E.R. "Ernie" Hickson grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where he was born on September 2, 1892, and began acting in high school, where he excelled at set design. He joined a theater troupe as a set designer and traveled throughout the United States with them. Reaching the West Coast in 1922, he sought employment in the movie business, earning his first (and only) credit as a screenwriter on "Western Days" (1924). The film was directed by John Ford's older brother, Francis Ford, who also had a co-starring role in the silent horse-opera. Hickson's future was settled when he was hired by Trem Carr Productions in 1931. The production company belonged to B-movie impresario Trem Carr, an Illinois native who abandoned an early construction career for the movies in the mid-1920s. Carr subsequently entered into a partnership with W. Ray Johnston, another Midwest native, who distributed Carr's films through his Rayart Pictures Corp. Carr and Johnston formed Syndicate Pictures in 1928, with Johnston as president and Carr as vice president. Syndicate specialized in low-budget B-Westerns, some of which starred Tom Tyler. Its first offering, The Chinatown Mystery (1928), featured Hickson's old mentor Francis Ford in an acting role. After turning out 14 pictures over three years, Syndicate was reorganized as Monogram Pictures in 1931, again with Johnston as president and Carr as production chief. Carr took out a five-year lease on land in Placerita Canyon near Santa Clarita, CA, to shoot his westerns. A filming site frequently used by cowboy stars William S. Hart, Tom Mix and Harry Carey, Placerita Canyon had first been used as a location by Carr in 1926. Hickson, Carr's artistic director and set designer, built the sets at the location. A talented craftsman, Hickson was also a western history buff and collector. His knowledge of the Old West and his collection of Western memorabilia enhanced the verisimilitude of Carr's horse-operas. Using vintage lumber, Hickson built a western street with complete buildings featuring interiors rather than just facades. Producer Paul Malvern worked at the location after he learned the business from Carr as a production manager. Hickson designed the sets for some of the low-budget oaters Malvern made for his Lone Star Productions, which were released through Monogram. Both the Monogram and Lone Star movies used writer-director Robert N. Bradbury, who frequently cast his son Bob Steele as the lead. The movies made at the canyon set made Steele a star in the B-Western movie genre and are available on DVD. Another future star who got his start in a Lone Star production filmed at Placerita Canyon was Bob Steele's Glendale High School buddy Marion Morrison, who would go on to fame at Republic Pictures as John Wayne. Wayne appeared in many productions shot at the ranch from 1933 to 1935. Bill Bradbury, Steele's twin brother, dubbed Wayne's singing voice when he appeared as "Singing Sandy," the original singing movie cowboy. Stuntman Yakima Canutt, who lived in the area, was employed by the unit, as was George 'Gabby' Hayes...