Russell "Lucky" Hayden, born Hayden Michael Lucid on June 12, 1912, in Chico, California, to Francis Lucid and Minnie Harvey Lucid, began his Hollywood career behind the scenes as a film cutter, assistant cameraman, and sound recorder.
He made his screen debut in Paramount's 10th Hopalong Cassidy film, Hills of Old Wyoming, in 1937, taking on the name Russell Hayden to honor his friend, cameraman Russell Harlan.
After his film debut, Hayden became the perfect replacement for James Ellison to portray the youthful sidekick to William Boyd in the Hopalong series, playing the role of "Lucky Jenkins" in a total of 27 films.
Hayden's acting and producing career spanned 26 years, playing in 80 films and television shows, including the heroic lead and villain in Trail of the Mounties in 1947.
In 1950, he starred alongside James Ellison in a series of 11 films as lawmen of the west and appeared in multiple episodes of The Marshal of Gunsight Pass and one episode of The Gene Autry Show.
Between 1952 and 1953, he and Jackie Coogan starred in the short-running western series Cowboy G-Men, making a total of 39 episodes.
While working in Hollywood, Hayden teamed up with fellow actor Dick Curtis to help create Pioneertown, a western movie set used in many films.
Hayden was married twice, first to actress Jan Clayton in 1938, with whom he had his only child, Sandra Hayden, in 1940. After their divorce in 1943, he married actress Lillian Porter in 1946, and the two remained married until his death in 1981.
