Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas -- George Houston

George Houston (1896–1944) was an American B-western film actor and accomplished singer. (photo above is Al St. John alias Fuzzy Q. Jones on the left and George Houston as the Lone Rider on the right-courtesy of Bruce Hickey)

He won a few singing roles for minor studios during the 1930s, but got his big break in 1941 when Producers Releasing Corp. (PRC) signed him for a series of singing westerns in which he would star as "The Lone Rider".

Unfortunately for Houston "Three Mesquiteers" star Robert Livingston (a bigger box-office draw) became available after his contract with Republic Pictures ended in 1942.  Houston had been unhappy with his meager pay at PRC, and PRC was not happy with the performance of the "Lone Rider" series, so they let Houston go and replaced him with Livingston.  Houston left the movie business after that, and in 1944 (at age 48) he collapsed on a street in Hollywood, dead of a heart attack.

George Houston's Santa Susana locations filmography:

Border Roundup (1942) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Dennis Moore - PRC

Lone Rider Crosses the Rio, The (1941) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Roquell Verria (Iverson Ranch) PRC

Lone Rider Fights Back, The (1941) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Dorothy Short - PRC

Lone Rider in Cheyenne, The (1942) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Dennis Moore - PRC

Lone Rider in Frontier Fury, The (1941) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Hillary Brooke - PRC (photo courtesy of Bruce Hickey)

Lone Rider in Ghost Town, The (1941) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Rebel Randall (Brandeis Ranch)(Iverson Ranch) PRC

Lone Rider in Texas Justice, The (1942) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Dennis Moore - PRC

Lone Rider Rides On, The (1941) starring George Houston, Hillary Brooke and Al St. John - PRC

Outlaws of Boulder Pass (1942) starring George Houston, Al St. John and Dennis Moore - PRC

'Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas' is a continuing series about "six-gun heroes that performed on movie location ranches in Chatsworth, California.  For more information about Chatsworth filming locations see http://www.cowboyup.com/ to find information about my books: Rendezvous at Boulder Pass: Hollywood's Fantasyland - 2010 and Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas - 2008.