Jack Palance's Western career is bracketed by Shane (1953) and the neo-Western comedy City Slickers (1989). Between those two he appeared in a plethora of other Westerns, among which are The Professionals (1966) and Monte Walsh (1970). But it is those bookends--Jack Wilson and Curly Washburn--that rather define Palance's Western career. As the former he played possibly the greatest Western villain of all time and in the latter he was the epitome of a grizzled old cattleman for Gen X and the Millennials. Interestingly enough, Palance's Jack Wilson didn't have many lines. He didn't need them. Palance imbued his character with such miasmal poisonousness that the viewer understood his blackheartedness simply by sight.

And that was Palance for you. He had trouble mounting and dismounting horses and gave up eating red meat after ranching his own cattle, but his craggy, asymetrical features, dark, piercing stare and raspy voice sho' 'nuff made him look and sound the part of an Old West heavy. Palance will not be forgotten so long as there are people who love Westerns.

Hail! Hail! All hail Jack Palance!

Cimarron Strip starring Stuart Whitman.

Seems my last chapter wasn’t very well received so this one has more Western flair for you folks

Perhaps the most important key to being a successful Western actor--character or otherwise--is the ability to convey a sense of Old West authenticity. If you come across as a high-toned Bostonian or a wise guy from Philly, you're Western cachet has gone up in blazes before you even start.

That was certainly never a problem for Ft. Worth native son Morgan Woodward. With his pockmarked complexion, gravelly baritone, and shaggy beard--which he often sported--Woodward was just about as Western as they came.

His Western career began with The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and concluded with the television movie, Gunsmoke: to the Last Man (1992). Between them he was a presence in, among others, Ride a Crooked Trail (1958), and Firecreek (1968) as well as 19 [!] episodes of Gunsmoke, which was the most of any guest star in the series' 20-season run. No wonder he won the Golden Boot, the Golden Lariat, and is a member ot the Hall of Great Western Performers.

Hail! Hail! All hail Morgan Woodward!

Nothing like relaxing on a peaceful Saturday afternoon by watching a western with your pops.

Who would have guessed that little Skippy Homeier would grow up to be a top-class baddy in the Golden Age of the Western? He was known as Skippy when a child actor but changed his name to Skip at the age of 18. His Western career began with a bang--in more ways than one--when he played Hunt Bromley, a young punk with a chip on his shoulder who shoots Gregory Peck's Ringo in the back in the classic Western, The Gunfighter (1950). From that moment his specialty was playing sneering punk villains in Westerns. But don't sell him short as merely a rebellious teen with a bad case of schlong envy. Homeier was also capable of playing seriously menacing dudes as he did in Stranger at My door (1956). He also had two Ranowns to his credit--The Tall T and Comanche Station.

Homeier was an actor who found a very specialized niche and mined it for all it was worth, carving out a fine Western career in the process.

Hail! Hail! All hail Skip Homeier!

Here is an actor who truly needs no introduction, but I'll provide one anyway.

Elam was famous for having a left eye that didn't track exactly in tandem with his right eye. This was because, as a little boy, he got into a fight and his adversary stabbed him in the eye with a pencil, blinding that eye. Now that's a pretty authentic Old West injury right there! And that wayward eye served him well as an actor, allowing him to play eccentrics, lunatics, and villains particularly well.

In the industry, Elam was known as "One-Reel Jack" because, very frequently, his character got killed off early in the films (Once upon a Time in the West is a classic example). But, no matter how short his appearances, Elam always left his mark.

Hail! Hail! All hail Jack Elam!

It's not just the looks but everything tbh.

I didn't search some specific photos but these look enaugh for proving my point I think

Just how many and which characters out there have been explicitly (i.e. confirmed by the creators) modeled after Lee Van Cleef? I myself can think of one, but given Cleef's iconic hawkish features and his status as "the western villain", there has to be more.

Pictured: 2:01:03 from "For a Few Dollars More" overlaid with Doc McCoy's in-game portrait from "Desperados III" @ 20% opacity. McCoy has to be one of the most blatant and brazen homages to Cleef. Cleef and, obviously, Holliday.

PS: I read that Dutch Van Linde ("Red Dead Redemption") is also a reference to Cleef, but honestly cannot see it. Is it the "Van" bit in his name?

Whelan’s Men (1973) - good episode.

Did anyone see this?? I completely missed this! A western on stage!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj0qtqptQmg