Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? Quiz

Answer: Gene Autry

Gene Autry appeared in 97 feature movies in which his character was Gene Autry. In "Shooting High" released in 1940 Gene played the character Will Carson. Gene was equally famous for his songs. His recording of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" was, until the the late 1970s, second only to "White Christmas" as the all time best selling Christmas record.

He also wrote and recorded many songs during his career, "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Back in The Saddle Again" being two of the more lasting. Gene is credited as writer of over 300 songs.

Answer: Tim Holt

Tim Holt appeared in more than 70 feature films, including "The Magnificent Ambersons", "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" and alongside John Wayne and Roy Rogers in "Dark Command". Tim was featured in the John Ford classic "Stagecoach" and as a teenager appeared in the Barbara Stanwyck weepy "Stella Dallas". However, it was as the star of more than 50 "B" westerns he will be remembered.
Tim's father, Jack Holt, appeared in more than 180 movies and featured in at least 160 of these. The father and son appeared together in "The Arizona Ranger" released in 1948.

Answer: Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda, appeared in many westerns and was very comfortable in the roles. He played a drifter coerced into joining a lynch mob in "The Ox-Bow Incident", and a disgruntled colonel trying to make a name for himself in "Fort Apache". Arguably his best performance in a western was as Wyatt Earp in "My Darling Clementine".

He was a standout as a heartless bad guy in Sergio Leone's epic, "Once Upon A Time In the West".

Answer: John Wayne

"When the legend becomes greater than the fact, print the legend". This quoted line from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" summed up the life and times of John Wayne. Nominated for an Oscar in 1949 for "The Sands of Iwo Jima", he finally received a statuette in March 1970 for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn, in 1969's "True Grit".

Answer: Randolph Scott

Randolph Scott had appeared in over 60 films by the time he appeared in 1945's "Captain Kidd" with Charles Laughton. After that he made 40 movies, all but two of which were westerns. His best reviews ironically were for his last two films, "Comanche Station" in 1960 and "Ride the High Country" in 1962.

After making "Ride the High Country" Scott retired from the screen. Upon his death 1987, his estate was valued at more that $100,000,000, due to many shrewd investments he made after retiring from the screen.

Answer: Joel McCrea

Joel McCrea starred in "Union Pacific" in 1939 for Cecil B. De Mille followed by some great films like "The Palm Beach Story" and "Foreign Correspondent". After the Second World War he appeared only in westerns. In 1933 whilst filming "The Silver Cord" he met and married actress Frances Dee. They were married for 57 years until his death in 1990.

Answer: Bob Steele

Born Robert Adrian Bradbury in 1907, Bob Steele was the son of Robert N. Bradbury, a prolific director of westerns in the 1930s. Bob was featured as Curley in "Of Mice and Men", and as a nasty man in "The Big Sleep" with Bogart and Bacall. In the eleven year period, 1930-1940 Bob appeared in 77 movies, 55 of these with star billing. One of his final parts was as one of the lynching party in Clint Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High". Bob was featured regularly in the TV series "F-Troop", as Trooper Duffy.

Answer: William Boyd

William Boyd from 1935 was Hopalong Cassidy in over 60 films. William Boyd moulded the character of Hopalong Cassidy to fit his style. Gone was the limp from the books. Also missing was Cassidy's hard drinking and swearing. In 1948 in a piece of inspired business acumen Boyd purchased the rights to all 66 Hopalong Cassidy features.

The advent of television and production of a weekly series and a syndicated series on radio made Boyd a very wealthy man.

Answer: Audie Murphy

Audie Murphy received no less than 17 different medals and awards, including the Medal of Honor for service during WW2. Although in his 20 year movie career he appeared in 50 feature films, 35 of these were westerns. He was an underrated actor, his performances in "The Red Badge of Courage", "No Name on the Bullet" and "The Unforgiven" proved this.

In "The Unforgiven" released in 1960, Murphy more than held his own with Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn.

Answer: Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers, born Leonard Slye, and early studio publicity dubbed him, "King of the Cowboys," a name which he kept for the rest of his life. Roy was a member of the popular western group "The Sons of The Pioneers". From 1940 through to the early 1950s Roy was a top box office draw. With the proliferation of television in the early 1950s, he vied with Hopalong Cassidy as the top cowboy hero to boys all over the world. Roy and his wife, Dale Evans, appeared together in more than 20 movies.