Slim Cole

Nathan Cole Hebert (born May 6, 1892, date of death unknown), known as Slim Cole and sometimes credited as King Cole,^[1] was an American actor and stuntman who appeared in a string of B-movie westerns during Hollywood's silent era.^[2]

Slim Cole
Born	Nathan Cole Hebert (1892-05-06)May 6, 1892 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Other names	King Cole
Occupation(s)	Actor, stuntman
Years active	1915–1932
Spouse	Katherine Fay (m. 1915-1921)
Family	Nathan Cole (grandfather)

Biography

Early years

Slim was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Joseph Hebert and Hallie Cole.^[3] His mother's father, Nathan Cole, was once mayor of St. Louis.^[4] Joseph Hebert, Slim's father, died when Slim was a toddler, and he was raised by his mother in the Los Angeles area.^[5][6][7]

Career as a forest ranger

While working as a forest ranger in the San Bernardino Mountains, he learned how to ride a motorcycle, a skill that would serve him well when he entered the motion picture industry around 1915.^[8] "They laughed at me when I started patrolling the forests on motorcycle, but after I got the knack for following old trails and making new ones, I showed them that I could cover as much territory as four rangers on mounted horses."^[1]

Career in Hollywood

After being spotted by a motion picture director, Slim was soon in demand for his willingness to perform all sorts of death-defying stunts. He often worked with fellow stunt performer and actress Grace Cunard. Early on, he was employed by Charlie Chaplin's studio.^[9]

In 1922, he briefly returned to St. Louis with the ambition of starting a motion picture industry in his hometown. He also aimed to give his body a rest after years of being roughed up on the job. "I'm getting too old for the business," he told a reporter with The St. Louis Post Dispatch. "I'm only 29, but I've been through a lot, and I don't have to wait for a psychic hunch."

He did continue to act, but his roles got smaller and smaller until he was pretty much only landing bit parts.^[6]

Personal life

Cole married Katherine Fay in 1915; the couple divorced in 1921.^[10] After his last film was released in 1932, it's unknown what happened to Cole.

Partial filmography

• His Day Out (1918)
• A Dog's Life (1918)
• Shoulder Arms (1918)
• Smashing Barriers (1919)
• Where Is This West? (1923)
• Beasts of Paradise (1923)
• The Ghost City (1923)
• Reckless Speed (1924)
• Ridin' Pretty (1925)
• The Great Circus Mystery (1925)
• The Fighting Ranger (1925)
• Prowlers of the Night (1926)
• Desert Dust (1927)
• The Texas Bad Man (1932)
• The Last Frontier (1932)
• Gold (1932)