Guinn Williams was one of Thelma Todd's costars at the Roach studio.

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams

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Guinn Williams
Born	Guinn Terrell Williams Jr. (1899-04-26)April 26, 1899 Decatur, Texas, U.S.
Died	June 6, 1962(1962-06-06) (aged 63) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1919–1961
Spouse(s)	Barbara Weeks Kathleen Collins Dorothy Peterson (1943-1962) (his death)

Guinn "Big Boy" Williams (April 26, 1899 – June 6, 1962) was an American actor who appeared in memorable westerns such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), and The Comancheros (1961). He was nicknamed "Big Boy" as he was 6' 2" and muscular from years of working on ranches and playing semi-pro and pro baseball.
Williams made his screen debut in the 1919 comedy, Almost A Husband, with Will Rogers and Cullen Landis, and was featured in a large supporting role ten years later in Frank Borzage's Lucky Star with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Throughout the 1920s Williams would have a string of successful films, mostly westerns.
He then appeared in The Great Meadow alongside Johnny Mack Brown, which was Brown's breakout film. Throughout the 1930s, Williams acted in supporting roles, mostly in westerns, sports, or outdoor dramas. Although not the lead actor in any of them, he was always employed, and was successful as a supporting actor. He often played alongside Hoot Gibson and Harry Carey during that period. In 1941, he became one of many actors cast by Universal Pictures in their large film series, Riders of Death Valley. From the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, Williams appeared in supporting roles in a number of A-pictures, sometimes with high billing, such as in Columbia's first Technicolour film The Desperadoes (1943).
His father, Guinn Williams Sr, represented the 13th Texas Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 1922 to 1932. Williams was frequently teamed with Alan Hale, Sr. as sidekicks to Errol Flynn in several of his pictures. In 1960, he was cast in the epic film The Alamo and in Home from the Hill with Robert Mitchum. His last role was opposite his close friend John Wayne and Stuart Whitman in The Comancheros.

Guinn Williams (left) with Alan Hale, Sr., Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn in Santa Fe Trail' (1940)

He was married to three actresses, the first being silent film actress Kathleen Collins. For a time, he was married to B-movie actress Barbara Weeks. His last wife was Dorothy Peterson, whom he first met in the 1940s.
Williams died unexpectedly of uremic poisoning^[1] on June 6, 1962, aged 63.

Partial filmography[edit]

Rounding Up the Law (1922)
Rose of the Desert (1925)
Polly of the Circus (1932)
The Mystery Squadron (1933)
The Glass Key (1935)
The Law of 45's (1935)
Dodge City (1939)
Blackmail (1939)
The Fighting 69th (1940)
Virginia City (1940)
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Swamp Water (1941)
The Desperadoes (1943)
Rocky Mountain (1950)
The Hired Gun (1957)
The Alamo (1960)
The Comancheros (1961)

References[edit]

Jump up ^ Big Boy Williams Dies of Poisoning (June 6, 1962)

External links[edit]

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Guinn "Big Boy" Williams appeared in two films with Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd, CATCH AS CATCH CAN and WAR MAMMAS. He later appeared with Patsy Kelly in her feature film debut at the Roach studio, KELLY THE SECOND. He made all kinds of movies, but is best known today for working in westerns, frequently with Errol Flynn. Williams eventually died of the same condition as Jean Harlow, uremic poisoning.

Here we see Janet Gaynor lifted off the floor by Guinn as they dance in LUCKY STAR ( 1929 ).