Biography
Cowboy actor Buddy Roosevelt was born Kenneth Stanhope Sanderson in Meeker, Colorado, in 1898. His parents emigrated from England, and at 16, Kenneth joined the C.B. Irwin Wild West Show. When the show toured Southern California in 1914, Sanderson discovered that stunt work in the growing film industry paid better and was safer than the challenging and risky tasks of a Wild West show performer. He soon began doing stunts in westerns for pioneering producer Thomas H. Ince at Inceville studio, often doubling for William S. Hart. When the US entered World War I in 1917, Roosevelt enlisted in the Navy and was aboard the USS Norfolk when it sank. He also survived the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and returned to Hollywood after the war.
Resuming stunt work, he doubled for Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik (1921), the film that launched Valentino’s stardom. After more stunt work and minor roles, Sanderson was hired by low-budget producer Lester F. Scott Jr. to star in a series of westerns. Scott felt “Kenneth Sanderson” wasn’t cowboy enough, so he renamed him Buddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt starred in Rough Ridin' (1924), the first of 25 films he made for Scott. Though budgets were usually under $25,000—a modest sum even then—Scott employed seasoned supporting actors and efficient directors like a young Richard Thorpe, leading to popular, profitable films. However, when Scott signed two additional cowboy actors, Jay Wilsey and Hal Taliaferro, Roosevelt's film budgets were further reduced.
In 1928, Roosevelt left Scott for Rayart Pictures, but the films there were no better, often worse. After about six Rayart productions, Roosevelt landed a notable role in a major studio film, The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona (1928) for Fox. Unfortunately, he broke his leg just before filming and was replaced by Warner Baxter, who won an Academy Award and began a distinguished career. Roosevelt returned to low-budget westerns, signing with producer/director Jack Irwin for three films, though the third, Valley of Bad Men, was never released due to lack of funds. Out of work again, he performed stunt work and small roles before joining Victor Adamson (aka Denver Dixon) for extremely low-budget westerns under Superior Talking Pictures. These films, shot in only a few days on minimal budgets that paid Roosevelt $250 each, earned a reputation for incoherence and poor quality.
These productions ended Roosevelt’s stint as a star, but he remained active in the industry, performing stunts and small roles until retiring after his final film, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He died in Meeker, Colorado, on October 6, 1973.
