Jack Buetel
Encyclopedia
Jack Buetel was an American film and television actor.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Buetel moved to Los Angeles, California in the late 1930s with the intention of establishing a film career. Unable to find such work, he was employed as an insurance clerk when he was noticed by an agent who was impressed by his looks.
Introduced to Howard Hughes
, who was about to begin filming The Outlaw
, Buetel was signed to play the lead role as Billy the Kid
, with the previously signed David Bacon being dropped from the film. Hughes also signed another newcomer, Jane Russell
, for the female lead, and realizing the inexperience of his two stars, also signed veteran actors Thomas Mitchell
and Walter Huston
.
Buetel was signed to a standard seven-year contract at $150 per week and was assured by Hughes that he would become a major star. Filmed in late 1940 and early 1941, The Outlaw officially premiered in 1943 but was not widely seen until 1946. It was notable for suggesting the act of sexual intercourse, uncommon in mainstream movies of the era, and for allowing characters to "sin on film", without a suitable punishment also being depicted, in violation of the Production Code
. Much of the publicity surrounding the release of the film focused on Jane Russell, and she established a solid film career, despite critics giving her performance in The Outlaw poor reviews.
Buetel's performance was also highly criticised, and he languished with Hughes refusing to allow him to work. The director Howard Hawks
tried to secure his services for the film Red River (1948), but after Hughes refused to allow Buetel to take part, Montgomery Clift
was chosen and Clift went on to an active film career.
In 1951 Buetel appeared in Best of the Badmen, his first film appearance in eleven years. Over the next few years he appeared in five more films, and made infrequent appearances on television. In 1956, he landed the role of 41-year-old Jeff Taggert in Edgar Buchanan
's syndication
western series, Judge Roy Bean
. Others who appeared regularly in the 39-episode series, set in Langtry
, Texas, were Jackie Loughery
, X Brands
, Tristram Coffin, Glenn Strange
, and Lash La Rue
. Buetel's last acting role was in a 1961 episode of Wagon Train
. He also appeared as himself in the 1982 Night of 100 Stars television special.
He died in Portland, Oregon, and was buried at Portland Memorial Park.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Buetel moved to Los Angeles, California in the late 1930s with the intention of establishing a film career. Unable to find such work, he was employed as an insurance clerk when he was noticed by an agent who was impressed by his looks.
Introduced to Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, who was about to begin filming The Outlaw
The Outlaw
The Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jane Russell. The supporting cast includes Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director...
, Buetel was signed to play the lead role as Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
, with the previously signed David Bacon being dropped from the film. Hughes also signed another newcomer, Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
, for the female lead, and realizing the inexperience of his two stars, also signed veteran actors Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell (actor)
Thomas Mitchell was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara, the father of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, the drunken Doc Boone in John Ford's Stagecoach, and Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life...
and Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
.
Buetel was signed to a standard seven-year contract at $150 per week and was assured by Hughes that he would become a major star. Filmed in late 1940 and early 1941, The Outlaw officially premiered in 1943 but was not widely seen until 1946. It was notable for suggesting the act of sexual intercourse, uncommon in mainstream movies of the era, and for allowing characters to "sin on film", without a suitable punishment also being depicted, in violation of the Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
. Much of the publicity surrounding the release of the film focused on Jane Russell, and she established a solid film career, despite critics giving her performance in The Outlaw poor reviews.
Buetel's performance was also highly criticised, and he languished with Hughes refusing to allow him to work. The director Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
tried to secure his services for the film Red River (1948), but after Hughes refused to allow Buetel to take part, Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
was chosen and Clift went on to an active film career.
In 1951 Buetel appeared in Best of the Badmen, his first film appearance in eleven years. Over the next few years he appeared in five more films, and made infrequent appearances on television. In 1956, he landed the role of 41-year-old Jeff Taggert in Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
's syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western series, Judge Roy Bean
Judge Roy Bean (TV series)
Judge Roy Bean is a syndicated American Western series starring Edgar Buchanan as the legendary Kentucky-born Judge Roy Bean, a justice of the peace known as "The law west of the Pecos".-Synopsis:...
. Others who appeared regularly in the 39-episode series, set in Langtry
Langtry, Texas
Langtry is an unincorporated community in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. The community is notable as the place where "Judge" Roy Bean, the "Law West of the Pecos", had his saloon and practiced a kind of law.-History:...
, Texas, were Jackie Loughery
Jackie Loughery
Jacqueline "Jackie" Loughery is best known as the first Miss New York USA and winner of the first Miss USA beauty pageant, in Long Beach, California. In 1952, she won the title only after a second ballot broke a first-place tie...
, X Brands
X Brands
X Brands , sometimes credited as Jay X. Brands, was an American actor of German descent known for his roles in television series and some films. His best-known role was "Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah" , the shotgun-toting Indian sidekick on the 1958 CBS western series Yancy Derringer, with Jock Mahoney in the...
, Tristram Coffin, Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western films. He is best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series...
, and Lash La Rue
Lash La Rue
Alfred "Lash" LaRue was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional skill with the bull whip, and taught Harrison Ford how to use a bullwhip in the Indiana Jones movies...
. Buetel's last acting role was in a 1961 episode of Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
. He also appeared as himself in the 1982 Night of 100 Stars television special.
He died in Portland, Oregon, and was buried at Portland Memorial Park.