Ted Mapes (November 25, 1901 â€" September 9, 1984) was an American
character actor, who was also a prolific stuntman and body double.
Born on November 25, 1901 in St. Edward, Nebraska, he moved to Los
Angeles in his mid-20s, and entered the film industry in 1929, first
as a grip, and then as a stuntman and actor. He doubled for many
famous actors, including Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper. His film and
television career spanned forty years, during which time he appeared
in hundreds of films and television shows, either as an actor,
stuntman or body double. After his career in front of the camera ended
in 1969, Mapes became an advocate for animal safety in films, working
as an observer on sets for the American Humane Association.Born John
Tylor Mapes, he grew up on the farm and ranch owned by his father. At
some point in his mid-20s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked
for a moving company. When he was on a job moving John Barrymore's
affects off the Samuel Goldwyn studio, he learned that studio grips
were making twice his rate of pay. Shortly after he became a grip,
working on film crews for the next five years.While working as a grip
on the 1935 Christy Cabanne film, One Frightened Night, he received
his first bit role, that of a masked killer. His first official role
came later that year, in the drama, The Silent Code. While he would be
cast in almost 70 films over the next 25 years, most of those roles
were in smaller roles. Mapes spent the rest of the 1930s acting in
several film serials, including The Great Adventures of Wild Bill
Hickok (for which he also did stunts), which is considered by some as
the finest serial ever shot at Columbia Pictures; The Lone Ranger
Rides Again, Dick Tracy's G-Men, Zorro's Fighting Legion, Son of
Zorro, Adventures of Captain Marvel, and Adventures of Red Ryder.
Mapes was up for the lead in Red Ryder, but the role eventually went
to Don "Red" Barry.After being in numerous serials at Republic
Pictures, he also found his way into feature films as well, the first
of those being The Ranger and the Lady, starring Roy Rogers and Gabby
Hayes. Other notable films in which Mapes performed include: Red River
Valley, again starring Rogers and Hayes; My Pal Trigger, once more
with Rogers and Hayes, but this time also starring Trigger and Dale
Evans; the Bob Hope and Jane Russell comedy, The Paleface (1948);
Cecil B. DeMille's epic, Samson and Delilah (1949); The Gunfighter
(1950), starring Gregory Peck; Winchester '73, starring Jimmy Stewart,
Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, and Stephen McNally; The Far Country,
again with Stewart, this time also starring Ruth Roman, Corinne
Calvet, and Walter Brennan; and once again in a Stewart film, the
classic 1959 romantic comedy, Bell, Book and Candle, also starring Kim
Novak.
character actor, who was also a prolific stuntman and body double.
Born on November 25, 1901 in St. Edward, Nebraska, he moved to Los
Angeles in his mid-20s, and entered the film industry in 1929, first
as a grip, and then as a stuntman and actor. He doubled for many
famous actors, including Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper. His film and
television career spanned forty years, during which time he appeared
in hundreds of films and television shows, either as an actor,
stuntman or body double. After his career in front of the camera ended
in 1969, Mapes became an advocate for animal safety in films, working
as an observer on sets for the American Humane Association.Born John
Tylor Mapes, he grew up on the farm and ranch owned by his father. At
some point in his mid-20s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked
for a moving company. When he was on a job moving John Barrymore's
affects off the Samuel Goldwyn studio, he learned that studio grips
were making twice his rate of pay. Shortly after he became a grip,
working on film crews for the next five years.While working as a grip
on the 1935 Christy Cabanne film, One Frightened Night, he received
his first bit role, that of a masked killer. His first official role
came later that year, in the drama, The Silent Code. While he would be
cast in almost 70 films over the next 25 years, most of those roles
were in smaller roles. Mapes spent the rest of the 1930s acting in
several film serials, including The Great Adventures of Wild Bill
Hickok (for which he also did stunts), which is considered by some as
the finest serial ever shot at Columbia Pictures; The Lone Ranger
Rides Again, Dick Tracy's G-Men, Zorro's Fighting Legion, Son of
Zorro, Adventures of Captain Marvel, and Adventures of Red Ryder.
Mapes was up for the lead in Red Ryder, but the role eventually went
to Don "Red" Barry.After being in numerous serials at Republic
Pictures, he also found his way into feature films as well, the first
of those being The Ranger and the Lady, starring Roy Rogers and Gabby
Hayes. Other notable films in which Mapes performed include: Red River
Valley, again starring Rogers and Hayes; My Pal Trigger, once more
with Rogers and Hayes, but this time also starring Trigger and Dale
Evans; the Bob Hope and Jane Russell comedy, The Paleface (1948);
Cecil B. DeMille's epic, Samson and Delilah (1949); The Gunfighter
(1950), starring Gregory Peck; Winchester '73, starring Jimmy Stewart,
Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, and Stephen McNally; The Far Country,
again with Stewart, this time also starring Ruth Roman, Corinne
Calvet, and Walter Brennan; and once again in a Stewart film, the
classic 1959 romantic comedy, Bell, Book and Candle, also starring Kim
Novak.
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