Artemus Ward Acord (April 17, 1890 - January 4, 1931) was an American silent film actor and rodeo champion.
Born to Mormon parents in Prattsville, Utah, Acord as a young man worked as a cowboy and ranch hand. He went on to become one of the first true stars of western films. A celebrated rodeo star, Acord not only acted but also wrote scripts and performed as a stunt man. He won the Steer Bulldogging world championship in 1912 and repeated as champion in 1916, defeating challenger and friend Hoot Gibson. Acord was one of the few cowboys to have ridden the proclaimed bucking horse named Steamboat for the full eight seconds, which later inspired the bucking horse logo on the Wyoming license plate. His rodeo skills had been sharpened when he worked for a time for the Miller Brothers' traveling 101 Ranch Wild West Show. It was with the 101 that he made friends with Tom Mix, Bee Ho Gray, "Broncho Billy" Anderson and Hoot Gibson, all cowboys of the silver screen.
Acord enlisted in the United States Army in World War I and served overseas. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery. At war's end, he returned to the motion picture business, appearing in a series of popular film shorts and as "Buck Parvin", the title character for a Universal Pictures serial.
Because of a heavy drinking problem and his inability to adapt to the advent of talkies, Acord's film career faded, and he ended up performing in road shows and mining in Mexico. Shortly before his death, Acord appears to have attempted to orchestrate his own kidnapping as a publicity stunt.
Art Acord died in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, on January 4, 1931 from cyanide poisoning and complications related to hepatitis. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Official Mexican records called it a suicide, but some of Acord's friends over the years insisted that he had been murdered by a Mexican politician who had caught Acord having an affair with his wife.
During his life, Art Acord made over 100 film shorts, all but a few of which have been lost.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Acord has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street.
Art Acord films still available:
Also appeared in serials: Moon Riders, The (1920), White Horseman, The (1921), Winners of the West (1921), In the Days of Buffalo Bill (1922), and Oregon Trail, The (1923).
Although Mexican police officially listed Acord's death as a suicide, many of Acord's friends over the years insisted that he had been murdered by a Mexican politician who had caught Acord having an affair with his wife.
Acord held the World's Championship Steer Bulldogging title in 1912. In 1916, he won again, defeating challenger Hoot Gibson.
A biography is in the works.
20 of his films have been discovered in private collections and archives.
Most of his films are lost.
Was an extra in a talkie Trailin' Trouble (1930).
