Fred Church on AllMovie

Veteran American silent screen actor Fred Church began his career with the Selig Polyscope Company and the Essanay Film Mfg. Company in the early 1910s, creating the popular character of Coyote Simpson in Bronco Billy Anderson's Snakeville Comedies. Church became a star in his own right with Universal, a fine-looking if somewhat stern hero of the old school. The increasing popularity of more flamboyant stars such as Tom Mix left Church behind in the late 1910s and he returned to Anderson, now releasing on the independent market. By the mid-'20s, Church starred exclusively for poverty row entrepreneurs like Fred Balshofer and the famous one-legged Robert J. Horner. In an effort to upgrade the actor's old-fashioned image, the latter changed the veteran actor's billing to Montana Bill. No one was fooled, however, and Church was relegated to minor supporting roles for the remainder of his career, which lasted until the mid-'30s.