Ted Wells

Biography

Ted Wells was a second-echelon western hero at Universal in 1920s silents and also made several low-budget westerns for "Poverty Row" producers William M. Pizor and Robert J. Horner. During those silents Wells used his own name as well as "Pawnee Bill, Jr.". When sound arrived, he found himself relegated to bit parts and (slightly larger) supporting roles, as well as doubling and stunt work. Wells re-connected with Horner in the mid-'30s. The collaboration resulted in Wells doing hero duty in a pair of bottom-of-the-barrel sagebrush yarns, The Phantom Cowboy (1935) (from Aywon Pictures) and the lost/missing Defying the Law (1935) (also from Aywon). "Film Daily" announced that Wells had signed to star in eight films for Horner, but only two were actually made. Wells returned to bits and supporting roles in westerns and serials and wound up as the frequent double for William Boyd in Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy films from the late 1930s through 1944.