Meet Those Old Cowboy Western Movie Sidekicks

We are familiar with the role of the sidekick, the hero’s companion, in much of literature. There is the steady, redoubtable Dr. Watson who gives aid and records the many adventures of that great detective, Sherlock Holmes. Don Quixote had his Sancho many years ago. In our modern superhero stories, there are kid sidekicks too. Batman has Robin, an accomplished assistant and the Green Arrow has Speedy serving the same purpose. Tonto is is there to assist the Lone Ranger in his fight for justice but Tonto is understated, almost the stereotypical Indian. There are many more and the sidekick character besides being a pal, a buddy, who serves the good guy hero became something else in the movie westerns that spanned the decades from 1930 to1950. Those grade B westerns made to fit a certain formula for a kid's Saturday afternoon at the movies came up with a sidekick that served another purpose, that of comic relief to keep the kids from getting bored between gunfights and fistfights. No one wondered why the brave, two-fisted cowboy good guy was palling around with the silly, sometimes goofy sidekick. But when I was a kid, we didn’t question the fact that when Clark Kent took off his glasses and put on his Superman costume, we didn’t recognize him. Imagine, your uncle shows up at a family reunion in a new suit without his spectacles and no one knows who he is. I guess we were very naive and a little dumb but maybe we just wanted to believe.

Whenever we think about those old westerns starring Roy or Gene, we always have a fond memory for their sidekicks. They deserve recognition and credit from all who love the old westerns whether you were in the front row as a youngster or caught them in reruns when they were popular in the 50s on television.

AL Fuzzy St. John

Fuzzy’s background was vaudeville and burlesque where he performed a bicycle trick that became a hit. He would do this act a number of times in his westerns. His uncle, Fatty Arbuckle, was doing well in the movies and Fuzzy joined him as one of the Keystone Kops. He appeared in other movies with such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler, Mable Normond, and Buster Keaton. The story is that Fuzzy and the Fox studio had a falling out and he was suddenly out of work. In a 1937 western, he took over for Fuzzy Knight and he was stuck with the Fuzzy handle. His character became very popular and he would play the funny sidekick to Buster Crabbe, Bob Steele, and Lash LaRue. It’s believed the audience came to see Fuzzy, not caring who the hero was. He often got top billing with European audiences. Watching an old Buster Crabbe western on Encore Westerns, It seemed that Crabbe was really laughing at Fuzzy’s antics. He was great at impromptu comedy. He appeared in over 300 movies and when his sidekick days ended he joined the Tommy Scott Wild West Show. In 1963, he died of a heart attack while waiting to go on stage.

George Gabby Hayes

Gabby played the grizzled old codger and was one of the finest western sidekicks. He first played in traveling stock companies and vaudeville. In some of his earliest films he often was the bad guy but he never really learned to ride a horse until he was in his forties. In 1933, he appeared in several B-westerns with a very young John Wayne. Wayne credited Gabby with giving him his first acting lessons. In 1935, he appeared in a Hopalong Cassidy film in which his character died but he was so popular, he was brought back to life and played Hoppy’s sidekick again and again. At Republic, he became the pal of Roy Rogers and the toothless old, cantankerous Gabby was born. He is famous for such lines as “Why, you goldurned whipersnapper.” and “Durn persnickty female.” The real Gabby kept his teeth in and was known as intellegent, well groomed, and articulate. After his last western in 1952, he hosted a popular Saturday morning kid’s television show. He was at one time the spokesman for Popsicles.

Andy Devine

Unlike most of the old cowboy sidekicks, Andy Devine made it from the westerns to high quality films like Stagecoach, Pete Kelly’s Blues, and Myra Breckinridge. Andy was noted for his raspy voice, the result of a childhood accident. Andy’s story is that while running as a kid he had a stick in his mouth and fell. His vocal cords were damaged and his peculiar voice was the result but others doubt the story. He was a star football player at Santa Clara University and was put in a football movie called The Spirit of Notre Dame. He had bit parts in silent films and was worried about the coming of sound in movies. In this tale, Andy is so worried about his career ending with sound that he tries to commit suicide. Fortunately, Andy chose gas to commit the act but his landlady had turned the gas off and Andy had to face the future with the voice that helped him make his fortune. He did get work in radio where he often played a country bumpkin. In the 40s he became the sidekick of Roy Rogers. He became very wealthy through real estate investments but still worked in show business. He hosted his own kid’s television show called Andy’s Gang. He retired in 1970. Andy Devine made over 400 films and passed away from leukemia at the age of seventy-one

Smiley Burnette

Smiley was one of the most talented and loved sidekicks. He made movies with singing cowboys Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and was the pal of Charles Starrett who played the Durango Kid, a non-singing good guy. He was very musical as a kid and in high school had his own band. Smiley claimed he could play over 100 instruments and even invented a few instruments. He did spend some time in vaudeville but found radio to be a field where he found plenty of work. It was while he worked radio that he was discovered by Gene Autry. When Gene was called to Hollywood to do some recording, he took Smiley with him. Smiley as Frog Millhouse was with Autry from 1933 to 1942. Smiley was also a successful song writer, selling one of his songs, Ridin’ Down the Canyon to Autry for five dollars. Other songs were recorded by Autry and the likes of Bing Crosby and Dean Martin. He also wrote the score for Painted Stallion and Waterfront Lady. Smiley became one of the highest paid cowboy stars. In the 60s, he played Charlie Pratt in the television show Petticoat Junction.

Fuzzy Knight

This Fuzzy had a career that ran from the 1930s to the late 60s. He was another veteran of vaudeville and was discovered by Mae West who gave him work in She Done Him Wrong and My Little Chickadee. It was his soft voice that earned him the nickname Fuzzy. He became the sidekick of Johnny Mack Brown, Tex Ritter and others. In 1940, he was listed among the Top Ten-Money-Making Western Stars. In the 50s he was on the television show Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, playing the sidekick of Buster Crabbe. The story goes that Crabbe really wanted Fuzzy St. John for the role but there was a mix-up and he got the wrong Fuzzy.

Andy Clyde

Andy came from Scotland where his father was a theatrical producer. Andy and his brother and sister had their own quite successful act. A buddy coaxed him to Hollywood and he joined the motly crew of Mack Sennett. He was with Columbia Pictures for many years, making lots of comedy shorts. During his sidekick days he starred with Hopalong Cassidy and Whip Wilson. He later worked with Walter Brennan in the Real McCoys and was a regular on No Time For Sargents.

Pat Buttrum

Pat was a preacher’s kid born in Addison, Alabama. He intended to enter the ministry as well but loved working in radio and in college stage productions. At the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, he was interviewed by the WLS National Barn Dance Show. His improvisation at playing a country hick impressed the brass and he was signed to a contract. For 13 years he was billed as the Winston County Flash and was one of the most popular members of the cast. It was here he met Gene Autry who took Pat to Hollywood. He would become a funny, lovable sidekick. He continued to find work when the cowboy movies faded in the 50s as Gene’s pal in over 40 episodes of the Gene Autry television show. He found roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films and was nominated for an Oscar for his work in The Jar. Always in demand as a toastmaster, he was constantly busy. His most famous television role was as Eustace Charleston Haney in Green Acres.