Gossipy Kate”s Unscripted Endings …the mysterious death of                          a silent cowboy! Art Acord 1890 – 1931

The western frontier had closed. The cowboys and Indians (and some of the outlaws) so vividly portrayed in the popular dime store novels had joined rodeos, Wild West shows and even the movies. The storytellers of the untamed West were now writing movie scripts. The age of the silent Westerns and their rugged cowboy stars was in full swing. One of those cowboy heroes was Art Acord.
                               

Often called the Mormon Cowboy, Artumus Ward Acord was born in Prattsville, Utah on April 17th, 1890 to Valentine and Mary Amelia Petersen Acord. Art’s mother became ill shortly after he was born and Valentine took his wife and baby to Stillwater, Oklahoma for her health. Mary Amelia died there when Art was only 18 months old and, when he was 3, Valentine and his son returned to Prattsville. Art grew up helping his father herd cattle in the summer, mining coal nearby in the winter and by his early teens, had become an expert “cowpuncher”. In 1909, Art joined the Dick Stanley Congress of Rough Riders where he became expert at riding and bulldogging and where he met Hoot Gibson who would become his closest rival….and his closest friend.

In bronco-busting, this may have been a tie between Art and the horse.

In 1910 after the accidental death of Dick Stanley, the company went into filmmaking. Art and Hoot both found their way into films, too. Since cowboy stars were expected to be skillful riders and perform stunts as well as act and write scripts, Art and Hoot were already halfway there. The two appeared together in 1910 in the Selig Polyscope shorts “Pride of the Range” and “Two Brothers”. Art continued to alternate between rodeos and movies. He won the Steer Bulldogging World Championship in 1912 beating Hoot for the title (he repeated that feat in 1916).
                  

Art as "Buck Parvin" with the author

In 1913 he married  actress Edythe Sterling. He also won the role that would put him on top. He was “Buck Parvin” in a series of 8 three-reelers for the American Film Co. from 1915 through 1916. The character was based on one in a Saturday Evening Post story by Charles E. Van Loan. It made Art Acord a star in the film industry but it preceded a roller coaster ride that would follow him for years. An accident in 1916 (his horse slipped and Art ended up under the animal) kept him off work and  American decided to  drop him. It was also the year his marriage crashed and burned. He joined up to fight the war but the 144th Field Artillery never saw action. It just seemed Art couldn’t win at anything that year.

In 1919 Art signed with Universal and his role in “The Moon Riders” was the boost his career needed. He also remarried..an actress by the name of Edna Nores. But, as his bad luck would have it, Art had another accident that kept him out of action for 3 weeks and Universal dropped his option. They didn’t resign him again until late 1920. Art resumed making 2 reelers and serials at the studio. One of them was “The White Horseman”…. a big success for both Art and Universal. But, by 1923, Art’s drinking and the scandal surrounding his divorce from Edna (who named serial queen Louise Lorraine co-respondent) caused Universal to drop Art once again.
                     

Louise Lorraine

Art put together a personal appearance tour of South America and took Louise with him. But whoever had a voodoo doll that looked a lot like Art still had an ample supply of pins. During a rebellion in Brazil the two stars were held hostage for a week in a hotel there before they managed to get away. In April of 1925 Art was back at Universal to do a feature length series of 8 “Blue Streak Westerns”. Another 8 were released the following year. The last one “Spurs and Saddles” was directed by William Wyler who would gain renown later in talkies. By this time Art’s drinking was worrying his friends including. Fay Wray, his leading lady in two of his films. It just didn’t seem to show when he was on a horse.
                  

Fay Wray

Late 1927 brought more trouble. Louise (who he had married in April) was filing for divorce and the film industry was beginning to “talk”. Art had the voice to do talkies but many western producers never gave the silent cowboys the opportunity. In March, 1928 a gas explosion destroyed his house and sent Art to the hospital. He was back on his feet by July and signed to do a series with an independent company. But the films were done cheaply and did nothing to help Art’s career. He made 8 films released in 1929 but he was also arrested twice for possession of alcohol in defiance of the Prohibition laws. He actually had to borrow the money for the fine. The last time Art Acord was seen on film was a bit part in a sound movie, thanks to pal Hoot Gibson. That must have been a bitter pill to swallow.

Art off the set

January, 1930 began the last year of Artumus Acord’s life. He had gone to Chihuahua, Mexico to do a succession of shows at the local theaters. But he was still drinking heavily and, in a few months, had to get work in a silver mine for the price of room and board. When he returned to the city, it was rumored he met a lady….a senora, not a senorita…. married at the time to a prominent Mexican politician.  On January 4th, 1931 Art was found dead on the floor of his room at the Hotel Palacio. Mexican records called the death suicide by cyanide potassium poisoning and Art’s biographer, Grange McKinney, after thorough research, concurred with the Mexican authorities.. But the rumors persist that Art was murdered. In fact, some of his friends avow, he was even disemboweled!
         

What did happen?  Did Art really check out on his own or did his bad luck with women do him in? The answer to that was buried with our silent cowboy over 66 years ago. But in Hollywood  there are still whispers….

Art's grave in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale,  California.

The Henry Fonda Rose