Slim Pickens

Pickens resided with his wife in Columbia, California during the last years of his life. He battled brain tumour and also underwent a surgery in San Francisco but soon suffered from pneumonia which eventually took his life on December 8, 1983.

Slim Pickens was born Louis Burton Lindley Jr. on June 29, 1919, in Kingsburg, California, US, to Louis Bert Lindley Sr., a Texas-born dairy farmer, and his wife, Sally Mosher (née Turk).

At age 4 he got his first horse and he slowly became an outstanding rider. During his early teens he would get bored of dairy farming and ride broncos and roping steers that would also fetch him a few dollars.

Gradually, he developed a knack in rodeo and his passion for the same saw him pursuing it much to his father’s disliking. He adopted the name Slim Pickens for competing in rodeo so that his father couldn’t discover his participation in the sport.

Recalling the subject he once said ''My father was against rodeoing and told me he didn't want to see my name on the entry lists ever again. While I was fretting about what to call myself, some old boy sittin' on a wagon said, 'Why don't you call yourself Slim Pickens, 'cause that's shore what yore prize money'll be.''

He attended Hanford High School in Hanford, California, from where he completed his graduation. He also remained a member of the Future Farmers of America.

Pickens became a skilled rider of bucking bulls and horses and with time became a famous rodeo clown. Such daring endeavours saw him suffering numerous injuries including being thrown, kicked, bitten, gored and trampled by bulls and horses. He endured several fractures including breaking his wrists, back and feet bones.

With over a decade long background in rodeo, he forayed into acting with an un-credited role in the 1946 Western film ‘Smoky’ that became a smashing hit.

This was followed by a screen test in 1950, after he was spotted by American stage actor and Hollywood film director William Keighley at a rodeo that helped him with the role of Plank in the director’s film ‘Rocky Mountain’. This 1950 film starred Errol Flynn and Patrice Wymore.

His big eyes, husky voice with a Texas-like twang and strong physique was well utilised by Hollywood. He went on to play cowboy roles in several films both in the darker shade and in comic roles. An ace rider with a good rodeo background, Pickens never required a stand-in for riding shots and used his own horses, mules, hats and boots in many of the films and television productions he featured in.

Many of his initial films featured him as Slim Pickens. These include starring roles in films like ‘The Last Musketeer’ (1952), ‘Border Saddlemates’ (1952), ‘South Pacific Trail’ (1952), ‘Old Overland Trail’ (1953) and ‘Iron Mountain Trail’ (1953).

The most memorable role of his career was that of an overzealous and cartoonishly patriotic B-52 pilot Major T.J. ‘King’ Kong in the Stanley Kubrick directed political satire black comedy ‘Dr. Strangelove’ that released on January 29, 1964. It proved to be a major breakthrough in his career paving way for other notable roles. He said, "After Dr. Strangelove, the roles, the dressing rooms, and the checks all started gettin' bigger."

The Mel Brooks directed 1974 satirical Western comedy film ‘Blazing Saddles’ where Pickens played the role of Taggart with finesse proved to be yet another landmark in his career. The film not only received kudos from both audience and critics but also garnered a whooping $119.6 million at box-office.