Reno Browne

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Reno Browne was the stage name of Josephine Ruth Clarke (April 20, 1921 – May 15, 1991), an American equestrian, pilot, and B-movie actress who starred in westerns in the late 1940s and early 1950s, mostly in 1949. She was born in Reno, Nevada, to a wealthy family; her father was a lawyer. After finishing school at a Dominican convent in San Rafael in 1941, she became a licensed pilot and a skilled horse rider, winning rodeo queen titles in the Pacific Northwest. She later studied drama and signed with Monogram Pictures to begin her film career.

She originally used the name Reno Blair because the studio worried audiences would think she was related to Johnny Mack Brown, and she later chose Reno Browne. She acted in 14 westerns, often opposite Johnny Mack Brown, Whip Wilson, and Jimmy Wakely. In 1949 she also hosted a 13-episode radio show, Reno Rides Again. Browne and Dale Evans were the only western actresses to have comic books based on their characters, with three Marvel Comics issues published in 1950. She was for a time married to Lash LaRue.

Browne retired to Reno, Nevada, and in the 1980s attended several western film festivals. She died of cancer in Reno on May 15, 1991, at age 70.