Anthony Earl Numkena
Encyclopedia
Anthony Earl Numkena, formerly known as Keena Nomkeena (born August 20, 1942) is a Hopi
/Karok Indian
who was a child actor
from 1949-1958. He is the first of five children born to Anthony (Hopi) and Margaret (Karok) Numkena. In 1952, he became the first Native American
child to appear in a motion picture in the role of "Comes Running", an Indian boy adopted by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
, in the film
Pony Soldier
, starring Tyrone Power
and Cameron Mitchell
, who later appeared as a co-star of NBC
's The High Chaparral
.
Tim McCoy
and Iron Eyes Cody
, broadcast on KTLA
Channel 5 in Los Angeles
. He worked with his brother, Ronald, who appeared on the show as Little Sitting Bull. As a condition of being extras, Anthony and Ronald acquired working permits from the City of Los Angeles. These permits led to the boys being contacted by various studio
s to work as extras in the Greater Los Angeles Area
. At the time, a significant number of Native Americans worked as extras in motion pictures.
Numkena continued to appear in films: Strange Lady in Town, Escape to Burma, Alaska Seas, Red Garters
, and Westward Ho, the Wagons!
(as Little Thunder), and on television: The Loretta Young Show (as Tawa), The Sheriff of Cochise (syndicated
), and the Mickey Mouse Club
.
He appeared in all twenty-six episodes of the CBS western
Brave Eagle
, which aired in the 1955-1956 season. He played "Keena" (having then used the similar screen name Keena Nomkeena), the adopted son of Brave Eagle, a fictitious Cheyenne
chief. The starring role was played by Keith Larsen
(1924–2006). Other co-stars were Kim Winona
(1930–1978) as Morning Star, and Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) as Smokey Joe. Numkena's last acting role was as Little Hunter in the 1958 episode "A Man Called Horse" of NBC's Wagon Train
starring Ward Bond
(1903–1960) and guest star Ralph Meeker
(1920–1988).
Until 1962, Numkena lived in Redondo Beach
, California. He was graduated from Aviation High School in 1960. He was a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman. He is a graduate from University of California Riverside. He and his wife, Nora, reside in Phoenix
, Arizona
. Retired from the Indian Health Service
, Numkena continues to work in the field of medical imaging
.
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
/Karok Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
who was a child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
from 1949-1958. He is the first of five children born to Anthony (Hopi) and Margaret (Karok) Numkena. In 1952, he became the first Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
child to appear in a motion picture in the role of "Comes Running", an Indian boy adopted by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
, in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Pony Soldier
Pony Soldier
Pony Soldier is a 1952 Technicolor Northern Western set in Canada but filmed in Sedona, Arizona. It is based on a 1951 Saturday Evening Post story Mounted Patrol by Garnett Weston...
, starring Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
and Cameron Mitchell
Cameron Mitchell (actor)
Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
, who later appeared as a co-star of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
.
Career
Numkena began his career in the entertainment industry at the age of seven, having worked as an extra in The Tim McCoy Show, starring ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Tim McCoy
Tim McCoy
Col. Tim McCoy was an American actor, military officer, and expert on American Indian life and customs.-Early years:...
and Iron Eyes Cody
Iron Eyes Cody
Iron Eyes Cody was an American actor. He frequently portrayed American Indians in Hollywood films. In 1995, Cody was honored by the American Indian community for his work publicizing the plight of Native Americans, including his acting in films...
, broadcast on KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
Channel 5 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. He worked with his brother, Ronald, who appeared on the show as Little Sitting Bull. As a condition of being extras, Anthony and Ronald acquired working permits from the City of Los Angeles. These permits led to the boys being contacted by various studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
s to work as extras in the Greater Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
. At the time, a significant number of Native Americans worked as extras in motion pictures.
Numkena continued to appear in films: Strange Lady in Town, Escape to Burma, Alaska Seas, Red Garters
Red Garters (film)
Red Garters is a 1954 film starring Rosemary Clooney, Guy Mitchell, and Jack Carson. It was a musical spoof of Westerns. The director was George Marshall....
, and Westward Ho, the Wagons!
Westward Ho, The Wagons!
Westward Ho, the Wagons! is a 1956 live-action Disney western film, aimed at family audiences. Based on Mary Jane Carr's novel Children of the Covered Wagon, the film was produced by Bill Walsh, directed by William Beaudine, and released to theatres on December 20, 1956 by Buena Vista Distribution...
(as Little Thunder), and on television: The Loretta Young Show (as Tawa), The Sheriff of Cochise (syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
), and the Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
.
He appeared in all twenty-six episodes of the CBS western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Brave Eagle
Brave Eagle
Brave Eagle is a 26-episode half-hour western television series which aired on CBS from September 28, 1955, to March 14, 1956, with rebroadcasts continuing until June 6. Keith Larsen , who was of Norwegian descent, starred as Brave Eagle, a peaceful young Cheyenne chief...
, which aired in the 1955-1956 season. He played "Keena" (having then used the similar screen name Keena Nomkeena), the adopted son of Brave Eagle, a fictitious Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
chief. The starring role was played by Keith Larsen
Keith Larsen
Keith Larsen was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer who starred in three short-lived television series between 1955 and 1961.-Background:...
(1924–2006). Other co-stars were Kim Winona
Kim Winona
Kim Winona was a Native American actress. A Sioux Native American, Winona appeared with Keith Larsen in the CBS western television series Brave Eagle during 1955-1956 season....
(1930–1978) as Morning Star, and Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) as Smokey Joe. Numkena's last acting role was as Little Hunter in the 1958 episode "A Man Called Horse" of NBC's Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
starring Ward Bond
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
(1903–1960) and guest star Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
(1920–1988).
Until 1962, Numkena lived in Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
, California. He was graduated from Aviation High School in 1960. He was a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman. He is a graduate from University of California Riverside. He and his wife, Nora, reside in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Retired from the Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service is an Operating Division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . IHS is responsible for providing medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Natives...
, Numkena continues to work in the field of medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
.