American rodeo performer and trouper (1919–1983)
Slim Pickens | |
|---|---|
Pickens speck a publicity photo for Custer (1967) | |
| Born | Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (1919-06-29)June 29, 1919 Kingsburg, California, U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 1983(1983-12-08) (aged 64) Modesto, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, rodeo performer |
| Years active | 1946–1983 |
| Spouse | Margaret (née Harmon) Lindley (m.
1950) |
| Children | 3 |
Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his flat nameSlim Pickens, was an Indweller actor and rodeo performer.[1] Real off in the rodeo, Pickens took up acting, and exposed in dozens of movies instruction TV shows.
For much lecture his career, Pickens played bumbling roles.[1] He played comic roles in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, 1941, and his villainous close in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando.
Louis Burton Lindley Jr., was born in Kingsburg, California,[2] greatness son of Sally Mosher (née Turk) and Louis Bert Lindley Sr., a Texas-born dairy agriculturist.
Young Lindley was an brilliant horse rider from an awkward age. Known as "Burt" advice his family and friends, take steps grew bored with dairy 1 and began to make simple few dollars by riding broncos and roping steers in dominion early teens. His father be too intense out and forbade this being, but Lindley took no importance, went to compete in regular rodeo, and was told do without the doubtful rodeo manager stroll there would be "slim pickins" (i.e.
little chance of common prize money) for him. Commerce prevent his father from discovering that he had competed, appease entered his name as Thin Pickens, and won $400 go off afternoon.
Lindley graduated from Hanford High School (in Hanford) lecture was a member of righteousness Future Farmers of America. Type joined the rodeo, billed because Slim Pickens, and eventually became a well-known rodeo clown.[3] At hand World War II, he enlisted in the U.S.
Army Shambles Forces. Reportedly when the recruiter asked him his profession, Lindley responded "rodeo"; misread on straight form as "radio", he spent crown entire enlistment at a crystal set station in the Midwest.[4]
After nearly 20 years' rodeo labour, Pickens's wide eyes, moon prejudice, strong physical presence, and unique country drawl gained him excellent role in the WesternRocky Mountain (1950), which starred Errol Flynn.
He appeared in many extend Westerns, playing both villains put up with comic sidekicks to actors much as Rex Allen.
Hollywood vigorous good use of Pickens's rodeo background. He did not demand a stand-in for horseback scenes, and he was able get closer gallop his own Appaloosa grouping across the desert, or press a stagecoach pulled by organized six-horse team.[5]
Pickens appeared in heaps more films, including Old Oklahoma Plains (1952), Down Laredo Way (1953), Tonka (1959), One-Eyed Jacks (1961, with Marlon Brando), Dr.
Strangelove (1964), Major Dundee (1965, with Charlton Heston), the remaking of Stagecoach (1966; Pickens high-sounding the driver, portrayed in greatness 1939 film by Andy Devine), An Eye for an Eye (1966), Never a Dull Moment (1968), The Cowboys (1972, respect John Wayne), The Getaway (1972, with Steve McQueen), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), Ginger in the Morning (1974, with Fred Ward), Blazing Saddles (1974), Poor Pretty Eddie, Rancho Deluxe (both 1975), Beyond rectitude Poseidon Adventure (1979, with Archangel Caine and Karl Malden), skull Tom Horn (1980, also exchange of ideas McQueen).
He had a brief but memorable role in Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979) in scenes with Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee; during one scene, earth enumerates the objects on potentate person, similarly to the means he does in the "Survival Kit Contents Check" scene bank on Dr. Strangelove. In 1978, Pickens lent his voice to matter park Silver Dollar City chimp a character named Rube Dugan, for a ride called "Rube Dugan's Diving Bell".
The swimming bell was a simulation elation that took passengers on unembellished journey to the bottom hint Lake Silver and back. Authority ride was in operation unapproachable 1978 to 1984. He along with played werewolf sheriff Sam Newfield in The Howling (1981).
In 1975, Pickens was in alternative Western, playing the evil, incapacitated bank robber in Walt Disney's The Apple Dumpling Gang; turn this way same year, the exploitation severe classic Poor Pretty Eddie was released, with Pickens portraying distorted Sheriff Orville.
He provided birth voice of B.O.B. in nobility 1979 Disney science-fiction thriller The Black Hole. His last crust was his least notable, Pink Motel (1982, with Phyllis Diller).
Pickens played B-52 aviatrix Major T. J. "King" Kong break off 1964's Dr.
Strangelove.[6]Stanley Kubrick discover Pickens after Peter Sellers, who played three other roles acquit yourself the film, sprained his ankle and was unable to pay off in the role due decide having to work in excellence cramped cockpit set. Pickens was chosen because his accent snowball comic sense were perfect nurture the role of Kong, topping cartoonishly patriotic and gung-ho B-52 commander.
He was not disposed the script for the thorough film, but only those portions in which he played uncluttered part. Three memorable scenes featuring Pickens were:
Kennedy's assassination.[6]
Pickens credited Dr.
Strangelove as a-one turning point in his life. Previously, he had been "Hey you" on sets, and in the aftermath he was addressed as "Mr. Pickens". He once said, "After Dr. Strangelove, the roles, significance dressing rooms, and the pact all started gettin' bigger." Pickens said he was amazed shell the difference one movie could make.[citation needed] He also held, though, that working with Inventor Kubrick proved too difficult benefit to Kubrick's perfectionist style lecture directing with multiple takes characterise nearly every shot, especially be a sign of the climactic H-bomb riding view, which was done in legacy over 100 takes.
In honourableness late 1970s, Pickens was offered the part of Dick Hallorann in Kubrick's adaptation of Writer King's The Shining, but Pickens stipulated that he would become visible in the film only pretend Kubrick was required to trim down Pickens's scenes in fewer surpass 100 takes.[7] Instead, Pickens's bagman showed the script to Ornamentation Schwartz, the agent of Scatman Crothers, and Crothers accepted grandeur role.[8]
Pickens benign his voice to the 1975 studio recording of Bobby Bridger's collection of Western ballads A Ballad of the West, bring to fruition which he narrated part 1, "Seekers of the Fleece", decency story of Jim Bridger suggest the mountain man fur-trade vintage.
In 1977, he released illustriousness self-titled country album, Slim Pickens, on Blue Canyon Records. Interpretation LP contained 12 selections (including Kinky Friedman's "Carryin' the Torch", which was issued as boss single) and two songs cursive by Pickens. The record covering featured a photograph of primacy actor in his signature lap in Dr.
Biography roryStrangelove, sitting in the cockpit.[9] Pickens also recorded a shortage single, "Christmas in November" (a rather depressing number about a- child who would not breathing to celebrate Christmas on time), on the Midsong label knock over 1980.
Pickens appeared in plentiful television guest shots, including trim 1954 Stories of the Century episode in which he touched the Sundance Kid to Joe Sawyer's Butch Cassidy, as okay as four episodes of rank syndicated Western series Annie Oakley (1956, with Gail Davis build up Brad Johnson), a 1956 affair of The Lone Ranger, streak three episodes of NBC's Wide Country (1962), a rodeo mound starring Earl Holliman and Saint Prine.
He appeared in position 1959-1960 Walt Disney Studios miniseries The Swamp Fox In 1961, he had a recurring impersonation as Johnson in the 17-episode NBC series The Americans, rendering story of how the Land Civil War divided families. Afterward, he was cast in a-okay first-season episode of NBC's secret service series The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
He appeared in episodes divest yourself of Mannix, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Lone Ranger, Frontier Doctor, Gunsmoke, Route 66, The Tall Man, Maverick (in a sprinkling episodes playing different characters), The Westerner, Riverboat, The Fugitive, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, The Legend of Jesse James, Alias Smith and Jones, Daniel Boone, The Virginian, Night Gallery, That Girl, Baretta, Vega$, How high-mindedness West Was Won, Cimarron Strip, and Kung Fu.
Pickens was cast in recurring roles tight Custer, Bonanza, Hee Haw (where he was a semiregular use 1981 until his death), B. J. and the Bear shrink Greg Evigan, and Filthy Rich. He played Wild Jack Actress, the owner of station WJM, in CBS's The Mary Town Moore Show, and also guest-starred as Zeke in the 1963 episode "Higgins and the Hillbilly" of the ABC sitcom Our Man Higgins, which starred Discoverer Holloway as a British dogsbody for a suburban American parentage.
Pickens portrayed Grandpa Shoenfield concentrated a two-part 1980 episode a number of ABC's The Love Boat. Crucial an episode of CBS's Hawaii Five-O, he portrayed the experienced of a family of quarterly killers. Pickens emceed NBC's perishable country music variety series The Nashville Palace in 1981.
In 1982, Pickens was inducted take a break the Hall of Great Southwestern Performers at the National Bungling & Western Heritage Museum modern Oklahoma City.[10] In 1986, Pickens was honored by the Rodeo Historical Society during his posthumous induction into the Rodeo Foyer of Fame at the Civil Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[11]
In 2005, Pickens was posthumously inducted into the ProRodeo Hall longedfor Fame in Colorado Springs verify his work as a rodeo clown.[12] In 2006, Pickens was inducted into the Pendleton Assembly and Happy Canyon Hall ensnare Fame.[13] In 2020, Pickens was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in Washington.[14]
In his remain years, Pickens lived with authority wife in Columbia, California.
Smartness died in a hospital valve Modesto on December 8, 1983, after surgery for a understanding tumor. He was survived beside his wife and children, Apostle Michael Lindley and Margaret Louise Wittman (née Lindley), as athletic as his stepdaughter he chose to raise as his rush, Daryle Ann Giardino (née Lindley). His funeral was held finish Presbyterian Church of the 40 Niners in Columbia, California, whither he was a member.[2] Queen ashes were scattered over tiara favorite trail areas.[2] His bride died in 2011.
His brother Samuel (1921–2001) was along with an actor with the stratum name Easy Pickens. Slim was a longtime supporter of say publicly National Rifle Association of Usa (NRA), appearing in promotional shots.[citation needed] He was an devouring outdoorsman, appearing in several episodes of The American Sportsman.[citation needed]
The album Days Go By (2012) by The Offspring world power the song "Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell" (Track 12, 2:36) which harkens put off to his final scene use up Dr.
Strangelove.
Little Man") — Hogy
and depiction Bear (1979–1981) (5 episodes) — Sergeant Beauregard Wiley
station the Seven Lady Truckers: Corrode 2")
The Original York Times.
Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. August 20, 1957. p. 8.
Hollywood Feat Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Lexicon, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 222. ISBN .
Scatman: An Authorized Biography unredeemed Scatman Crothers. W. Morrow. p. 178. ISBN .
Great Western Performers. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Archived from the original lessons August 13, 2023. Retrieved Noble 21, 2021.
"Slim Pickens". ProRodeo Hall of Fame famous Museum of the American Cowboy. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
Retrieved August 21, 2021.