Rex Lease
Born: 1903-02-11 in Central City [now part of Huntington], West Virginia, USA
Died: 1966-01-03
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia Rex Lloyd Lease (February 11, 1903 – January 3, 1966) was an American actor. He appeared in over 300 films, mainly in westerns. Lease arrived in Hollywood in 1924. He found bit and supporting parts at Film Booking Office (FBO), Rayart, more, and was given the opportunity to play a few leads. His first film was A Woman Who Sinned (1924). Rex's earliest westerns were a pair of Tim McCoy silents at MGM, one of which was The Law of the Range (1928) which had a very young Joan Crawford as the heroine and Rex as the "Solitaire Kid". Tim and Lease became friends, and over the next dozen or so years he appeared in seven more McCoy westerns. He had a featured role in director Frank Capra's The Younger Generation (1929), a tale of a Jewish family that move to a more upscale neighborhood. He successfully made the transition to talkies, and starred in melodramas, action flicks, old dark house mysteries, and comedies as well as a couple of western serials and about a dozen low-budget sagebrush yarns and outdoor adventures. In between lead roles, Lease did featured parts in some B westerns. He was Hoot Gibson's brother in Cavalcade of the West (1936); Rex played the "Pecos Kid" in McCoy's Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936); and he worked in a couple of Tom Tylers, Ridin' On (1936) and Fast Bullets (1936). Rex's finale as a star had him teaming up with Rin-Tin-Tin Jr. in The Silver Trail (1937). Though no longer afforded star billing, he continued in smaller roles into the 1950s in films and on TV.
Filmography
1960
- The Gazebo as Stage Manager (uncredited)
1957
- Maverick as Poker Player #2
- A Hatful of Rain as Man at Mailbox (uncredited)
- The Unholy Wife as Mr. White (uncredited)
1956
- Backlash as Sergeant Blane (uncredited)
- Perils of the Wilderness as Sergeant Jim Rodney
1955
- The Adventures of Champion as Assayer
- The Prodigal as Purveyor (uncredited)
1953
- Ride, Vaquero! as Deputy
- Gun Belt as Lynch Mob Member (uncredited)
- Shadows of Tombstone as Fake Drunk
1952
- The Abbott and Costello Show as Bartender
- The Wild North as Townsman (uncredited)
- Toughest Man in Arizona
- Colorado Sundown as Rancher who finds dog
- Lost in Alaska as Old-Timer
- Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair as Sheriff
1951
- Pals of the Golden West as Cattleman at Meeting (uncredited)
1950
- Singing Guns as Stage Driver
- Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town as Clallan County Sheriff (uncredited)
- Code of the Silver Sage as Captain Matthews
- Hills of Oklahoma as Joe Brant
- Covered Wagon Raid as Bob Davis
- Curtain Call at Cactus Creek as Yellowstone
- Frisco Tornado as Henchman
1949
- Gun Cargo as Capt. Jim Parker
1948
- A Foreign Affair as M.P. Lieutenant (uncredited)
- The Gallant Legion as Conductor
- Out of the Storm as Gus Clute
- Night Time in Nevada as Officer (uncredited)
1947
- California as Stranger (uncredited)
- Buck Privates Come Home as Appleby's Chauffeur (uncredited)
- The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap as Hank
1946
- Canyon Passage as Card Player (uncredited)
- The Time of Their Lives as Sgt. Makepeace
- The Crimson Ghost as Bain
- White Tie and Tails as Briggs (uncredited)
- Sun Valley Cyclone as Army Sergeant
- Days of Buffalo Bill as Bill Clinker
- The Phantom Rider as Randall
- The People's Choice
1945
- Flame of Barbary Coast as Collingswood
- The Naughty Nineties as Sheriff Wright (uncredited)
- Blonde Ransom as Policeman (uncredited)
- You Came Along as Airport Attendant (uncredited)
- Swingin' on a Rainbow as Cab Driver (uncredited)
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Policeman
- Santa Fe Saddlemates as Smiley
- Lone Texas Ranger as Henchman Whitey
- Why Girls Leave Home as Tony - Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
- On Stage Everybody as Onlooker (uncredited)
- Springtime in Texas as Pete Grant
1944
- Bordertown Trail as Sgt. Jenkins
- Dead Man's Eyes
- Code of the Prairie
- Call of the Rockies as Miner Kendall
- Firebrands of Arizona as Deputy Mike
1943
- Idaho as Henchman
- Calling Dr. Death
- So's Your Uncle as Hotel Clerk
- King of the Cowboys as Bridge Henchman
- Haunted Ranch as Rex Lease
- Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground as Zeke Larkin
- Keep 'Em Slugging as Personnel Manager
- Riders of the Rio Grande as Father of Twins
- Corvette K-225 as Coxswain
- Phony Express as Red's Henchman
- Daredevils of the West as Jack
- Dead Man's Gulch as Henchman
1942
- Saboteur as Plant Cafeteria Worker (uncredited)
- The Pride of the Yankees as Spectator (uncredited)
- The Mummy's Tomb as Townsman (uncredited)
- Eagle Squadron as German soldier
- In Old California as Gold Strike Rider
- Lady in a Jam as Drunk (uncredited)
- Arizona Terrors as First Toll Collector Henchman
- The Cyclone Kid as Henchman Ben Rankin
- The Silver Bullet as Rance Harris
- Sunset Serenade as Martin Rider
- Frisco Lil
- Boss of Hangtown Mesa as Bert Lawler
- Tomorrow We Live as Shorty
- Raiders of the West as Henchman Joe - Pete in Credits
- Eyes of the Underworld as (uncredited)
1941
- Outlaws of Cherokee Trail as Fake Marshall
- Jesse James at Bay as Henchman Gregg
- Death Valley Outlaws as Marshal Jim Collins
- Nevada City as Masked Henchman
- The Phantom Cowboy as Sheriff Ben Jeffers
- Outlaws of the Rio Grande as Henchman Luke
- Billy the Kid in Santa Fe as Jeff
- Billy the Kid's Range War as Henchman Buck posing as Billy the Kid
- Sierra Sue as Rancher Rex
- Bad Man of Deadwood as Townsman
- Tonto Basin Outlaws as Stanley, Jane's Editor
1940
- The Grapes of Wrath as Cop (uncredited)
- A Chump at Oxford as Bank Robber (uncredited)
- The Trail Blazers as Engineer Reynolds
- The Shadow as Garage Henchman
- Under Texas Skies as Jim Marsden
- Riders of Black Mountain as Sheriff Clay Mathews
- Billy the Kid's Gun Justice as Henchman Buck
- One Man's Law as Spike Hudkins
- Rancho Grande as Henchman Joe
1939
- S.O.S Tidal Wave as Ambulance Attendant
- The Lone Ranger Rides Again as Evans
- In Old Monterey as Soldier
- South of the Border as Telegrapher
1938
- Professor Beware as Reporter
- Midnight Intruder as Track Spectator (uncredited)
- Code of the Rangers as Jack Strong
- Land of Fighting Men as Ed -Henchman
- Desert Patrol as Dan Drury
- Swing It, Sailor! as Interne
1937
- The Silver Trail as Bob Crandall
- Heroes of the Alamo as Colonel William B. Travis
- The Mysterious Pilot as "Kansas" Eby
1936
- Custer's Last Stand as Kit Cardigan / John C. Cardigan
- Roarin' Guns as Jerry
- Custer's Last Stand as Kit Cardigan
- Cavalcade of the West as Asa Knox aka Ace Carter
- Lightnin' Bill Carson as Fred Rand aka The Pecos Kid
- Aces and Eights as Jose Hernandez
- Fury Below as Joe Norsen
- Ten Laps to Go as Larry Evans
- Ridin' On as Danny O'Neil
- The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand as Walter Jameson
- Fast Bullets as Jimmy
1935
- Cyclone of the Saddle as Andy
- The Cowboy and the Bandit as Bill Bodie
- Rough Riding Ranger as Corporal Daniels aka Tombstone Kid
- The Ghost Rider as Dave
- Pals of the Range as Steve Barton
- Fighting Caballero as Joaquin Florenz
- The Man from Guntown as Alan McArthur
1934
- Inside Information as Lloyd Wilson
1932
- The Monster Walks as Ted Clayton
- Midnight Morals as Preen Lazetti
- Cannonball Express as Ned Logan
1931
- Chinatown After Dark as Jim Bonner
- In Old Cheyenne as Jim the Cheyenne Kid
- Is There Justice? as Jerry Heath
- The Sign of the Wolf as Tom
1930
- Hot Curves as Jim Dolan
- Troopers Three as Eddie Haskins
- Sunny Skies as Jim Grant
- Wings of Adventure as Dave Kent
- The Utah Kid as Cal Reynolds
- Borrowed Wives as Peter Foley
1929
- The Younger Generation as Eddie Lesser
- When Dreams Come True as Ben Shelby
- Girls Who Dare as Chet Randolf
- Two Sisters as Allan Rhodes
1928
- Broadway Daddies as Richard Kennedy
- Stolen Love as Bill
- The Law of the Range as Solitaire Kid
- Queen of the Chorus as Billy Cooke
- Red Riders of Canada as Pierre Duval
- The Phantom of the Turf as John Nichols
- Riders of the Dark as Jim Graham
1927
- Moulders of Men as Jim Barry
- The College Hero as Jim Halloran
- The Outlaw Dog as Bill Brady
- Not for Publication as Philip Hale
- Clancy's Kosher Wedding as Tom Clancy
- The Cancelled Debt as Patrick Burke
1926
- The Last Alarm as Tom
- Somebody's Mother as Peter
- The Mystery Pilot as Bob Jones
1925
- The Last Edition as Clarence Walker
- Episodes in the Life of a Gin Bottle as The Spirit of the Bottle
1924
- A Woman Who Sinned as Her Son as an Adult
- Chalk Marks as Bert Thompson