Biography

Monte Rawlins was born Dean Spencer in Yakima, Washington. His job as an aerial "barnstormer" in the 1930s landed him some aerial stuntwork in a few films. His big break came when he got the starring role in The Adventures of the Masked Phantom (1939), but the film, an independent effort, didn't have major studio backing and wound up being distributed via the states-rights system. After a few more small roles, Rawlins joined the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He stayed in the Marine Reserves after the war ended and was called up for service during the Korean conflict. In civilian life he had given up acting and took up a career in the sound recording field, first at Monogram Pictures and then at Walt Disney Studios. After retiring from Disney he moved to Hawaii, where he died in 1988.
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com

Rawlins--aka Dean Spencer--Cliff Parkinson, Art Felix and Clem Fuller were all known as "dead falls". They were men who could fall from a horse and make it appear that they've been shot, a feat that sounds easy but is really difficult to perform. They got $25 a fail. They were among the small number of cowboys in Hollywood who could perform the feat without hobbling the horse.