| LeRoy Mason | |
| Birth Name: | LeRoy Franklin Mason |
| Birth Date: | July 2, 1903 |
| Birth Place: | Larimore, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1924 - 1947 |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Spouse: | Bo Ling (m. 1937–his death) |
LeRoy Franklin Mason (July 2, 1903 - October 13, 1947) was an American film actor who worked primarily in Westerns in both the silent and sound film eras. Mason was born in Larimore, North Dakota, on July 2, 1903.
Mason's first film was Hit and Run opposite Hoot Gibson (1924). He was officially credited in Born to Battle (1926) opposite Tom Tyler and Jean Arthur. In 1926, Mason starred in The Arizona Streak opposite Tom Tyler, Frankie Darro, and Ada Mae Vaughn. Also in 1926, he starred in Lightning Hutch opposite Charles Hutchison and Edith Thornton. Mason starred opposite Tom Tyler, Doris Hill, and Frankie Darro in Tom and His Pals (1926). He starred opposite William Fairbanks, Alice Calhoun, and Frank Rice in Flying High (1926). He starred in Closed Gates (1928) opposite John Harron, Jane Novak, and Lucy Beaumont. Mason starred in Golden Shackles (1928) opposite Grant Withers and Priscilla Bonner. He starred in The Avenging Shadow (1928) opposite Margaret Morris. Mason starred in The Law's Lash (1928) opposite Robert Ellis and Mary Mayberry. He starred in Hit of the Show (1928), originally a silent film, opposite Joe E. Brown, Gertrude Olmstead, and William Bailey. Mason starred in Revenge (1928) Dolores del Río, James A. Marcus, and Rita Carewe.[1] He starred in The Viking (1928) opposite Pauline Starke and Donald Crisp. Mason starred in Bride of the Desert (1929) opposite Alice Calhoun and Ethan Laidlaw. He starred in The Woman Who Was Forgotten (1930) opposite Belle Bennett and Jack Mower.
Mason starred opposite of Lon Chaney Jr. in The Last Frontier (1932). He starred opposite Ray "Crash" Corrigan in The Painted Stallion (1937). Mason starred opposite John Wayne in Wyoming Outlaw (1939) and New Frontier (1939).[2]
Mason starred opposite David Sharpe in Silver Stallion (1941). He starred opposite Wild Bill Elliott in Hidden Valley Outlaws (1944). In the film, Mason and John James sings the song Oh Susanna.
Mason married Rita Carewe in 1928 and divorced her in 1936. He was married to actress Bo Ling; they had no children and eventually separated. A shooting accident on a film set in the 1930s caused him to lose sight in his right eye.
On October 13, 1947, Mason died of "acute myocardial infarction due to coronary thrombosis" in the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital in Van Nuys, California. He had been there for 31 days after suffering a heart attack on the set of California Firebrand. An Associated Press news story published October 14, 1947, says that Mason "collapsed on a Republic Studio set Monday and died a few hours later of a heart ailment."[3]
| Year | Title | Role | Director (s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Hit and Run | Spectator | Edward Sedgwick | |
| 1926 | Born to Battle | Daley | Silent western film | |
| The Arizona Streak | Velvet Hamilton | |||
| Lightning Hutch | Frank Proctor | Charles Hutchison | Silent action film | |
| Tom and His Pals | Courtney | Robert De Lacey | Silent western film | |
| Flying High | Lester Swope | Charles Hutchison | Silent action film | |
| 1927 | Closed Gates | Harvey Newell | Phil Rosen | Silent melodrama film |
| 1928 | Golden Shackles | Herbert Fordyce | Dallas M. Fitzgerald | Silent drama film |
| The Avenging Shadow | George Brooks, Deputy Warden | Ray Taylor | Silent action film | |
| The Law's Lash | Pete Rogan - Henchman | Noel M. Smith | ||
| Hit of the Show | Woody | Ralph Ince | ||
| Revenge | Jorga | Edwin Carewe | Silent drama film | |
| The Viking | Alwin | Roy William Neill | ||
| 1929 | Bride of the Desert | Fugitive | Duke Worne | Western film |
| 1930 | The Woman Who Was Forgotten | Richard Atwell | Richard Thomas | |
| The Climax | Dr. Gardoni | Renaud Hoffman | Thriller film | |
| See America Thirst | Attorney | William James Craft | ||
| 1932 | Texas Pioneers | Mark Collins | Harry L. Fraser | |
| Shopworn | Toby | Nick Grinde | ||
| Mason of the Mounted | Calhoun | Harry Fraser | ||
| Merrily We Go to Hell | Party Guest | Dorothy Arzner | Uncredited | |
| The Last Frontier | Buck | Spencer Gordon Bennet | Serial | |
| 1933 | The Monkey's Paw | Afghan | Wesley Ruggles | Uncredited |
| Luxury Liner | Ship Passenger at Bar | Lothar Mendes | Uncredited | |
| King Kong | New York Theatergoer | Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack | Uncredited | |
| The Phantom of the Air | Mortimer Crome | Ray Taylor | Serial | |
| Life in the Raw | Lamson's Henchman | Louis King | Uncredited | |
| The Last Trail | Withers, Henchman | James Tinling | Uncredited | |
| I Loved a Woman | Martha's Coachman | Alfred E. Green | Uncredited | |
| Smoky | Lefty | Eugene Forde | ||
| Maizie | Paul Barnes | Dallas M. Fitzgerald | ||
| 1934 | Are We Civilized? | Paul Franklin Jr. | Edwin Carewe | |
| The Dude Ranger | Dale Hyslip | Edward F. Cline | ||
| Redhead | Pretty Boy | Melville W. Brown | ||
| The Fighting Trooper | Andre La Farge | Ray Taylor | ||
| When a Man Sees Red | Dick Brady | Alan James | ||
| 1935 | Texas Terror | Joe Dickson | Robert N. Bradbury | With John Wayne |
| Northern Frontier | Stone | Sam Newfield | ||
| The Mystery Man | The Eel, Gangster | Ray McCarey | ||
| Rainbow Valley | Rogers | Robert N. Bradbury | With John Wayne | |
| Men of Action | Jim Denton - Construction Engineer | Alan James | ||
| Call of the Wild | Pimp in Mary's Room | William A. Wellman | Uncredited | |
| Valley of Wanted Men | Larry Doyle | Alan James | ||
| 1936 | Black Gold | Henry 'Hank' Langford | Russell Hopton | |
| Comin' Round the Mountain | Matt Ford | Mack V. Wright | ||
| Go-Get-'Em, Haines | Tony Marchetti | Sam Newfield | ||
| The Border Patrolman | Courtney Maybrook | David Howard | ||
| Ghost-Town Gold | Dirk Barrington | Joseph Kane | ||
| Fury Below | Fred Johnson | Harry Fraser |
The following were with John Wayne:
Other films: