On this Day in 1952...

Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory was released, starring Clayton Moore in a pre-Lone Ranger role.

On this Day in 1974...

Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, the highest grossing Western of all time, was released. It is available foe viewing on Youtube:

On this Day in 1973...

The Train Robbers was released, starring John Wayne and Ann Margret. Directed by Burt Kennedy, it was Wayne's last appearance with that great character actor Ben Johnson. The movie is available for viewing on Youtube:

On this Day in 1953...

The Naked Spur was released, the third of director Anthony Mann's six Westerns with James Stewart. Here's the trailer for the movie:

Philip Carey (1925-2009)

Today marks the death of character actor and occasional leading man Philip Carey, who appeared in several Westerns during the course of his career. Here's what IMDB has to say about him: Tall, blond and ruggedly handsome Philip Carey started out as a standard 1950s film actor of rugged westerns, war stories and crime yarns but didn't achieve full-fledged stardom until well past age 50 when he joined the daytime line-up as ornery Texas tycoon Asa Buchanan on the popular soap "One Life to Live" (1968) in 1979. He lived pretty much out of the saddle after that, enjoying the patriarchal role for nearly three decades.He was born with the rather unrugged name of Eugene Carey on July 15, 1925, in Hackensack, New Jersey. He grew up on Long Island and served with the Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War. He attended (briefly) New York's Mohawk University and studied drama at the University of Miami where he met his college sweetheart, Maureen Peppler. They married in 1949 and went on to have three children: Linda, Jeffrey and Lisa Ann.The 6'4" actor impressed a talent scout with his brawny good looks while doing the summer stock play, "Over 21" in New England, and he was offered a contract with Warner Bros. Billed as Philip Carey, he didn't waste any time toiling in bit parts, making his film debut billed fifth in the John Wayne submarine war drama Operation Pacific (1951). Phil could cut a good figure in military regalia and also showed strong stuff in film noir. A most capable co-star, he tended to be upstaged, however, by either a strong female or male star or by the action at hand. He was paired up with Frank Lovejoy in the McCarthy-era I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951), and Steve Cochran in the prison tale Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951). Warner Bros. star Joan Crawford was practically the whole movie in the film noir This Woman Is Dangerous (1952) co-starring an equally overlooked David Brian and Dennis Morgan; Calamity Jane (1953) was a vehicle for Doris Day; and he donned his familiar cavalry duds in the background of Gary Cooper in the Civil War western Springfield Rifle (1952).In 1953, Carey left Warner Bros. and signed up with Columbia Pictures where he was, more than not, billed as "Phil Carey," but he struggled with the same rather bland, rugged mold again as the stoic soldier or police captain. He found plenty of work, however, and some as the top-billed star, but he felt stuck in the "B"-level grind. He battled the Sioux in The Nebraskan (1953); played a former gang member of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid who has to clear his name in Wyoming Renegades (1954); was a brute force to be reckoned with in They Rode West (1954); and had one of his standard movie roles (as an officer) in a better quality movie, Columbia's Pushover (1954), which spent more time promoting the debut of its starlet Kim Novak as the new Marilyn Monroe. Overshadowed by James Cagney and Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts (1955) and by Van Heflin, young Joanne Woodward (in her movie debut) and villain Raymond Burr in the western Count Three and Pray (1955), Phil turned more and more to TV in the late '50s. A man of action, he took on the role of Canadian-born Lt. Michael Rhodes on the series "Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers" (1956) alongside Warren Stevens. He eventually left Columbia studios to do a stint (albeit relatively short) playing Raymond Chandler's unflappable detective "Philip Marlowe" (1959). Most of the 60s and 70s, other than a few now-forgotten film adventures such as Black Gold (1962), The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) and Three Guns for Texas (1968), were spent either saddling up as a guest star on "The Rifleman" (1958), "Bronco" (1958), "The Virginian" (1962) and "Gunsmoke" (1955) or hard-nosing it on such crime series as "77 Sunset Strip" (1958), "Ironside" (1967), "McCloud" (1970), "Banacek" (1972) and "Felony Squad" (1966). He also played the regular role of a stern captain in the Texas Rangers western series "Laredo" (1965).Phil was a spokesperson for Granny Goose potato chips commercials, and his deep voice served him well for many seasons as narrator of the nature documentary series "Untamed World" (1967). One of his best-remembered TV guest appearances, however, was a change-of-pace role on the comedy "All in the Family" (1971) in which he played a vital, strapping blue-collar pal of Archie Bunker's whose manly man just happened to be a proud, astereotypical homosexual. His hilarious confrontational scene with a dumbfounded Archie in Kelsey's bar remains a classic.Phil's brief regular role in the daytime soap "Bright Promise" (1969) in 1972 was just a practice drill for the regular role he would play in 1979 as Texas oilman Asa Buchanan in "One Life to Live" (1968). His popularity soared as the moneybags manipulator you loved to hate. Residing in Manhattan for quite some time as a result of the New York-based show, he played the role for decades until diagnosed with lung cancer in January of 2006. Forced to undergo chemotherapy, he officially left the serial altogether in May of 2007, and his character "died" peacefully off-screen a few months later.Divorced from his first wife, Phil married a much younger lady, Colleen Welch, in 1976 and has two children by her, daughter Shannon (born 1980) and son Sean (born 1983). Phil lost his battle with cancer on February 6, 2009, at the age of 88.

Guy Madison (1922-1996)

On this day actor Guy Madison died. Handsome American leading man who stumbled into a film career and became a television star and hero to the Baby Boom generation. As a young man, he worked as a telephone lineman, but entered the Coast Guard at the beginning of the Second World War. While on liberty one weekend in Hollywood, he attended a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast and was spotted in the audience by an assistant to Henry Willson, an executive for David O. Selznick . Selznick wanted an unknown sailor to play a small but prominent part in Since You Went Away (1944), and promptly signed Robert Moseley to a contract. Selznick and Willson concocted the screen name Guy Madison (the "guy" girls would like to meet, and Madison from a passing Dolly Madison cake wagon). Madison filmed his one scene on a weekend pass and returned to duty. The film's release brought thousands of fan letters for the film's lonely, strikingly handsome young sailor, and at war's end, Madison returned to find himself a star-in-the-making. Despite an initial amateurishness to his acting, Madison grew as a performer, studying and working in theatre. He played leads in a series of programmers before being cast as legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok in the TV series of the same name. He played Hickok on TV and radio for much of the 1950s, and many of the TV episodes were strung together and released as feature films. Madison managed to squeeze in some more adult-oriented roles during his off-time from the series, but much of this work was also in Westerns. After the Hickok series ended, Madison found work scarce in the U.S. and traveled to Europe where he became a popular star of Italian Westerns and German adventure films. In the 1970s, he returned to the U.S., but appeared mainly in cameo roles. Physical ailments limited his work in latter years, and he died from emphysema in 1996. His first wife was actress Gail Russell.

(From IMDB)

Dean Jagger (1903-1991)

Today marks the death of character actor Dean Jagger, who appeared in several Westerns throughout his career. One of his prominent Western roles was as Brigham Young in the 1940 movie of the same name.

On this Day in 1989...

The minseries Lonesome Dove premiered on television, based ion Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. The series was nominated for twelve emmys and won seven.

Pete Morrison (1890-1973)

On this day in 1973, acrtor Pete Morrison passed away. IMDB has this to say about him: American cowboy star of silent pictures. He studied science in school but dropped out to pursue a rodeo career. With some success, he was asked to appear in a number of film shorts, all before his eighteenth birthday. He worked for The American Film Manufacturing Company, but was soon signed by Universal Pictures and appeared in Western serials and short features there. He took some time away from movies to travel the country in a Wild West Show, then returned and did numerous Westerns for Triangle and Universal. He agreed to make a series of pictures in Central and South America, but eventually returned to Universal. With the arrival of sound pictures, he shifted into supporting roles before retiring from the screen in 1935, at the age of 45. He died in Los Angeles thirty-eight years later.

On this Day in 1943...

The Outlaw was released, the movie that made Jane Russell a star. Wikipedia has this to say about the movie: Although the movie was completed in 1941, it was released to only a limited showing two years later. It did not see a general release until 1946. The delay was a result of Hughes defying the Hays Code, which set the standard of morally acceptable content in motion pictures. By showcasing Russell's breasts in both the movie and the poster artwork, The Outlaw became very controversial. In 1941, while filming The Outlaw, Hughes felt that the camera did not do justice to Jane Russell's large bust. He employed his engineering skills to design a new cantilevered underwire bra to emphasize her assets. Hughes added rods of curved structural steel that were sewn into the brassiere below each breast. The rods were connected to the bra's shoulder straps. The arrangement allowed the breasts to be pulled upward and made it possible to move the shoulder straps away from the neck. The design allowed for any amount of bosom to be freely exposed. The emphasis on her breasts proved too much for the Hollywood Production Code Administration, which ordered cuts to the film. To obtain the Boards' required Seal of Approval, Hughes reluctantly removed about 40 feet, or a half-minute, of footage that featured Russell's bosom. He still had problems getting the film distributed, so he schemed to create a public outcry for his film to be banned. The resulting controversy generated enough interest to get The Outlaw into the theaters for one week in 1943, before being withdrawn due to objections by the Code censors. When the film was finally released in 1946, it was a box office hit.

On this Day in 1955...

Many Rivers to Cross, starring Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker, was released. Taylor plays a trapper in 1790's Kentucky. Victor McLaglen plays Parker's father, and Alan Hale, Jr., of Gilligan's Island fame, has a supporting role.

Jay C. Flippen (1899-1971)

Today in 1871 marks the death of character actor Jay C. Flippen (seen above on the right), who appeared in numerous A-list Westerns throurout the 1950's. Here's what IMDB has to say about him: Jay C. Flippen could probably be characterized these days as one of those distinctive faces you know but whose name escapes you while viewing old 50s and 60s movies and TV. His distinctive bulldog mug, beetle brows, bulky features, and silver-white hair were ideally suited for crimers and rugged adventure, while his background in vaudeville and minstrel shows helped him obtain roles in occasional fluffy slapstick and light musical comedy. Flippen was already a veteran performer on radio and the Broadway stage by the time he focused on film. He could be counted on to provide his patented gruff and bluster in many an actioneer whether playing a sheriff, prison warden, military high-ranker, bartender, or farmer. Moreover, his characters supported James Stewart in several of his standard vehicles, including Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), Thunder Bay (1953), The Far Country (1954), Strategic Air Command (1955), The Restless Breed (1957), Night Passage (1957), and Firecreek (1968). Dogged by illness but determined in later years, he continued his career in a wheelchair following a leg amputation. He was married for 25 years to screenwriter Ruth Brooks Flippen, whose work included a couple of Gidget movies. He died at age 72 of an aneurysm caused by a swollen artery.

On this Day in 1958...

Fort Bowie was released starring Ben Johnson and Kent Taylor. Best known for his supporting roles, this was one of Johnson's few leading roles. Here he plays a cavalry officer sent on a suicide mission against the Apache by his commanding officer, who thinks Johnson is having an affair with his wife. It's a minor Western, but as Johnson did with so many roles, he brings a real dignity to this one.

Stuart Whitman (1928- )

Today marks the birthday of character actor and occasional leading man Stuart Whitman. Western fans will recognize him from his roles in movies like The Comancheros (1961) and Rio Conchos (1964). He also starred as Marshal Jim Crown in the 1967-68 series Cimarron Strip.

On this Day in 1918...

Blue Blazes Rawden was released, starring William S. Hart and Maude George. In the movie Hart plays a kumberjack who kills a man over a woman. Hart is usually associated with the cowboy role, but every once in a while he ventured into othe roles like that of policeman, gangster, Native American, and even Aztec prince.