Tim Mccoy

Tim McCoy

One of the great stars of early American Westerns. McCoy was the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. At the end of World War I, he returned to his ranch in Wyoming, only to be called by Governor Bob Carry to the post of Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. The position carried with it the rank of Brigadier General (a brevet promotion) and it has been reported that this made him the youngest general officer in the U.S. Army. His reputation as a friend to the Wind River Reservation Indians, both Arapahoe and Shoshone, preceded him and in 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He resigned from the state position and recruited several hundred Indians to the Utah movie location. When the film wrapped, he was asked to choose several Indians to accompany him to Hollywood. There the production company developed a live 'prologue' to be presented just prior to the movie showing. The idea was a success and McCoy and his Indian group toured the U.S. and eventually, Europe as well. After touring this country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and eventually as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. In 1942 he ran for the Republican Nomination for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. He was defeated and returned to Hollywood and an uncertain future. In 1946 he sold his Wyoming ranch and moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the life of the gentleman farmer. While living there, he met and married Danish writer Inga Arvad. He later built a home in Nogales, Arizona where Inga subsequently died in 1973. He spent his later years as a retired rancher. He died at the U.A. Army hospital at Ft. Hauchuca, Arizona on January 29 1978 at the age of 86. Inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1974. During World War I, he served as an artillery officer in the US Army in France. Spouse Inga Arvad (1945 - 1973) (her death) Alice Miller (? - 1931) (divorced) (3 children)

Known For	Acting
Most Rating	2.494
Birthday	1891-04-10
Place of Birth	Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Also Known As	Timothy John Fitzgerald McCoy,

Around the World in Eighty Days

Voice in the Night

The Thundering Herd

The Overland Telegraph

Sioux Blood

Two-Fisted Law

Texas Cyclone

Aces and Eights

Hollywood: The Dream Factory

Below the Border

Forbidden Trails

Roarin' Guns

Arizona Bound

Riders of the West

Bulldog Courage

Ghost Town Law

Down Texas Way

Hell Bent for Love

Ghost Patrol

Border Caballero

Lightnin' Bill Carson

The Traitor

The Man from Guntown

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

The Gunman From Bodie

Straight Shooter

The Outlaw Deputy

West of Rainbow's End

Justice of the Range

Phantom Ranger

Straightaway

Six-Gun Trail

Lightning Carson Rides Again

Speed Wings

A Man's Game

Fighting Shadows

Outlaws' Paradise

Code of the Cactus

Hold the Press

The Law of the Range

Hollywood on Parade

The Western Code

Trigger Fingers

West of the Law

Code of the Rangers

The Fighting Renegade

Square Shooter

The Whirlwind

Frontier Crusader

Silent Men

Rusty Rides Alone

Prescott Kid

Winners Of The Wilderness

Man Of Action

Texas Wildcats

The Texas Marshal

The Revenge Rider

Two Gun Justice

The Lion's Den

Beyond the Law

The Adventurer

War Paint

Foreign Devils

The Frontiersman

Law Beyond the Range

The Fighting Marshal

Riders of Black Mountain

Gun Code

Requiem for a Gunfighter

The Indians Are Coming

Beyond the Sierras

Cornered

Outlaws of the Rio Grande

Arizona Gang Busters

Run of the Arrow

Spoilers of the West

The Desert Rider

Morgan's Last Raid

Police Car 17

The Riding Tornado