EDDIE ACUFF
June 3rd, 1903 -- December 17th, 1956

Above: A nice publicity portrait of Eddie Acuff, or "Fast Eddie" as I like to call him.

In his serials (and in most of his movie roles), Eddie Acuff was almost always unshakably humorous. Be the situation or the surroundings what they would, Acuff took things in stride with his cocky bearing and sarcastic, worldly-wise smile that seemed to say "What's the big deal? You don't scare me." Like Raymond Hatton, Acuff's funniness lay not so much in his bumbling but in his own sharp wit and quirky sense of humor, which had the power of disconcerting almost anyone's dignity for at least a moment. Things were never dull in a serial when Eddie Acuff was along for the ride.

Born in Missouri, the brother of famous country/western singer Roy Acuff, Eddie Acuff came to Hollywood in the early thirties, and almost immediately found his forte as the brash, fast-talking type, invariably nicknamed something like Dutch, Flash, or Speed and most often cast as a cabby, reporter, or hoodlum. His first serial, THE PHANTOM CREEPS (Universal, 1939) gave him a small role as a government agent named (typically) "Mac." It was at Universal that he landed his first big serial part the next year: flippant reporter Lowery in THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN. Acuff's part in this serial wasn't strictly a sidekick role, as he operated independently of the hero, (Britt Reid/the Green Hornet) and, along with the rest of the cast (excepting Keye Luke) was unaware of the hero's secret identity, but he still provided great comic relief along with fellow reporter Mike Axford (Wade Boteler). The impetuous, blustering Axford was continually irritated by the wise-cracking Lowery to the point of apoplexy, and their bickering made for great laughs, as did Acuff's running gag of pretending to note a blemish on Boteler's coat and then taking him by surprise and knocking back the brim of his hat.

Above, from left to right: Stephen Chase, Wade Boteler, Eddie Acuff, and Warren Hull in THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN (Universal, 1940).

Eddie moved over to Republic for his first official sidekick part in JUNGLE GIRL (Republic, 1941). He played Curly Rogers, buddy of pilot hero Tom Neal, who came to the aid of jungle girl Nyoka (Frances Gifford) in unraveling a complicated web of jungle villainy spun by gangster Slick Latimer (Gerald Mohr) and centering around a native tribe's sacred cache of diamonds. The scene-stealing Acuff livened up the exciting proceedings with incessant wisecracks that kept flowing regardless of the good guys' predicaments, even quipping, on a fall into a lion pit: "Well, we really walked into something this time!"

Above: Tom Neal, doffing his disguise as a witch doctor, stands guard while Eddie Acuff releases Frances Gifford in JUNGLE GIRL (Republic, 1941).

Acuff's other sidekick portrayal at Republic was also right on the money, but unfortunately, we cannot see it in its complete form. The long lost and long sought DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST (Republic, 1943), was, judging by the four chapters still available, a terrific Western cliffhanger and one of the most action-packed serials of all time. A complete print is in existence, but it is involved in apparently inextricable copyright tangles. A real pity, for not only did it feature Eddie as the sidekick, but also the stalwart Allan Lane as the hero and the lovely Kay Aldridge as the heroine. June Foster (Aldridge), her father, and their foreman Red Kelly (Acuff) were pioneers building a stage line that villain Martin Dexter (Robert Frazer) was determined to keep from completion. When June's father is killed by Dexter's raiders, she and Red seek the help of undercover Cavalry officer Duke Cameron (Allan Lane), and he manages to get to the bottom of the outlaw attacks on the stage line with their able assistance.

Above: Eddie Acuff, Kay Aldridge, and Jack Rockwell in DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST (Republic, 1943).

Eddie's final serial as a sidekick was at Columbia Pictures: CHICK CARTER, DETECTIVE, in 1946. Acuff was in his fast-talking element as "Spud" Warner, the glib photographer pal of reporter Rusty Farrell (Douglas Fowley). The pair assists sleuth Chick Carter (Lyle Talbot) in solving the theft of a valuable diamond, and, indeed, both Acuff and Fowley got as much footage as Talbot did in the course of the serial. It was a fitting final cliffhanger for Acuff, but he did play one other small serial role: in G-MEN NEVER FORGET (Republic, 1948), he had a cameo appearance as a loquacious used car salesman who turned out to be in league with the villains.

Above: Spud Warner (Eddie Acuff, far right) looks like he's just taken a beating in this scene from CHICK CARTER DETECTIVE (Columbia, 1946); Chick (Lyle Talbot, far left) looks concerned, while Rusty Farrell (Douglas Fowley, center) looks merely irritated.

Acuff's career following his serials was steady and productive; perhaps the most famous role of his later career was the part of the accident-prone mailman in eight of the Blondie movies with Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake; Acuff invariably managed to collide with Dagwood Bumstead when the latter was frantically rushing to work. Eddie retired in 1951, and passed away far too early at the young age of 53.

Eddie Acuff's down to earth attitude was always a calming influence in the sometimes frantic serial world; his acute wisecracks could always be counted on to relieve tension, however momentarily. No matter what the situation, Fast Eddie Acuff always kept thing moving in those moving pictures known as cliffhangers.

Above: Eddie Acuff (far right) looks like he's getting ready to make another one of his priceless comments in this scene DAREDEVILS OF THE WEST (Republic, 1943), with Kay Aldridge and Allan Lane.