Whip Wilson

by Frank M. Roberts

April 2016

Here's another in our series of bios of the cowboy stars of yesteryear (i.e. the '30s-'40s). This gentleman has long since been forgotten and readers will join in a chorus of 'who's' when I mention his name -- Whip Wilson. (Altogether now -- who?).

His real name was Roland Charles Meyers - a very un-cowpoke-like moniker - and he was born in Granite City, IL. on June 16, 1911. He was one of eight children. He, himself, had no children.

He entered the picture(s) in the late 1940s when the Western genre was coming to an end. He was scheduled to be a new hero. Monogram signed him up. His cowboy name? PRC was setting fires with 'Lash' LaRue. So, they had their 'Lash' and Monogram had their 'Whip'. Those studios were so imaginative.

Ole Whip-o had a musical background as a club singer, but he didn't get the chance to be a singing cowboy when he came to Hollywood in 1945. So, he continued singing in cafes until Monogram signed him in 1948. This is how it happened. Their 'biggie' star, Buck Jones, died inthe famous Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston. Wilson resembled him.

At one point they advertised him as, "an electrifying new star sensation." Zowie! He wore a white hat and blue jeans and carried a single holster rig and, of course, he used a bullwhip. Whoosh!

He began his Western work with "Silver Trails," a Jimmy Wakely film. Of course, he had to have an equine so he got a white stallion which, one writer proclaimed, was 'the ugliest horse in movies'. A pox on that writer. He named the horse, 'Rocket'. Its original name was Silver Bullet, and that was shortened to Bullet but Roy Rogers had a canine with that name, so, Rocket it was.

Wilson made 22 features for Monogram. Today, he is seldom remembered but, he made more movies than Lash LaRue, Sunset Carson, Monte Hale, Rex Allen, and Eddie Dean.

Andy Clyde was sidekick for his first dozen films. He had made a name for himself as California Carlson. He worked often with Hoppy. After he left the series Fuzzy Knight was brought in. The series went downhill from there - but the estimable Knight cannot be blamed. The first in the series with the fuzzy one was "Canyon Raiders."

By 1952 Whip was on his own for the last two films in his career. One of his best movies was "Range Feud," which co-starred another unfamiliar name - Reno Browne, who stayed with whips by later marrying Lash LaRue. Speaking of whips, Mr. Wilson became such an accomplished 'whipper' that, late in his career he did the 'whipping' scenes for Burt Lancaster in, "The Kentuckian."

He was married three times. The last time, with Monica, was a winner. The former Monica H. Heberlie Meyers had this to say about her hubby: "He was handsome, intelligent, had a beautiful personality, a sense of humor, and he was a good lover. He was a wonderful husband. How did we stay together? True love will survive." Wow - lovely -- just like your wife says to you. (Yeah, right). Incidentally, she managed an apartment complex.

After retirement, Wilson worked for North American Aviation. He died Oct. 26, 1964. Some of his films: "Outlaws Of Texas," "Arizona Territory," "Fence Riders," co-starring Reno Brown (see below), and "Crashing Thru." Want to see a Whip Wilson movie? Jimbo will oblige.

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Here's an interesting side note. One of his leading ladies was Reno Brown, sometimes using the name, Reno Blair. That lady, and Dale Evans were the only B-movie heroines to have their own comic book series.

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I always wind up with looks at sidekicks and/or bad guys. In the latter category, there's LeRoy Mason - born in 1903, died in 1947.

He began his screen career at the old William Fox studios in 1919, and appeared with such stars as Tom Mix, William Farnum, and Buck Jones. The 'bad guy' appeared in such movies as "Climax." He was in the serial, "Smoky." Other movies included, "Rainbow Valley," "Vigilantes of Dodge City," "Western Gold," "The Spy Ring," "The Painted Trail," "Rhythm Of the Saddle," "Gold Mine In the Sky," and "Santa Fe Stampede."