Buck Jones — The Simple Life for Buck! (1926) 🇺🇸

February 24, 2023

Jones is just one of those good, old-fashioned names that typify true American simplicity. To be one of the big family of Joneses usually means that you are as plain as an old shoe.

by Romney Scott

True, a few black sheep, becoming nouveau riche, have tried to high-hat their modest cousins by adopting such hifalutin monikers as "Montmorency" or "Cholmondeley," but all big families have their black sheep. For honest accomplishments, the grand old name of Jones hasn't had to take a back seat for any name. We have the one and only Bobby Jones, world's champion golfer, and we have the pride of the Western picture stalwarts, the popular and likable Buck Jones. If there is one he-man in this world who is equally modest and a shade more painfully shy than Bobby — it's Buck.

When the stalwart cowboy star and his wife made their recent trip to Europe, which happened to be their first and possibly their last for some moons to come, New York interviewers discovered that talking to Buck anent Buck was like trying to scale the w. k. Rock of Gibraltar. It simply couldn't be done. Buck proved a genial, yea, even a master host, but he positively refused to discuss himself. Granted that the big Westerner has never been noted for his loquacity, nevertheless, he can radiate more silence than his own great open spaces — on the subject of himself.

To state that the cowboy screen hero was glad to be back on his own range after a rather hectic trip to the land of the gyp artists is to put it mildly. After only three weeks of Europe, he and the missus began to yearn for their hospitable ranch, which lies near Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains. They passed Paris up after several typically Parisian nights, especially designed for American tourists, to enjoy the rest of their time motoring through the small villages and countryside of France — to see the real folks. But perhaps the simplest way to sum up Buck's idea of his sojourn in the Mecca of frenzied American spenders and sightseers is to quote verbatim the repartee between the star and his cowpunchers around the chuck wagon on the first day's location work during the filming of "The White Eagle."

Quoth the spokesman of the gang, between beans, "What place did you cotton to best, Buck?"

"Jefferson, Io-way!" retorted Buck, laconically but emphatically. And he meant what he said!

It appears that the Joneses' sudden return from Europe left them with some time on their hands before their vacation was up, so they stopped off at this hamlet in Iowa to visit some old friends. They stayed a week. Discussing Jefferson, Buck became positively loquacious.

"Stopped off to visit some old friends. Real folks in such towns as Jefferson. Main Street is just about as long as one of my Western sets, but shucks, folks there know how to live. Nope, we didn't do much. Played baseball, pitched horseshoes, took in a county fair, swapped yarns, and just visited. Had a real nice time." That's Buck Jones, who had just given Europe the good-by!

Buck is a Hoosier, born in Vincennes and educated in Indianapolis. Having been raised on a farm, he craved to go West to become a cowboy. He made his debut on a real cow ranch at the age of fifteen, with the Big V outfit, some fifteen miles from Ponca City, Oklahoma. He began as the helper on a chuck wagon; next he became a horse wrangler; then he brought in the drag — which means that he was assigned the task of rounding up the stragglers from the herd — then he advanced to the dignity of pointing the herd, which meant that he was a full-fledged "top hand." Pointing the herd is to take charge of the moving of cattle or the rounding up of the herd. After a year and a half on the Big V ranch, he joined the famous Millers' 101 Ranch, staying there the rest of the year, and then he joined three buddies on their first ranching venture near the Osage Indian country in Oklahoma.

Being a top hand and a finished horseman, it was natural that Buck should feel a desire to enlist in the United States cavalry, which he did in his home town, Indianapolis. He was first assigned to the famous Sixth Cavalry. He went with his outfit to the Philippine Islands where he rose to the rank of sergeant during his three years, of service. After receiving his honorable discharge, he immediately drifted back into his old ranch life.

But once a soldier, always a soldier! The Mexican trouble arose on the border. So Buck enlisted again in the Sixth Cavalry, to help protect American citizens along the border. Then he became enamored of aviation, and succeeded in getting transferred to the First Aviation Squadron, giving up his rank of first sergeant to become a first-class private. When he had completed his period of enlistment, he returned once again to cow-punching, working at various ranches throughout the West.

Fate brought him back to the 101 Ranch. He and his three pals, all brothers, used to marvel at the great 101 Ranch Show, which wintered at the home ranch, and each spring went on the road to show the rest of the United States its collection of bronco-busters, ropers, riders, and wild- West performers. The four of them dreamed of the day when they might make the show, and finally, one spring, they decided to "contest" in the big rodeo that was held to decide who would be taken on the road. These four boys took an oath that if one of them failed, none would go. To their great surprise they all qualified rather easily. As Buck modestly expressed it, "The nag they gave me couldn't have thrown a wet saddle blanket."

So they were whirled off to New York, where the big Western circus was shown for weeks at the now historic Madison Square Garden. They had about fifteen cents between them — until pay day two weeks later. Then they saw New York.

The next year brought Buck a real romance. While starring in the wild-West concert that followed the show, he met the pretty and sensible young lady who was to become his wife. Odille Dorothy Osborne was a trick rider and roper whose remarkable skill and agility evoked such admiration in Buck that he watched her from the wings at every performance. Mrs. Jones has confided since that she always watched Buck do his bronco-busting, riding, and roping, too — at every performance. The two champion riders were eventually married on horseback as a surprise feature of the show one afternoon.

When Buck Jones drifted into the motion-picture capital several years ago, he was still happy-go-lucky — and very nearly broke! He met a few of his kind, real ranch hands. who had been lured to Hollywood by the stories of fabulous sums paid for daring riders who could really do stunts. Soon he was working at the Fox lot for Bill Farnum, under the direction of none other than Frank Lloyd. May it be eternally registered to Bill Farnum's glory that, when William Fox called him in New York to look at the first film of this possible cowboy "find," he put his stamp of approval on Buck Jones, and prophesied that Fox had one of the coming young stars of the screen. In 1919, Buck made his debut as a William Fox star in a picture called The Square Shooter. Bill Farnum's prophecy came true. Buck has now become one of the most popular of screen figures.

Probably the finest thing that he has contributed to the screen was the title role in Lazybones, the role of a small-town hero. But Buck's fans much prefer him in his natural Western character. Once in a while, for the sake of variety, he essays other he-man such as lumberjacks, mounted policemen, soldiers, and such, but very seldom, so great is the demand for his hard-riding, fastaction cowboy character. Somehow. Buck confesses, there doesn't seem to be nearly so much glamour and romance attached to other outdoors he-men heroes. So he is happy in his own character.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones have one child, Maxine, aged seven. She is a chip off the old block, being a remarkable rider.

You know, the typical Western man and woman, raised on the ranches and schooled in the high ideals of what the West considers manhood and womanhood are real people. Just folks! And, although Buck Jones and Mrs. Jones have one of the most beautiful homes in all Hollywood, a Spanish hacienda, several ranches of their own, some two-score horses, and all the fame mortals could desire, they are still — just folks!