Paul Colt's Blog, page 28

Wes Studi

Wes Studi was born to Cherokee parents near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He learned to talk in the Cherokee language, learning English when he entered school. He entered the National Guard on graduation from High School, serving an eighteen month tour in Vietnam. He took up acting following his discharge.

Studi got his first break in the role of Long Runner in The Trial of Standing Bear (’88). He appeared as a Pawnee in Dances with Wolves (’90) opposite Kevin Kostner. Studi had the title role of Magua in The Last of the Mohicans (’92). The following year he again had the title role in Geronimo: An American Legend. Other film credits include The New World (’05) and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (’07). His most recent big screen roles cast him as Cochise in A Million Ways to Die in the West (’14) and Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hawk in Hostiles (’17).

Studi has been a politically active advocate for American Indians both on and off the screen. Made for TV documentaries include The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy and Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American. Studi’s made for TV movie credits include his role as Red Cloud in Crazy Horse (’97), The Lone Ranger (’03), Comanche Moon (’08) and Hell on Wheels (’11).

Wes, along with cast and crew, won a Western Heritage Award in 1994 for Geronimo: An American Legend. Wes Studi is recognized in the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Next Week: Kevin Costner
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Paul

Robert Duval

Robert Duval began his acting career in the late 50’s on stage. Film and television roles followed in the 60’s and beyond. He enjoyed a prolific film career lending his talents as an actor to a wide variety of roles. Colleagues said of his portrayals, Duval had the ability to thoroughly “inhabit” a character such that he became the character he played. One co-star said she never got to know Robert Duval, only his character.

Robert Duval’s contributions to Western film over the course of his career are considerable. He got his start in 1969, playing “Lucky” Ned Pepper to John Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Who can forget that thrilling “Fill your hands, you . . . “, reins in their teeth, gun down gallop? Lawman (’71) came next, followed by The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and Joe Kidd (’72).

Lonesome Dove hit our screens in ’89. OK, OK, I know this is a big screen post series and Lonesome Dove is a little screen miniseries, but some of those little screens are pretty big these days and was there ever a little screen Western as big as Lonesome Dove? I don’t think so. So Lonesome Dove belongs here. Duval won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of retired Texas Ranger Captain Agustus “Gus” McCrae. Paired with Tommy Lee Jones as the dour Woodrow Call, Gus and Call make two of the most compelling pards to ride down the Western film trail.

Duval went back to the big screen in 1993 opposite the incomparable Wes Studi in Geronimo: An American Legend. The films that followed kept Westerns alive and relevant in a new millennium. Duval played General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals (’03), a fitting role for a man whose maternal ancestors include the General himself. Open Range followed later that year. A Night in Old Mexico (’14) and Wild Horses (’15) round out the body of work.

Robert Duval is still making films. With luck, we may yet get another Western. These days he and fourth wife, Pedraza are involved with a children’s charitable foundation in her native Argentina.

Next Week: Wes Studi
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Paul

Emelio Estavez

Emilio Estavez’ western creds are thin. Aside from Young Guns and the sequel the only other is Dollar for the Dead spaghetti western. Estavez role as Billy the Kid in Young Guns and Young Guns II earns Estavez his prominence in this series. Billy the Kid is a character portrayed in countless films by countless actors, some of them quite talented; but from my perspective, Emilio Estavez’ Billy is the ‘Best Billy the Kid Ever’.

The Young Guns films recount the outlaw career of Billy the Kid, beginning with the Lincoln County War. The films cover the period and events of my Bounty Trilogy. I researched those characters and events for my books. I’ve walked the street in Lincoln (there is only one). Put my finger in the bullet hole in the wall made when the Kid shot Deputy Bell, while breaking out of jail. I landscaped those books from the saddle of a gaited horse named Grant. In addition to firsthand knowledge, we have the considerable professional opinion of Billy the Kid expert, Paul Andrew Hutton, Distinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico. Paul, who you may recognize from numerous made for television historical documentaries, holds Young Guns “The most historically accurate” of all the Billy the Kid films.

Emilio Estavez nailed Billy the Kid. Billy is a complex character, part fun-loving friendly boy next door, part misguided mischievous pecks bad boy, part psychopathic killer. He’s also controversial. There are plenty of folks who see one side of his persona or the other and stop there, unable to distinguish the cold blooded killer from the troubled young man beloved by a legion of friends. Emilio Estavez captured it all.

Like the ‘Best Ever’ portrayals previously discussed in our Tombstone posts, Estavez’ Billy benefitted from a strong supporting cast including, Kiefer Sutherland (Doc Scurlock), Lou Diamond Phillips (Jose Chavez), Charlie Sheen (Estavez’ brother as Dick Brewer), Brian Keith (Buckshot Roberts) and Jack Palance (Lawrence Murphy). Phillips would go on to co-star as Henry Standing Bear in the hit TV series, Longmire. The ensemble completed an authentic portrayal of a complex chapter in history.

Next Week: Robert Duval
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Paul

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell brought a passel of western creds to the role of Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, though most of them amassed as a child star, starting with The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters TV series (’63-’64). Others included guest episodes on The Virginian, Gunsmoke, Legend of Jesse James, Laredo, The Road West and Disney’s Mosby’s Raiders. In 1963 he waded into the role of Wyatt Earp in Tombstone.

Like Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday in the same film, Russell’s portrayal of Wyatt stacks up against some talented competition. Randolph Scott played Wyatt in Frontier Marshal (’39), Henry Fonda in My Darling Clementine (’46) and Burt Lancaster in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (’57). For me, the conversation about ‘Best Wyatt Ever’ comes down to Russell and Kevin Costner for his Wyatt Earp (’94). So how does Russell get into that conversation?

Russell is a great actor. His performance in Tombstone foreshadowed his performance as U.S. Olympic Hockey Coach, Herb Brooks in 2004’s Miracle on Ice. I grew up playing hockey through college. Certainly not at the level depicted in the film; but enough to have an appreciation for what they did and how they did it. Russell’s Herb Brooks made the achievement real. His Wyatt Earp came across with the same authenticity.

So how does that play out in the ‘Best Wyatt Ever’? Much as I admire Russell’s Wyatt through the prism that would later depict Herb Brooks, I can make a similar case for Costner’s epic performance in Dances with Wolves. Costner likewise brought authenticity to his portrayal of Wyatt. So which one takes the ‘Best Ever’ prize? Setting aside my lean toward Herb Brooks and the excellent Tombstone supporting cast, I couldn’t call a Costner choice wrong. Best Wyatt Ever for me? Too close to call.

Next Week: Emilio Estavez
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Paul

Kenny Rogers Memoriam

Kenny Rogers is a giant in the world of music, selling 100 million records over the course of his career with titles like Reuben James, Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town, Islands in the Stream, Lady, Through the Years and so many more. He was a member of the New Christy Minstrels, headlined Kenny Rogers and the First Edition before going solo. He collaborated with talents including Lionel Richie, Barry Gibb, Dolly Parton and Toby Keith.

We’ll focus on Kenny Rogers’ signature film and recording blockbuster, The Gambler. The Gambler released in 1978, received a Grammy Award and was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Kenny adapted The Gambler character for a successful series of made for TV movies, premiering on CBS in April 1980.

In the first film, Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, introduced Brady Hawkes (Rogers) in the title role. Set on a train bound for Yuma, in a theme reminiscent of the song lyrics, Hawkes encounters young, would-be professional poker player, Billy Montana (Bruce Boxleiter). Hawkes is on his way to meet a son he has never met. Brady and Billy develop a friendship while coming to the aid of prostitute Jennie Reed (Lee Purcell), in trouble with a railroad baron. A film franchise is born “Sittin’ at the table”.

Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues with a sequel in 1982. Billy Montana and Brady Hawkes along with son Jeremiah head to San Francisco by train for a high stakes poker game. Jeremiah is kidnapped by train robbers. Brady and Billy set out to rescue the boy aided by bounty hunter, Kate Muldoon (Linda Evans), the fastest girl-gun in the west.

Brady and Billy’s adventures would continue with The Legend Continues (1987) and The Luck of the Draw (1991). This last film features a cavalcade of cameos by TV western heroes including Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, Hugh O’Brien as Wyatt Earp, Clint Walker as Cheyenne, Chuck Connors as the Rifleman and James Drury as the Virginian. Kenny finished his western credits ’91-’94, hosting The Real West on A&E and History Channel. “. . . The Gambler, he broke-even.”

Next Week: Kurt Russell
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Paul

Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer appeared in one western over the course of a distinguished acting career. That western just happened to be 1993’s Tombstone which shows down against at least four classic portrayals of Wyatt Earp’s story. Cast as Doc Holiday opposite Kurt Russell as Wyatt, Kilmer faces off against Holiday interpretations by Cesar Romero, Frontier Marshal (’39), Victor Mature, My Darling Clementine (‘46), Kirk Douglas, Gunfight at the OK Corral (’57) and Denis Quaid, Wyatt Earp (94).

Given what we know of Holiday’s history, tubercular dentist turned mercurial gambler gunfighter and drunken sot product of the old south, Romero and Mature seem miscast in the roll, even with John Ford’s directing touch for Mature in My Darling Clementine. Quaid gave a fine performance opposite Kevin Kostner’s Wyatt Earp in 1994. Imagine taking that role only to have Kilmer’s decimated Doc hit the big screen months before your portrayal. Good as Quaid’s Doc was, for my money Kilmer takes the Best Doc Ever blue ribbon hands down.

How did Kilmer pull it off? To get some insight into that question, we looked at Kilmer’s role as Jim Morrison in The Doors (91). Some of us remember The Doors, though that was the 70’s so not as many of us who should do. I digress. Start with Kilmer’s Julliard stage training. He was an accomplished actor, a consummate professional. When cast for the Morrison role he spent a year in preparation. Kilmer could sing. He memorized all Morrison’s song leads with the band. He attended Doors tribute concerts, dressed like Morrison and frequented Morrison’s L.A. haunts to get into the character. He did such a thorough job with the role, surviving band members who saw the film could not distinguish Kilmer’s voice from Morrison’s.

It is easy to imagine Kilmer applying similar methodology to Doc Holiday. Studying Doc’s biography and the advanced effects of tuberculosis, a disease largely eliminated in modern times. He gave Doc a distinctive persona with mannerisms, whether factual or imagined, in keeping with the character. Something on the order of George C. Scott’s iconic portrayal of George Patton. In Kilmer’s creative interpretation, Morrison’s gravely-voice melted into a buttery Georgia-southern drawl with a patina of sweat. Listen. “I’m your huckleberry.”

Next Week: Kurt Russell
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Paul

Maureen O'Hara

Born in Dublin Ireland, Maureen O’Hara had acting in her Irish DNA. She was a heroine’s heroine, an outspoken perfectionist who said what she meant and meant what she said. As a child, she described herself as “blunt”. She meant it as we shall see.

She got her start in Western film in 1944 opposite Joel McCrea in William Wellman’s bio pic Buffalo Bill. O’Hara didn’t think McCrea “rugged enough” for the part of William F. Cody. Critics and the box office patrons didn’t agree. No matter. O’Hara’s Western career got in high gear with Comanche Territory, where her work was noticed by John Ford. She played a feisty saloon keeper who dressed and fought like a man. She learned to crack a bull whip for the part, a skill some thought suited her personality.

John Ford cast O’Hara opposite John Wayne in Rio Grande, the third film in Ford’s cavalry trilogy. Wayne and O’Hara sparked a chemistry that made a lasting imprint on both. They were so good together on the screen, many thought they were married. Ford would pair O’Hara and Wayne again in McLintock! (’63) and Big Jake (’71).

Ford, Wayne and O’Hara made an interesting personal triangle. Ford believed O’Hara to be the “finest actress in Hollywood”, though loath to admit such a thing in her presence. Ford’s volatile temperament and O’Hara’s Irish made for a turbulent relationship. O’Hara said Wayne made her “comfortable”. In turn Wayne referred to O’Hara as “the greatest guy I ever met”. Following Wayne’s death she said, “John Wayne is the United States of America.”

O’Hara’s western credits include The Redhead from Wyoming, a film she characterized as a “stinkeroo”. Following War Arrow with Jeff Chandler, O’Hara, who liked Chandler personally, said as an actor he resembled a “broomstick.” She did The Deadly Companions in ’61 for Sam Peckinpah, who she said was “one of the most objectionable people she ever worked with”.
Maureen O’Hara died of natural causes at 95. She is enshrined in Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Next Week: Val Kilmer
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Paul

John Wayne (ll)

John Wayne post war work produced some of his finest Western films. He benefitted by working with some talented directors, notable among them in addition to John Ford, Howard Hawks and Henry Hathaway. Films in this period include Dakota (’45), Angel and the Bad Man (’47), Red River (’48), The Fighting Kentuckian (’49), Hondo (’53), Rio Bravo (’59), The Alamo & North to Alaska (’60), The Comancheros (’61), McLintock! (’63), The Sons of Katie Elder (’65), El Dorado (’66), The War Wagon (’67), The Undefeated (’69), Chisum & Rio Lobo (’70), The Cowboys (’72), Cahill U. S. Marshal (’73) and Rooster Cogburn (’75).

True Grit (’69) garnered Wayne his only Oscar for Best Actor. In it, Henry Hathaway’s screen play departed from the poignant ending of Charles Portis’ book where the now adult Maddie claims Cogburn’s remains to bury in the family plot beside her father. I suspect it had something to do with plans for the Rooster Cogburn (’75) sequel. They should have stayed with the book.

Consider the singular body of work John Wayne amassed under the brilliant direction of John Ford following their Stagecoach reunion in 1939. Classics include She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (’49), The Searchers (’56) rises to the top of more than a few best all time lists, The Horse Soldiers (’59), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence and How the West Was Won (’62). Others with Ford you may remember include Fort Apache (’48), Rio Grande (’50) and Wagon Train (’60). Many could call Wayne’s collaboration with Ford a career.

John Wayne’s last Western and fittingly last film, The Shootist (’76) told the story of aging gunfighter J. B. Books, dying of cancer. In a case of art mimicking life, Wayne shot the film suffering from cancer and complications that would claim his life three years later. John Wayne lived his life the way he played his characters, straight from the hip. He knew no other way. He was outspoken and unapologetic in views that rubbed some the wrong way. He was married three times and liked his bourbon well enough to brew his own small batch. He found solace late in life, embracing Catholicism before he died. The inscription on his headstone reads: Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.

Next Week: Maureen O’Hara
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Paul

John Wayne

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison, Robert was later changed to Mitchell. He got the nickname ‘Duke’ from his dog named Duke. He liked it better than Marion. Really? He was a good enough football player to get a ride to USC. A body surfing injury ended his football scholarship and thus college. A USC football fan, Tom Mix convinced John Ford to take him on as a prop boy and extra. Wayne got to know a friend of Mix and eventually admitted his trademark walk, talk and demeanor were imitated from Wyatt Earp.

Duke Morrison got his first lead role in The Big Trail (’30). The producer and director didn’t like his name. They changed it to John Wayne. For the money, Morrison decided he liked it. For most of the next ten years Wayne had a hectic run in B Westerns. Over the course of his career, John Wayne starred in one hundred forty two films, eighty three of them Westerns, thanks to fifty plus B Western oaters. Some of the more notable you may recall from those Saturday Matinees include Blue Steel (’34), ‘Neath Arizona Skies (’34), Westward Ho (’35), Hell Town (’37) and Stagecoach (’39). Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember. Wayne wore a white hat. The bad guys didn’t. Good triumphed over evil and John got the girl.

John Ford and Wayne reunited in 1939 the classic film Stagecoach. The film was a box office smash that vaulted John Wayne’s career to marquis features. World War II came along to interrupt the party. Initially Wayne was exempted from service due to his age, thirty-four. Under contract with Republic Pictures at the time, Wayne sought permission to enlist. The studio refused not wanting to lose their best box office draw.

Eventually he sought a position in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor to the CIA. OSS Commander, William ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan offered Wayne an appointment; but Duke never received the offer letter, delivered to the address of Wayne’s estranged wife. Disappointment over the fact he did not serve haunted John Wayne for the rest of his life. Some say the regret fueled the fervor of his patriotism.

Next Week: John Wayne, part II.
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Paul

Steve McQueen

The King of Cool, Steve McQueen played the tough-guy antihero so convincingly because he was one. He grew up street gang touch with a petty crime rap-sheet. Once adjudicated “incorrigible”, he did time in reform school before the Marine Corps straightened him out. Still he never lost that edgy demeanor.

McQueen got to the big screen from the small screen, starting with an episode of Dale Robertson’s Tales of Wells Fargo. That got him an audition for the part of bounty hunter, Josh Randall for an episode of Trackdown paired with pal Robert Culp in the lead. McQueen got the part and the episode became the pilot for the 1958 CBS series, Wanted Dead or Alive.

Two years later McQueen’s big break came when he landed the part of Vin Tanner as one of The Magnificent Seven. How do you out cool a cast that includes Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn and Eli Wallach? Steve figured it out enough to annoy the presumptive lead Brenner.

In 1963 McQueen got the title role in Nevada Smith with Karl Malden and (be still my heart) Suzanne Pleshette. Next came rodeo rider, Junior Bonner (’72) directed by Sam Peckinpah. McQueen narrowly missed being cast opposite Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when the two sides couldn’t agree on who got top-billing.

Steve McQueen’s last Western, Tom Horn is of the quality to put it in a conversation of Western classics, it just doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. McQueen starred and directed the story of the legendary scout and gunman come assassin in the Johnson County War. Historically accurate and done to perfection, McQueen blew schedule and budget over the moon.

Off screen Steve McQueen lived life in the fast lane, competitively racing motorcycles and cars. He did his own driving stunts whenever he could get away with it. He was married three time, the second Ali MacGraw, the love of his life. He quietly visited inmates in the reform school where he did his time. Late in life he embraced Christianity before passing away from cancer and heart disease in 1980 at age 50. He holds a place in the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Next Week: John Wayne
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Paul