National Cowboy Museum announces golden anniversary inductees
The board of directors of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has announced the 2011 inductees into the Hall of Great Westerners and the Hall of Great Western Performers as well as the recipient of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award. The 50th Anniversary of the Western Heritage Awards will be celebrated April 16.
First presented in 1961, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Western Heritage Awards were established to honor and encourage the legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film and television reflect the significant stories of the American West. The awards program also recognizes inductees into the prestigious Hall of Great Westerners and the Hall of Great Western Performers as well as the recipient of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award, named in honor of the museum’s founder. Each honoree receives a Wrangler, an impressive bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback.
This year’s honorees are the late Andy Devine and Stuart Whitman for the Hall of Great Western Performers, Ralph Chain and the late Dr. O.M. Franklin for the Hall of Great Westerners, and Howard Council for the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award.
Hall of Great Western Performers
For induction into the Hall of Great Western Performers actors must have made significant contributions to the perpetuation of the Western film, radio, or theater. Through a solid body of works in motion pictures, radio or stage, the inductee must project the traditional Western ideas of honesty, integrity, and self-sufficiency.
Stuart Whitman, California, is an American actor who starred in generally rugged roles. Whitman made more than 200 appearances in various movies and television shows over a half-century span between 1951 and 2000. One of his early roles came in 1957 in the military dramas, “Harbor Command” and “The Silent Service.” In 1961, he earned an academy award nomination for his leading role in “The Mark.” Whitman also is well known for playing the heroic “Marshal Jim Crown” in the Western TV series “Cimarron Strip.” He had many supporting roles in film including “Francis of Assisi,” “The Longest Day,” “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” and “The Comancheros” where he shared the leading-man status with John Wayne. In 1958, Whitman made Hollywood history when he planted one on Dorothy Dandridge in “The Decks Ran Red” – it was Hollywood’s first interracial kiss.
Andy Devine (1905-1977), California, was an American comic cowboy sidekick and character actor known for his distinctive raspy voice which could be heard throughout his career spanning more than 50 years. Devine was in more than 200 films and is well-remembered as “Jingles” on the long-running Western series “Wild Bill Hickock.” He made several appearances in films with John Wayne including “Stagecoach.” Devine also appeared in “Island in the Sky” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” He had many memorable roles in television including playing “Hap” on the series “Flipper.” Devine left moviemaking in 1970, but still lent his famous voice to animated films including “Friar Tuck” in Disney’s Robin Hood and “Cornelius the Rooster” in several Kellogg’s Corn Flakes commercials.
Read more about the other Hall of Great Westerners and the Hall of Great Western Performers after the break.
Hall of Great Westerners
Induction into the Hall of Great Westerners honors an individual who promotes America’s rich Western heritage through leadership and patronage of art, business, industry, environmental, education, humanitarian, government or philanthropic organizations.
Ralph Chain, Canton, is a well-known community leader and owner of Chain Land and Cattle Company. With his knowledge and experience, Chain has developed his ranch into a leading beef supplier and sportsman’s club. Chain has been involved in many agricultural related organizations such as the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, North American Limousin Foundation, American Hereford Association, American Quarter Horse Association, American Angus Association and the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association. His dedication to the community also is seen with his service in his church, Seiling schools and Oklahoma Christian University. Chain has received numerous awards throughout his lifetime, including Cattleman of the Year from the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Who’s Who in the Western Livestock Industry from the Western Livestock Journal and State and Regional winner of the Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
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