Art Acord

Artemus Ward Acord born of April 17, 1890 Stillwater, Oklahoma, and died on January 4, 1931 in Chihuahua, Mexico in was an American silent film actor and rodeo champion. has the distinction of being one of the very few real cowboys to play one in early westerns. Acord was a wild one who began riding the rodeo in Wild West shows at the turn-of-the-century.

Born to Mormon parents in Prattsville, Utah, Acord as a young man worked as a cowboy and ranch hand. He went on to become one of the first true stars of western films. A celebrated rodeo star, Acord not only acted but also wrote scripts and performed as a stunt man. He won the Steer Bulldogging world championship in 1912 and repeated as champion in 1916, defeating challenger and friend Hoot Gibson. His rodeo skills had been sharpened when he worked for a time for Miller’s 101 Ranch Real Wild West Show. It was with the 101 that he made friends with Tom Mix, Bee Ho Gray, “Broncho Billy” Anderson and Hoot Gibson, all cowboys of the silver screen.

Acord enlisted in the United States Army in World War I and served overseas. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery. At war’s end, he returned to the motion picture business, appearing in a series of popular film shorts and as “Buck Parvin”, the title character for a Universal Pictures serial.

Because of a heavy drinking problem and his inability to adapt to the advent of talkies, Acord’s film career faded, and he ended up performing in road shows and mining in Mexico. Shortly before his death, Acord appears to have attempted to orchestrate his own kidnapping as a publicity stunt.

In 1931 Acord was found dead in his Chihuahua, Mexico hotel room. Apparently he’d taken cyanide, but some of Acord’s friends over the years insisted that he had been murdered by a Mexican politician who had caught Acord having an affair with his wife.

During his life, Art Acord made over 100 film shorts, all but a few of which have been lost. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Acord has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street.