Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson

Birth Name:

Maxwell Henry Aronson

Birth Place:

Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

Profession

Director, Actor, Producer, Writer, Production manager, Assistant director

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

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