Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 â€" May 21, 1996) was a popular
western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional
skill with the bullwhip and was one of the main inspirations for the
character of Indiana Jones. LaRue was one of the first recipients of
the Golden Boot Awards in 1983.Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana
in 1917, he was reared in various towns throughout Louisiana, but in
his teens the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where he
attended St. John's Military Academy and the College of the Pacific..
Strangely, his California death records show his father's last name
was Wilson and that Lash was born in Michigan.LaRue was originally
screen tested by Warner Bros. but was rejected because he looked too
much like Humphrey Bogart, then one of the studio's contract stars. He
began acting in films in 1944 (at age 27) as Al LaRue, appearing in
two musicals and a serial before being given a role in a Western film
that would result in his being stereotyped as a cowboy for the
remainder of his career. He was given the name "Lash" because of the
18-foot (5.5 m)-long bullwhip he used to help bring down the bad
guys.After appearing in all three of the Eddie Dean Cinecolor singing
Westerns in 1945-46, LaRue starred in B-westerns from 1947 to 1951, at
first for Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation, then for
Eagle-Lion when they took over the studio, and later for producer Ron
Ormond.
western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional
skill with the bullwhip and was one of the main inspirations for the
character of Indiana Jones. LaRue was one of the first recipients of
the Golden Boot Awards in 1983.Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana
in 1917, he was reared in various towns throughout Louisiana, but in
his teens the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where he
attended St. John's Military Academy and the College of the Pacific..
Strangely, his California death records show his father's last name
was Wilson and that Lash was born in Michigan.LaRue was originally
screen tested by Warner Bros. but was rejected because he looked too
much like Humphrey Bogart, then one of the studio's contract stars. He
began acting in films in 1944 (at age 27) as Al LaRue, appearing in
two musicals and a serial before being given a role in a Western film
that would result in his being stereotyped as a cowboy for the
remainder of his career. He was given the name "Lash" because of the
18-foot (5.5 m)-long bullwhip he used to help bring down the bad
guys.After appearing in all three of the Eddie Dean Cinecolor singing
Westerns in 1945-46, LaRue starred in B-westerns from 1947 to 1951, at
first for Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation, then for
Eagle-Lion when they took over the studio, and later for producer Ron
Ormond.
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