Age 50. 14050 Magnolia Boulevard (Hacienda Del Charro), Van Nuys, CA. Born (as Charles Frederick Gebhard) on 12/12/1891, Vincennes, IN. Died 11/30/1942 (Monday), of burns (death certificate). Cowboy movie actor, Monogram Pictures, Inc., Hollywood, CA. Guest of honor at an impromptu Saturday evening film industry party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Herman (injured) and Pauline (dead) Rifkin, ages 58 and 56 respectively, of Newton, MA. Group of 29 relocated by car to the Grove about 9:45 p.m., were seated at tables on the prestigious main dining room raised rear terrace. Was found unconscious near the terrace and carried by rescuers John "Jack" Dillon, U.S. Coast Guard, age 21, and taxi driver Henry Watson, age 34, to a cab. Case #25 of 39 in a landmark 1943 Mass General Hospital Grove burns study (no history obtained. Arrived "extremely hyperactive, shock impending. Mucous membranes charred and sooty." Burns: 2nd and 3rd-degree, face, scalp, hands, arms, back. Total 8% of body. Restlessness became extreme, unable to swallow. "Case 25, who had...remained quiet during the first three hours, became so short of breath that he insisted on getting on his hands and knees to facilitate breathing." Died on the 2nd day, 42 hours post-fire). Was photographed earlier the same morning visiting children at a Hub hospital (Boston Evening American, 12/01/1942: "Always cast in the role of the 'good' cowboy in reel life...Jones went to his 'last round-up' shortly after doing one last good deed in real life"). Interviewed by local Monogram publicist and party survivor Martin "Marty" Sheridan, age 28 (Born 8/01/1914. Died 12/31/2003, age 89), over WCOP Boston radio Saturday at 4:35 p.m. Was to start a return to his Susanville, CA, ranch by train on Sunday upon completion of a two-week, eight-city War Bonds tour with his producer Scott Dunlap, age 50 (Born 6/20/1892. Died 3/30/1970, in Los Angeles, CA, age 77), severely burned. Reportedly raised in rural Oklahoma. Overnight star in a silent film short, "A Tale of Two Cities," after a close-up showed him rolling a cigarette with one hand while mounted. Birth surname changed legally in 1937. Wife former Odille D. "Dell" Osborne, age 41 (Born 12/15/1900. Died 4/16/1996, Los Angeles, CA, age 95), married in 1915, in Lima, OH (15-year-old bride was recorded as "age 21" on her marriage certificate). Also survived by a married adult daughter, Mrs. Maxine Beery, age 24. His wife and daughter flew east to Cheyenne, WY, before turning back upon learning of his death. Most famous victim of the Grove disaster. Parents Mrs. Evelyn "Eva" R. (Showers) and the late Mr. Fred Gebhard (mother since remarried, surname McCammon). Funeral services were held in Los Angeles, CA, on December 7 (Los Angeles Times, 12/08/1942: "The coffin, sealed after the...actor died...was not opened"). Wake was attended by, "...both heroes and villains of western movie thrillers" (The Boston Post, 12/08/1942). Cremated remains spread over the Pacific Ocean, off the California coast near Catalina Island. Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, was dedicated in 1960.

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