Jay Wilsey (February 6, 1896 – October 25, 1961) was an American film actor (born Wilbert Jay Wilsey). He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1924 and 1944. He starred in a series of very low-budget westerns in the 1920s and 1930s, billed as Buffalo Bill Jr.
Born in St. Francisville, Missouri (studio biographies claimed Cheyenne, Wyoming), the six-foot one-inch, brown-haired, blue-eyed Wilsey rode in Wild West shows and rodeos before he became an actor. Producer Lester F. Scott Jr., who specialized in making low-budget silent westerns, signed Wilsey to a movie contract and billed him as "Buffalo Bill, Jr." One of his early credits, Thundering Romance (1924), cast Wilsey as "Lightning Bill", opposite novice film player and future star Jean Arthur.
Universal Pictures tried to build Jay Wilsey as an action star under his real name (a 1929 trade review lists him as "formerly Buffalo Bill, Jr."), but his two starring roles in the serials A Final Reckoning (1928) and The Pirate of Panama (1929) did not lead to more assignments, as the studio was converting to the production of sound films.
Wilsey's career as an actor diminished as sound films increased in popularity, although he continued to find work with independent producers. Victor Adamson, whose westerns were so threadbare that he shot them in ramshackle California ghost towns on budgets of $1,000 or less, hired Wilsey for a series of features under the auspices of Adamson's ambitiously named Superior Talking Pictures. One of these has become notorious among bad-film enthusiasts: a 1934 production was announced as Lightning Bill, but the film title was clumsily misspelled as "Lighting Bill", and the cheapskate producer didn't bother changing the title. Adamson did give Wilsey a chance to direct as well as star in Riding Speed (1934); Wilsey receives performer credit as Buffalo Bill, Jr. and director credit as Jay Wilsey.
The Adamson features were Wilsey's last starring series. Producer Paul Malvern then signed him to appear in his John Wayne westerns. Thereafter Wilsey found work in western features and serials as a supporting player, often uncredited, and his riding skills gave him credentials as a stunt performer. A January 29, 1940, newspaper article reported that he had performed 6,000 stunts up to that time.
Wilsey was married to actress Jeanette Boutelle.
1942
as Cowhand Slim
1941
as Cowboy
1941
as Henchman Bart
1941
as Bart
1939
as Barfly
1937
as Captain Thomas
1937
as Lt. Wells
1936
as Texas Ranger (uncredited)
1936
as Fence Foreman
1936
as Construction Worker (uncredited)
1935
as Cop
1935
as Blackie Martin
1935
as Tex Malcolm (as Buffalo Bill Jr.)
1935
as Butch Galt
1934
as Jim Moore
1934
as 2nd Zanti Henchman
1934
as Bob Bentley
1934
as Buck Cartwright
1934
as Bill Mayberry
1934
as Bill Collins
1934
as Steve (as Buffalo Bill Jr.)
1934
as Bill
1933
as Traveller
1933
as Deputy
1933
as Bill Carson
1933
as Pilot
1932
as Bill Rust
1931
as Cowboy (uncredited)
1930
as Bob Lansing
1930
as Bill Tracy
1930
as Bob Tyler
1930
as Hank
1930
as Buck Allen / The Cheyenne Kid
1930
as Bill
1928
as Tom Mallory
1928
as Bob Warner
1927
as Bill Gibson
1926
1926
as Buffalo Bill Jr.
1925
as Bill Drake
1924
as Lightning Bill
1924
as Bill Winton
1924
as Lightning Bill Lewis