Almost everyone in the world knows the phrase “Hollywood Cowboys” means actors who took part in that unique American art form known as the Western movies. This presentation starts with The Last of the Mohicans and looks at the little books and traveling shows that created the legendary
Wild West: the Dime Novels and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Bronco Billy Anderson starred in The Great Train Robbery in 1903 and we’ll spend some time with silent movie stars like Tom Mix but most of the presentation focuses on the movie stars we all remember from the Saturday matinees and TV late show reruns. We’ll look at B movie serial stars like Hoot Gibson and Tim McCoy; singing cowboys Gene Autry and Roy Rogers; plus major box office stars like Gary Cooper, John Wayne,
and Clint Eastwood. It wouldn’t be a Hollywood Western without villains like Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, and Lee Van Cleef, and of course the loyal and comical sidekicks Gabby Hayes, Chill Wills, Slim Pickens, Andy Devine, and Walter Brennan. We can’t cover all the Hollywood cowboys
in an hour but we’re sure to bring back a lot of fond memories.