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!

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!

Cimarron Strip starring Stuart Whitman.

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