Western actor George "Gabby" Hayes was born in Stannards, N.Y. on May 7, 1885.

Hayes' father owned one of the first hotels in Stannards and Gabby was born in a room there.  He stayed in the town, located in Allegany County just outside of Wellsville.  The actor excelled in high school sports and was involved in his community in various forms.  He was well educated and his uncle, George F. Morrison, was a vice president of General Electric.  He had no cowboy interests at all, and in fact could not ride a horse until he was in his forties.

Many do not realize that Hayes was a successful vaudevillian in the 1920s and earned a fortune.  He even had a mansion on Long Island.  He lost everything int he 1929 stock market crash.  It was then that he turned to the movies.  He made more than two hundred films, most of them westerns.

Baby boomers will fondly remember him as the comic yet sturdy sidekick to many of our great western stars:  John Wayne (he made 15 movies with Wayne), Randolph Scott (six time), and more than one hundred times with Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

Gabby Hayes died on February 9, 1969 and is buried in Hollywood.

So was Gabby Hayes a born in the saddle western star?  Nope.  He was born in Upstate New York.  Yer darn tootin' he was!

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