James "Johnny Nelson" Ellison

After exiting the Hoppy series, Ellison hoped to become a leading man in classier, higher budget films. And he did some good work for the next half dozen or so years at RKO and 20th Century Fox ... but he never achieved 'star' status. One of his better roles was as the military hero who is engaged to pretty Sheila Ryan, but falls in love with Alice Faye, in the Busby Berkeley Technicolor extravaganza, THE GANG'S ALL HERE 20th Century Fox, 1943.

As the market for the B western faded in the late 1940s, Ellison found he was not in high demand. For his last hurrah, he joined up with another past "Hoppy" saddle pal, Russel "Lucky Jenkins" Hayden, and together they signed on with producer Ron Ormond for a series of new oaters with the pair teamed together. Lippert Pictures would handle the film releasing.

In the Ormond series, 'Lucky' Hayden put on chaps and 'Shamrock' Ellison wore buckskins and high-top mocassins. The story goes that all six of the films were shot together using the same stars and supporting players --- Raymond Hatton and Fuzzy Knight were there, along with Dennis Moore, Tom Tyler, John Cason, I. Stanford Jolley, and George J. Lewis. Pretty Julie Adams was the heroine --- you might remember her as the female lead in THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. After a month or so of work, the miles of completed film were edited into six B westerns.

Ellison still had a few more roles to play,

Ellison still had a few more roles to play on the silver screen, including the heroic military officer in I KILLED GERONIMO Eagle-Lion, 1950. He returned to being a sidekick and second lead, but this time it was at Monogram and the star was Johnny Mack Brown. Ellison was in his early forties and Johnny Mack was older ... their film appearances together would be brief, and Brown's Monogram series and starring career was nearing the end of the trail. Ultimately, Ellison left the acting profession, and became a success in California real estate and contracting.
Ellison was the intended lead in Columbia's THE DESERT HAWK serial and, for whatever reason, was replaced by Gilbert Roland. It got as far as the advertising.
After retiring from the screen around 1952, Ellison got into California real estate and contracting. One of the articles had the following quote from Ellison ---"I think I'll be remembered more for Ellison Drive, which I developed in Beverly Hills, than for any of my pictures."
Ellison died from an accident in 1993 on Dec. 23, after breaking his neck in a fall at his Montecito home. He was 83.
"Ellison's first wife, Gertrude Durkin, died in 1970 after 33 years of marriage. He is survived by his second wife, former ballerina Shelly Keats, a son, two stepdaughters and five grandchildren."