Hollywood stalwart Bruce Cabot's main claim to fame, other than
rescuing Fay Wray from
Die Fabel von King Kong - Ein amerikanischer Trick- und Sensationsfilm (1933), is that he tested for
the lead role of The Ringo Kid in
John Ford's Western masterpiece
Höllenfahrt nach Santa Fé (1939).
John Wayne got the role and became
the most durable star in Hollywood history, while Cabot (eventually)
found himself a new drinking partner when the two co-starred in
Der schwarze Reiter (1947).
In the latter stages of his career, Cabot could rely on Wayne for a
supporting part in one of the Duke's movies.
It wasn't always so. In the 1930s Cabot's star shone bright. He was
born with the unlikely name Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac in
Carlsbad, New Mexico, the son of French Col. Etienne de Bujac and Julia
Armandine Graves, who died shortly after giving birth to the future
Bruce Cabot. After leaving the University of the South in Sewanee,
Tennessee, the future thespian hit the road, working a wide variety of
jobs including sailor and insurance salesman, and doing a stint in a
knacker's yard. In 1931 he wound up in Hollywood and appeared in
several films in bit parts.
The young Monsieur de Bujac met
David O. Selznick, then RKO's central
producer (a job akin to
Irving Thalberg's at MGM), at a
Hollywood party, which led to an uncredited bit part as a dancer in
Lady with a Past (1932) and a
supporting role in
The Roadhouse Murder (1932).
On a parallel career track at the time, Marion Morrison (John Wayne)
had failed to follow up on his audacious debut in
Raoul Walsh's
Der große Treck (1930) (the Duke had
appeared in 18 movies previously but had only been billed in one, as
"Duke Morrison" in the unlikely John Wayne vehicle
Words and Music (1929)). Cabot
and Wayne eventually appeared in 11 films together.
Although Cabot was prominently featured in the blockbuster "King Kong"
in 1933, he never did make the step to stardom, though he enjoyed a
thriving career as a supporting player. He was a heavy in the 1930s,
playing a gangster boss in
Let 'em Have It (1935) and the
revenge-minded Native American brave Magua after
Randolph Scott's scalp in
Der letzte Mohikaner (1936);
over at MGM, he ably supported
Spencer Tracy as the instigator of
a lynch mob in Fritz Lang's
indictment of domestic fascism, Blinde Wut (1936).
A freelancer, he appeared in movies at many studios before leaving
Hollywood for military service. Cabot worked for Army intelligence
overseas during World War II; after the war, he continued to work
steadily, with and without his friend and frequent co-star, the Duke.
Bruce Cabot died in 1972 of lung and throat cancer. He was 68 years
old.
