Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson Biography

Fast Facts

• A park near the site of the Chicago Essanay Studio lot was named Broncho Billy Park in his honor
• His image was featured on a U․S․ postage stamp in 1998
• Was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City
• Started his movie career in the East before Hollywood became the center of the motion picture industry, appearing in many two-reel films
• Worked in vaudeville and theater in New York City, paying the bills by serving as a photographer's model and a newspaper vendor
• Quote: "I remember we went to Westlake Park to shoot a picture in 1907․ Ben Turpin jumped into the lake to get a duck․ The cops arrested us, but the prosecutor let us go․"
• Helped establish the Essanay Studios in Chicago, then moved on to making a film a week at Niles studios near Oakland, Calif
• His appearance in 1903's "The Great Train Robbery" cemented him as the first cowboy movie star
• His first talking picture was "The Bounty Killer" in 1967, for which he came out of retirement
• Was paid 50 cents an hour for his most notably film, "The Great Train Robber," which was the longest feature film ever made at that time