Coffee Talks author recalls days of vaudeville, Wild West shows
SPECIAL TO THE PICAYUNE
BURNET — Author, actor, TV producer and photographer Clark Gray will present a Coffee Talks program on his book “The Legendary Life of Bee Ho Gray” on May 14.
The author lecture series presentation is 2 p.m. at the Herman Brown Free Library, 100 E. Washington St. Refreshments will be served at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Gray’s book is about his great-uncle Bee Ho Gray, who was famous for his performances in Wild West, vaudeville and Broadway shows and on radio and in early films.
Emberry Cannon Gray was born in 1885 in Indian Territory — present-day Oklahoma — and grew up among the Apache, Comanche and Kiowa tribes. By the time Emberry was 5, he began going by the name “Bee Ho,” a name given to him by Comanche chief Quanah Parker, according to the book.
Around 1900, Bee Ho and his brother rode one horse 60 miles to the town of Chickasha to see the Pawnee Bill Wild West exhibition, which included trick ropers. The pair then began teaching themselves rope tricks using clothesline and anything else they could spin. Within a few years, both were performing in Wild West shows. The brothers toured with shows alongside Buck Jones, Tom Mix, Bill Pickett and “Buffalo Bill” Cody, according to the book.
In the mid-1920s, Gray left the Wild West shows behind for awhile and focused his efforts on the vaudeville stage, touring alongside his wife, Broadway actress Ada Summerville. Hollywood called, and Bee Ho’s knife-throwing and roping skills were featured many times in the early days of silent films. He added a trained coyote to his act in the early 1930s and began making radio appearances with Bing Crosby, Will Rogers and many others.
Bee Ho gave command performances for at least four U.S. presidents, members of European royalty, diplomats and other notables.
Coffee Talks programs are the second Thursday of each month in the meeting room of the library. Call the library at (512) 715-5228 or go to www.hermanbrownfreelibrary.org for more information.