Chief Thundercloud

Biography

Victor Daniels was given the title of "Chief" in an honorary capacity and identified himself as Cherokee although his background is vague. His application for a social security number lists his birth date as April 12, 1899, and his birth-place as Arizona. Thundercloud was the eldest of nine children born to Jesus Daniels and Tomaca Daniels (as indicated on his social security application). But on his marriage record to Mildred Turner in 1925, he said his name was "Victor Vazquez." Raised on a ranch in Arizona, he claimed he was educated at the University of Arizona at Tucson but the Office of the Registrar checked their databases and found no attendance record for a Victor Daniels. He worked in cattle ranches and rodeos in addition as a mining foreman, boxer and guide before entering movies as a stuntman in 1929. By 1935, Hollywood had given him the professional name of "Chief Thundercloud" and he was appearing in acting roles, many of them uncredited. For the next two decades he played strong, grim roles in such "B" westerns as Cyclone of the Saddle (1935), Ramona (1936), The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938), Young Buffalo Bill (1940), North West Mounted Police (1940), The Law Rides Again (1943), Romance of the West (1946), Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950) and Santa Fe (1951). He eventually earned screen credit for his tribe members and chiefs, typecast more as evil than good. Chief Thundercloud is probably best known for creating the role of faithful sidekick "Tonto" in the serial The Lone Ranger (1938) and its sequel The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939). He also played the title role of Paramount Pictures' Geronimo! (1939). On TV, he appeared in such programs as "Death Valley Days," "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin," "My Little Margie" and "Buffalo Bill, Jr." Following an uncredited part as a chief in the classic western The Searchers (1956), he died at age 56 following surgery for stomach cancer in Ventura County, California on November 30, 1955. Twice married, he was survived by second wife Frances, a former singer, and their two children. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Los Angeles area. Not to be confused with noted Chief Thunder Cloud (1856-1916), a Blackfoot tribe member and Army scout who went on to perform with P.T. Barnum and his Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.