Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Bruce Cabot

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico on April 20, 1904. His father was a prominent local lawyer, Major Étienne de Pelissier Bujac Sr. and his mother was Julia Armandine Graves, who died shortly after giving birth to her son. Cabot's father graduated from Cumberland School of Law near Nashville, Tennessee, and served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War before settling in Carlsbad.

Cabot graduated from Sewanee Military Academy in 1921, and briefly attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, but left without graduating

He worked at many jobs, including as a sailor, an insurance salesman, oil worker, surveyor, and prize fighter; he also sold cars, managed real estate, and worked at a slaughterhouse. A meeting with David O. Selznick at a Hollywood party led to his acting career. He claimed that he auditioned by acting out a scene from the play “Chicago”. The audition went "rather awful" in his opinion, but it did lead to him being cast in “The Roadhouse Murder” (1932).

Cabot appeared in nearly 100 feature films. He made his debut in an uncredited bit part in an episode of the serial “Heroes of the Flames” (1931). In “Ann Vickers” (1933), he portrayed a soldier who seduces a naive woman (Irene Dunne), and gets her pregnant before he leaves for the war. He then appeared in King Kong (also 1933), which became an enormous success and established Cabot as a star.

He was one of Errol Flynn's social pack for several years, but they fell out during the production of the unfinished The Story of William Tell in the mid-1950s.

Cabot was married three times, in Florida to Mary Mather Smith [1909-19??] (1926-1930), whom he divorced prior to moving to Hollywood, and to actresses Adrienne Ames [1903-1947] (1933-1937) and Francesca De Scaffa [1930-1994] (1950-1957).

Cabot appeared in many American westerns, several of which starred John Wayne but only one Euro-western as Jack in 1958’s “The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw”.

Bruce Cabot died May 3, 1972, at age 68 in the Motion Picture Country Home at Woodland Hills, California due to lung cancer.

CABOT, Bruce (Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac) [4/20/1904, Carlsbad, New Mexico, U.S.A. – 5/3/1972, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (lung, throat cancer)] – film, TV actor, married to Gracy Mary Mather Smith [1909-1985] (1927-19??) father of Jennifer De Bujac [1929-    ], Etienne De Pilisier Bujac, III [19??-1935], married to actress Adrienne Ames (Adrienne Ruth McClure) [1903–1947] (1933-1937), stepfather of Dorothy J. Ames [1923-    ], married to actress Francesca De Scaffa (Francesca Juana Nancy De Scaffa) [1930-1994] (1950-1957) father of Alfonsine Cabot [1952-    ].

The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw – 1958 (Jack)

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