January 23 Birthday Wishes

Randolph Scott [1898 - 1987]

Dan Duryea [1907 - 1968]

Bob Steele [1907 - 1988]

Sally Starr [1923 - ]

Dan Duryea has always been one of my favorites; Randolph Scott one of my favorite western heroes; and Bob Steele one of the first old B-western stars that I saw on TV when my dad built our first television back in 1949. Steele went on to play some great bad guys later in his career in films like South of St. Louis with Joel McCrea. Must admit I never heard of Sally Starr, but sure she must have been good in her films as well.

Howdy Pards!!

Who could ever forget Dan Duryea as Waco in Winchester 73?? One of the sleazeist bad guys ever. I don't know which was the worst villain, Duryea or Stephen McNally!! I guess it would be McNally, since he shot John McIntire in the back, after he was already dead!!!! Now that's sleazy!!

Randolph Scott, along with John Wayne and Gary Cooper became one of the three great all time western heroes. He made some of the best westerns to come out of Hollywood during the 50's.

Bob Steele was the first cowboy I ever saw on t.v. Since t.v. stations were begging, borrowing or stealing everything they could get their hands on in the early 50's for programming, what better entertainment than the ole 1940's matinee films for the kids?? He was like a mongoose. Always smaller than his opponents, but faster than a bullet and did his own fight scenes. After the matinee films disappeared, he continued to act in supporting roles in western films and t.v. series for years. He could ride, fight and shoot with the best of them and he didn't waste time singing er playing a guitar!!

Happy Birthday Boys!!

Ed

Dan Duryea was the absolute best when it came to the smarmy, sleazy bad guy, no matter what genre! Randolph Scott is a legend. Bob Steele is one of the best B movie cowboys.

Sally Starr was a TV hostess in Philadelphia from the 1950s to 1971. I can't say that I've heard of her, but I think if cable TV had been available in my hometown of Red Lion, PA, in the late '60s maybe there would have been a possibility we'd have seen her. The kids show hosts I remember back in the early '70s were Wee Willy Weber on Channel 17 from Philly, Captain Chesapeake on Channel 45 in Baltimore, and Prof. Cool on Channel 2 in Baltimore. And on Saturday Afternoons, there was the horror/sci-fi double feature on Dr. Shock's Mad Theater and Dr. Shock's Horror Theater on Channel 17.

About Sally Starr:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Starr_%28TV_hostess%29

Several of Dan Duryea's good westerns were when he played the good bad guy in Ride Clear of Diablo, Six Black Horses, Black Bart & Al Jennings of Oklahoma; some of his great western villains came along in such films as Along Came Jones, Night Passage, Winchester 73, Silver Lode, Rails into Laramie, & The Marauders. And then he did so many other good shows outside the western genre as Another Part of the Forest, Criss Cross, Chicago Calling (a real human drama gem that reminded Jim and I of the type of shows that played on the old Naked City TV series), and, one of his last...if not his last, Flight of the Phoenix. Throw in all the TV episodes he guest starred in and he had a great list of credits to his name. A funny story about Dan Duryea. A movie company was filming in a Los Angeles residential area and each time they called action a neighbor to the house they were filming at would start up his power lawn mower. They would have to cut, and reset for another take and the man would turn off his mower. When they started to reshoot the scene, on would come the mower and destroy the take. The director sent his assistant over to ask the man to please be quiet while they were shooting and it turned out that this neighbor with the mower was Dan Duryea. He, with all the bad dudes he played in the movies, was, in real life, a big practical joker.
Randolph Scott's westerns of the 40's and 50's have to be amongst some ofthe best made. I think I have them all on either VHS or DVD, and enjoy watching his films...ranging from the early Western Union, on through films like The Nevadan, Doolins of Oklahoma, Hangman's Knot, and the rest. Perhaps one of my all-time favorite westerns was his Seven Men From Now, which co-starred Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed, Don Barry & John Larch. And the great Alabam Hills of Lone Pine. A real gem among the westerns.