Dave Alexander
Dave Alexander, musician, was named the "Entertainer of the Year" in 1999 by the Academy of Western Artists.
Dave created his own Western Swing Big Band following a short stint in the late 80's with the Red River Brass, a prestigious band of Dallas / Ft. Worth musicians assembled by Neiman Marcus to promote the Red River line western wear.
He is a three time GRAMMY nominee.
Daves' most recent recordings include an album with Ray Benson, Tracy Byrd, Willie Nelson and Dwight Yokum, on Steve Spielberg's Nashville label Dreamworks Records. And he released his own Western Swing Christmas Album, along with a CD called "Last Tango in Durango".
When Dave is not touring with his Big Band he finds time to write and perform music for the Dallas Cowboys at all home games and he holds the honor as house band for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
He also appears at many major Rodeos throughout the U.S. as a singing cowboy on his Palomino horse Missy.
Alexander and his band have opened for dozens of big-name stars, including Garth Brooks, George Strait, Clint Black, Barry Manilow, Def Lepard, Martina McBride, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Hank Williams, Jr., Diana Ross, Alabama, and Reba McEntire. Other performance credits include the National Republican Convention, The World Economic Summit and the MS Rodeo Ball with Trisha Yearwood in Dallas, Texas.
Dave Alexander joined Willie Nelson and Marty Stuart in writing the music for the movie, "The Hi Low Country." This film received a Western Heritage Award in 1999 at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
To contact Dave Alexander for bookings or information, call his office at 972-393-1586 or 1-800-878-3271. Or email him at: dave@davealexander.com
CLICK HERE to go to Dave Alexander's own web site.
Bob Allen
Bob Allen, movie actor, was born as I.E. Theodore Baehr on March 28, 1906.
Bob Allen graduated from New York Military Academy in 1924 and Dartmouth College in 1929. In the 1930s, he was under contract to Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox. He played juvenile lead and starring roles in over 40 films, including: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935); AIR HAWKS (1935); THE BLACK ROOM MYSTERY (1935); CRAIG'S WIFE (1936); THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937); FIGHTING THOROUGHBREDS (1939); and WINTER CARNIVAL (1939). Bob Allen won the Box Office Award in 1935 for his role as Philip Cameron in LOVE ME FOREVER.
Bob Allen's roles included these early "Texas Ranger" Westerns : THE UNKNOWN RANGER (Columbia, 1936), RIO GRANDE RANGER (Columbia, 1937), RECKLESS RANGER (Columbia, 1937), RANGER COURAGE (Columbia, 1937), LAW OF THE RANGER (Columbia, 1937), and THE RANGERS STEP IN (Columbia, 1937).
He was active in acting in live theatre, including Broadway and dinner theatre productions, across the country. He was married to the late Evelyn Peirce, an actress who was in the last "Rex the Wonder Dog" movie of the silent era. Bob Allen died in 1998 at the age of 92.
Erick Allen
(Deceased)
Erick Allen spent his early years as a truck driver, factory maintenance man, ranch foreman, and a few other jobs thrown in for good measure. He began his writing career by selling novels, and it was that writing ability which got him a job--at age 42--as a reporter for the Ada (Okla.) Evening News. From there he became editor of the daily Alva (Okla.) Review-Courier. He was a reporter and travel-feature writer for the Enid, Okla. Morning News and Daily Eagle for many years, then worked for the Lawton (Ok.) Constitution. His articles appeared in such magazines as Oklahoma Today, Saga, Ford Times and Holiday. He was also a musician and poet.He was the author of Guns in His Warbag (1958), Hangtree Country (1958), Lone Gun (1962), Like Wild (1963), Another Night, Another Love (1963), Louisa (1964), Voices in the Wind (1967), Black Boy from Hatchett Creek, The Gallows Bird (1968), Fury in Old Forth Smith (which he reprinted), and he combined Hanging at Whiskey Smith and Marshal at Whiskey Smith into a single volume under the title, Black Powder Posse (Zebra, 1985). He also wrote Smoke in the Wind and Ride to Revenge (Zebra, 1979).
Erick Allen served as president of Western Writers of America during 1969-70. Allen died on Oct. 27, 1986 and was buried in Liberty, Okla.
Henry W. Allen
Henry Wilson Allen was born in 1912 in Kansas City, Mo. He graduated from Southwest High School in 1930. Many different types of jobs followed, such as gold miner, sugar mill operator, veterinary hospital worker, newspaper columnist, auto assembly line worker, and contract script writer for MGM Studios.Henry W. Allen sold the movie rights to 15 of his books, with 8 films actually produced. Those films were "The Tall Man" (20th Century-Fox, 1954, starring Clark Gable and Jane Russell); "Santa Fe Passage" (Republic, 1955, starring John Payne and Rod Cameron); "Pillars of the Sky" (Universal Studios, 1956, starring Jeff Chandler & Dorothy Malone), based on his book To Follow a Flag (1956); "Yellowstone Kelley" (Warner Brothers, 1959, starring Clint Walker); "Mackenna's Gold" (Columbia, 1968, starring Gregory Peck); "Journey to Shiloh" (Universal, 1968, starring James Caan); "Young Billy Young" (Batjac Productions, 1970, starring Robert Mitchum and Angie Dickinson), based on Who Rides With Wyatt (1955); and "I, Tom Horn," (Warner Brothers, 1980, starring Steven McQueen and Linda Evans).
But it is for his skill as a novelist that he is best known. Fifty-three of the fifty-four books he wrote were published, and forty-six were published in hardback. Bantam Books alone has sold over 15 millions of his books.
Henry W. Allen received Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America for the following three books and two short stories: From Where the Sun Now Stands (1960), "Isley's Stranger" (1962), Gates of the Mountains (1963), "The Tallest Indian in Toltepec" (1965), Chiricahua (1972).
He writes under the names of Will Henry and Clay Fisher. He is the subject of a book by Dale L. Walker,
Will Henry's West (Texas Western Press, 1984). An article about him, along with his photo, appear in The Roundup (Nov./Dec., 1985, 4-6).Allen is the author(under his own name or that of Clay Fisher or Will henry) of such books as No Survivors (Random House, 1950); Red Blizzard (Simons & Schuster, 1951); Wolf-Eye (Julian Messner, 1951); Santa Fe Passage (Houghton Mifflin, 1952), The Tall Men (Houghton Mifflin, 1954); The Big Pasture (Houghton Mifflin, 1955); Yellowstone Kelley (Houghton Mifflin, 1957); From Where the Sun Now Stands(Random House,1959); Journey to Shiloh (Random House, 1960); Return of the Tall Man (Pocket Books, 1961); Mackenna's Gold (Random House, 1963); Chiricahua (J.P. Lippincott, 1972); I, Tom Horn (J.B. Lippincott, 1978); Black Apache (Bantam, 1976); The Brass Command; The Blue Mustang; Return of the Tall Man (Bantam, 1972); The Big Pasture (H. Mifflin,1955).
Jules Verne Allen
Jules Verne Allen, known as "The Singing Cowboy," was born at Waxahachie (Ellis County), Texas, on April 1, 1883. He began working cattle in Jack County at the age of ten, and was a rough string rider and bronco buster for 14 years. He crossed the plains as a horse wrangler five times in the 1890's. He appeared in many rodeos across the country.
A singer and musician from childhood, Jules Verne Allen recorded cowboy songs for RCA-Victor records. They titled him, "The Original Singing Cowboy". He was a featured performing on radio stations WFAA in Dallas; NBC in Chicago; KNX and KFI in Los Angeles; and WOAI in San Antonio.
Along the way he worked as a deputy sheriff of El Paso County, a member of the El Paso police force, deputy sheriff of Bernillo County (Albuquerque), N.M.; and a Texas Ranger. He served in World War I. He died in about 1945.
Jules Verne Allen wrote the book, Cowboy Lore, in 1933 (San Antonio, Tx: The Naylor Company). It contains an essay on the life of the cowboy, displays of cattle brands, a cowboy dictionary, and 38 of the old cowboy songs.
Mark Allen
Mark Allen, master of several Western Arts, is president of Mark Allen Productions, 3550 S. Valley View, # 14, Las Vegas, NV 89103.
He is a master at trick roping and bullwhip cracking, and performs all over the world. In addition, he sells professional ropes, roping accessories, trick riding saddles, bullwhips, instructional videos and more, much of it designed to get the beginner started right away!
Mark Allen is also one of the leaders of the Wild West Arts Club, an organization of some 700 members who have a national convention in Las Vegas each year, plus several regional conventions.
CLICK HERE to go to the Mark Allen Productions web site.
Rex Allen
(Deceased)
Rex Allen was a singer, actor and narrator. He was the last of the big-name singing movie cowboys and was known as "The Arizona Cowboy".
As a country music singer, he scored seven country hits between 1949 and 1968, the biggest of which was 1953's "Crying in the Chapel," which crossed over to number eight in the pop chart.
CLICK HERE for more photographs, and for the complete biography and filmography of Rex Allen.
Rex Allen, Jr.
Rex Allen, Jr. was born in Chicago and traveled with his father from the age of six. He took up the guitar and later worked as a rodeo clown. Moving to Nashville in the late '60s, he broke into the country charts himself with "The Great Mail Robbery" in 1973 and first reached the country Top Ten with "Two Less Lonely People" in 1977.
He began singing at a very early age. In fact, his first performance was in Willcox at the Willcox theatre with his Dad -- during a Rex Allen Days weekend. "I remember as a boy…I used to sneak over to the TROUBADOR and listen to Hoyt Axton…from outside! He had a great influence on my singing style," recounts Allen.
"I majored in Theater Arts in college and went to the MGM actors school studying with Vince Chase to also pursue an acting career. I knew that learning to feel comfortable on stage would enhance my musical performances and help put me and the audience at ease. I have never lost sight that people pay to be entertained and that I must always give them my best performance whether there are 500 or 5,000," says Allen.
Upon moving to Nashville, Rex Allen, Jr. was signed first to Plantation Records then to JMI Records where label mate Don Williams' career was being launched. According to Allen, "Don had a great influence on my song writing. The advice he gave me then has stayed with me throughout my career."
Rex Allen, Jr., was honored by having his song "Arizona" adopted as the official state song Arizona in 1982. He was a regular on "The Statler Brothers Show" from 1992-94, then hosted his own music show, "Yesteryear", on the TNN TV-network from 1994 to 1999.
His awards include: 1978-1979 Country Music Magazine Silver Bullet Award for "ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR"; 1979: "MOST PROMISING MALE VOCALIST" - Music City News
Rex Allen, Jr., has had a string of Top 40 country songs. Those include: "Running Down Memory Lane" (1985), "Sweet Rosanna", "Dream On Texas Ladies" (1984), "The Air That I Breathe" (1983), "The Last Of the Silver Screen Cowboys" (1982), "Cowboy In A Three Piece Business Suit" (1982), "It's Over" (1981), "Drink It Down Lady" (1981), "While The Feelins Good" (1981), "Yippi Cry I" (1980), : "Broken Heart" (1979), "If I Fell In Love With You" (1979), "No, No, No I'd Rather Be Free" (1978), "With Love" (1979), "It's Time We Talked Things Over" (1979), "I'm Getting Good At Missing You" (1977), "Don't Say Goodbye" (1979), "Lonely Streets" (1979), "Can You Hear Those Pioneers" (1976), "Play Me No Sad Songs" (1976), "Tear Drops In My Heart" (1976), "Two Less Lonely People" (1976), 5: "Lying In My Arms" (1975), "Goodbye", (1974), "Another Goodbye Song" (1974), "Never Comin Back Again" (1974), and "The Great Mail Robbery" (1973).
Rex Allen, Jr.'s albums include: "Another Goodbye Song, " "Ridin High," "Rex," "Oklahoma Rose," "The Best of Rex," "Cat's In The Cradle," "Brand New," "The Singing Cowboy," "Me And My Broken Heart," "On The Move," "The Very Best of Rex Allen Jr.," "The Singing Cowboys---Rex Allen Jr. & Rex Allen Sr.," "Faith Of A Man Volume 2," "Faith Of A Man Volume 3," (with Rex Allen, Sr).
Rosalie Allen
(Deceased)Rosalie Allen, yodeler and DJ, was the very first female country music DJ. Her radio show, "Prairie Stars," airred two hour each night, six nights a week, for eleven years on WOV in New York.
Rosalie Allen was also the first female country music star signed to a recording contract with RCA Victor. That was in 1946. Her first record was a remake of "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart", Patsy Montana's smash hit back in 1935. Then she teamed with Elton Britt and had a top ten hit with "Beyond the Sunset" in 1950.
She was often called "The Prairie Star". In 1941 she was voted "Champion Girl Yodeler of America". She was a member of the Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. She was also inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame.
Rosalie Allen died of heart congestion in California on Sept. 24, 2003.
T. D. Allen
T.D. Allen is the author of Doctor in Buckskin (1951), Troubled Border (1954), Ambush at Buffalo Wallow (1956), Prisoners of the Polar Ice (1959), Tall as Great Standing Rock (1963), Navahos Have Five Fingers (1963; University of Oklahoma Press, 1982), Doctor, Lawyer, Merchant, Chief (1966), Not Ordered by Man (1967), and Writing to Create Ourselves (University of Oklahoma Press, 1982). T.D. Allen and Emerson B. Mitchell co-authored Miracle Hill: The Story of a Navaho Boy (University of Oklahoma Press, 1979).
Leon V. Almirall
(Deceased)
S. Omar Barker said of Leon V. Almirall: "He and his wife, Jane, died within a few days of each other. Although Al attended only a few sessions of the Denver convention in 1954,...he was a staunch devotee of western writing and a valued friend of mine since the early '30's."Eastern born, Al became a prominent cow rancher both in southern New Mexico and in Colorado, a change of saddles graphically described in his book, From College to Cow Country. His Canines and Coyotes is a classic on the sport of hunting wolves and coyotes with greyhounds" (The Roundup, Feb., 1965).
Dr. Judith Ann Alter
Judith Ann Alter earned degrees from the University of Chicago and Northeast Missouri State University, and she holds a Ph.D. in English from Texas Christian University, a degree with special interest in literature of the American West. She holds memberships in the WWA, the Texas Institute of Letters.
A former President of Western Writers of America (1985-86), Judy Alter wrote the "Western Fiction Bookmarks" column in The Roundup for some time. She was the chairperson of the 1986 WWA Convention in Fort Worth. And in 1988 she became the first editor of the new Roundup Quarterly. She twice served as a member of the WWA board.
She was for many years a free lance writer. Dr. Alter became editor of the TCU Press in 1982, and on Aug. 1, 1987 she became the director.
Judy Alter's first book was, After Pa Was Shot (1978, Wm. Morrow & Co.), a young adult novel, She is the author of So Far From Paradise and Luke and the Van Zandt County War (TCU Press, 1984), the latter having won the best juvenile book award from the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters in 1984. Her book, Thistle Hill: The History and the House (1988, TCU Press), tells of the glory days of one of Fort Worth's most prominent homes, built in 1903. She wrote a book on Elmer Kelton (North Texas University Press, Denton, Tx). And her book, Mattie (Doubleday, 1988), won the Spur Award at the 1989 WWA Convention in the category of "Best Western".
Kirk Alyn
(Deceased)
Kirk Alyn, actor, was born John Feggo Jr. on Oct. 8, 1920 in that great ol' Western town of Oxford, New Jersey. New J-e-r-s-e-y? Yup.Alyn began his show biz career as a chorus boy on Broadway in New York City. Then he became an entertainer on the vaudeville stage, and eventually ended up in Hollywood and in the movies.
Kirk Alyn's first movie role was in 1934 and his last in 1983. He played the title role in the 1948 serial "Superman." His Western movie credits included The Man From Rio Grande (1943), Overland Mail Robbery (1943), Forty Thieves (1944) and Call of the Rockies (1944).
He also made guest appearances on these TV Westerns: Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill, Jr.
Kirk Alyn died on March 14, 1999 in Woodlands, TX.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Kirk Alyn.
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This listing is far from complete and may contain errors. Therefore, all Westerners and/or their agents are requested to submit recommended changes by contacting Stan Paregien through his e-mail address.
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© 2001 by Stan Paregien, Sr.
