The Rodeo and Hollywood
Author: Jim Ryan
Publisher: McFarland 2006

From the Publisher:
If you went to a big rodeo in the 1940s, you might have seen Gene Autry singing and jumping his horse, Champ, through a flaming hoop. In the same era, familiar rodeo personalities like Hoot Gibson, Texas Rose Bascom, Slim Pickens and Ben Johnson could be seen in movies or television shows. At a rodeo in the 1960s, you might have seen Lorne greene and Dan Blocker acting out a skit from their hit television show Bonanza.

This reference book provides career profiles of both types of performers who crossed over between acting and cowboying in the period from the 1930s to the 1970s, when Hollywood and the rodeo circuit were closely linked.

The first part, "Rodeo Personalitites with a Hollywood Connection," traces the careers of notable rodeo stars who also appeared on film or television. The next two sections detail the rodeo appearances of stars better known for their work on the small  screen (whether small or silver); one of these two sections focuses on performers who tended to appear solo, while the other focuses on famous casts, such as the folks of Bonanza or Gunsmoke. A fourth section alphabetically lists rodeo-related films. Appendices present further information on golden age rodeo personalities, rodeo presenting western stars and eleven special rodeos distinguished by such features as size, prestige and Western star power.

 

About the Author:
A fan of westerns from his youth in the 1940s, Jim Ryan lives in Colorado Springs and is a retired Army Signal Corps officer and special education teacher. He is a member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Society, the Rodeo Historical Society and the Dublin (Texas) Rodeo Heritage Museum.

Hardcover. 408 pp. 289 photos, appendices, bibiography, index