Cowboy Sidekick: Gabby Hayes Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York

He was born in what is described as a hamlet, a very small region in Allegany County. Even in the early twenty-first century, it has fewer than one thousand residents. Hayes himself referred to having been born in Wellsville, a much bigger nearby town, but records show that Stannards is correct.

Hayes was one of seven children of whom he was the third born. One of his brothers died in the First World War.

Answer: George

George Francis Hayes was born in 1885. His father owned a hotel in Stannards. Having left home aged only seventeen, Hayes became a successful vaudeville performer, making enough money to retire until the stock market crash of 1929 meant he lost his savings and had to find a new career.

Answer: Hopalong Cassidy

Having played other roles in the 'Hopalong Cassidy' films, Hayes settled into the regular part of Windy Halliday in 1936, in the film 'Three on the Trail'. He played the character a further seventeen times with his last appearance in the role in 1939, playing the part in 'The Renegade Trail'.

A dispute with the studio over his pay brought an end to this role, and he moved on to other parts, usually still as the foil to the film's star. The character of Hopalong Cassidy was played by William Boyd, who was given various other sidekicks in subsequent films.

Answer: Olive

Olive Ireland, as she then was, became Gabby's partner on the stage as well as in real life. They formed a vaudeville act in which she performed as Olive Earle. She was the one who persuaded Gabby to give the movies a try and move to Los Angeles. He had a lot to thank her for!

They were married for over 40 years, until her death in 1957, but had no children.

Answer: Young whipper snapper

Other catchphrases of his were 'yer durn tootin' and 'durn persnickety female', which were very much in line with the characters he portrayed. The irony is that Hayes is widely reported to have not been a fan of Westerns, but the niche he carved out for himself was clearly lucrative for him.

In real life Hayes was far from the grizzled characters he portrayed and is described as a serious and well informed man with a deep interest in philosophy. Well, it is called acting.

Answer: Roy Rogers

Hayes played a long time and loyal friend and ally to Roy Rogers for many years. His character could be relied upon to voice his opinion to Roy about the situation in which they found themselves. They made over forty films together.

He also appeared regularly with both John Wayne and William Boyd, but Clint Eastwood is a bit too recent to be one of his co-stars.

Answer: Tall in the Saddle

Although the films listed starred John Wayne, Hayes appeared in only one of these - 'Tall in the Saddle'. Other stars included Ward Bond and Ella Raines. Wayne played a cowboy (naturally) while Hayes portrayed Dave, the driver of the stagecoach which Wayne's character boards on a journey to Arizona. Dave is described as 'cantankerous' and ends up being pistol whipped by the sheriff for speaking out once too often. The film was successful, although critics felt it was 'run of the mill' and 'predictable'.

John Wayne and George Hayes were friends off screen as well as on, with Hayes describing John as 'the son I wish I'd had' and Wayne's children treating Hayes as an honorary uncle.

Answer: True

Some sources describe the show as being two separate shows. Beginning in 1950, Hayes, in his film persona, narrated stories about historical characters to two child actors. The show was aimed at children, was shown at the weekend, and was sponsored by Quaker Oats. Among the figures covered were John Paul Jones and Wyatt Earp.

The show then moved to weekdays and morphed into something different, with Hayes telling stories from the Wild West, described as 'tall tales' in some sources, before showing clips from various Western films. This version lasted until 1956, when Hayes mostly retired apart from making an occasional guest appearance such as on 'Howdy Doody'.

Answer: Blazing Saddles

Although all the options are well known Mel Brooks films, 'Blazing Saddles' is the only one set in the Old West. Sterrett was made up to resemble Hayes with a full beard, hat and the type of clothing worn by his characters. As the town drunk, Johnson is the character who helps rally the people of Rock Ridge, a town which is about to be demolished to make way for a railway, to defend their homes.

The film was released in 1974 with stars such as Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, and Brooks himself, who appeared as three different characters. The film is full of deliberate anachronisms and is classed as a satirical black comedy.

Answer: Forest Lawn

Following his retirement, Hayes remained in California living in an apartment block that he owned. He was admitted to a hospital in 1969, in Burbank, and died on 9 February 1969. The cause of death was cardiovascular disease, and he was eighty-three years old.

Only two of the cemeteries listed are in California. Arlington is in Virginia and there are a few Mount Carmels, including in Chicago and New York. Hollywood Forever has numerous stars buried there, but Hayes is interred in Forest Lawn, as mentioned in song by Tom Paxton, who wrote it, and John Denver.