American actor-director-writer-producer Gilbert M. Anderson, father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star, was born Maxwell Henry Aronson in Little Rock, Arkansas. His parents, Esther . He had been presented with an honorary Oscar in 1957 as a "motion picture pioneer, for his contributions to the development of motion pictures as entertainment." Anderson died in 1971 at the age of 90.
Appeared in the Alkali Ike series beginning in 1912.
Appeared in the Snakeville Comedy series beginning in 1911.
In 1907 he co-founded Essanay Film Manufacturing Company.
Daughter Maxine Anderson.
Bronco Billys birth year is sometimes given as 1882 or 1883. According to the census records for Pulaski County, Arkansas (4 June 1880) he was born in 1880.
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2002.
Profiled in "Back in the Saddle: Essays on Western Film and Television Actors", Gary Yoggy, ed. (McFarland, 1998).
Co-founded Amalgamated Producing Corporation, a film production company active from 1922-23.
He was the first Jewish-American movie star.
In 1958 he was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his contributions to film.
