Russell Hayden

Biography

Russell "Lucky" Hayden was born as Hayden Michael Lucid, the son of Francis Lucid and Minnie Harvey Lucid on June 12, 1912 in Chico, California. In his early Hollywood career, he worked primarily behind the scenes as a film cutter, assistant cameraman, and sound recorder. In 1937, he began his acting career, taking on the name Russell Hayden to honor his friend, cameraman Russell Harlan. That year, he made his screen debut in Paramount's 10th Hopalong Cassidy film, Hills of Old Wyoming (1937). After that film, it was evident Hayden was the perfect replacement for his friend and YMCA roommate, James Ellison, to portray the youthful sidekick to William Boyd in the wildly successful Hopalong series. Hayden played the role of "Lucky Jenkins" in a total of 27 Hoppy films. Today, out of all six of Hoppy's young pals, Lucky remains the most popular. Russell Hayden's acting and producing career spanned 26 years, playing in 80 films and television shows. In 1947, he was in a film called Trail of the Mounties (1947), where he played the heroic lead as well as the villain. In 1950, he and James Ellison starred together in a series of 11 films in which he and Ellison were cast as lawmen of the west. The same year, he appeared in multiple episodes of The Marshal of Gunsight Pass (1950), and also appeared in one episode of The Gene Autry Show (1950). Between the 1952 and 1953, he and Jackie Coogan starred in a short-running western series called Cowboy G-Men (1952), making a total of 39 episodes. While working in Hollywood, Russell Hayden teamed up with fellow actor Dick Curtis to help create Pioneertown, a western movie set that has been used in many films. Russell Hayden was married twice, first to actress Jan Clayton (aka Jane Clayton) in 1938. They met during the filming of Sunset Trail (1938), one of three Hopalong films in which they acted together. The two had their only child, Sandra Hayden, in 1940. After the couple's divorce in 1943, Hayden married actress Lillian Porter in 1946. The two remained married until his death in 1981.