Ray "Crash" Corrigan

Ray "Crash" Corrigan

Born Raymond Benard, Corrigan was a big, handsome, tough star of cowboy films. After working as an electrician and gym teacher, he entered films in 1934 as a stunt man and bit player; for his excellent physique, he was hired as a body-double for Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller. By 1936 he starred in serials and action pictures; one serial, Undersea Kingdom, featured him as the character "Crash Corrigan," and he adopted the name as his film pseudonym. His best-known role was that of Tucson Smith in two dozen films featuring the "Three Mesquiteers" (himself, Bob Livingston, and Max Terhune); from 1937-43, the Three Mesquiteers made the western money-makers top ten list, peaking at #5 in 1938. In the '40s he appeared in a series of films (which he co-produced) with another cowboy trio, this one called "The Range Busters." Afterwards he retired and became a businessman; his business interests included Corriganville, a ranch and "small-town" movie set he rented out to western movie production companies. ~ All Movie Guide