Whip Wilson (born Roland Charles Meyers June 16, 1911, Granite City, Illinois – October 22, 1964, Los Angeles, California) was an American cowboy film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B-westerns.He was one of eight children. Wilson had been a moderately successful singer before coming to Hollywood. Following Buck Jones's death in the famous Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942, which claimed the lives of 492 people, Monogram Pictures had been searching for someone to replace him. Producer Scott R. Dunlap saw Meyers, and thought he looked similar to Jones. This, apparently, was enough to build him into a cowboy star. Because of the fame being generated by Lash LaRue, who used a bullwhip in his movies, Monogram decided to make Meyers a similar whip-wielding character, rechristening him Whip Wilson.
During World War II he served in the US Marine Corps and saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
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Monogram Pictures created a huge buildup for Whip to become a movie cowboy star. The following claims were made -- that he was born in 1911 on a fabulous ranch in Pecos, Texas; was a rodeo champion; had an engineering degree; was a World War II Marine hero; was a direct descendant of General Custer; and did all of his movie stunts. None of these claims were true.
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Whip was provided with a huge white horse named Silver Bullet. The name was later shortened to Bullet, and, still later, changed to Rocket because Roy Rogers had a dog companion named Bullet in his pictures.
$14 Million
