Who Remembers Bob Steele

[Old Doc]

I was watching Lawman this morning on the Westerns Channel and spotted one of my favorite western actors, Bob Steele, playing the part of a telegraph operator. I was dismayed, however, that he didn't even rate billing credit at the end of the show.
My dad used to take me to the westerns, when I was a kid and the one series I remembered featured a trio of good guys including Bob Steele, Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson. For some reason, the one I lked best was Bob Steele, maybe because he was the little guy. He had a long career and was even featured later in one or more Clint Eastwood westerns.I guess Clint ,as a kid, went to some of the same movies I did.

[Buffalo Creek Law Dog]

He was also in  John Wayne's The Comancheros and Rio Bravo.

[Shotgun Franklin]

It's kinda funny, I worked a corporate job, off duty, for Jack In the Box for about 4 years. I worked for Bob Steele a retired Texas Ranger. Bob was short, stout, tough and rough but we got along great. At first I thought this was who you were asking about.

[Advertising]

[FEATHERS]

Old Doc,To go with your info,Feathers

[FEATHERS]

Remember him in F-Troop as Duffy,who stood shoulder to shoulder with Davey Crockett at the Alamo (he told that yarn in about every episode)Feathers


























































































































































0

[The Elderly Kid]

Steele had an unusual career. Like a few other actors, he starred in B movies and was a supporting player in A-list productions. He was often a bad guy in the big films and often got killed by the hero. Probably his best-known role was as Curley, the rancher's vicious son in "Of Mice and Men." In "The Big Sleep," based on the Raymond Chandler novel, he played the mob hitman Canino and got killed (naturally) by Humphrey Bogart, who played Philip Marlowe. After that it was largely bit roles for him except for "F-Troop."   I last remember seeing him in "Charley Varrick" (1973) where he played a bank guard in the early heist scene and (naturally) got killed.

[Judge Roy Bean]

Most of his info is on here.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0824496/bio

[The Elderly Kid]

One of Bob Steele's best later roles was in a 1970 episode of the TV series "A Family Affair." In it, Steele played a man much like himself, an old actor from B westerns, who has some business dealings with Brian Keith, the father of the family. The boy (I forget his name) idolizes Steele, having seen his old movies on tv, but doesn't understand that those movies were from 30 or more years ago. He wants to see Steele do some of his rope tricks and fast draw stuff, and Steele tries, but is just too out of practice. The boy is disappointed and Steele is crestfallen. He invites the family to his ranch several days hence  and in the interim practices his old skills and is able to demonstrate them satisfactorily. The kid is happy, but the important thing is that he learns some hard truths about aging and mortality. It was a very touching episode and how can you go wrong when Brian Keith is there?