Slim Pickens


Louis Burton Lindley, better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens took up acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. For much of his career, Pickens played cowboy roles. He played comic roles in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, 1941, and his villainous role in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando.

Early life and rodeo work

Louis Burton Lindley was born in Kingsburg, California, the son of Sally Mosher and Louis Bert Lindley, a Texas-born dairy farmer. Young Lindley was an excellent horse rider from an early age. Known as "Burt" to his family and friends, he grew bored with dairy farming and began to make a few dollars by riding broncos and roping steers in his early teens. His father found out and forbade this activity, but Lindley took no notice, went to compete in a rodeo, and was told by the doubtful rodeo manager that there would be "slim pickins" for him. To prevent his father from discovering that he had competed, he entered his name as Slim Pickens, and won $400 that afternoon.
Lindley graduated from Hanford High School and was a member of the Future Farmers of America. He joined the rodeo, billed as Slim Pickens, and eventually became a well-known rodeo clown. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Reportedly when the recruiter asked him his profession, Lindley responded "rodeo"; misread on a form as "radio", he spent his entire enlistment at a radio station in the Midwest.

Film career

After nearly 20 years' rodeo work, Pickens's wide eyes, moon face, strong physical presence, and distinctive country drawl gained him a role in the Western Rocky Mountain, which starred Errol Flynn. He appeared in many more Westerns, playing both villains and comic sidekicks to actors such as Rex Allen.
Hollywood made good use of Pickens's rodeo background. He did not need a stand-in for horseback scenes, and he was able to gallop his own Appaloosa horses across the desert, or drive a stagecoach pulled by a six-horse team.
Pickens appeared in dozens more films, including Old Oklahoma Plains, Down Laredo Way, Tonka, One-Eyed Jacks, Dr. Strangelove, Major Dundee, In Harms Way, and the remake of Stagecoach, An Eye for an Eye, Never a Dull Moment, The Cowboys, The Getaway, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Ginger in the Morning, Blazing Saddles, Poor Pretty Eddie, Rancho Deluxe, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, and Tom Horn. He had a small but memorable role in Steven Spielberg's 1941 in scenes with Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee; during one scene, he enumerates the objects on his person, similarly to the way he does in the "Survival Kit Contents Check" scene in Dr. Strangelove. In 1978, Pickens lent his voice to theme park Silver Dollar City as a character named Rube Dugan, for a ride called "Rube Dugan's Diving Bell". The diving bell was a simulation ride that took passengers on a journey to the bottom of Lake Silver and back. The ride was in operation from 1978 to 1984. He also played werewolf sheriff Sam Newfield in The Howling.
In 1975, Pickens was in another Western, playing the evil, limping bank robber in Walt Disney's The Apple Dumpling Gang; that same year, the exploitation cult classic Poor Pretty Eddie was released, with Pickens portraying twisted Sheriff Orville. He provided the voice of B.O.B. in the 1979 Disney science-fiction thriller The Black Hole. His last film was his least notable, Pink Motel.

''Dr. Strangelove''

Pickens played B-52 Stratofortress|B-52] pilot Major T. J. "King" Kong in 1964's Dr. Strangelove. Stanley Kubrick cast Pickens after Peter Sellers, who played three other roles in the film, sprained his ankle and was unable to perform in the role due to having to work in the cramped cockpit set. Pickens was chosen because his accent and comic sense were perfect for the role of Kong, a cartoonishly patriotic and gung-ho B-52 commander. He was not given the script for the entire film, but only those portions in which he played a part. Three memorable scenes featuring Pickens were:
  • Giving a monologue meant to steel his crew for their duty after he receives the definitive order to bomb a strategic target in the USSR.
  • Reading aloud to his crew the contents of their survival kits: after listing the contents usable for barter with Russian women, Major Kong says "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff." This line has been re-dubbed, with a reference to "weekend in Dallas" changed to "weekend in Vegas": the scheduled November 22, 1963 screening for critics was cancelled due to President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
  • Best known of all—and an enduring historical film image of the American-Soviet Cold War era—Major Kong riding a dropped H-bomb to a certain death while whooping and waving his cowboy hat like a rodeo performer riding a bronco or a bull, not knowing that its detonation will trigger a Soviet doomsday device.
Pickens credited Dr. Strangelove as a turning point in his career. Previously, he had been "Hey you" on sets, and afterwards he was addressed as "Mr. Pickens." He once said, "After Dr. Strangelove, the roles, the dressing rooms, and the checks all started gettin' bigger." Pickens said he was amazed at the difference one movie could make. He also said that working with Stanley Kubrick proved too difficult due to Kubrick's perfectionist style of directing with multiple takes for nearly every shot, especially with the climactic H-bomb riding scene, which was done in just over 100 takes. In the late 1970s, Pickens was offered the part of Dick Hallorann in Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining, but Pickens stipulated that he would appear in the film only if Kubrick was required to shoot Pickens's scenes in fewer than 100 takes. Instead, Pickens's agent showed the script to Don Schwartz, the agent of Scatman Crothers, and Crothers accepted the role.

Voice work and recordings

Pickens lent his voice to the 1975 studio recording of Bobby Bridger's collection of Western ballads A Ballad of the West, in which he narrated part 1, "Seekers of the Fleece", the story of Jim Bridger and the mountain man fur-trade era. In 1977, he released the self-titled country album, Slim Pickens, on Blue Canyon Records. The LP contained 12 selections and two songs written by Pickens. The record jacket featured a photograph of the actor in his signature role in Dr. Strangelove, sitting in the cockpit. Pickens also recorded a one-off single, "Christmas in November", on the Midsong label in 1980.

Television

Pickens appeared in numerous television guest shots, including a 1954 Stories of the Century episode in which he played the Sundance Kid to Joe Sawyer's Butch Cassidy, as well as four episodes of the syndicated Western series Annie Oakley, a 1956 episode of The Lone Ranger, and three episodes of NBC's Wide Country, a rodeo series starring Earl Holliman and Andrew Prine. He appeared in the 1959-1960 Walt Disney Studios miniseries The Swamp Fox In 1961, he had a recurring role as Johnson in the 17-episode NBC series The Americans, the story of how the American Civil War divided families. Thereafter, he was cast in a first-season episode of NBC's espionage series The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
He appeared in episodes of Mannix, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Lone Ranger, Frontier Doctor, Gunsmoke, Route 66, The Tall Man, Maverick, The Westerner, Riverboat, The Fugitive, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, The Legend of Jesse James, Alias Smith and Jones, Daniel Boone, The Virginian, Night Gallery, That Girl, Baretta, Vega$, How the West Was Won, Cimarron Strip, and Kung Fu.
Pickens was cast in recurring roles in Custer, Bonanza, Hee Haw, B. J. and the Bear with Greg Evigan, and Filthy Rich. He played Wild Jack Monroe, the owner of station WJM, in CBS's The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and also guest-starred as Zeke in the 1963 episode "Higgins and the Hillbilly" of the ABC sitcom Our Man Higgins, which starred Stanley Holloway as a British butler for a suburban American family. Pickens portrayed Grandpa Shoenfield in a two-part 1980 episode of ABC's The Love Boat. In an episode of CBS's Hawaii Five-O, he portrayed the patriarch of a family of serial killers. Pickens emceed NBC's short-lived country music variety series The Nashville Palace in 1981.

Awards

In 1982, Pickens was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & [Western Heritage Museum] in Oklahoma City. In 1986, Pickens was honored by the Rodeo Historical Society during his posthumous induction into the Rodeo Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
In 2005, Pickens was posthumously inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs for his work as a rodeo clown. In 2006, Pickens was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame. In 2020, Pickens was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in Washington.

Final years and death

In his last years, Pickens lived with his wife in Columbia, California. He died in a hospital in Modesto on December 8, 1983, after surgery for a brain tumor. He was survived by his wife and children, Thomas Michael Lindley and Margaret Louise Wittman, as well as his stepdaughter he chose to raise as his own, Daryle Ann Giardino. His funeral was held at Presbyterian Church of the Forty Niners in Columbia, California, where he was a member. His ashes were scattered over his favorite trail areas. His wife died in 2011.

Personal life

His brother Samuel was also an actor with the stage name Easy Pickens. Slim was a longtime supporter of the National Rifle Association of America, appearing in promotional shots. He was an avid outdoorsman, appearing in several episodes of The American Sportsman.

Cultural references

The album Days Go By by The Offspring features the song "Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell" which harkens back to his final scene from Dr. Strangelove.

Filmography

Smoky as Rodeo Cowboy, uncreditedRocky Mountain as Plank Colorado Sundown as Joshua Slim Pickens / Ma PickensThe Last Musketeer as Slim PickensBorder Saddlemates as Slim PickensThe Story of Will Rogers as Dusty DonovanOld Oklahoma Plains as SlimSouth Pacific Trail as Slim PickensThunderbirds as Private Wes ShelbyOld Overland Trail as Slim PickensThe Sun Shines Bright as Sterling, Lanky BackwoodsmanIron Mountain Trail as Slim PickensDown Laredo Way as SlimShadows of Tombstone as SlimRed River Shore as Deputy Slim PickensPhantom Stallion as SlimThe Boy from Oklahoma as ShortyThe Outcast as Boone PolsenSanta Fe Passage as Sam BeekmanThe Last Command as AbeWhen Gangland Strikes as Slim PickettStranger at My Door as Ben SilasThe Great Locomotive Chase as Pete BrackenGun Brothers as Moose MacLainGunsight Ridge as Hank MossThe Sheepman as MarshalEscort West as Corporal WheelerTonka as AceStump Run as Babe GaskinChartroose Caboose as Pete HarmonOne-Eyed Jacks as Deputy Lon DedrickA Thunder of Drums as Trooper ErschickSavage Sam as Willy CrupDr. Strangelove as Major 'King' KongMajor Dundee as WileyIn Harm's Way as C.P.O CulpepperUp from the Beach as Artillery ColonelThe Glory Guys as Sergeant James GregoryStagecoach as BuckAn Eye for an Eye as Ike SlantThe Young Riders Un tipo dificil de matar Rough Night in Jericho as YarbroughThe Flim-Flam Man as Jarvis BatesWill Penny as Ike WaltersteinNever a Dull Moment as Cowboy SchaefferThe Legend of Custer as California Joe MilnerSkidoo as Switchboard Operator80 Steps to Jonah as ScottRosolino Paternò, soldato... as General MaxwellThe Ballad of Cable Hogue as Ben FairchildThe Deserter as Tattinger, American ScoutTemporada salvaje as LuckyThe Cowboys as AnseJ.C. as Grady CaldwellThe Honkers as CleteThe Getaway as CowboyPat Garrett and Billy the Kid as Sheriff BakerBlazing Saddles as TaggartRunaway on the Rogue River as Bucky SteeleThe Gun and the Pulpit as Billy One-EyeBootleggers as Grandpa PruittGinger in the Morning as SheriffThe Legend of Earl Durand as Phil ChumleyRancho Deluxe as Henry BeigePoor Pretty Eddie as Sheriff OrvilleThe Apple Dumpling Gang as Frank StillwellWhite Line Fever as Duane HallerBanjo Hackett: Roamin' Free as Lijah TuttleHawmps! as Naman TuckerPony Express Rider as Bob JayMr. Billion as Duane HawkinsThe White Buffalo as Abel PickneyThe Shadow of Chikara as Virgil CaneThe Swarm as Jud HawkinsSmokey and the Good Time Outlaws as Sheriff LedyThe Sweet Creek County War as Jitters PippenBeyond the Poseidon Adventure as Dewey 'Tex' HopkinsThe Sacketts as Jack Bigelow1941 as Hollis P. WoodSpirit of the Wind as ObieThe Black Hole as B.O.B. Tom Horn as Sheriff Sam CreedmoreHoneysuckle Rose as Garland RamseyChristmas Mountain The Howling as Sam NewfieldThis House Possessed as Arthur KeenePink Motel as Roy

Television

The Lone Ranger — Joe BoleyThe Lone Ranger — Ed JonesSugarfoot — ShortyCheyenne — Gary OwenLassie — EddieDeath Valley Days — Barfly Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color — various rolesSugarfoot — HarryDeath Valley Days — Wall KennedyWagon Train — Rafe JeffersMaverick — JedFrontier Doctor — SlimSugarfoot — MarkBronco — 1st Stage Driver The Americans — JohnsonThe Americans — JohnsonMaverick — Stagecoach DriverMaverick — RoscoeAlfred Hitchcock Presents — BradshawWagon Train — Grubstake MalloyRoute 66 — JudBonanza — Big Jim LeytonThe Virginian — SlimThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour — Clem CarterBonanza — Big Jim LeytonRawhide — Sheriff McKayThe Fugitive — CorbinGunsmoke — Bucko TaosThe Virginian — HogyThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Clint SpinnerDaniel Boone (1964 TV series) — Simon Harman Daniel Boone (1964 TV series) — Cletus MottGunsmoke — Pony BealThe Legend of Jesse James — Sheriff Homer BrinksCimarron Strip — Malachi GrimesGentle Ben — Lloyd LarkinBonanza — Sheriff GantThat Girl — Major CulpepperMannix — Mike RayIronside — Sheriff MetcalfBonanza — SheriffGunsmoke — ColleyThe Mary Tyler Moore Show — Wild Jack MonroeThe Virginian — SheriffAlias Smith and Jones — MikeAlias Smith and Jones — Sheriff BentonAlias Smith and Jones — Sheriff WhittakerThe Partridge Family — Will FowlerGunsmoke — Charlie UtterGunsmoke — Charlie UtterAlias Smith and Jones — Sheriff SamHawaii Five-O — SamNight Gallery — Sheriff Ned HarlowKung Fu — Bart FisherMcMillan & Wife — William HalsteadThe Life and Times of Grizzly Adams — Fine Hope