Helen Gibson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Helen Gibson
Gibson c. 1916
Born	Rose August Wenger (1892-08-27)August 27, 1892 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 10, 1977(1977-10-10) (aged 85) Roseburg, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, stuntwoman, trick rider, film producer
Spouse(s)	Hoot Gibson ​ ​ (m. 1913; div. 1920)​ Clifton Johnson ​ (m. 1935)​

Helen Gibson (born Rose August Wenger; August 27, 1892 – October 10, 1977) was an American actress and stunt performer. She was known for her amazing horse riding skills and dangerous stunts in early movies. Many people think she was the first professional stunt woman in America!

Rodeo Riding Star

Helen was born Rose August Wenger in Cleveland, Ohio. She was one of five girls. Her father wanted a son, so he encouraged her to be a "tomboy." This meant she learned to be adventurous and strong.

In 1909, Helen saw her first Wild West show. These shows featured cowboys, trick riders, and rodeo events. She saw an advertisement for girl riders in Billboard magazine. She joined the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch show. They taught her how to ride horses really well. Her first show was in St. Louis in April 1910.

Helen loved performing. She once said she was "already practicing picking up a handkerchief from the ground at full gallop." She didn't worry about getting hurt. She traveled all over the U.S. with the show.

Hollywood Adventures

Becoming a Cowboy Extra

In 1911, the Miller-Arlington Show suddenly closed. Many performers, including Helen, were left without jobs in Venice, California. A film producer named Thomas H. Ince hired the whole group. They were paid $8 a week and lived in Venice. Every day, they rode five miles to Topanga Canyon where the movies were filmed.

In 1912, Helen got her first role where her name was shown. She played Ruth Roland's sister in a movie called Ranch Girls on a Rampage. For this, she earned $15 a week.

Like many other cowboy extras, Helen kept performing in rodeos when she wasn't filming. In 1913, she impressed an investor at a rodeo in Los Angeles. He offered to pay for her to tour rodeos. She learned new trick riding moves at his ranch in Oregon.

Meeting Hoot Gibson

In June 1913, Helen met Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson at a rodeo in Pendleton, Oregon. They started working together. At a rodeo in Salt Lake City, they won many events. They won the relay race, the standing woman race, and trick riding. Hoot also won the pony express race. But the person running the rodeo left town without paying them!

That summer, Helen and Hoot performed in rodeos in Canada and Idaho. They decided to get married in Pendleton. This helped them get a room because married couples were given first choice. They won enough money to go back to Los Angeles. Hoot worked as a cowboy extra and a stunt double for Tom Mix. Helen also worked for other film studios.

Amazing Stunts

The Capture of Red Stanley (1916)

Helen Gibson c. 1920

In April 1915, Helen was working for the Kalem Company. She was a stunt double for Helen Holmes in a movie series called The Hazards of Helen. She did one of her most dangerous stunts for the episode A Girl's Grit. She had to jump from a station roof onto a moving train!

She practiced the jump with the train standing still. When it was time to film, the train had to be moving. Helen jumped without fear and landed correctly. But the train's movement made her roll. She grabbed an air vent and held on, dangling over the edge. This made the scene look even more exciting! She only got a few bruises.

Starring in The Hazards of Helen

The Hazards of Helen (1916)

To Save the Road (1916)

The Hazards of Helen was a very long movie series. It had 119 episodes, and each one was a complete story. Helen Holmes was the main star for the first 49 episodes. But when she got sick, Helen Gibson got a chance to replace her for two movies. She starred in A Test of Courage and A Mile a Minute, earning $35 a week.

The film studio was so impressed with Helen's work that they kept her on. They even changed her name to 'Helen' for the studio. She was a very good actress. She even wrote a story for a short film that included a risky stunt. In the film, she would ride horses "standing woman" (standing up on the horse). Then she would grab a rope from a bridge and swing onto a moving train! The studio rewarded her by raising her salary to $50 a week.

Helen starred in The Hazards of Helen for 69 episodes until it ended in 1917. Then, the Kalem studio tried another series called The Daughter of Daring, with Helen as the star. She did another amazing stunt in this series. She chased a runaway train on a motorcycle. She rode through a wooden gate, through a station platform, and through the open doors of a train car. Her motorcycle flew through the air and landed on a flatcar on a passing train! This trick needed perfect timing.

The Kalem studio closed down in 1917. Universal offered Helen a three-year contract for $125 a week. She appeared in two John Ford films in 1919: Rustlers and Gun Law. After her Universal contract ended, she signed with Capital Film Company for $300 a week. But that company soon closed down too.

Hoot Gibson, Helen's husband, had been in the Army. When he returned in 1918, Universal gave him a contract for Westerns. Helen had become a very successful movie star while he was away. It was hard for Hoot to accept that his wife was more famous than him. They separated in 1920.

Becoming a Producer

In 1920, Helen started her own company called Helen Gibson Productions. She wanted to make her own movies. Her first film was No Man's Woman. It was a Western about a kind dance-hall hostess who saves a rancher's child. But she ran out of money before the movie was finished. She lost all her money. A year later, another studio released the film with a new title, Nine Points of the Law.

In 1921, another company hired Helen to star in The Wolverine. They were very happy with her and offered her $450 a week. But before filming began, she became very sick and needed surgery. The studio had to replace her.

Back to Trick Riding

After her recovery, Helen wasn't as popular for lead roles. In 1921, she was hired for another movie, but the company closed without paying anyone. Riding in the movie also sent her back to the hospital. She had to sell her furniture, jewelry, and car.

She made personal appearances at movie theaters and rodeos to earn money. She even visited her old friends at the 101 Ranch. In 1924, Helen got a job as a trick rider with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She performed in their Wild West show for two and a half years. Later, she joined a Hopi Indian act and performed in vaudeville shows.

Return to Hollywood

Helen returned to Hollywood in 1927. She started working as a stunt double for famous actresses like Marie Dressler and Ethel Barrymore. She worked constantly, doing stunts and playing small, uncredited roles. She also continued to be a special guest at rodeos and horse shows.

In 1935, Helen married Clifton Johnson, who was an electrician at a film studio. He had been a chief gunner in the Navy. In 1940, he joined the Navy again for World War II. While he was away, Helen kept working as an extra in movies.

In the 1951 movie Hollywood Story, Helen played a retired silent film actress. She appeared alongside other silent film stars. She earned $55 for one scene. At the movie's premiere, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce gave Helen and other silent stars a special award. It thanked them for their "outstanding contribution" to movies and for making Hollywood the film capital of the world.

Later Years

Helen continued to take small roles in films and television until 1954. Then, she and her husband moved to Lake Tahoe for health reasons. They tried to sell real estate but it didn't work out. They moved back to Panorama City in California.

In 1957, Helen had a small stroke. But it didn't stop her from working as an extra. Her last movie role was in 1961, in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. She was 69 years old and was paid $35 for the role. She retired in January 1962, receiving a pension from the Motion Picture Industry.

Helen and Clifton moved to Roseburg, Oregon. She spent her later years fishing and giving interviews about her amazing career. Helen Gibson passed away in 1977 at the age of 85.

Filmography

A Daughter of Daring (1917)

In the Path of Peril (1917)

See also

In Spanish: Helen Gibson para niños