Voices of the West

Dave Kennedy from the U.S. Marshals Museum joins us to talk about this new museum dedicated to telling the stories of the U.S. Marshals. It's located at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Visit their website here. The U.S. Marshals Service was established in 1789 and their primary job is to serve as the enforcement arm of the U.S. District Courts.

Western Author Scott McCrea joins us for the hour. This guy has written a buttload of Westerns as well as books in other genres. He's a member of the Western Writers of America and a hoot to talk with!

On this edition of Movie Saturday, we talk about Indigenous Film Makers.

Our program for this time is about this, that, and, the other thing.

It's our version of a Seinfeld episode--not about anything, but about everything!

Western Writers of America author R.G. Yoho joins us to talk about his books, which number more than a dozen. His books are fiction save for the story of Charles E. Lively who was called the "The Deadliest Man in the West Virginia-Colorado Coal Mine Wars" of the early 1900s. You can find his books here.

It's our Movie Saturday program from the White Stallion Ranch! Our topic is the Westerns that changed the Genre. Not the shoot 'em ups, but thinking man Westerns. Think about "Stagecoach" from1939, some of the notable silent westerns with William S. Hart and others.

Cindy Mitchum Azbill joins us. She's the daughter of actor John Mitchum and the niece of actor Robert Mitchum. The book is "Them Ornery Mitchum Boys" written by John. It details a number of stories about the Mitchum boys growing up and eventually working in Hollywood. The book had been out of print, but is now being reprinted. You can find it here.

Today's program attempts to answer the age-old question of what happened to tumbleweeds in the Old West. Also, when movie critics make complete fools of themselves.

We take this hour to talk about Cowboy Jerry England. He's done a lot of different things in his life, including canoeing, mounted shooting and making furniture. He has a couple of books out about famous movie locations in California. He is also able to trace his lineage back to the Vikings. His family came to this side of the Atlantic Ocean in the 1600s. Here's his website.

For our Movie Saturday program from the White Stallion Ranch this time we talk about international westerns. From the Spaghetti Westerns to Roast Beef Westerns to Bushranger Westerns, we try to cover them all!

Author and photographer Lindsay Linton Buk joins us for the hour to talk about her book, "Women Shaping the West." Her project consisted of talking with some of the leading women in Wyoming who helped forge the west in that state. The book is available here.

On the show this time are a variety of topics--including how horses make the sounds they do. The link to that article is here.

Joining us for the hour is Cory Zamora. Her father, Manuel, was the Gunsmith to the Stars in Hollywood. In fact, she's written a book about her dad called "Manuel Zamora - Gunsmith to the Stars." You can order the book here. She shares a number of stories about her dad being lined up along a wall for an execution three separate times. One of those times he was pulled from the wall by Pancho Villa. He was also a pilot and flew a plane in "Wings" and "King Kong."

Our program for Valentine's Day is open-ended. No particular topic. But we do talk about stagecoaches and their drivers among other things pertaining to the Old West!

What is it about Cowboys and Old West that captures America? Longtime listeners to our program will already know the answer to that question. Yet the New York Times decided it wanted to delve into the question and tasked two writers and an editor to come up with an answer. As you might expect, the't NYT failed miserably. The writers couldn't or wouldn't look at our history because historical facts did not match the narrative the writers they wanted to convey. We talk about the article that appeared at the Federalist.com, written by Hayden Daniel.

For our Movie Saturday program we delve into what Hollywood gets wrong about Westerns. They do get some things right, but, overall, Hollywood's portrayal of Westerns is mostly wrong. From wardrobe to firearms, Tinsel Town frequently blows it. But, the end result is we still love 'em for the entertainment!

Author and filmmaker Sam K. Dolan joins us. He's got three books out about the Old West. His latest covers the history of the U.S. Border Patrol in the 1920s. Another discusses El Paso and how important of a town it was in the Old West. His first book explains the untamed West and the lawlessness. He's also produced documentaries for the History Channel and other cable programs. His website is here and you can find his books at Amazon.com.

Our guest is Craig Hammill, founder of the Secret Movie Club in Los Angeles. He's been interested in film since he was a kid. He graduated from USC's Film School. The Secret Movie Club is a venue where folks can come and watch classic movies across all genres and hear guest speakers talk about film. Craig is a huge John Ford fan, too. The website is here.

Documentary filmmaker Katie Ryan joins us. She's produced two documentaries: "The Last Coyote," about Cowboy Troubadour Don Edwards, and, "Ghosts of California." That one dives deep into California history--some of it good, some of it bad. Her website is here.

Rob Word joins us for our first show of the New Year. He's a writer and producer of television content as well as hosting the long-running A Word on Westerns on YouTube. Rob has also written and produced a number of westerns showing on various platforms. He has interviewed numerous western stars.

It's our Movie Saturday program streamed live at the White Stallion Ranch. Our guest is Meredith Pondedel. We're talking about Meredith's aunt Dottie Pondedel. She was a silent movie star and later moved into the makeup department. She was the first female makeup artist in Hollywood dating back to the 1930s. The book is ABOUT FACE The Life and Times of Dottie Ponedel: Make-up Artist to the Stars by Dorothy Ponedel, Meredith Ponedel, and Danny Miller. It's available here.

Dan McCorison joins us for the hour to talk about Western Music. He's been performing for many years and his band has opened for Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Flatt & Scruggs. He's also won numerous music awards. His website is here where you can purchase his music.

Maria Christopher joins us to talk about Rancho Camulos and its museum in California. The Rancho was established by Spanish Land Grant. It is now privately owned and is on the National Registrar of Historic Places. Maria is a docent for the museum. The Rancho is also the first place to be listed in film credits. D.W. Griffith filmed "Ramona" there in the early 1900s. Learn more about Rancho Camulos here.

For our Movie Saturday program, we look at the Zorro movies, books, comics and serials. Running the range from the first movie with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. to Antonio Banderas, we talk about 'em.

Our scheduled guest had to cancel due to medical issues. But, Rob Word of Word on Westerns will join us as soon as he can. This episode "buffalos" a lot of topics including Austrailian silent westerns and talks about the old B Westerns.

No specific topic for thiis week's program. Bunker's Bovine and some Old West oddities and mysteries take up this program.

It's our Free Range program. Nothing specific, just a bunch of stuff about the Old West.

This episode is Todd and Harry attempting to clear the range. Bunker is at the Cowboy Festival at the Empire Ranch. Enjoy!

Our Movie Saturday program this month is about comedy teams that made westerns. Those teams included The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges and many others.

Photographer Terry Moore joins us to talk about his book documenting Route 66. John Steinbeck called the famed highway "The Mother Road." Terry traveled the highway for nearly 40 years to grab images showing Americana in the yesteryear. His website offers images for sale.

Former casting director Susan McCray and composer Lou Forestieri join us for the hour to talka about Susan's latest book, "Poetry Bouquet" and how Lou composed music to fit the poems. Susan and Lou's trio will perform their show Oct. 24-26 at the White Fire Theater in Los Angeles. Susan was the casting director for "Little House on the Prairie" and Lou has scored numerous movies and TV shows.Her book is available at numerous outlets including Amazon.com.

This program delves into a silent movie that we highly recommend watching. It's called "Wild & Woolly" and stars Douglas Fairbanks. This is a film made before he became the swashbuckler in his pirate movies and later, "Son of Zorro." This western is a fun look at an eastern fella who wants to go West and what he does to convince his rich father to send him West. Made in 1917 and filmed in Nogales, Arizona.

Our Movie Saturday program is all about the "Monte Walsh" movie from 1970 starring Lee Marvin. Co-host Todd Roberts' dad, Bobby Roberts, produced that movie among others. Todd joins us to talk about the making of that movie and some of the stories associated with it. A fun time looking back!

For this program, we talk about how corrupt the Old West was. We highlight the Santa Fe Ring out of Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory as well as the 10% Ring out of Tombstone and Cochise County, Arizona Territorhy. If you think today's politics and politicians are corrupt, you didn't pay attention in History Class! 

Attorney Frank Abrams joins us. He's acquired a tintype photo purported to be of Billy the Kid along with Pat Garrett. Very interesting show!

Our guest is Anthony DeLongis. He's a master in virtually every weapons system there is--sword, knife, whip, firearms, etc. He was the guy who instructed Cat Woman Michelle Pfeiffer the art of the whip in the Batman series. His website is delongis.com and you can sign up to take online classes with him or visit him at his ranch in the Los Angeles area.

Our Movie Saturday program takes a look at Silent Movies of the Western genre. From Bronco Billy to Harry Carey and in between. Without the silents, we probably wouldn't have the movies we have today.

It's an Open Range program, That means bunches of things related to the Old West are the topics. Bunker has a stuntman or two to talk about... Harry has a couple of B's to See movie reviews... Todd brings the bourbon!

Susan McCray, Stan Ivar and Pamela Roylance join us for the hour to talk about the play, "Love Letters," that Susan is directing and stars Stan and Pam. It's a play written by AR Gurney. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Susan was the casting director for "Little House on the Prairie" in which Stan and Pam starred as John Carter and Sarah Carter. The play is being presented at the White Fire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, California starting Aug. 21. 

Kathy L'Amour, the widow of author and adventurer Louis L'Amour joins us to talk about her life with Louis. They married in 1956 and had two kids, who accompanied them on tons of cross country adventures. Son Beau and Kathy continue to tell the stories of Louis.

Author Mark Archuleta joins us. He's written a book about Belle Starr's nephew Henry Starr. He was an outlaw in his own right. He also dabbled in silent movies before running out of money. So, he robbed another bank and was killed in that holdup. Mark's book is available at Amazon.com.

Author Gerry Robinson joins us. His book is "The Cheyenne Story: An Interpretation of Courage." it's a three-volume historical novel about the Cheyenne. Gerry is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. He utilizes oral accounts of his ancestors as well as other documented information to tell the story of the Cheyenne right after the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The book is available at Amazon.com.

Our guest is Kenny Rogers, Jr. He's the son of actor, musician, singer and songwriter Kenny Rogers. He's embarked on his own career of scoring music for TV shows and movies.

Joining us is Del Shields. He's the host of RFD-TV's "Best of America by Horseback." He's also a musician and cowboy poet. He and his wife, Shavawn, have a ranch in Humboldt, Kansas.

Our Movie Saturday prorgam is all about Frontier Justice--Miner's Courts, Vigalantes, Lynchings and the movies that portrayed them.

It's all about guns for this episode of the Voices of the West. Phil Schreier, Director of the the NRA Museum of Firearms joins us for the hour. We talk about the thousands and thousands of historic firearms are on display at the museum in Fairfax County, Virginia. Check out the website here. Also joining us is American Armed and Free radio host Charles Heller.

Brian Downes joins us for the hour. He's the Executive Director of the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset, Iowa. The museum features artifacts of Wayne's childhood as well as his movie career. One of the items is Wayne's family vehicle, a station wagon with the roof adjusted to accommadate Wayne's height. Visit the website here.

Author Jane Little Botkin joins us for the hour. She's a member of Western Writers of America and has written a number of award winning books. Her writing is directed toward telling the stories of western folks. One of her books is about her great-granduncle Frank Little who was lynched for his political views. Visit her website here.

It's our Movie Saturday program streamed live from the White Stallion Ranch. Topic is Riding off to the Sunset--a look at our favorite cowboy actors and their final movies. We cover 'em from the silent era to the '70s. Our guest is Michael F. Blake from Western Writers of America.