Page B - 7
Stan Paregien, Editor
Page B - 7
Hank Bell
Hank Bell had small parts in Western movies in the 1940's.
This 1949 Western, "The Last Bandit,"
featured (l to r) Bill Elliott, Adrian Booth,
Jack Holt (father of Tim Holt), Hank Bell,
and Andy Devine.
Rex Bell
(Deceased)
Rex Bell, cowboy movie actor, was born as George F. Beldam on Oct. 16, 1903. He was married to the famous actress and movie star, Clara Bow.
Rex Bell appeared in these Westerns: "Wild West Romance" (1928), "Girl-Shy Cowboy" (1928), "The Cowboy Kid" (1928), "Battling with Buffalo Bill" (1931), "The Man from Arizona" (1932), "The Diamond Trail" (1932), "The Fighting Texans" (1933), "Rainbow Ranch" (1933), "The Tonto Kid" (1934), "Fighting Pioneers" (1935), "Saddle Aces" (1935), "Gunfire" (1935), "The Idaho Kid" (1936), "Men of the Plains" (1936), "Stormy Trails" (1936), "Law and Lead" (1936), "Tombstone, the Town Too Tough To Die" (1942), "Dawn on the Great Divide" (1942), "Lone Star" (1951) and "The Misfits" (1961).
Rex Bell died of a heart attack on July 4, 1962. He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery ( Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage) in Glendale, CA.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Rex Bell.
Robert Vaughn Bell
Robert Vaughn Bell was born on April 25, 1924 at Omaha, Neb. He was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army from Dec. 8, 1941 to Dec. 27, 1947. During that time, he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star with oakleaf cluster, Purple Heart with two oakleaf clusters, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with bronze arowhead and five battlestars, Philippine Liberation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, American Victory Medal, and Good Conduct Medal.After the death of his first wife, he married Billie Klein on Aug. 17, 1974. He holds a P.O.S.T. certificate in Administration of Justice from Golden West College, Westminster, Calif.
As with many writers, Robert Vaughn Bell held a number of vastly different jobs over the years. He was a telephone lineman for Northwestern Bell, then worked as manager of the Crosby Horse Ranch. He also worked as a deep sea diver in the Philippines, Mexico, Eniwetok and along the California coast. He was also a merchant seaman on the Pacific Ocean, then a tugboat captain and a partner in Blue Water Diving & Towing Company. For a time he was a gunsmith and the owner of Gun Corral in Inglewood, Calif. He worked as a Deputy Sheirff of Trinity County, Calif. And in recent years he has divided his time between cattle ranching and writing.
Robert Vaughn Bell's articles have appeared in American Rifleman, Guns & Ammo, Gun Report, Skin Diver, and Dive Magazine. He is also the author of such novels as A Valley Called Disappointment (1982), Feud At Devil's River (1982), Stranger in Dodge (1983), Platte River Crossing (1983), To The Death (1984), Cold Trail from Fort Smith (1986), The Winds Blow Free (1988).
He also holds memberships in American Film Institute, Western Writers of America, Texas State Historical Association, Texas Gun Collectors, State Historical Society of Missouri, Kansas State Historical Society, Oklahoma State Historical Association, New Mexico Historical Society, and El Dorado County Historical Society.
Robert Vaughn Bell collected guns and Western artifacts. He has been a registered Republican since Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California, although his family has been Democrat since the party was formed. He used to hunt, but he now contents himself with shooting muzzle-loading and cartridge guns. He is an avid reader and his library holds over 2,800 hardcover books.
William Gardner Bell
William Gardner Bell was born in 1914 at New York City. He graduated from Mamaroneck High School, Mamaroneck, N.Y. He made his way out west and then in August of 1941 the Draft Board in Jackson, Wyoming said something like, "Uncle Sam needs you, boy", and he was inducted into the Army at Fort Francis E. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyo. He went through the officer candidate course at The Cavalry School, Fort Riley, Kan. and in January, 1943 he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry. He earned two years of college equivalency certified through the General Educational Development test administered by the U.S. Army.Bell was promoted to First Lieutenant of Cavalry in June, 1943. He then served in Casablanca, Morocco and in Algeria and Italy, where he trained incoming troops for combat. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman's Badge for heroic achievement in action on Oct. 20, 1944 at Mount Grande in the North Apennines, and in 1945 received the Oak Leaf Cluster and a second Oak Leaf Cluster.
William Gardner Bell became a Captain in Dec., 1945 and was asigned as Regimental Intelligence Officer of the 350th Infantry. He married Valeria Ceschia on April 19, 1947 at Tarcento, Italy. He then became the associate editor of Armored Cavalry Journal and officed in Washington, D.C. He was named editor of that journal's successor, Armor Magazine, in May, 1950. And in July, 1951 he was promoted to Major.
From 1953 to 1956, Bell served as Assistant Secretary of the General Staff in the office of the NATO Southern Command. In 1956 he returned to Washington, D.C. to work as a military historian in the World War II Branch of the Histories Division. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel in July, 1960. And on Sept. 30, 1962 he reired.
William Gardner Bell's articles have appeared in The American West, Arizona and the West, The Cattleman, Corral Dust, Fort Meade Scout, Hoofs and Horns, Montana, Rider and Driver, Saturday Evening Post, Soldier's Magazine, Southwest Art, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, TV Guide, VFW Magazine, West, Western American Literature, Western Historical Quarterly, Western Livestock Journal, and dozens of military-oriented magazines.
Bell's books include 350th Infantry in Occupation (1947), The Snake: A Noble and Various River (1969), John Gregory Bourke: A Soldier-Scientist on the Frontier (1978), Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army: Portraits and Biographical Sketches (1981), Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, 1775-1983 (1983), and Will James: The Life and Works of a Lone Cowboy (1987).
He also served as the editor of Corral Dust, the periodic publication of the Potamac Corral of The Westerners. He is the author of the Indian Wars chapter in the U.S. Army's official historical text, American Military History (1969 and later editions). And he wrote the introduction to John M. Carroll's multi-volume work on George Custer, Cavalry Bits (1986).
A person of wide interests, William Gardner Bell also wrote, produced and announced over WNYC in New York a record program called "Once Over Lightly," a program devoted to the music, history and personalities of the Jazz Era, 1938-39. And in the years 1935-40, he reported on rodeos and western sports for Hoofs & Horns, the official magazine of the Rodeo Association of America.
In addition, his photographic work has been featured in New York Herald Tribune, Rider and Driver magazine, Armored Cavalry Journal and Military Government Journal, to name a few.
His professional memberships include Western Writers of America, Western Literature Association, The Westerners, International Commission on Military History, U.S. Commission on Military History, Society for History in the Federal Government, Military Affairs Institute, United States Armor Association, National Association of Government Communicators, 88th Infantry Divison Association, and the Western History Association.
William Gardner Bell has been especially active in the Western History Association, having served on the Program Committee arranging the conventions in Helena, Montana (1965) and Santa Fe, N.M. (1971). He was also the Sheriff (President) of the Potomac Corral of the Westerners during 1971. He is listed in the Dictionary of International Biography and in the Directory of American Scholars.
James Warner Bellah
James Warner Bellah was born in New York City in 1899. He died in 1976 after achieving remarkable success as a writer. He probably has not received as much recognition for his work because little of it was published in book form.James Warner Bellah served as a 2nd Lt. during World War I and eventually rose to the rank of Captain. In 1923 he graduated from Columbia University and began teaching English at his alma mater, while also working in the advertising field. His first book, Sketch Book of a Cadet from Gascony (NY: Knopf, 1923), was published the same year and reflected his life-long fascination with the military. He then accepting writing assignments from the Aero Digest (correspondent in China and in Europe) and from The Saturday Evening Post (West Indies, 1929).
When World War II broke out, he put his soldier's uniform back on. He saw combat in Burma and rose to the rank of Colonel. He was awarded the Commendation Medal, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, and a Legion of Merit for his service.
Following World War II, James Warner Bellah started writing a series of stories about the American Indian wars. Most were published by The Saturday Evening Post and were critically acclaimed. And one of his admirers was John Ford, the outstanding movie director. Three of Ford's famous John Wayne films were based on Bellah's writings: "Fort Apache" (based on his story "Massacre" and filmed by RKO in 1948); "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (based on his stories "Command" and "Big Hunt" and filmed in 1949 by RKO); and "Rio Grande" (based on "Mission With No Record" and filmed in 1950 by RKO).
The Bella-Ford connection continued as John Ford based his 1960 movie "Sergeant Rutledge" on a story by the same name. And in 1962 he received co-credit for the script of John Ford's classic film, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". They even worked together for the State Department to film a U.S. Navy documentary in 1951 called, "This is Korea!"
His story "The White Invaders" became director David Butler's 1954 movie, "The Command". And he adapted his novel, A Thunder of Drums, for the 1961 M-G-M movie directed by Joseph Newman. His last screenplay was the forgettable 1972 Paramount film, "The Legend of Nigger Charlie".
Some of James Warner Bellah's short stories were published in the 1950 collection, Massacre, and then in the 1962 collection, Reveille. His Western novels included The Apache (1951), Sergeant Rutledge (1959), Ordeal at Blood River (1959) and A Thunder of Drums (1961). The latter novel received Time magazine's award for "Best Western of the Year".
NOTE: My thanks to a reader, J. Lefler, who brought to my attention the previous omission of Mr. Bellah's listing. Frankly, I had never heard of him until then. But obviously Bellah was an extremely talented writer.
Do you know someone who should be listed in this DIRECTORY? Please drop the editor a line, giving the person's name and any leads you may have to biographical material and photos.
© 2003 by Stan Paregien, Sr.
