A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. Cattle drives ensure the herds health in finding pasture and bring them to market. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less well-documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly in South America and stockmen and jackaroos in Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.
Home on the Range is a 2004 American animated Western musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was the last Disney traditionally animated film released until The Princess and the Frog in 2009. The film was written and directed by Will Finn and John Sanford, and produced by Alice Dewey Goldstone, from a story by Finn, Sanford, Mark Kennedy, Michael LaBash, Sam Levine, and Robert Lence. It features original songs written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, and an original musical orchestral score also composed by Menken.
Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century American West, particularly between 1850s and 1910s. In this period, 27 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in Kansas, for shipment to stockyards in St. Louis and points east, and direct to Chicago. The long distances covered, the need for periodic rests by riders and animals, and the establishment of railheads led to the development of "cow towns" across the frontier.
The Pleasant Valley War, sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud, was a range war fought in Pleasant Valley, Arizona in the years 1882–1892. The conflict involved two feuding families, the Grahams and the Tewksburys. The Grahams were ranchers, while the Tewksburys, who were part Native American, started their operations as cattle ranchers before branching out to sheep.
Born to the West is a 1937 American Western film, starring John Wayne, Marsha Hunt and John Mack Brown. Filmed in black and white and based upon a Zane Grey novel, the movie incorporates footage from an earlier and higher budgeted silent version, a common practice of the era. The picture features: fast chases, gun-fights, unusual poker gambling and peppy light dialogue for the love interest.
Charles Hugh Roberson was an American actor and stuntman.
The Cowboys is an American Western television series based on the 1972 motion picture of the same name. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network from February 6 to May 8, 1974. The series starred Jim Davis, Diana Douglas, Moses Gunn, A Martinez, Robert Carradine and Clay O'Brien. David Dortort produced the series. The television show followed the exploits of seven boys who worked on a ranch in 1870s New Mexico.
Tom Horn is a 1980 American Western film directed by William Wiard and starring Steve McQueen as the legendary lawman, outlaw and gunfighter Tom Horn. It was based on Horn's own writings.
The Culpepper Cattle Co. or Dust, Sweat and Gunpowder is a 1972 American revisionist Western film produced by Twentieth Century Fox. It was directed by Dick Richards and starred Billy Green Bush as Frank Culpepper and Gary Grimes as Ben Mockridge. This was the first credited film for Jerry Bruckheimer, for which he received an associate producer credit. Its tagline is "How many men do you have to kill before you become the great American cowboy?" and also "The boy from Summer of '42 becomes a man on the cattle drive of 1866", which references a similar coming of age film starring Gary Grimes. The film is typical of the "hyper-realism" of many early 1970s revisionist westerns. It is particularly noted for its grainy photography and use of sepia toning in some scenes.
The Mysterious Rider is a 1938 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Douglass Dumbrille, Sidney Toler, and Russell Hayden. Written by Maurice Geraghty based on the 1921 novel The Mysterious Rider by Zane Gray, the film is about a notorious outlaw who returns to the ranch he once owned and takes a job disguised as a ranch hand. Unrecognized by the ranch's current owner, he waits patiently for an opportunity to expose the men who murdered his partner twenty years ago, framed him for the crime, and then stole his ranch. The film was later released for television in the United States as Mark of the Avenger.
Cattle Stampede is a 1943 American Producers Releasing Corporation Western film of the "Billy the Kid" series directed by Sam Newfield.
Public Cowboy No. 1 is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Ann Rutherford. Based on a story by Bernard McConville, the film is about a singing cowboy who chases down rustlers who are using airplanes, shortwave radios, and refrigerated trucks to steal cattle.
Rustlers is a 1949 American Western directed by Lesley Selander. The film is a Tim Holt B Western about a group of Arizona ranchers intent on stopping a gang of cattle rustlers.
Prairie Moon is a 1938 American Western film directed by Ralph Staub and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Shirley Deane. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, the film is about a singing cowboy who takes care of three tough boys sent west from Chicago after their father dies and leaves them a cattle ranch.
The Singing Hill is a 1941 American western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Virginia Dale. Based on a story by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Richard Murphy, the film is about a singing cowboy and foreman of a ranch that may be sold to an unscrupulous banker by the young madcap heiress who is unaware that the sale will result in the local ranchers losing their free grazing land and their ranches. In the film, Autry performed the 1940 song "Blueberry Hill", first recorded by Sammy Kaye, which would become a standard recorded by such artists as Louis Armstrong (1949), Fats Domino (1956), and Elvis Presley (1957). The song became one of Autry's best-selling recordings. In 1987, "Blueberry Hill" received an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Feature Film Standards on TV.
Saddle Tramp is a 1950 American Western film directed by Hugo Fregonese and starring Joel McCrea and Wanda Hendrix. Its uncredited theme song was "The Cry of the Wild Goose" by Frankie Laine.
Hopalong Rides Again is a 1937 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Norman Houston. The film stars William Boyd, George "Gabby" Hayes, Russell Hayden, Nora Lane, Harry Worth, Lois Wilde and Billy King. The film was released on September 3, 1937, by Paramount Pictures.
Sioux City Sue is a 1946 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Olive Cooper. Starring Gene Autry, Lynne Roberts, Sterling Holloway, Richard Lane, Ralph Sanford and Ken Lundy, it was released on November 21, 1946, by Republic Pictures.
John Lacy Cason, also credited as Bob Cason and John L. Cason, was an American actor active in both films and television. During his 20-year career he appeared in over 200 films and television shows. He is best known for his work on the television program The Adventures of Kit Carson, where he appeared in several roles from 1951 to 1953.
The Pecos War, also known as the War of the Pecos and the Chisum War, was a range war fought by cattle baron John Chisum against neighboring small ranchers, farmers, and Native Americans from 1876-1877 along the Pecos River in New Mexico. The conflict was caused primarily by competition: Chisum believed that his livestock and other resources were being depleted upon by people he alleged to be rustlers. At the same time, Chisum was also fighting Mescalero Apaches from the nearby reservations who were said to prey on his herds.
