ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
Lash LaRue, a bullwhip-cracking star of low-budget 1940s Westerns whose movie career quickly faded with the onset of the TV age, died last week. He was believed to be 78.
Moviegoers in the years after World War II knew LaRue for his handiwork with a whip and trademark black outfits, but he never achieved the enduring fame of such cinema cowboys as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.
He died May 21 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., hospital spokeswoman Michelle Meier said Thursday. She said she could not release any information on the cause of death.
LaRue's films included ``Song of Old Wyoming,'' ``Law of the Lash,'' ``The Fighting Vigilantes'' and ``Son of Billy the Kid.''
He tried to make the transition to TV, but his series, ``Lash of the West,'' was short-lived. It aired in 1952-53, containing recycled footage of his old movies.
LaRue's date of birth in Gretna, La., was listed as June 15, 1917, but Phil Smoot, a North Carolina film producer, said the actor told him he was actually several years older.
``Lash was a real cowboy in his heart,'' Smoot told The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C. ``He really was Lash LaRue.''
``How could any kid who grew up wanting to be a cowboy not enjoy being Lash LaRue? It was a dream come true,'' LaRue himself said in an interview nearly 20 years ago with The News & Observer.
With his Hollywood career over, LaRue, whose real first name was Al, performed in touring shows, later trying his hand at evangelizing.
He claimed to have been married and divorced 10 times and had a series of personal and legal troubles.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB