne (1945)_ (qv) and _Frontier Gal (1945)_ (qv). Occasional featured roles included those in _Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground (1943)_ (qv), _Springtime in Texas (1945)_ (qv), _Days of Buffalo Bill (1946)_ (qv), _The People's Choice (1946)_ (qv) and the serial cliffhanger _The Crimson Ghost (1946)_ (qv). Lease went on to appear in hundreds of films over a three and a half decade career.In the 1950's Rex added TV to his extensive résumé with appearances on "The Abbott & Costello Show," "The 'Roy Rogers' (qv) Show," "Tales of the Texas Rangers," "Fury," "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin," "Maverick" and several spots (his last being in 1960) on "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp." A few minor 50's western movie parts also came his way with _Ride, Vaquero! (1953)_ (qv), _Calamity Jane (1953)_ (qv), _Backlash (1956)_ (qv) and _Tension at Table Rock (1956)_ (qv).Rex's personal life was turbulent, what with five marriages and divorces -- his first two being actresses 'Charlotte Merriam' (qv) and 'Eleanor Hunt' (qv)). He eventually retired and died of undisclosed causes in the Los Angeles area on January 3, 1966, at the age of 62. He was discovered by his son Richard, who was shot to death at age 25 the following year after being involved in a traffic altercation with two teenagers.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]