I’ve been a little quiet the last two weeks being fully occupied with a new business venture. After 7 years of hard work and research I can now reveal the source of this distraction: www.cowboycountry.co.uk:
Cowboy Country is a unique wild west themed gift for line dancing fans, country and western music lovers, western movie buffs or anyone with an interest in the USA.
I’m too young to remember the 60’s but I’ve seen some of the TV shows from that era and it looks like many mainstream television stars had a lot of fun, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. being a good example.
Were Robert Vaughn and David McCallum the stars of just one of many American series inspired by the success of the British secret agent James Bond? This article in the Los Angeles Times would seem to confirm that listing the recently re-made Get Smart and sci-fi/western crossover ‘Wild Wild West’ as two more 60s spy shows.
The Times interviews Robert Conrad who played US Secret Service agent James West as a collectors edition 27-disc-box set goes in sale stating that
when the show was originally pitched to the networks, it was described as “James Bond on horseback.”
For 4 years on CBS James West and Artemus Gordon acted as agents of President Ulysses S. Grant taking their private train through the west to fight evil.
I’d like to see just how the original TV show compares but it would appear the reissue is only on sale in the US for now. Are there fans out there who can confirm just how much fun the original was to watch?
Today marks the 121st anniversary of the legendary John Henry “Doc” Holliday’s death at the age of 36 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
The title of this post is his supposed last words, now disputed, given his battle with consumption.
Virgil Earp, interviewed 30 May 1882, in The Arizona Daily Star (two months after Virgil had fled Tombstone after Morgan Earp’s death), summed up Holliday:
There was something very peculiar about Doc. He was gentlemanly, a good dentist, a friendly man and yet, outside of us boys, I don’t think he had a friend in the Territory. Tales were told that he had murdered men in different parts of the country; that he had robbed and committed all manner of crimes, and yet, when persons were asked how they knew it, they could only admit it was hearsay, and that nothing of the kind could really be traced to Doc’s account. He was a slender, sickly fellow, but whenever a stage was robbed or a row started, and help was needed, Doc was one of the first to saddle his horse and report for duty.
Val Kilmer played the gambler and gunfighter alongside Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp in the 1993 movie Tombstone and you can watch some of the best scenes in the video below:
The video is well worth watching to see the fruits of their labours: Tranquility, ‘Scotland’s only wild west township’ with its very own general store, corral and Marshall’s office.
Tranquility is a place where wild west enthusiasts can meet to “chew the fat”, test their skills in old west sports such as shooting, knife & axe throwing, horseshoe pitching, rehearse for upcoming events etc & socialise in the evenings around a campfire or around a card table inside the saloon.
Building on the gun-play in the previous western shoot-em up game, Old West 2 from Miniclip.com sees you chasing after a new set of bad guys.
This time you can arrest, challenge to a duel, or just plain blast away at the furniture in a western saloon. Your enemies this time around are Billy The Brute, Billy & Bob Thorntuns and The Carlton Gang.
Here’s another western themed eBay find - a vintage cowgirl playing card. I’m guessing it’s 1940s or 50s era as the artwork is in the style of the old WWII bomber nose art.
The card, the king of diamonds, features a happy, smiling blonde wearing only a cowboy hat, boots and underwear. It must have been considered the perfect cowgirl costume for some late night poker with your cowboy pals!
The card is advertising one ‘Atlas Mineral Products Co.’ of Mertztown, PA. A quick Google and I find that Atlas Minerals & Chemicals was founded in 1892 and the company still exists today. The corporate website states:
The year 2007 marked 115 years of service for Atlas Minerals & Chemicals. And as we look back on our history with pride, we also look forward to the future with a spirit of enthusiasm. Today, Atlas is regarded as a leader in the field of corrosion-resistant mortars and grouts, and floorings and linings.
Cowboy Country is a unique wild west themed gift for line dancing fans, country and western music lovers, western movie buffs or anyone with an interest in the USA.
