With a flattened proboscis that ended just above his upper lip, James Lew Meehan was a highly visible presence in budget Westerns from the very early '20s to at least 1944. A lead villain in silent oaters starring lesser-known cowboys like Lester Cuneo, Bill Patton, and Al Hoxie, Meehan's florid acting style can be enjoyed today in such silents as Blazing Arrows (1922) and Red Blood (1926) -- the now veteran actor usually found himself demoted to that of anonymous henchman after the advent of sound. He remained busy, though, clocking in at a total of 121 sound Westerns and 11 serials between 1929 and 1944.
Lew Meehan
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