{"artistName":"Ken Maynard","artistId":9131,"artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/125/125986e5ba5aaeec37e72e3510081b14_xl.jpg","srcset":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/125/125986e5ba5aaeec37e72e3510081b14_sm.jpg 50w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/125/125986e5ba5aaeec37e72e3510081b14_md.jpg 80w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/125/125986e5ba5aaeec37e72e3510081b14_lg.jpg 200w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/125/125986e5ba5aaeec37e72e3510081b14_xl.jpg 340w","artistBio":"\u003cp\u003eKen Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American motion picture stuntman and actor.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn Kenneth Olin Maynard in Vevay, Indiana, he was one of five children. His younger brother, Kermit Maynard, also became a stuntman and actor.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorking at carnivals and circuses, starting at age 16, Maynard became an accomplished horseman. As a young man, he performed in rodeos and was a trick rider with Buffalo Bill 's Wild West Show. During World War I, he served in the United States Army.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter the war, Maynard returned to show business as a circus rider with Ringling Brothers. When the circus was playing in Los Angeles, California, actor Buck Jones encouraged Maynard to try work in the movies. Maynard soon had a contract with Fox Studios.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe first appeared in silent motion pictures in 1923 and in addition to acting also did stunt work. His horsemanship and rugged good looks made Maynard a cowboy star. His white stallion, \"Tarzan\", also became famous. He became one of the first singing cowboys with Columbia Records, recording two songs, \"The Lone Star Trail\" and \"The Cowboy's Lament\". Maynard moved to Universal Studios, where he made his first films with a musical soundtrack. He sang two songs in Sons of the Saddle (1930).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1931 and 1932, Maynard worked for Tiffany Productions and Sono Art-World Wide Pictures before moving back to Universal in 1933. Maynard played several instruments and was featured playing the fiddle in The Fiddlin' Buckaroo (1933) and the banjo in The Trail Drive (1933). Maynard moved to Mascot Pictures in 1934.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith his white cowboy hat, fancy shirt, and pair of six-shooters, from the 1920s to the mid-1940s, Maynard appeared in more than 90 films. However, his alcoholism severely impacted his life and his career ended in 1944. He made appearances at state fairs and rodeos.He then owned a small circus operation featuring rodeo riders but eventually lost it to creditors. The significant amount of money he had earned vanished, and he lived a desolate life in a rundown mobile home. During these years, Maynard was supported by an unknown benefactor, long thought to be Gene Autry.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than 25 years after his last starring role, Maynard returned to two small parts in films in 1970 and 1972.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKen Maynard died penniless in 1973 at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cypress Cemetery in Cypress, California. Maynard's funeral is described in detail in James Horwitz's book They Went Thataway.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ken Maynard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6751 Hollywood Blvd.\u003c/p\u003e","musicPath":"/music/Ken+Maynard","playStationPath":"/stations/125155429/play","stationId":125155429,"bioPath":"/music/Ken+Maynard/_full_bio","similars":[{"musicPath":"/music/Ramblin+Thomas","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/065/065dfb9c53cfa887c340ca6ae56507e8_md.jpg","artistName":"Ramblin' Thomas","artistId":9132,"station_id":125049361},{"musicPath":"/music/Charlie+Poole","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/0ce/0ce17b0392f50916933a11727898faab_md.jpg","artistName":"Charlie Poole","artistId":117591,"station_id":283168603},{"musicPath":"/music/Hobart+Smith","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/660/660b1b0f7fe77a3e7c463bd34ec17098_md.jpg","artistName":"Hobart Smith","artistId":110716,"station_id":282142217},{"musicPath":"/music/Bascom+Lamar+Lunsford","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/e66/e667996563f4cec449bb5a30959a3d41_md.jpg","artistName":"Bascom Lamar Lunsford","artistId":129096,"station_id":284994051},{"musicPath":"/music/Nelstone+s+Hawaiians","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/e5a/e5a13b5df2eb3a809fa7804b8d9bb9c3_md.jpg","artistName":"Nelstone's Hawaiians","artistId":8945,"station_id":114592637},{"musicPath":"/music/Jimmie+Davis","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/318/3188c4a6ac37dc1616d63160df870586_md.jpg","artistName":"Jimmie Davis","artistId":128691,"station_id":284905554},{"musicPath":"/music/Ernest+and+Hattie+Stoneman","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/cfc/cfc9a93067de560460fa89c72b3f8734_md.jpg","artistName":"Ernest and Hattie Stoneman","artistId":9147,"station_id":259709169},{"musicPath":"/music/Wade+Ward","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/64f/64f058789fdee06abb8d8418223861c3_md.jpg","artistName":"Wade Ward","artistId":131412,"station_id":285397679},{"musicPath":"/music/Charlie+Poole+The+North+Carolina+Ramblers","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/147/14796709c1630dee7b6b538c969caf6c_md.jpg","artistName":"Charlie Poole \u0026 The North Carolina Ramblers","artistId":116678,"station_id":283090906},{"musicPath":"/music/Mike+Seeger","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/6b6/6b664a6fdfd1fde84310850857356cdb_md.jpg","artistName":"Mike Seeger","artistId":98771,"station_id":277151074},{"musicPath":"/music/Hazel+Dickens","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/1ee/1ee3cdf462e82790274eb52576ce7a5e_md.jpg","artistName":"Hazel Dickens","artistId":120579,"station_id":283411072},{"musicPath":"/music/Cliff+Carlisle","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/5b9/5b91b7afbe72b679718825ce7f4a3e94_md.jpg","artistName":"Cliff Carlisle","artistId":106833,"station_id":281656180},{"musicPath":"/music/Cisco+Houston","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/0a7/0a708436485d1e1c8a1c5491572f8b73_md.jpg","artistName":"Cisco Houston","artistId":94764,"station_id":287828142},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Bently+Boys","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/5df/5df25a3abba98f97deedf62ac811541d_md.jpg","artistName":"The Bently Boys","artistId":137895,"station_id":286730791},{"musicPath":"/music/Vernon+Dalhart","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/b7d/b7db38822f953bf5f9fc2bb35bbf8af6_md.jpg","artistName":"Vernon Dalhart","artistId":8047,"station_id":113561990},{"musicPath":"/music/George+Pegram","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/031/031ca4a5e508fc40c60b9160030378e4_md.jpg","artistName":"George Pegram","artistId":99024,"station_id":277277170},{"musicPath":"/music/Uncle+Dave+Macon","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/7c7/7c79c2f20b50d7e9046950536ba5fb79_md.jpg","artistName":"Uncle Dave Macon","artistId":117296,"station_id":283168432},{"musicPath":"/music/Peggy+Seeger","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/20a/20a2b0b7c7d821abc97962a66d5b0bd6_md.jpg","artistName":"Peggy Seeger","artistId":108618,"station_id":281863158}]}