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Roy Barcroft
Age: 67 (passed away Nov. 28th, 1969)
Height:
Birth Place: Crab Orchard, Nebraska, USA
Born: Sep. 7th, 1902
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Roy Barcroft's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: After serving in World War I, Roy Barcroft spent most of the 1920s and early 1930s moving from job to job. It was in the 1930s, after he moved to California with his wife, that he found his calling while acting in amateur theatrical productions. In 1937 he was appearing in bit parts in various genres, but by 1938 he was in westerns, where he became a well-known (and memorable) "heavy". Roy would alternate among Monogram, Universal, Columbia and other studios. In 1943, however, he signed an exclusive ten-year contract with Republic Pictures and became the convincing, and tireless, menace to all the good people in the West. He also did more than sneer at the likes of 'Don 'Red Barry, Bill Elliot (III), Sunset Carson and Allan Lane (I). Roy acted in The Fighting Seabees (1944), which starred John Wayne (I). He was the Purple Martian in The Purple Monster Strikes (1945) and Capt. Mephisto in Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945), and who can forget his Retik, The Moon Menace. from the classic Radar Men from the Moon (1952)? Roy even played the good-natured marshal in Oklahoma! (1955). It was westerns, though, that were his bread and butter, and he knocked out a lot of them over the years. Outlaws of Cherokee Trail (1941), Riders of the Rio Grande (1943) and Sun Valley Cyclone (1946) were but a few of the "B" westerns Roy turned out. Off-screen, he was known as one of the nicest, kindest and most helpful people anyone would want to meet, with a terrific sense of humor. More than once, many a leading hero type such as Barry or Elliot would find that their hairpieces would mysteriously disappear before they were to put them on prior to shooting. When the era of the "B" westerns started to fade out, Roy's volume of work also slowed. He appeared in a handful of films, but his movie career had stalled by the end of 1957. He moved into the small screen with roles in TV westerns and also a recurring role in the Walt Disney production of "The Adventures of Spin and Marty" (1955). In the early 1960s he worked in a couple of movies, but his resurgence began in the mid-'60s when he appeared in low-budget films like Billy the Kid versus Dracula (1966). Roy would make some better films, such as Texas Across the River (1966) and The Reivers (1969).
TRIVIA:
- Barcroft patterned his screen persona after 'Harry Woods (I)' (qv), one of the movies' greatest villains. He even tried to imitate Woods' voice. Barcroft's on-screen voice was different from the one he always used when in front of the camera. (Revealed by his friend 'Clayton Moore (I)' (qv) in his autobiography, "I Was That Masked Man")
- He had created such an indelible image as a western heavy that in the late 1960s, interviewers would express surprise at finding what a charming and friendly man he really was.
- Barcroft claimed that his favorite role was as the reincarnated pirate Captain Mephisto in the non-western Republic serial _Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945)_ (qv). Also among his favorites were the serials _The Purple Monster Strikes (1945)_ (qv) and _Haunted Harbor (1944)_ (qv).
- Considerable confusion exists concerning Barcroft's birthplace. Most sources cite Weeping Water, Texas, USA, while others cite Crab Orchard Nebraska, USA. However, Weeping Water, Texas does not exist. But Weeping Water, Nebraska, is quite near Crab Orchard, Nebraska, and it is likely that Barcroft was born in Weeping Water, Nebraska, USA, and raised in nearby Crab Orchard, Nebraska.
- During his years as a freelance, Barcroft became such an asset as the villian in low budget westerns that in 1943 Republic signed him to an exclusive ten year contract.
- Barcroft was such a fixture in low budget westerns that as soon as his face appeared on screen, every kid in the audience knew who the bad guy was. Of course, it took the good guy 60 minutes to figure it out.
- Although Barcroft's birth name is usually given as Howard Clifford Ravenscroft, both the California Death Index and the 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. Census list him as Howard H. Ravenscroft.
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