It Was Slim Pickins
In the winter of 1950, my cousin entered a contest in a movie magazine. All she had to do was select a name for Whip Wilson’s horse. If you are not a fan of the old cowboys of the silver screen, you may ask who was Whip Wilson? When he was out of character his real name was Andy Clyde and he was the surprise of a lifetime. He was a very correct English-Scotch gentleman and spoke with a proper British accent. He lived his life by a strict set of rules. People who knew him never just dropped by for a visit, they waited to be invited. He had a special room in his house that contained mirrors and props so he could privately rehearse his character and no one was allowed into that room ever!
By the way, my cousin won the contest and appeared with her new Schwinn bicycle on the front page of the County paper in July of 1951. The name she had given his horse was “Prince of the Prairie.” Alluding to royalty no doubt appealed to the British gentleman.
Undoubtedly one of the most famous cowboys of the silver screen was a guy named Marion at birth. The name made him the target of every bully in town. He had a paper route when he was eleven years old and was always accompanied by his little dog he had named “Little Duke.” The firemen at the local fire station began referring to him as big Duke and the name stuck.
Years later the “Duke” said that nobody ever liked his acting except the public. He went on to say that he was just John Wayne in every role he ever played. Wayne told an interviewer he felt planes, trains and automobiles were great if you needed to get somewhere in a hurry but for pure pleasure there was nothing like a good horse. He also shared the opinion that any man who would make an X rated movie should have to take his own daughter to see it.
The names of the old cowboys are so numerous that it would be impossible to name them all. A few silver screen heroes from the past would include Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Tex Ritter, Lash Larue, Hoot Gibson, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and the comic book cowboy, Red Ryder.
Red Ryder’s name was on the BB gun that I faithfully asked Santa for each year. Each year I was disappointed and told it was not a suitable toy for little girls and that I might “shoot my eye out.” A few years back it was under the tree and Red Ryder was emblazoned on the wooden stock. My grandson and I promptly tested out the gun even through he didn’t have a clue who Red Ryder was but he certainly knew all about a BB gun.
What kid from the 1940’s didn’t adore Roy Rogers? To sum up in a few words of what Roy Rogers stood for, I would go back to a statement he made in an interview. He said “The movies today are so filthy that I wouldn’t let Trigger watch them.” Trigger was the all time greatest movie horse and was a large factor in promoting Roy’s career.
Anyone who has ever ridden a horse knows how difficult it is to fit a horse to ones self. It’s a little akin to fitting yourself with a good pair of boots, they either fit or they don’t. Trigger was the third horse Roy selected from the movie studio’s stable and he knew from the first that he was the one he wanted. Roy made $75.00 per week but paid the studio $2,500.00 for the animal and his sidekick Smiley Burnett named the golden steed, Trigger.
Other famous sidekicks of the silver screen were Pat Butram, Gabby Hayes, Little Beaver and Andy Devine. Everybody always remembers Andy Devine simply because of the strange voice. Folklore has recorded he damaged his vocal chords in a failed suicide attempt. He survived the ordeal and the high pitched voice made him an overnight success.
Another famous “sidekick” is Slim Pickins. We’ve seen him in many movies over the years but probably none as memorable as the role he played in “Blazing Saddles.”
He was actually born Louis Bert Lindley Jr. and he always knew he wanted to earn a living as a cowboy. He thought the natural choice was to take up rodeoing.
His father forbid it and he knew he would have to follow the profession with a pseudo name as his father’s exact words were: “I never want to see your name on the entry lists.” His friend picked his new name by saying: “Why don’t you use Slim Pickins since that’s how your paycheck will be,” and Slim Pickins it remained.
While the cowboy is the all time favorite American hero, his female counterpart just never quite made it. There was Dale Evans but only because of Roy Rogers so while we girls could ride, rope and wrangle too, we are missing from the folklore. Leaving the limelight for the cowgirls to be “Slim Pickins.”
