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
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
- Colorado Sundown as Rancher who finds dog
- The Wild North as Townsman (uncredited)
- Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair as Sheriff
- Toughest Man in Arizona
- Lost in Alaska as Old-Timer
1951
- Pals of the Golden West as Cattleman at Meeting (uncredited)
1950
- Singing Guns as Stage Driver
- Curtain Call at Cactus Creek as Yellowstone
- Covered Wagon Raid as Bob Davis
- Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town as Clallan County Sheriff (uncredited)
- Frisco Tornado as Henchman
- Hills of Oklahoma as Joe Brant
- Code of the Silver Sage as Captain Matthews
1949
- Gun Cargo as Capt. Jim Parker
1948
- A Foreign Affair as M.P. Lieutenant (uncredited)
- The Gallant Legion as Conductor
- Night Time in Nevada as Officer (uncredited)
- Out of the Storm as Gus Clute
1947
- California as Stranger (uncredited)
- The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap as Hank
- Buck Privates Come Home as Appleby's Chauffeur (uncredited)
1946
- Canyon Passage as Card Player (uncredited)
- The Time of Their Lives as Sgt. Makepeace
- White Tie and Tails as Briggs (uncredited)
- The Crimson Ghost as Bain
- The Phantom Rider as Randall
- Sun Valley Cyclone as Army Sergeant
- Days of Buffalo Bill as Bill Clinker
1945
- Flame of Barbary Coast as Collingswood
- On Stage Everybody as Onlooker (uncredited)
- Santa Fe Saddlemates as Smiley
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Policeman
- You Came Along as Airport Attendant (uncredited)
- The Naughty Nineties as Sheriff Wright (uncredited)
- Why Girls Leave Home as Tony - Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
- Swingin' on a Rainbow as Cab Driver (uncredited)
- Springtime in Texas as Pete Grant
- Lone Texas Ranger as Henchman Whitey
1944
- Dead Man's Eyes
- Firebrands of Arizona as Deputy Mike
- Call of the Rockies as Miner Kendall
- Bordertown Trail as Sgt. Jenkins
- Code of the Prairie
1943
- Idaho as Henchman
- Daredevils of the West as Jack
- Keep 'Em Slugging as Personnel Manager
- Calling Dr. Death
- Riders of the Rio Grande as Father of Twins
- So's Your Uncle as Hotel Clerk
- King of the Cowboys as Bridge Henchman
- Dead Man's Gulch as Henchman
- Phony Express as Red's Henchman
- Corvette K-225 as Coxswain
- Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground as Zeke Larkin
- Haunted Ranch as Rex Lease
1942
- Arizona Terrors as First Toll Collector Henchman
- The Mummy's Tomb as Townsman (uncredited)
- Eagle Squadron as German soldier
- The Pride of the Yankees as Spectator (uncredited)
- Lady in a Jam as Drunk (uncredited)
- The Cyclone Kid as Henchman Ben Rankin
- Tomorrow We Live as Shorty
- In Old California as Gold Strike Rider
- Eyes of the Underworld as (uncredited)
- Saboteur as Plant Cafeteria Worker (uncredited)
- The Silver Bullet as Rance Harris
- Raiders of the West as Henchman Joe - Pete in Credits
- Frisco Lil
- Sunset Serenade as Martin Rider
- Boss of Hangtown Mesa as Bert Lawler
1941
- Sierra Sue as Rancher Rex
- Nevada City as Masked Henchman
- Jesse James at Bay as Henchman Gregg
- Billy the Kid in Santa Fe as Jeff
- Outlaws of Cherokee Trail as Fake Marshall
- The Phantom Cowboy as Sheriff Ben Jeffers
- Billy the Kid's Range War as Henchman Buck posing as Billy the Kid
- Outlaws of the Rio Grande as Henchman Luke
- Death Valley Outlaws as Marshal Jim Collins
- Tonto Basin Outlaws as Stanley, Jane's Editor
- Bad Man of Deadwood as Townsman
1940
- The Grapes of Wrath as Cop (uncredited)
- Rancho Grande as Henchman Joe
- The Shadow as Garage Henchman
- A Chump at Oxford as Bank Robber (uncredited)
- The Trail Blazers as Engineer Reynolds
- Under Texas Skies as Jim Marsden
- One Man's Law as Spike Hudkins
- Riders of Black Mountain as Sheriff Clay Mathews
- Billy the Kid's Gun Justice as Henchman Buck
1939
- S.O.S Tidal Wave as Ambulance Attendant
- In Old Monterey as Soldier
- South of the Border as Telegrapher
- The Lone Ranger Rides Again as Evans
1938
- Professor Beware as Reporter
- Land of Fighting Men as Ed -Henchman
- Desert Patrol as Dan Drury
- Swing It, Sailor! as Interne
- Code of the Rangers as Jack Strong
- Midnight Intruder as Track Spectator (uncredited)
1937
- Heroes of the Alamo as Colonel William B. Travis
- The Mysterious Pilot as "Kansas" Eby
- The Silver Trail as Bob Crandall
1936
- Fast Bullets as Jimmy
- Roarin' Guns as Jerry
- Custer's Last Stand as Kit Cardigan
- The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand as Walter Jameson
- Fury Below as Joe Norsen
- Ten Laps to Go as Larry Evans
- Lightnin' Bill Carson as Fred Rand aka The Pecos Kid
- Aces and Eights as Jose Hernandez
- Cavalcade of the West as Asa Knox aka Ace Carter
- Custer's Last Stand as Kit Cardigan / John C. Cardigan
- Ridin' On as Danny O'Neil
1935
- Fighting Caballero as Joaquin Florenz
- Cyclone of the Saddle as Andy
- The Ghost Rider as Dave
- The Cowboy and the Bandit as Bill Bodie
- The Man from Guntown as Alan McArthur
- Pals of the Range as Steve Barton
- Rough Riding Ranger as Corporal Daniels aka Tombstone Kid
1934
- Inside Information as Lloyd Wilson
1932
- Midnight Morals as Preen Lazetti
- The Monster Walks as Ted Clayton
1931
- In Old Cheyenne as Jim the Cheyenne Kid
- The Sign of the Wolf as Tom
- Chinatown After Dark as Jim Bonner
1930
- Borrowed Wives as Peter Foley
- Sunny Skies as Jim Grant
- Hot Curves as Jim Dolan
- Wings of Adventure as Dave Kent
- Troopers Three as Eddie Haskins
- The Utah Kid as Cal Reynolds
1929
- Two Sisters as Allan Rhodes
- The Younger Generation as Eddie Lesser
- Girls Who Dare as Chet Randolf
1928
- Broadway Daddies as Richard Kennedy
- Queen of the Chorus as Billy Cooke
- Stolen Love as Bill
- The Law of the Range as Solitaire Kid
- Red Riders of Canada as Pierre Duval
- Riders of the Dark as Jim Graham
1927
- Clancy's Kosher Wedding as Tom Clancy
- The College Hero as Jim Halloran
- Moulders of Men as Jim Barry
- Not for Publication as Philip Hale
- The Outlaw Dog as Bill Brady
1926
- Somebody's Mother as Peter
- The Last Alarm as Tom
- 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
- Chalk Marks as Bert Thompson