Allan "Rocky" Lane (born Harry Leonard Albershardt; September 22, 1909 – October 27, 1973) was an American actor. He was the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in a career lasting from 1929 to 1966. He is best known for his portrayal of Red Ryder and for being the voice of the talking horse on the television series Mister Ed from 1961 to 1966.
Contents
Biography
Lane was born Harry Leonard Albershardt or Albershart (sources differ) in Mishawaka, Indiana to Linnie Anne and William H. Albershardt. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Lane had been a photographer, model and stage actor by age 20. He played varsity sports, baseball, football, and basketball at the University of Notre Dame but dropped out to pursue his interests in acting.
Film career
Lane's first film role for Fox was as a romantic lead opposite June Collyer in the 1929 release, Not Quite Decent (now a lost film). He made several other films at Fox but signed with Warner Bros.
While at Warner his career foundered, and after a number of bit parts he left films in the early 1930s. By 1936, Lane returned to films and to 20th Century-Fox, taking highly visible supporting roles in Charlie Chan at the Olympics and the Shirley Temple film Stowaway (both 1936). He kept playing supporting roles at Fox though 1937, but had not yet advanced to starring roles; he took the lead in a Republic Pictures feature, The Duke Comes Back (1937).
After his stopover at Republic he signed with RKO for a two-year stint but, again, he was used in supporting roles as part of the studio's stock company.
When his RKO employment ran out, he returned to Republic, where he auditioned for the lead in a serial. The directors were William Witney and John English. Witney later found Lane to be difficult to deal with, and remembered the interview:
He had worked in a picture at RKO and seemed like a nice person. I asked what he did for a living before he tried acting. He said he'd been a used car salesman. Later Jack and I were mulling over our mistake and Jack said, "When he said 'used car salesman' we should've turned him down." When he turned to leave the office we also noted he had a big fat ass. Later we found the ass part fit the whole man. He rode a horse like the saddle was on backwards and he was sitting on the horn. His expressions were all the same whether he was doing comedy or tragedy.
Witney and English hired Lane anyway, and Lane portrayed "RCMP Sergeant Dave King" in two Royal Canadian Mounted Police adventure serials, King of the Royal Mounted and King of the Mounties. Lane worked for Republic almost exclusively from then on, although Fox called him in for a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature, The Dancing Masters.
In 1946 and 1947, Lane portrayed Red Ryder in seven western features, replacing Wild Bill Elliott in that role. The following year, he became "Rocky Lane" in Western films.
Death
Lane died of cancer in Woodland Hills, California, on October 27, 1973, at age 64. He was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery.
In popular culture
Lane was one of the movie cowboys named in the lyrics of the song “Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott” by The Statler Brothers, which became a hit single in 1974.
Comics
Allan "Rocky" Lane was often portrayed in the celebrity comics by his nickname, Rocky Lane, primarily during the heyday of Western-themed comics in the 1940s and 1950s.
The actor was featured in the comic book Rocky Lane Western, published in 1949 by Fawcett Comics. The series was published by the company until 1954, when it left the comics market following the lawsuit "National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.." Charlton Comics took over the title that same year, starting with issue #56 and ending with issue #87, published in 1959. The publisher also released a comic series starring his horse, Black Jack, titled Rocky Lane's Black Jack.
In Brazil, the Rocky Lane stories were published by Rio Gráfica Editora (RGE) in the 1960s. Between 1965 and 1968, the publisher even commissioned local stories from Primaggio Mantovi, an Italian cartoonist who became a naturalized Brazilian citizen.
Selected filmography
Television
Series
Mister Ed, 1961–1966 syndicated and later CBS TV series. Lane provided the voice for Mister Ed. This was an uncredited role.
Red Ryder, 1956–1957 TV series. Lane portrayed Red Ryder
Guest appearances
Cheyenne, episode "Massacre at Gunsight Pass", originally aired May 1, 1961
Gunsmoke, episode "Long Hours, Short Pay", originally aired April 29, 1961
Bonanza, episode "The Blood Line", originally aired December 31, 1960
Gunsmoke, episode "The Badge", originally aired November 12, 1960
Lawman, episode "The Payment", originally aired May 8, 1960
Bronco, episode "Death of an Outlaw", originally aired March 8, 1960
Colt .45, episode "Arizona Anderson", originally aired February 14, 1960
Tales of Wells Fargo, episode "The Reward", originally aired April 21, 1958
Wagon Train, episode "The Daniel Barrister Story", originally aired April 16, 1958
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (season 3, episode 28: "Lamb to the Slaughter") (originally aired April 13, 1958) as Patrick Maloney
Gunsmoke, episode "Texas Cowboys", originally aired April 5, 1958