Villain of the Month: Merrill McCormick
Merrill McCormick was one of the most prolific character actors of the Golden Age, having a career that spanned almost 35 years, mostly playing bearded and scruffy looking henchmen. His film credits include appearances in Something new (1920), Fangs of Fate (1925), Border Law (1931), Rose of the Rancho (1936), Pirates of the Prairie (1942) and Gunslingers (1950). His TV work included appearances on The Cisco Kid, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock, Ramar of the Jungle and The Gene Autry Show.
His serial work included playing henchmen in Mascot’s The Three Musketeers (1933), Universal’s Gordon of Ghost City (1934) and The Peril’s of Pauline (1934), Prinicipal’s The Return of Chandu (1934) and Burroughs’ The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935). His most prominant serial role was in Romance Productions’ Young Eagles (1934), playing a notorious South American bandit who pops up in the last three chapters and kidnaps the lost boy scout heroes and tries to force the location of a buried Incan treasure from them.
