BOBBY CRAWFORD REMEMBERS ‘LARAMIE’, KCET’S ‘TENDING NATURE’ – EXCLUSIVE PEEK, PLUS NEW iPHONE SPAGHETTI WESTERN ‘THE CONDEMNED’!

BOBBY CRAWFORD REMEMBERS ‘LARAMIE’

BY HENRY C. PARKE

LARAMIE's Bobby Crawford, Robert Fuller

and John Smith

When the Emmy nominations for 1959 were announced, the Crawford clan managed a trifecta that no other show-business family has ever matched – not the Barrymores, not the Hustons, not the Fondas -- even though none of the Crawfords won. Robert Crawford Sr. was nominated for Best Editing of a Film for Television for THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW, and lost to Silvio D'Alisera on PROJECT 20. Son Johnny Crawford’s work on THE RIFLEMAN saw him nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Continuing Character, in a Drama Series, which he lost to Dennis Weaver, playing Chester in GUNSMOKE.  

But perhaps the most impressive nomination was for Johnny’s older brother, 14-year-old Robert Crawford Jr., whose appearance on PLAYHOUSE 90, in an episode called CHILD OF OUR TIME, would not only earn him a nomination for Best Single Performance by an Actor, but pit him against Fred Astaire, Paul Muni, Rod Steiger, Christopher Plummer, and Mickey Rooney. “I got to sit right in front of Fred Astaire during the show,” Bobby recalls, “And he tapped me on the shoulder and he says, ‘Oh, we're the same category, and that's ridiculous.’  And he won the award that night.” But remarkably, fourteen years later, Bobby would re-team with his show’s soon-to-be-legendary director, George Roy Hill, not as an actor, but as producer on a string of classic films including THE STING, THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER, SLAPSHOT, A LITTLE ROMANCE, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, and THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL.

In the heat of this past summer, I had the opportunity to chat with Bobby about his wide-ranging career, and his family, who already had a history in “the biz.” His mother, Betty Megerlin, was a stage actress with parents who were both vaudeville violinists. “On the other side of the family tree, my grandpa Bobby Crawford was a music publisher.” When he met his soon-to-be-bride, Thelma Briney, Bobby relates, “She was a piano player at a five and dime store. My grandpa later on was a music publisher with DeSylva, Brown and Henderson. And they created the song, I Found a Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store.” Grandpa Bobby, who managed Al Jolson, built Crawford Music, 

“Sold it to Warner Brothers in 1928. And then lost his fortune in the 1929 [Stock Market Crash].”

Jump ahead a generation, and it’s déjà vu: Robert Crawford (the soon-to-be-editor), is working as an extra at Universal Pictures when a fellow extra wants to introduce him to the girl he’s been courting.  

“So, my dad walked into the room and my mom was playing the piano and he was smitten immediately by her.” It took some time, but he stole her away, and they were married in New York City by Norman Vincent Peale, the Minister famous for his bestseller, THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING. Robert was working as a film librarian at Columbia Pictures when he was drafted into World War II. He joined the Marines, wanting to be a cameraman, but when they learned of his background, he was made a military film librarian at Quantico. “He never talked a lot about it, but he felt guilty about doing the librarian work because he would get all this footage in; the cameraman's shooting everything, and then oftentimes you'd see the camera images fall into the sand, as the man had been hit. He did that from ‘43 to ‘46 and I was born in Quantico.”

HENRY PARKE: When did you start acting?

BOBBY CRAWFORD: [My parents] did some shows at the Pasadena Playhouse. He had a scooter and they'd go out to Pasadena from Hollywood, Mom riding on the back, and then have to change from her scooter clothes into the costume. I remember being a child and watching them in a small theater in Hollywood. My brother I think was four years old when he did Little Boy Lost in a stage show somewhere in Hollywood. And I did a few little things that I don't recall except I recall being Tiny Tim in some Christmas show. I was about eight years old. My folks never really belonged to a church, but Grandma sent us off to Sunday school; we went to the Christian Science Church on Olympic Boulevard, and our Sunday School teacher just happened to be one of the major agents for children in Hollywood. She took an interest in both John and I, and she started representing us and sending us out on commercials. John started getting MATINEE THEATRE [an hour-long daily live TV drama anthology], and small parts, and I'd get a commercial now and then. Johnny was the Anglo-looking blond kid and I was the Hispanic-looking Latino, and I did Indians and French and Spanish-looking roles as a child. I remember the Fritos commercial, being at the factory and eating them hot off the assembly line; it was really good.

HENRY PARKE: Did you take acting classes, or did your parents teach you?

BOBBY CRAWFORD: My mom was our coach. We’d go on interviews, and we'd sit out in the lobby and read through the lines. And the instruction I got from mom, then reinforced when I got my first big break, by the director George Roy Hill, is the most important thing about acting? Don't. Don't act. Just be real. I think that was my cue. Therefore, I figured I'd better not study acting, I'd better just do it. I remember years later reading the James Cagney autobiography. They asked him, what's your secret to acting? And he says, stand there and tell the truth. So, I think those are my two bits of instruction. And I was afraid to get into school plays or get into theater at UCLA, thinking whatever it was that I did -- and I didn't know what it was I did -- it seemed to be working, and I was afraid I'd get corrupted if I started to try to learn it.

HENRY PARKE: You appeared on a number of TV shows – DONNA REED, WYATT EARP, ZORRO.

BOBBY CRAWFORD: I did a couple of ZORROS. I remember, I loved being at the Disney Studios and I also loved being with Zorro, Guy Williams, a wonderful man and a beautiful man. And Mary Wickes played my aunt. And the sergeant on ZORRO, Henry Calvin. I didn't realize he was a great opera singer. A roly-poly fellow, and a wonderful man. Zorro saves me from the well, I guess, but I remember hugging the big burly Spanish soldier.

Bobby in Playhouse 90's

A Child of Our Time

HENRY PARKE: Before LARAMIE, you were nominated for an Emmy for A CHILD OF OUR TIME, where you play Tanguay, a boy who winds up in a Nazi Concentration Camp. How big an effect was your Emmy nomination on your career? Had you already been cast in LARAMIE?

BOBBY CRAWFORD: No, I got LARAMIE immediately after doing A CHILD OF OUR TIME, right about the time we were nominated. A Producer, Robert Pirosh, cast me, wanted me. He was the writer of the pilot, [and] strongly committed to the series, involved and in charge. I came out to do a reading with Bob Fuller, a screen test; we did the scene together. Slim [Sherman, the role John Smith would ultimately play], was the part that he had originally been cast for, and he went up to talk to a fellow I later worked with, Pat Kelly, and said, ‘It's wonderful, but the part's wrong. I should be Jess.’ And Pat Kelly said, ‘Oh yeah?’ He said, ‘Absolutely, I can't do it otherwise.’ John Smith was a very nice man and he said, ‘It's fine with me.’ Fuller said, ‘Let me test for it.’ And so we did the scene in which he was going to convince the powers that be that he should play Jess. And he convinced them that I should play Slim’s brother. Of course, me being the Latino, I’d had my head shaved. It's just, John Smith was blond, and I'm supposed to be his brother, and I looked a lot more like Bob Fuller. So they dyed my hair blond for the pilot. And it grew out in like four months. I went from being a short haired blond to brunette with long hair in the series. But anyway, it didn't really matter. They had their show and it went on the air along with RIVERBOAT which featured some unknown guys, one of them being Burt Reynolds. I just remember Eastwood starting RAWHIDE and Burt Reynolds on RIVERBOAT our same season, and I was astonished that our show was a hit. I just said, wow, I got a job, and I get to go to the studio every day. And then I was worried.  I still wanted to get into UCLA at that time. I was just starting high school, and I’d just run into the first defeat of my career in school, geometry. But I remember getting a leg up because I had a private tutor on LARAMIE.

HENRY PARKE: What were Robert Fuller and John Smith like?

John Smith and Bobby

BOBBY CRAWFORD: They were jolly. They were in their prime. They were just thrilled to be starring in the series. They were congenial and having fun on the set, which is the only time I got to be with them for the most part. We had some publicity stunt things that we did, I did a double- date with Bob Fuller once. At 14 or 15 years old I got myself a moped, and I would tool around, in the Hollywood Hills, before I could have a driver's license. And there is a shot of Bob Fuller on my moped. Other than that we had very little social contact off the set. But it was like going to Disneyland each a day of work when you walked into the set. The guys were all about the business of shooting the scene and the story and getting onto the next one. There isn't a whole lot of time between takes and so would have our chairs. I remember that first Christmas in the show, Bob Fuller bought us all nice leather director's chairs, with our names engraved on them.

John Smith was the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life. I don't know what kind of curse that was on him, but he just wasn't real to see in life. He was decent, charming man, but it was so hard to get over -- it was like he was back-lit all the time. He just glowed in the dark, in the sunlight. You couldn't be help but be struck by it.  He's not real, he's so good looking. And Fuller was good-looking, but rugged; it wasn't quite the same impact.

Robert Fuller and Bobby

Bob Fuller had a forearm as big as my thigh. And my ambition as a kid in that series was to get a forearm as big as Bob Fuller's. So I would do my push-ups and pull-ups and my fencing. But I never learned how to build my body so I'd get a forearm like Bob Fuller. Bob was a great charismatic fellow. He was a quick draw. What I was learning on LARAMIE was my lines, and how to be a quick draw. I got the steel holster that helped make you a quick draw. But I could never quite out-draw Bob. I came close, but I didn't get the cigar.

HENRY PARKE: How about Hoagy Carmichael?

Smith, Fuller, Hoagy Carmichael and Bobby

BOBBY CRAWFORD: I adored Hoagy Carmichael. I'm ashamed to say I didn't get to know Hoagy other than in passing.  We have a couple of episodes where he's showing me the piano, and he's singing a cute song. Now in my later years, I find myself driving down the road singing Stardust in the morning. And I'm thinking, if only I'd known about that when he was playing at the piano.

HENRY PARKE: Did you have any favorite guest stars?

Ernest Borgnine plays a former soldier accused

of cowardice in this episode

BOBBY CRAWFORD: It was just terrific fun to work with Ernie Borgnine. I remember being under the table with him. I knew he was an Academy Award winner, and doing TV was still a second gig for a movie actor. He was always playing these mean tough guys, but in person, he was just the most easygoing, charming guy who just loved being there on the set, as I did. And on the first episode, Dan Duryea, playing the bad guy. He had this wonderful demeanor about him. I just remember him being scary. A scary man. He was good casting, a dangerous fellow. I loved all the actors that I got to be around. Every one of them was a character, but it was true of all the grips, electricians, the prop men; everybody who would be on a Hollywood set is a pro, especially if you got lucky enough to get into the major leagues, and I was in the majors then. Those guys are having fun. They're so confident about what they do that they can just have fun doing it. There's the pressure of getting it done, but they're very confident they're going to get it done well. You’re imbued with confidence when you're on a set like that. Everything works, and nobody gets hurt. You only appreciate as an adult, that movie-making is all about moving. You are moving arcs and lights, and in those days the equipment was big, heavy. And it's horses and wagons and, and I only appreciated later how physical making a good movie can be, and making a Western in particular. And also how absolutely prone to accidents things can be, and that's why you want guys who don't have accidents.

Dan Duryea is the villain in

Laramie's pilot

HENRY PARKE: On LARAMIE you had two of my absolute favorite action directors, Leslie Selander and Joe Kane. Do you have any memories of working with them?

BOBBY CRAWFORD: I remember Leslie Selander, because I loved his name. I remember the directors telling me what to do. I don't remember them vividly; in fact the only director I remember vividly was Lee Sholem, who was a director on CHEYENNE. Who was called “Roll 'em Sholem.” Which was because -- look, there's an airplane! Roll 'em! He was a forceful character. And you didn't want to do two takes with Roll 'em Sholem. You wanted to do one take.  I remember the cameramen and I remember faces, but I think I was kind of intimidated and shy on the set; I didn't develop relationships with the crew. I was always feeling a bit like I was the kid on the show, not necessarily the pro on the show. I don't know. Somehow, my brother John would get around to every member of the set, [even]the background extras. He knew everybody on the set, and I knew everybody to say hi, but I didn't develop relationships. I think I just sort of passed through my experience as a kid on LARAMIE, enjoying the moments and remembering some of them, but mostly just saying this too will pass.

HENRY PARKE: You did a few guest shots on THE RIFLEMAN. How did you like working with your kid brother?

BOBBY CRAWFORD: I did, and the problem was it was just a couple of days work. We got to get on horses, we'd be here and we'd be there. We had to go to school for three hours and then we’d get to be on the set a bit. We got to wrestle in one of them; we got a lot of practice at that.

HENRY PARKE: Early in season two of LARAMIE, you and Hoagy Carmichael disappeared.

BOBBY CRAWFORD:  Bob Pirosh left, and then John Champion came along. [Note: Writer and producer John Champion had made several successful Westerns for Allied Artists, and would produce LARAMIE and write 36 episodes.] I didn't know who John Champion was, and I didn't make it a point of trying to stay in the show, or even think that I wouldn't, until the next season began and they said well, they've written you out. And I said, okay, I'll do something else. Whether Hoagy wanted to leave or not, I don't know. And I never talked to anybody about it.

With LARAMIE, my experience with the cowboys and the horses, what was probably 20 weeks of working and being part of it, was sensational. It made me feel like a real Hollywood cowboy, and I could go to Griffith Park, where I had a horse for about three years, that I would groom and take care of, and be the king of corral 17, and go on parades and riding. I felt comfortable around horses and always have felt at home in a stable around the big animals. That I thought was my gift from LARAMIE.

HENRY PARKE: A couple of seasons later they brought in a new kid, Dennis Holmes and Spring Byington essentially playing a female version of Hoagy Carmichael. Did you feel vindicated?

BOBBY CRAWFORD: Well, I'm ashamed to say I haven't watched it, but I don't think I was watching it when I was making it, either. I didn't want to be inhibited. I do have the DVD set of the first season, and I have watched some episodes. If I'm going to a signing show, I'll run an episode or two, but I'm ashamed to say I haven't done that with THE RIFLEMAN episodes either. So I am an uninformed participant. And before I go to Kanab, I think I'm going to run some RIFLEMANS and some more LARAMIES, LARAMIES I haven't been in. I owe Dennis Holmes a look.

In the next Round-up, the second and final part of my interview, Bobby Crawford discusses his work on BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, and twenty years as Producer to iconic movie Director George Roy Hill.

SHOUT FACTORY has put LARAMIE out on DVD, although season one is out of print. The entire series is available on STARZ.

KCET PRESENTS ‘TENDING NATURE’ PREMIERING NOVEMBER 7^TH!

Following up on the fascinating Emmy-winning documentary TENDING THE WILD, produced in partnership with KCET and THE AUTRY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST, the partners have made a 3-year commitment to continue with the series TENDING NATURE, which premieres Wednesday, November 7^th. Just as TENDING THE WILD examined land management techniques used for centuries by American Indians, TENDING NATURE will explore California’s Native stories, traveling across the state to visit and hear from several Indian communities striving to revive their cultures and inform western sciences. This season, the Tolowa Dee-Ni’, Ohlone, Pit River tribes, and the multi-tribal Potawot Health Village, will welcome the series and share their knowledge on topics including ocean toxicity, decolonizing cuisine, tribal hunting, food deserts, and traditional sweats.  Henry’s Western Round-up is honored to share the exclusive following first look.

HERE’S ‘THE CONDEMNED’, A NEW TEN-MINUTE SPAGHETTI WESTERN SHOT ON AN iPHONE!

Director Edwards on location

Filmmaker Jay Wade Edwards set out to make an American film, pretending to be an Italian film, which is itself pretending to be an American film: an Italian-language Spaghetti Western shot in, well, the West! Not just any west, but around one of the most photographed of western locales, Pioneertown!  And he shot it, spectacularly, on an iPhone!  I’ll have more details coming soon to the Round-up, but for now, here is the wonderfully daft movie itself.  Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/251085833

UNSPOOLED ‘HIGH NOON’ PODCAST POSTED!

UNSPOOLED’s Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson are re-examining all of the films on the  AFI 100 Best Movies of All-Time list, with 100 individual podcasts. They're very knowledgeable about film, but are not Western nerds, which makes their discussion of HIGH NOON, and its placement on the list all the more insightful and entertaining. They’re also funny as Hell. I had a great time as their guest on this segment, and think you’ll enjoy it – especially since, whether you’re a HIGH NOON or RIO BRAVO loyalist, you’ll find plenty to be offended by! Here’s the link to the series. HIGH NOON is #19, and APOCALYPSE NOW, #20, begins with listener comments about HIGH NOON. Enjoy them all! 

https://www.earwolf.com/show/unspooled/

ONE MORE THING…

If you’re looking for a spooky Western to watch on Hallowe’en (and who isn’t?) Here’s a link to my True West article on the best and worst of the ‘Weird Westerns.’

https://truewestmagazine.com/best-weird-western/?fbclid=IwAR3t8kboE0LQfO8SVaqZRnZ7iz26B_UlCxQneChkUnNNTZrHJShk9tEurtE

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Happy Trails, and Happy Hallowe'en!

Henry

All Original Content Copyright October 2018 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

BRONCHO BILLY RIDES AGAIN!

(Updated 1/15/2011 -- See Los Encinos Living History)
(Updated 1/13/2011 -- See Autry Free on Martin Luther King Day)
Gilbert M. Anderson, aka Broncho Billy Anderson, was the very first movie cowboy hero – he’s in the first movie with a plot, Edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train Robbery. Essanay Films, the company Charlie Chaplin tramped over to when he left Mack Sennett, was actually the phonetic spelling of the three founder’s initials, S-N-A, and the A was for Anderson. On Saturday, January 15th, 7:30 p.m. at Hollywood Heritage, aka The DeMille Barn, film historian David Kiehn of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum will host a program of movies and slides, examining Broncho Billy Anderson’s search for the right location to build his movie studio, tracing his travels from 1908 to 1913. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Broncho Billy western on a big screen – I can’t wait! Visit The Hollywood Heritage Museum at http://www.hollywoodheritage.org/ to learn more.

(pictures, top to bottom: a Broncho Billy titlecard, Buster Keaton in The General, a Clyde Bruckman titlecard, True Grit poster, Carl Sandburg on the cover of TIME, Tom Mix button, George Reeves and Fred Crane in a GWTW make-up test shot, Vivien Leigh with Butterfly McQueen from GWTW, two more Indian Chiefs)

KEATON AND BRUCKMAN’S ‘THE GENERAL’ AT THE CINEFAMILY/SILENT MOVIE

On Wednesday, January 12th at 8 p.m., the Cinefamily Theatre, which was built in Hollywood in the 1940s as The Silent Movie – and still is on Silent Wednesdays – presents what is not only one of Keaton’s finest comedies, but also, perplexingly enough, the finest silent film about the Civil War, The General (1927). The film is co-directed by Keaton and one of the great unsung comedy geniuses of film, Clyde Bruckman. (This part is about Comedies, not Westerns, but I think it’s important: Bruckman wrote and/or directed for Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, W.C. Fields, Abbott and Costello, and The Three Stooges among many others. One day, Harold Lloyd saw a comedy Bruckman had written, where he reused gags he’d created for a Harold Lloyd silent decades before. Lloyd sued him for $1,700,000, and destroyed his career, although he would return to writing, cranking out Columbia shorts, and Amos and Andy TV episodes. On January 4th, 1955, he went into the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, Musso & Frank’s, ordered and ate a meal he couldn’t pay for, went into the men’s room and, using a .45 automatic he’d borrowed from Buster Keaton under false pretenses, killed himself.) Visit Cinefamily here, http://www.cinefamily.org/, to learn more.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16TH LOS ENCINOS LIVING HISTORY DAY

On this day, and the third Sunday of every month, Los Encinos State Historic Park, located at 16756 Moorpark St. in Encino,91436, has a Living History Day. From one to three p.m. enjoy music, period crafts,a blacksmith, docents in 1870s attire, tours of the historic buildings, and traditional children’s games.

AUTRY FREE ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

Normally the Autry Museum isn’t open on Mondays, but on Monday, January 17th, Martin Luther King Day, it’s not just open, it’s FREE!

Also at the Autry this weekend, On Saturday, January 15th, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., a free lecture, part of the American Indian Lecture Series will be presented. It’s entitled American Indian Technology, the speaker is Paul Apodaca, Ph.D. (Navajo/Mixton), who will discuss technological developments of American Indians across two continents as well as how American Indian resources allowed the Industrial and Scientific Ages to change the world as we know it.

And on Sunday, January 16th, it’s Family Sunday at the Autry. The third Sunday of every month will be a full day of family-oriented events, and this week’s theme is Family Histories. Here’s what they say about it: Every Family Sunday will feature a special Western-focused craft activity, storytime, live music from the Western Music Association, gold panning, hands-on history tours with museum docents, and opportunities to explore all the Autry’s galleries.
11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Gold Rush!
11:30 a.m. StoryTime, featuring books by Kimberly Weinberger, Sonia Levitin and Allen Say. Books featured in Story Time will be available at the museum store for 10% off.
11:30a.m., 1:00p.m., & 3:00p.m. Docent-Led Tours
Noon–3:00 p.m. Third Sunday Jam With the Western Music Association
1:00 p.m. Hands-On Family Tour of Community Gallery
1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Craft Activity: Family History Lap Book. Learning about family histories is a fascinating journey back in time. Explore our Community Stories kits with museum teachers, and create your own family history lap book.

ROY ROGERS ON RFD-TV

This Saturday, January 15th, the feature will be Sheriff of Tombstone (1941), starring Roy, and featuring Gabby Hayes as a judge, for a change. This is another directed by the great Joe Kane, and scripted by that prolific writer of Republic oaters, Olive Cooper, from the story by James Webb.

CONFIRMED: TRUE GRIT (1969) IN REDBOX, AND PORTIS’ VIEWS

I’d mentioned last week that True Grit (1969) was supposed to be available at Redbox, but I hadn’t found a copy yet. I have since tracked one down at the Redbox outside my local supermarket, and the special features included a return to the original locations, some information on author Charles Portis, and brief interviews with co-stars Kim Darby, Jeremy Slate and Glen Campbell. Can’t beat it for a buck!

And speaking of how close the original movie sticks to the novel, here’s what Portis has to say in a letter to a historian at Fort Smith. “Yes, the screenplay stayed pretty close to the book. I noticed that the movie director, Henry Hathaway, used the book itself, with the pages much underlined, when he was setting up scenes. I also noticed that some of the actors had trouble speaking the (intentionally) stiff dialogue. I didn’t write the screenplay. It was sent to me and I made a few changes, not many. I did write the last scene, in the graveyard, which didn’t appear in the book or the script.”

What did he think of Hathaway and Wayne? “Hathaway was a gruff old bird, quite hard on the actors. He and John Wayne had one blazing row while I was there. Strong, loud words. The whole thing is coming to an end right here, I thought. Ten minutes later they were back at work. Such flare-ups were normal, I was told, in this tense and edgy business.”

“Wayne was a bigger man than I expected. We, the cynical public, are led by rumor to believe that movie stars will be dwarfish, disappointing little fellows in the flesh, but Wayne was no let-down. He was actually bigger than his image on the screen, both in stature and presence. One icy morning, very early, before sunrise, we were having breakfast in a motel café, before making the long drive up into the mountains for the day’s shooting. A tourist, a middle-aged woman, startled to see John Wayne sitting across the room, came over (against her husband’s obvious wishes) to speak. Wayne rose to greet her. She went into a long, incoherent story about her son having been in the same college fraternity (Sigma Chi, I think) as Wayne. He stood there, not fidgeting and just hearing her out, but actively listening, and chatting with her in an easy way, as his fried eggs congealed on the plate. I took this to be no more than his nature. A gentleman at four o’clock on a cold morning is indeed a gentleman.”

The lady who wrote the screenplay, Marguerite Roberts, started out as a secretary at 20th Century Fox, then became a contract writer at MGM, scripting films like Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Dragon Seed (1944), for Katherine Hepburn. But what she relished was writing roles for tough men. “I was weaned on stories about gunfighters and their doings, and I know all the lingo too. My grandfather came West as far as Colorado by covered wagon. He was a sheriff in the state’s wildest days.”

There was some doubt as to whether John Wayne would accept her as the screen writer; both she and her husband, writer John Sanford, had been blacklisted for being communists who refused to name names. But it’s said that one reading of her script was all it took to convince the Duke.

And happily, this weekend, like the last, is a box-office battle between the new TRUE GRIT and LITTLE FOKKERS, and GRIT is winning!

BIRTHDAYS OF NOTE

Thursday, January 6th was the birthday of poet and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg (1878), cowboy hero Tom Mix (1880), and George Reeves (1914), who began his screen career as a Tarleton twin in Gone with the Wind (1939), and appeared in five Hopalong Cassidy movies before becoming The Man of Steel. And speaking of GWTW, Saturday, January 8th, is the birthday of Butterfly McQueen (1911), who played Prissy, the slave you love to hate.

WESTERN EVENTS ON THE HORIZON

FEB. 18TH-21ST – WHISKEY FLAT DAYS IN KERNVILLE

Events include a parade, rodeo, frog-jumping contest, food, music and melodramas. For more info, call 760-376-2629, or visit kernvillechamber.org.


FEB. 19TH-20TH – CIVIL WAR WEEKEND AT CALICO GHOST TOWN

Events include Civil War reenactments, authentic encampments, drills, music, living history displays, period fashion shows, and a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. To learn more, call 800-86-CALICO (862-2542) or visit calicotown.com.

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepeneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permenant galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywood western, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

A staggering number of western TV episodes and movies are available, entirely free, for viewing on your computer at HULU. You do have to sit through the commercials, but that seems like a small price to pay. The series available -- often several entire seasons to choose from -- include THE RIFLEMAN, THE CISCO KID, THE LONE RANGER, BAT MASTERSON, THE BIG VALLEY, ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, and one I missed from 2003 called PEACEMAKERS starring Tom Berenger. Because they are linked up with the TV LAND website, you can also see BONANZA and GUNSMOKE episodes, but only the ones that are running on the network that week.

The features include a dozen Zane Grey adaptations, and many or most of the others are public domain features. To visit HULU on their western page, CLICK HERE.

TV LAND - BONANZA and GUNSMOKE

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They run a GUNSMOKE Monday through Thursday at 10:00 a.m., and on Friday they show two, from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.. They're not currently running either series on weekends, but that could change at any time.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

That’s about it for this week – between transcribing a 3 hour interview with actor Earl Holliman, and trying to have a Western pilot script in a presentable form for my agent to go out with on Monday, I’m surprised I found this much to tell you about. Have a great week!

Henry

Copyright January 2011 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

ANOTHER WESTERN - SORT OF - IN PRODUCTION

Updated 2/12/2010

UPDATE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND!!!
MEET ERNEST BORGNINE!

The Oscar-winning best actor for Marty, best-loved by many of us for The Wild Bunch, will be autographing pictures at the Hollywood Show, Saturday Feb. 13th and Sunday Feb. 14th at the Marriott Hotel in Burbank. The address is 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank 91505. Also attending will be Bronco star Ty Hardin; TV's Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brien; The Outlaw star Jane Russell; Chisum and Bandolero star Andrew Prine; last of the Bonanza regulars (in later seasons) Mitch Vogel; dancer and 7 Brides for 7 Brothers star Russ Tamblyn; and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, who's starred in several spaghetti westerns. There also tons of non-western actors who will attend. If you've never attended an autograph show, they can be a lot of fun, but be warned, they are not cheap. Admission is $20 a day or $35 for both days, and actors will usually charge from $20-$30 for the pictures they provide and sign. They'll also sign pictures, posters or books that you bring, but they'll charge for that as well. There are also a dozen or more memorabilia dealers selling their wares at the show. The show is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. If you want a complete guest line-up, click here. If you go to that link, purchase your ticket on-line, and use the Coupon code: VALENTINE, you should get $5 off.
Also, don't forget there's a free screening at the Autry Saturday night -- check out their website for details. And on Monday, Presidents Day, admission to the Autry is free for children!
Updated 2/9/2010
Let me get my apology in first before any more people correct me: John Wayne won his Oscar for True Grit (1969), not The Shootist (1976).
If the Donner Party episode of American Experience is still making the PBS rounds, it's worth seeing, though often hard to take. Here's something I learned from it: Louis Keysberg was the only survivor who talked openly about being a cannibal. In 1851 he moved to Sacramento and opened a successful restaurant (insert your own tasteless joke here).

IN PRODUCTION:
COWBOYS & ALIENS
Based on a popular graphic novel (also known as a comic-book to the less insecure) by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg,the one-line pitch for the DreamWorks production is: "In Silver City, Arizona, Apache Indians and Western settlers must lay their differences aside when an alien space ship crash lands in their city." The 'mysterious gun-slinger' will be played by 007 star Daniel Craig, after Robert Downey Jr. ankled, due to schedule conflicts. The lovely Olivia Wilde, of House and Alpha Dog(2006) fame, will co-star. Jon Favreau, who wrote Swingers (1996) and directed Iron Man I & II (2008 and not yet), will direct from a script by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who wrote the two Transformers movies (2007, 2009) and Star Trek (2009), and Damon Lindelof of TV's Lost. The picture already 'boasts' ten - count 'em - ten producers, including Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Steven Speilberg and is set for a July 29, 2011 release.

6 GUNS
As I detailed in last week's blog, this first western from The Asylum is set for a March 30, 2010 direct-to-video release. If you'd like to see a trailer for the movie, as well as some stills, click here.

TRUE GRIT
No word yet on whether Paramount and the Coen brothers have selected a girl to play the role of Mattie Ross, for the film which is going to camera in the spring. They took the unusual step of holding an open call, asking for girls to send in home videos. The notice says, in part, "Fourteen year old Mattie is a simple, tough as nails, young woman in post-Civil War Arkansas. Her steely nerves and straightforward manner are often surprising to those she meets. She possessed plenty of true grit and determination. Enough so that she insists on going with 2 marshals to hunt down the killer of her father. We are looking for a girl who's tough, strong and tells it like it is." Applicants that they like will hear from the studio by February 15th. If you'd like to check out the reactions of a writer who has read the shooting script, click here.

AROUND TOWN:

AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2:00-3:00 p.m., for you lovers of western fine art, in the Wells Fargo Theater, John Geraghty, Special Advisor and originator of the Autry's Masters of the American West Exhibition and Sale, will speak in detail about several paintings featured in this year's exhibition, including works by Howard Terpning, Mian Situ and Morgan Weistling. Doors open at 1:30. Admission is free with your paid admission to the Autry, which is an absolute must-see itself. For more info, click here. AUTRY UPDATE ON 2/9/2010 -- I just received word of a free movie screening on Saturday night, free admission for kids on President's Day, and other stuff that might be of interest. Click here for details.

COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART - MOVIE SCREENINGS
THE ESSENTIAL CLINT EASTWOOD
LACMA is presenting a retrospective of Eastwood movies, many directed by, and all starring the man with no name. Lots of good stuff, but I can't imagine how they could have omitted his first as a director, Play Misty For Me (1971) Here are the westerns they're showing this week.
Saturday, Feb. 13, 7:00 p.m., The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) D:Clint Eastwood, W:Philip Kaufman and Sonia Chernus, starring Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, John Vernon, and Clint's old co-star from Rawhide, Sheb Wooley.
Saturday, Feb. 13, 9:25 p.m., Pale Rider (1985) D:Clint Eastwood, W:Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack, starring Eastwood, Michael Moriarty and Carrie Snodgress.

ON THE TUBE

WESTERN MOVIE ON TV
Note: AMC=American Movie Classics, FMC=Fox Movie Channel, TCM=Turner Classic Movies. All times given are Pacific Standard Time.

Monday 2/8
TCM
8:30 a.m. - The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) Bernard Herrman's score won the Oscar, and Walter Huston as 'Mr. Scratch' was nominated, in the Stephen Vincent Benet story of a farmer who sells his soul for a good harvest. With Edward Arnold, James Craig, and the lovely Simone Simon. D:William Dieterle.
FMC
11:00 a.m. - The Proud Ones (1956) D:Robert D. Webb, W:Edmund H. North, Joseph Petracca, starring Robert Ryan, Virginia Mayo, Jeffrey Hunter.

Tuesday 2/9
FMC
6:00 a.m. - The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) One of the best of the dark ones, directed by William Wellman from Larmar Trotti's adaptation of Walter Van Tilburg Clark's novel. When we see so many bloated movies, it's amazing what pros can do with 75 taut minutes. Stars Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, and a ton of familiar faces, most of whom you'll want to smash with a rock before it's over.
TCM
11:30 p.m. - Tender Mercies (1983) Bruce Beresford directs Horton Foote's brilliant story and screenplay about an alcoholic country singer, played wonderfully by Robert Duvall. With Tess Harper, Ellen Barkin and Wilford Brimley.

Wedneday 2/10
FMC
8:15 a.m. - The Mark Of Zorro (1940) A delight! Rouben Mamoulian directs John Taintor Foote's adaptation of the Johnston McCulley story. Ty Power, Basil Rathbone, Linda Darnell et al have great fun, and the audience has even more.

Thursday 2/11
TCM
6:15 a.m. Juarez (1939) D:William Dieterle, W:John Huston, Aeneas MacKenzie, Wolfgang Reinhardt, from a book and a play. Paul Muni plays Juarez, with Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, and Claude Rains as Napoleon III!
FMC
8:00 a.m. - The Big Trail (1930) Raoul Walsh directed John Wayne in his first lead in this epic from Hal G. Evarts' story, and good as it was, it was a box-office disappointment, sending the Duke to do leads in Bs until Stagecoach (1939). Beautiful telling of the story of a wagon train, with Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Ty Power Sr., with uncredited early roles by Ward Bond and Iron Eyes Cody. Shot in 35 MM by Lucien Andriot, and 70MM by Arthur Edeson -- I don't know which version they show.

Friday 2/12
FMC
8:00 a.m. - O. Henry's Full House (1952) A collection of five O. Henry short stories directed by five directors: Henry Hathaway, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco, and doing the western segment, The Ransom of Red Chief, Howard Hawks. Writing this one segement, uncredited, were Ben Hecht, Nunnally Johnson and Charles Lederer! Starring Fed Allen and Oscar Levant as the kidnappers, and Rin Tin Tin star Lee Aaker as the 'victim', narrated by John Steinbeck!

Saturday 2/13
AMC
6:30 a.m. - The Culpepper Cattle Company (1972) Directed by Dick Richards from his own story, scripted by Gregory Prentiss and Eric Bercovici. Young Gary Grimes talks a trail boss, Billy Green Bush, into taking him on a cattle drive. With Luke Askew, Bo Hopkins, Charles Martin Smith and Matt Clark -- how many westerns is Matt Clark in, anyway? As many as Gabby Hayes?

8:45 a.m. - The Last Wagon (1956) Directed by the great historical filmmaker Delmer Daves, which he co-scripted with James Edward Grant. The wagin-train survivors of an Apache attack must turn to 'Commanche Todd' Richard Widmark for help. With Tommy 'Lassie' Rettig and Nick Adams.

That's all for now! If you'd like to take a look at my website, and see what sort of things I write, please click here. I'd appreciate any commets you have about this blog, and suggestions about what should be included. You can e-mail at swansongmail@sbcglobal.net, or leave comments in the box below. IF THERE ISN'T A BOX BELOW, THEN CLICK ON THE WORD 'COMMENTS' UNDER THE LINE, AND A BOX SHOULD APPEAR. In future postings I'll have information about TV series that are currently running, plus radio shows and podcasts! Happy trails!

Henry

Headin' For The First Round-up

Over the past few months I've attended the 40th Anniversary screening of The Wild Bunch at the Million Dollar Theater in downtown L.A., a pre-release showing of Wyatt Earp from the PBS documentary series American Experience at the Autry Museum, and a double-bill of The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid at the Billy Wilder Theatre in Westwood. All events were well-attended, even the Earp, which took place during a brief lull in a series of rain-storms. But it occured to me that I found all of these events as a matter of dumb luck -- I missed several Jesse James and Billy the Kid-themed screenings at the Wilder, and today I missed a Clint Eastwood documentary at the County Museum of Art. So I've decided to try and build a resource, a blog where fellow western-movie fans can go to find out what screenings are taking place, what programs are running on TV, what series are coming out on DVD. And maybe most importantly -- because westerns are not dead -- what new westerns are in production and soon to be released!

I plan to update the blog every weekend, so you can check it and find out what interesting events are coming up in the week ahead. I'm located in Los Angeles, and that's where I know what's going on, but I want this blog to be a resource for folks around the country and around the world -- and for that I'll need your help. E-mail me at swansongmail@sbcglobal.net, and let me know what events are happening where you are that should be included. I need to know what museums, revival houses and other venues should be on our radar. I also need your comments -- if you watch a program or attend an event that we've mentioned, let's have your reactions.

IN PRODUCTION:

True Grit -- Brothers Ethan and Joel Coen, who brought us No Country For Old Men, 2007's Best Picture Oscar winner, are tackling the Charles Portis novel that Henry Hathaway first filmed in 1969. Playing U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, one of John Wayne's best-loved performances, will be Jeff Bridges, who's currently starring in Crazy Heart. Matt Damon will play La Boeuf, the Texas Ranger that Glen Campbell portrayed, but no word yet on who'll be Mattie Ross, the Kim Darby role. Josh Brolin is also in the cast. Bridges will be the third actor to play Cogburn. Wayne did it again, opposite Katherine Hepburn in 1975's Rooster Cogburn, a western haircut on The African Queen, and Warren Oates played the part in 1978's TV movie, True Grit: A Further Adventure. The new True Grit is scheduled for a Christmas Day, 2010 release. True Grit (1969) plays on TCM Friday, Feb. 5th at 8pm, Pacific time.

6 Guns -- From The Asylum (no, I'm not being cute -- it's the actual company name) comes the story of a young woman who enlists the aid of a bounty hunter to teach her to be a gunfighter, so she can hunt down the men who killed her family. Sounds a little like a 'girl-power' version of Nevada Smith (1966), or a re-tooling of the Raquel Welch starrer Hannie Caulder (1971). The direct-to-video release stars Sage Mears and Barry Van Dyke, who was a regular with his father, Dick Van Dyke, in the Diagnosis: Murder series, and is directed by Dick's grandson, Shane Van Dyke (and a director named 'Shane' certainly should be making westerns). Also top-billed is Greg Evigon, star of the series BJ and the Bear (1979-1981). 6 Guns should reach your video shelf March 30, 2010.

ON THE TUBE

NEW STUFF: Wyatt Earp is the newest episode of the PBS documentary series, American Experience, and presents a convincing telling of the life of one of the west's most controversial figures. It's startling to imagine that a man who is today generally revered was so worried about his reputation that he begged William S. Hart to play him on film, and set the record straight. In addition to the commentary by several historians, the beautiful background footage is a cut above what you generally get in documentaries -- the slow-motion gunfire during the O.K. Corral sequence was so purty I kept rewinding and watching it again. Check your local PBS affiliate for airdates. Also check out an episode from some seasons back, The Donner Party, which is also currently playing.

WESTERN MOVIES ON TV 2/1 - 2/7
Note - All listings are Pacific Standard Time. TCM = Turner Classic Movies, FMC = Fox Movie Channel, AMC = American Movie Classics

Tuesday 2/2
FMC
10:00 a.m. - Broken Arrow (1950) James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, D:Delmer Daves, W:Albert Maltz(another writer's name may be one the credits -- Maltz was blacklisted and had someone 'front' for him)
12:00 p.m. - The Undefeated (1969) John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr.,D:Andrew McLaglen, W:James Lee Barrett
TCM
12:30 p.m. - Billy The Kid (1941) Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, D:David Miller, W:Gene Fowler. (Robert Taylor's 1st western!)
FMC
2:00 p.m. - Bandolero! (1968) James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch, Harry Carey Jr., Jock Mahoney, Don 'Red' Barry, Roy Barcroft, D:Andrew McLaglen, W:James Lee Barrett (If you want to see an incredible list on stuntmen, check out the listing on IMDB)

Wednesday 2/3
TCM
5:45 a.m. - Viva Villa! (1934) Wallace Beery, Fay Wray, Leo Carillo, D:Jack Conway, W:Ben Hecht (This one has uncredited help on direction and script by Howard Hawks and Wild Bill Wellman. Stu Erwin's part was being played by Lee Tracy, but during production, Tracy got drunk and urinated off a balcony onto a Mexican military parade -- they had to rush him out of the country!)

Thursday 2/4
FMC
2:00 p.m. - Flaming Star (1960)Elvis Presley, Steve Forrest, Barbara Eden, L.Q. Jones, D:Don Seigel, W:Clair Huffaker, Nunnally Johnson

Friday 2/5
TCM
2:45 p.m. - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Earl Holliman, Dennis Hopper, D:John Sturges, W:Leon Uris
5:00 p.m. - True Grit (1969) John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Strother Martin, D:Henry Hathaway, W:Margeurite Roberts
7:15 pm - The Shootist (1976) John Wayne, James Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Richard Boone, John Carradine, Henry Morgan, D:Don Siegel, W:Miles Wood Swarthout, Scott Hale. (John Wayne earned his Oscar for this one)

Saturday 2/6
TCM
1:30 a.m. - Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, D:John Sturges, W:Millard Kaufman
FMC
6:00 a.m. - Call Of The Wild (1935) Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie, Buck, D:William Wellman, W:Gene Fowler - from Jack London's novel. (Great stuff, and Gable at his best - no wonder Loretta got impregnated by him on the shoot!)
TCM
6:30 a.m. - How The West Was Won (1962) James Stewart, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, D:John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, W:James Webb, from his series of LIFE Magazine articles.
9:30 a.m. - The Magnificent Seven (1960) Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, Horst Buchholtz, Eli Wallach, D:John Sturges, W:William Roberts.
11:45 a.m. - Maverick (1994) Mel Gibson, James Garner, Jodie Foster, D:Richard Donner, W:William Goldman from the Roy Huggins series. (Fun, and countless cameos by cowboy actors and country music stars.

That's all for today, but in my next post I'll be adding more info about westerns on TV, radio, podcasts and more! Let me hear from you!

Henry