JACK PADJAN

Jack Padjan (also billed as Jack Duane) was an actor and stunt man from the 1920s to the 1930s. Padjan was born in Montana in 1887 and had his first taste of Hollywood in 1923 as a stunt double in the James Cruz film The Covered Wagon, followed by an uncredited role in Cecil D. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (he had another uncredited role in DeMille's The King of Kings in 1927). In 1924 he had another uncredited role in John Ford's The Iron Horse, but his role was more significant as he portrayed Wild Bill Hickock. In 1927 and 1928, he had his only starring roles in Liberty Pictures' Land of the Lawless and Crashing Through. He continued to have uncredited roles and stunt work in the 1930s and at age 50, he finally retired from Hollywood with the 1937 Charles Starrett film One Man Justice. After films, he ran a stable in Northridge, California before passing away in 1960. Diana Serra Cary described Jack in her book The Hollywood Posse as a man who "loved his friends, a fine horse, a pretty girl, a good fight and a loyal dog, in just about that order." Perhaps Padjan's greatest claim to fame is mentioned in Ronald L. Davis' book Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne, in which Raoul Walsh tells how Padjan "helped me make a rider out of Duke".