Syd Saylor

Syd Saylor
Born	Leo Sailor 24 March 1895 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	21 December 1962(1962-12-21) (aged 67) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1926 - 1962

Syd Saylor (born Leo Sailor; 24 March 1895 – 21 December 1962) was an American comedic actor and movie cowboy sidekick who appeared in 395 films and television series between 1926 and 1962.

Early years

Saylor's father, George Sailor, was in San Francisco when the big 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit the area. He was never seen again. Syd was a member of several local actors groups and discovered he had a knack for making people laugh. An uncle was a captain in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department—and a former member of Mack Sennett's comedy troupe, The Keystone Kops. Syd's uncle used his connections in the Hollywood film industry to get Syd's foot in the door to films. In the silent film days of the 1920s, he had his own series of two-reel shorts.

Saylor graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago and worked as an artist before venturing into acting.

Career

Saylor went on to have a prolific career as a character actor, set apart from other character actors by his bulging eyes, stuttering speech, and a protruding Adam's apple. He appeared in everything from comedies to westerns, usually as the hero's comical sidekick.

Saylor was also the second television "Bozo the Clown" on KTTV Ch. 11 in Hollywood, California during the early 1950s.

Death

Saylor died in Hollywood in 1962, aged 67.

Selected filmography

Syd Saylor Diamond, Studio City Walk of Fame

• The Winking Idol (1926) - The Tramp
• The Ridin' Rascal (1926)
• The Runaway Express (1926) - The Tramp
• Red Hot Leather (1926) - 'Noisy' Bates
• The Mystery Rider (1928)
• Just Off Broadway (1929) - Bennie Barnett
• Cat, Dog & Co. (1929, Short) - Pedestrian (uncredited)
• Shanghai Rose (1929) - Xavier Doolittle
• The Border Legion (1930)
• The Light of Western Stars (1930)
• Men Without Law (1930) - Hank
• No Limit (1931)
• I Take This Woman (1931)
• Law of the Sea (1932)
• Tangled Destinies (1932)
• Lady and Gent (1932) costarring John Wayne
• The Crusader (1932)
• The Nuisance (1933)
• Silent Men (1933)
• Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
• The Lost Jungle (1934)
• Mystery Mountain (1934)
• The Headline Woman (1935)
• Ladies Crave Excitement (1935)
• Streamline Express (1935)
• The Fighting Coward (1935)
• Wilderness Mail (1935)
• Kelly the Second (1936)
• Prison Shadows (1936)
• The Three Mesquiteers (1936)
• Exiled to Shanghai (1937)
• Guns in the Dark (1937) as Oscar
• The Wrong Road (1937)
• Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) - John Johnston
• A Gentleman at Heart (1942)
• The Lone Star Ranger (1942)
• That Other Woman (1942)
• Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) - Star Boarder (uncredited)
• Doughboys in Ireland (1943)
• Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)
• Three of a Kind (1944)
• Gas House Kids Go West (1947)
• The Arkansas Swing (1948)
• High Noon (1952) - Old Timer on Hotel Porch (uncredited)
• Toughest Man Alive (1955)

External links

• Syd Saylor at IMDb
• Syd Saylor at Find a Grave