Women in Westerns, Big and Small Screens

I thought it might be interesting to ponder who was the sexiest western actress. After all at one time or another almost every Hollywood starlet has belted on a holster and saddled up for a western adventure.
Then I realized that if we did vote there would be hundreds of nominations of every size age and shape. Also there is the difficulty in deciding on the differences between what was considered beautiful in the 30's vs now. And blondes, brunettes and redheads all have their following. Furthermore many of the sexier actresses for some reason chose to "plain themselves down" for their western films. (Strange since they were sacrificing the very thing that made them famous in the first place).
So just as with any contest the judge must make a decision. I guess mine will have to suffice. I made it based on my memories and the way the actress carried herself whenever she was in a western. (that plus her wow factor.)
Results: ok here goes: I made the chices based on class, beauty and consistency of that wow factor time after time.

First place; Maureen O'hara >http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/2440/ohara.html




Second Place Olivia DeHavilland (I'm a big Errol Flynn fan too)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_de_Havilland

Third Place Linda Evans (I fell for her while watching the Big Valley )

)http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv/big-valley.htm

X-mas in the West

Hi Everyone. If you're like me, you are pretty busy getting ready to share the holidays with your loved ones. I just wanted to send you all my holiday wishes and send you a little treat to help you remember how they used to celebrate back in the good old days... Or at least when James West and Artemus Gordon roamed the small screen.

If you're in the mood for something a little different, check out my new Holiday Story: Click here to read "A Shiny Nose"


Happy Holidays!

Where'd That Come From

Ever wonder where some of our westernisms some from?

Well take the famous "Buckaroo" for example. Well that's a simple one. It is a mispronounciation of the spanish Vaquero" (cowboy) that just stuck. Same with "Calaboose." It comes from the spanish for jail or "calabosa."

Every wonder why they call the fancy rooms on a luxury liner or train "state rooms"? Well on the old Mississippi river boats in the 1800's the larger cabins were named, not numbered, and they were named after, that's right you guessed it, States of the Union. The Alabama suite, the New Yorker etc." Thus the stateroom.

How about the saying "Keep the bll rolling? It came from the 1840's first known political slogan - 'Tippecanoe and Tyler, too'. A song of the same name was considered to have sung Harrison into the presidency:

Don't you hear from every quarter, quarter, quarter,
Good news and true,
That swift the ball is rolling on
For Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.

Harrison's campaign literature referred to Victory Balls. These weren't, as we might expect, dance parties that celebrated his famous victory, but ten-foot diameter globes made of tin and leather, which were pushed from one campaign rally to the next. His supporters were invited to attend rallies and push the ball on to the next town, chanting 'keep the ball rolling'.

Hold your horses needs no explanation except to some modern techno nerd who doesn't know that before Henry ford we all rode horses.

"It's a cinch" is another westernism. The cinch is the leather or cloth belt that goes from one side of the saddle under the horses belly to the other side of the saddle to tighten things up. Whether the saying comes from this or not isn't definitive but it's a cinch it had something to do with it.

Xmas is Coming

Although not precisely a western in nature I felt I should share a great site with my readers. This story entitled A Very Shiny Nose is a wonderful e-book for the whole family.

A widowed veterinarian is unexpectedly called to the North Pole to try to cure one of Santa's reindeer. It seems that Rudolph's nose isn't glowing red as it should.

With only hours to go before Santa must fly for off in his sleigh, Dr. Jake must solve the riddle of why Rudy's nose glows and then fix it in time or there will be no Christmas.

And as if that isn't enough pressure for the poor veterinarian, he must also figure out a last minute special Christmas gift for his little daughter back home and at the same time come to terms with new feelings of romance he is developing for the beautiful girl he meets at the North Pole.

Sort of a cross between Miracle on 34th St and All Creatures Great and Small,
A Very Shiny Nose is destined soon to become a new Xmas classic.

Check out this holiday story from yours truly: A Very Shiny Nose

Detroit meets the Old West

Ever wonder why the front part of your car's interior is called a "Dashboard"?
It isn't a board and you don't dash around on it, so where'd that term come from? Well it is actually a westernism from the earlier days of transportation.
When a coach or wagon is pulled by a horse, or team of horses they tend to throw dirt up behind them which basically tosses it right into the face of the driver, especially when dashing around at at faster clips. The old timers often referred to these chunks of dirt as dash. The solution was to nail a long board or two in front of the coach at an angle upward to prevent the dirt or dash from flying up from the hooves into the driver. Thus the dashboard was invented. When the car was invented the term just carried over from the old buckboard and stagecoach days.

Ever gone to tailgate party. Ever been trailgated in traffic? Ever wonder why it's not called tail trunking or a hatch party? Once again we return to the days of yesteryear when the chuck wagon would stop and prepare dinner and coffee for the cowboys on the drive. (Trail drive= drive a car). The old chuck wagon had a gate on the back that the cook would lower so he could have flat area to serve off of. At night the cowboys would gather around the gate at the tail of the chuck wagon and drink coffee. Thus the tail gate party was born. Now we have tailgate parties to watch the Dallas Cowboys or the Chiefs or the Indians play. Seems like the older we get the more things stay the same.

Ever drop a friend off somewhere from your car. He didn't really drop did he? So why not say "let out" or "Push out?" Why "Drop Off? Once again we return to our stagecoach days. Back then, given the limited space inside most coaches, the poorer passengers often sat on top of the coach
or rode alongside the driver. When ever the coach came to a steep incline the passengers would have to "Drop Off" the top of the coach to lighten the load and would often help push the coach up the incline.

Finally once just has to watch the other vehicles on the rode to see the western influence on Detroit. The freeway is now filled with Mustangs, Cougars, Broncos, Cherokees, Trailblazers, Pintos, and Wranglers. Get the idea?

What's in a Name

One of the most important things a true western character must have is a manly sounding and unforgettable name. If that fails than at least he should have a strong or dangerous nickname. The exception to this rule is,of course, the sidekick who is often a Fuzzy, Gabby, Windy, or Smiley, or else is an Indian such as Tonto or Little Beaver.

Since the most manly and greatest of the screens western legends, John (Duke) Wayne was actually born Marion Morrison (not the most memorable of cowboy names) it might be interesting to research some of the other western greats to see how their real names stack up to the legend.

Gene Autry = Orvon Gene Autry
Roy Rogers =Leonard Franklin Slye
Dale Evans=Lucille Wood Smith later changed to Frances Octavia Smith
Hopalong Cassidy = William Lawrence Boyd
James Arness = James Aurunessen
Lash LaRue = Alfred LaRue
Hugh O'Brian (TV's Wyatt Earp) = Hugh Krampe
Allan "Rocky" Lane =Harry Albershart
Whip Wilson =Roland Charles Meyers
Bob Allen=Robert Allen Baehr Irving Theodore Baehr
Bob Barker=Stanley Leland Weed
Don "Red" Barry =Donald Barry De Acosta
Rex Bell=George Francis Beldam
Robert Blake (Little beaver)=Michael James Vijencio Gubitosi
Smiley Burnette=Lester Alvin Burnette
Hoot Gibson=Edmund Gibson
Wild Bill Elliott=Gordon Nance
Dick Foran=John Nicholas Foran
Ken Curtis(Festus)=Curtis Gates
Eddie Dean=Edgar Dean Glosup
Gary Cooper=Frank James Cooper
Kirby Grant (Sky King)=Kirby Grant Hoon Jr.
Buck Jones=Charles Frederick Gebhard
Clayton Moore=John Carlton Moore
Slim Pickens=Louis Bert Lindley Jr
Duncan Renaldo=Renault Renaldo Duncan
Sunset Carson=Winifred Maurice Harrison
Jay Silverheels=Harold J. Smith
Yakima Canutt=Enos Edward Canutt
Rod Cameron=Roderick Nathan Cox
Crash Corrigan=Raymond Benard
Buster Crabbe=Clarence Linden Crabbe
Monte Blue=Montgomery Bluefeather
Gail Davis(Annie Oakley)=Betty Jeanne Grayson
Gale Storm=Josephine Cottle
Hal Taliaferro (also Wally Wales)=Floyd T. Alderson

The Man Who Knew Indians

There is a common theme in western literature which has been titled by some scholars as "The Man Who Knew Indians." The concept of this theme is that in order to overcome the enemy you must first understand who they are, what they believe, and more importantly how they fight.
Typcially such a story theme revolves around a beleaguered outpost or a cavalry troop, or perhaps an isolated wagon train out on the trail. The men in the story are often led by a foolish or stubborn officer, or perhaps influenced by a pacifist preacher. Such leaders refuse to fight the enemy on their own terms, prefering instead to "Go by the Book" or perhaps "Follow the Good book." The soldiers or settlers are about to be wiped out due to such stupidity when a scout, experienced cowboy, or half breed Indian steps in and saves the day by showing everyone how to fight like an Indian.
Three classic stories that best illustrate this theme are Arrowhead with Charlton Heston, Fort Apache with Henry Fonda and John Wayne, and The Last Wagon with Richard Widmark.
The introduction in a story of a man who knows Indians, although not usually politically correct, allows the author or director to explain the motives or tactics of an otherwise unfathomable enemy. Typically the hero was either raised by or married to an Indian and can therefore relate to their plight. Describing the character's personal experiences allows the author to paint a more sympathetic portrait of the enemy, although of course the purpose of this hero is to help his own people fight them.
Inherent in this theme of course is the portrayal of the command structure as inherently wrong. Stupidity, stubborness, ignorance or racism all create a situation where the enemy (Indians) are about to win. "If we could only reason with them and talk to them like Christians"
is a favorite line, usually followed by a white flag, or perhaps a Bible held high by some holier- than-thou preacher, who is then often greeted with an arrow in the chest or a bullet to the head. The "Man Who Knows Indians" could see this coming but no one will listen to him as he is often viewed as an outcast, or someone who is racial interior for "knowing Indians" in the first place. It isn't until it is almost too late that he is finally listened to and allowed to save the day.
Perhaps if one considers the events of today this theme isn't as out of date as one might suspect. You only have to listen to the far left liberal politicians and others who suggest that we sit down with the terrorists and try to talk things out like good Christians. (Sound familiar?)
When a terrorist leader is killed everyone feels safer, but nobody wants to know who authorized it or is willing to take credit for the initiative.
There is now abundant evidence that the Clinton administration had several opportunities to eliminate Osam Bin Laden well before 911, yet failed to heed the advice of those military men who "knew the terrorists". This same group of military- hating pacifists are once again urging us, the beleagured settlers, to abandon the trained "indian fighters" who know the enemy, and instead to try and seek friendly solutions. Just as Fort Apache's Col. Friday (Henry Fonda)died after failing to heed the advice of a trained Indian fighter, (John Wayne), and just as Neville Chamberlain's appeasment policies led to a stronger Nazi Germany, such a course will merely embolden our enemies. Perhaps we should all read more westerns before voting in '08