‘LONESOME DOVE’ 25TH ANNI TO BE CELEBRATED AT
AUTRY’S ‘COWBOY LUNCH’ WEDNESDAY
For a few months now, on the third Wednesday of
every month, Rob Word has hosted the ‘Cowboy Lunch @ The Autry’, an informal
12:30 gathering of western movie and TV fans to chow down and then listen to “A
Word On Westerns”, where Rob and his guests talk about the making of particular
western films. This Wednesday, January
15th, falls in the month that marks the 25th anniversary
of the brilliant mini-series adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s finest novel,
LONESOME DOVE. Rob has put the word out
to folks involved in that mini-series, its sequels and series spin-offs, and
all of us fans will be chomping at the bit to see who shows up.
Rob Word has a strong track-record with this sort of
event, and a history in the entertainment business. He’s produced documentaries on Roy Rogers,
was the creator and producer of YOUNG DUKE, a series built around John Wayne’s
early films, and co-wrote and produced the film WYATT EARP: RETURN TO
TOMBSTONE, which returned Hugh O’Brien to his most famous role, and was
actually shot in Tombstone, Arizona, where the events happened. Back in 1983, Rob, Pat Buttram and others
created THE GOLDEN BOOT AWARDS to honor the stars of the genre, and ran them
for a quarter of a century, until they ran out of people to salute. Since they stopped in 2008, the search has
been on to find a regular place for western fans and filmmakers to get
together.
Martin Kove, Robert Duvall, Rob Word
“We’ve been having what I call the Algonquin Cowboy
Lunches at the Saddle Ranch Chop House for over five years now. People keep asking when the Golden Boots are
coming back, and they’re not. When we
did the first one in 1982, we didn’t even call it the Golden Boot. It was a tribute to Bob Steele. We had it at the old Masquers Club, and the
fire marshal turned up and said we had too many people there. We had to turn one hundred people away at the
door.
“We did it for twenty-five years, but it kind of
limped along at the end, because after Roy and Gene died, within 90 days of
each other, and Clayton (Moore) died a year and a half later, it almost ended
right there. I said no, twenty-one years
isn’t a good number. Let’s keep it going
until twenty-five, and end it big. It’s
hard to get the studios involved. It’s
hard to get corporate sponsors when you’re dealing with a genre that’s dying.”
After a few months, Bo Hopkins suggested getting
together for lunch at the Sportsmen’s Lodge.
Bruce Boxleitner, Martin Kove and James Gammon attended, telling
hysterical stories – that’s where the ‘Algonquin’ part of the name came
from. It grewe too large for The
Sportsmen’s, moved to the Saddle Ranch Chop House on Sunset. Wanting to take it to another level, Rob
proposed a series of lectures at The Autry.
The Autry was delighted, because during the week what they mostly get is
busloads of school-kids.
The first event, this past September, was a tribute
to the WYATT EARP TV show, coinciding with EARP regular Morgan Woodward’s 88th
birthday. The next month was a tribute to
THE LONE RANGER series, and Clayton Moore’s daughter Dawn attended. “Last month was the weapons of TV
westerns. Hugh O’Brien was there talking
about the Buntline Special; Johnny Crawford talking about the RIFLEMAN rifle,
of course. John Strong, a producer,
brought the pistols that Wayde Preston had, from COLT .45.”
The event is open to everyone, and don’t get there
late, because last month, folks had to be turned away. Again, the topic will be LONESOME DOVE, and
in February it will be the HOW THE WEST WAS WON TV series. Better start blocking out the third Wednesday
of every month on your calendar.
‘SWEETWATER’ CONTEST RESULTS!
We have two big winners of the SWEETWATER
Blu-Rays! The names of Devin Sabas of
Crystal, Minnesota, and David Moore of Hemet, California, were randomly drawn
from my black Stetson full of the names of all the folks who answered all of
the questions correctly!
For those who are curious, or who want to kick
themselves for not entering, here, once again, are the questions, but with the
answers…
#1.) Lovely January Jones may be best known for MAD MEN, but she
is not a stranger to sagebrush. She’s
starred in two previous western films, one made for TV, and the other a
modern-day Western. What are the titles?
Answer: LOVE’S ENDURING PROMISE, a Hallmark movie from the pen of
Janette Oke, whose WHERE GOES THE HEART series premiered on the Hallmark
Channel last night; and THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA, directed by the
excellent actor and director Tommy Lee Jones.
Tommy Lee, incidentally, recently finished directing and starring in the
western THE HOMESMAN, co-starring Hillary Swank, Meryl Streep and John
Lithgow. A remake of THE COWBOYS, with
Tommy Lee Jones in the John Wayne role, is in development.
#2.) Ed Harris is also comfortable in the saddle. Like January Jones, he’s done one western for
the big screen, and one for the small.
He also did a film where he jousted on a motorcycle. Name all three.
Answer: APPALOOSA, RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE, and KNIGHTRIDERS, although
one entry also informed me of a movie called WALKER, from 1987, directed by
Alex Cox, where Harris plays a 19th century American mercenary who
became the President of Nicaragua! I’ll
have to track that one down.
#3.) It’s not Eduardo Noriega’s first rodeo either. What was his previous western?
Answer: BLACKTHORN, where he co-starred with Sam Shepard, who
plays Butch Cassidy, living under another name, and hiding out in Bolivia.
#4.) While villainous Jason Isaacs was never in a western before,
he was in two films plotted in North America in the 18th century,
one set in Canada and one set in the United States. Name them both.
Answer: BATTLE OF THE BRAVE and THE PATRIOT.
#5.) Stephen Root, who plays a very unpleasant character in
SWEETWATER, has the longest western career of almost anyone in the movie,
starting with a guest shot in a series in 1990.
He had a regular role in a modern-day western series, voiced Teddy
Roosevelt once, did a modern western for the Coen brothers, and did two westerns
with Johnny Depp. Name any three of the
six.
Answer: YOUNG RIDERS, HARTS OF THE WEST series, LEGEND OF TARZAN –
TARZAN AND THE ROUGH RIDER animation, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, RANGO, THE LONE
RANGER.
#6.) Finally, the original story writer, Andrew McKenzie,
chose the name of Sweetwater for the town, as an homage to a classic Western movie.
Name it. (Note: There are
actually two legitimate answers to this.
I know which one Andrew intended, but to be fair, I’ll accept either
one.)
Answer: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, directed by
Sergio Leone from a screenplay by Sergio Donati and Leone, or THE COMANCHEROS,
directed by Michael Curtiz and John Wayne, uncredited, from a screenplay by
James Edward Grant and Clair Huffaker.
In ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, Frank Wolff is the
doomed Brett McBain, the visionary who is trying to build the town of
Sweetwater out of the desert. Sergio
Donati has been a mentor to Andrew McKenzie, and in recognition, and because of
the obvious parallels in the stories, Andrew named his town Sweetwater in
tribute.
Nobody named the second choice, but I include it
because, oddly enough, early in THE COMANCHEROS, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams
appears as a gun-runner named Ed McBain, who is travelling to the town of
Sweetwater.
HALLMARK'S ‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’ EPISODE 2 – A SNEAK PREVIEW
If you enjoyed Saturday night’s premiere episode, Lost and Found, I can give you a hint
about what’s coming next Saturday. In Cease and Desist, the widows of Coal
Valley, still recovering from the loss of fifty-seven men, mostly husbands, in
a mining disaster, have a new and unexpected problem to face. Their homes are owned by the mining company,
and the women and children must move out to make way for new miners. While some women accept defeat all too gracefully,
others want to put up a fight. Young
teacher Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow)
use her expensive and sophisticated education to search for a legal
loophole. Miner’s widow Abigail Stanton
(Lori Loughlin) tries negotiating a dangerous deal that will send the windows
into the mines. Will either tactic work?
DIRECTOR NAMED FOR NERO-STARRER ‘DJANGO LIVES!’
Joe D’Augustine, who worked in editorial on KILL
BILL #1 & #2, DEATH PROOF and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, and in the extended
English-language version of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, and who previously
directed the noir-ish comedy ONE NIGHT
WITH YOU, has been named to recommence the Django saga that stopped when Franco
Nero last played the role in DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN in 1987. As Round-up readers know, the premise of
DJANGO LIVES takes the ageing gunfighter to Hollywood circa 1915, where he is
working as a technical advisor on Western movies, as lawmen like Wyatt Earp and
outlaws like Al Jennings really did, and runs afoul of racketeers. It’s scripted by Eric Zaldivar and Mike Malloy, the men behind the remarkable SCARLET
WORM (read my review HERE )
RUMOR CENTRAL – TARANTINO FINISHES 2ND
WESTERN SCRIPT!
THE HATEFUL EIGHT is said to be the title of
Quentin’s next sagebrush saga, the title at least presumably an ironic response
to the scramble to remake THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Deadline: Hollywood further posits that he
wants Christoph Waltz and Bruce Dern to star!
They both did well for him in DJANGO UNCHAINED!
THAT’S A WRAP!
Mike Gaglio, me, Joey Dillon on MAN FROM DEATH set
I’m delighted to welcome a new sponsor to Henry’s
Western Round-up, OutWest, purveyors
of literature, thrilling video, fine music, elegant clothing, and just about
everything else that relates to a Western life-style. You’ll find a link to their on-line store on
the top left-hand corner of the Round-up, and you owe it to yourself to take a
look, and to visit their store if you’re around Santa Clarita way. Next week I’ll be sharing my visit to the set
of THE MAN FROM DEATH, and reviewing season one of THE RIFLEMAN, which has just
been released on DVD. Have a great week!
Happy Trails,
Henry
All Original Contents Copyright January 2014 by
Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved
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