Help me make it through the night / Kris Kristofferson / 1970

On top of his incredible Hall of Fame Music career
Kris appeared in about 16 Westerns.
For most Entertainers that would be a Career in itself.

Kris’ Westerns started of with a literal bang …
Sam Pekinpah‘s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
And unquestionable Western Classic.

Peckinpah had a ‘stable’ of Actors that he employed over and over.
Thus Kris got a bit part in
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

This led to an even bigger bang:
Michael Cimino‘s extremely controversial
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
– that bankrupted United Artists.
Yet some think this too may eventually be considered a Classic?

Then came a Remake of the Western Classic Stagecoach (1986).

The Highwaymen rode again in
The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James(1986)

The Tracker (1988)
“He thought his days of violence had ended.
But the battle between good and evil is never over.”
Amen.

Miracle in the Wilderness (1994)

Sodbusters (1994)

Coming … 
Part 3 

Field of Crosses Memorial 2024

and never forget.

In a system where a convicted criminal rapist who openly believes that
good is evil and evil is good is allowed to become the leader of the
most powerful country in the world.

What could go wrong?

 

Originally posted by me in 2016.

The Highwaymen / Live Forever

Kris Kristofferson Western Filmography / Part 1

Kris’s Kristofferson’s Western film career started off with a definite Bang!! TWO HUGE BANGS to be exact. He first Starred in Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973). Peckinpah was already a controversial figure – and the story surrounding the making and dismemberment of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is legendary stuff – Sam eventually walking away from the project – the movie undergoing several edits –
resulting in 3 different versions.

Kris’s second Western – Heaven’s Gate (1980) may be the most controversial movie project in Film History – bankrupting United Artist Film Studio – due to the outrageous behavior of Director Michael Cimino – equally as controversial as Peckinpah.

The parallel between Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and Heaven’s Gate is amazing: Two controversial renegade Director’s – possible both genius’s – who made two controversial Western movies – which were both dismembered by their respective Studios – ending up in multiple versions of each – but which were ultimately manifested into what many people consider as Westerns Classics. The verdict is still out on Heaven’s Gate –
but Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is in solid.
And Kris was in both of them. Amazing stuff.

In 1986 Kris made two Westerns: A remake of Stagecoach and The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James. Stagecoach Starred Kris, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James Starred Kris and Johnny Cash. Willie had a bit part in that one too.

Yep … these guys eventually formed the Country Music Supergroup
The Highwaymen.

Kris appeared in at least 16 Westerns …
Part 2 coming …

Watch Rathbone – he can barely contain himself!

Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Basil Rathbone …

Amazing stuff !

And Danny Kaye … Genius.

Closer to the Bone / Kris kristofferson / September 28, 2009

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Seems like every week somebody I grew up with dies.
But I didn’t know that Kris kristofferson
had died on September 24 of this year, until just now.

I just don’t watch the News like I used to.

This should not have been a shock to us though because Kris himself had advised us fairly recently that he didn’t think he’d be around much longer.
He was 88 and in poor health.

There had been recent false claims that he had already passed.

So I had to double check to see if this was true.
Sadly it was.

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Kris, of course, was a brilliant Songwriter and many of his songs are regarded as Country Music Classics.

That we be a great enough legacy for anybody, but Kris also made more than a couple of notable Western Movies.

One of those is in my Top Ten Favorite Western Movies of all time:
Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid / 1973

Kris proved that he that indefinable thing that you can’t buy or create:
Star Power.

Next:
Kris Kristofferson Western Movie Filmography

I Nominate:

Best Movie / Best Actors / Best Writing / Best Director …

That’s my review.

My Top Ten Westerns Stars
No. 5
The Lone Ranger / Clayton Moore

This wasn’t a tough choice.
Truthfully, the Lone Ranger / Moore should have been my
First Choice as a Western Star.
Because The Lone Ranger/Moore achieved dimensions of
Western Stardom that will never be equaled.

‘Perfect Casting’?

Some people seem to be born for a certain role.
Though others had played the Lone Ranger before Moore,
there was never an Actor who identified and personified the role as genuinely and completely as Moore did to the Lone Ranger.
Moore WAS the Lone Ranger.
A role he authenticall carried until the day he died.

There’s a ton of things about the Lone Ranger that make him
unique as a Western Hero.
Too many to list here.
My admiration surely started with
The Lone Ranger Radio Show when I was a kid.
From 1933 to 1956 The Lone Ranger rode the radio waves
in one of the most successful radio programs in history,
producing over 3,000 broadcasts.
WOW!
Top that amigo!

“Who was that masked man?”

Why it was
Clayton Moore!

“It was a hell of a ride Kemosabe”
– Tonto

“Couldn’t have done it without you Tonto.”
– The Lone Ranger

HI YO Silver ! Away!

 

Automobile / John Prine / 1979

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How do you like my car?

It’s the blue one Silly.

Nice eh?

Heading for The Great Divide

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I couldn’t guess how many times I’ve crossed
The Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia.
In most instances I was heading for the
Pacific Coast and Vancouver Island.
I timed that drive once and found that if i drove
pretty well non-stop I could get from
Calgary, Alberta to Port Alberni on Vancouver Island
in about 16 hours.
My only rest was the Ferry Ride over to the Island.
But I was younger then. Don’t know if I could do that now?
On the way though (if it wasn’t nighttime)
I’d had lots of great scenery.

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Glacier

A Shard of your former immense glory.
Sitting high on a rocky crag.
Awaiting the inevitable.

You once moved Moutains …
made Mountains … then Ruled them.
Children of Ice.
Stand now in testament.

Yes, there’s still Glaciers. Remnants.
But not for long.
In the age of ‘climate change’.
Their decline, and death, is even faster.

Moving On …

Road construction, especially in British Columbia,
has cost Billions of dollars.
Imagine what it took to cut through that small mountain below?

So that I could drive here:

Amazing …

Brother Richard sent me a link to this
Western Quiz:

https://play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/there-are-hundreds-of-classic-westerns-well-be-impressed-if-you-can-guess-20

I’ve never claimed to be a Western Expert. Just a Fan.
I did get 39 out of 40 (he bragged),
though I was guessing at 3 of ’em.
But I don’t think this quiz would challenge many
real Western Fans.

The one that did stump me was the 1941 Classic
“They Died With Their Boots On”.
I confess I don’t think I’ve ever seen it?
Shows what kind of expert I am.

But it was still fun.

Pardner.

 

A Minor Ballad / Gordon Lightfoot / 1967

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“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
– Sir Edmund Hillary

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Castle Mountain

Showing the ‘saddle back’ behind it
and the high meadows where many hikers venture.

Majestic, Powerful, Inspiring.

We head for Revelstoke, BC, Halcyon Hot Springs.
Then to Nakusp, BC and Nakusp Hot Springs.

We’re back.
We were only gone 6 days, but it still took me a couple of days to recover. (LOL!)
Remember when Holidays used to be relaxing adventures?
But I’m 76 now … so hardly anything is relaxing.
Sadly, at times it’s just nice to get back to your own bed.
Not that this trip wasn’t enjoyable. It was wonderful! (Thanks Rose.)
We saw and experienced a lot of great things.
It’s just that travelling is not what it used to be when you get older.
Look a this for instance:

I recall a time when all I needed was a duffle bag and my thumb.
Crazy enough though, I think we used most of this stuff.
Even crazier, we often find we forgot something?

Heading Out

Thems the ROCKIES in the distance.
No snow on them. (Yet)
And you might think that after driving through them
about a thousand times, it would be boring.
You’d be wrong.

But …
Uh Oh! Some kind of road construction … ?

Ah … they’re building another Wildlife Bridge over the highway.

They’ve built a lot of them over the years.
So they must work?

Moving along …

There used to have signs telling what Mountain we were lookin’ at.
Don’t know why they stopped that?

Over the years I’ve taken a lot of pics of Cascade Mountain.

Why not?

You will often see people who have hiked up to the bottom of the Falls.
But not today.

Next: Castle Mountain …

More coming …

The Rose – sung by Bette Midler – written by Amanda McBroom

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I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.
– Audrey Hepburn

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I think that most Miracles are small and flow right past us.
Like tests.
To see if we’re paying attention.
They are like Gifts and Rewards for feats
we didn’t even know we were achieving.

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When we left on our little holiday, Rose’s Sunflowers were green.

I really never thought they were going to open. It was so late in Summer.

But when we returned they had suddenly exploded.

I could hardly believe it.

The bees were happy.

Rose and I are heading into the BC interior for a few days.
It’s our Birthday present to ourselves … both Virgos …
(whatever that means?)
Going to jump in some Hotsprings and look at the Stars.
Nakusp Hotspings is one of our destinations.
Just hoping for decent weather –
though I’ve never been a person who could get defeated by weather.
See you soon.

“Yet hope remains while all the company is true.”

 

Just an Old Fashioned Love Song / 3 Dog Night / 1975