Bobby Copeland
Bobby Copeland was
reared in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee and as of 2009 he and his wife, Joan, were still
living there. At an early age he began to attend the popular
Saturday afternoon matinee programs at area theaters, where he was
captivated by the B-Western movies and their stars. He writes that he
was "immediately impressed by the moral code of these films, and has
tried to pattern his life after the example set by the cowboy heroes."
Copeland graduated from high school
and attended Carson-Newman College
and the University of Tennesse. He worked for many years at the famous
Oak Ridge National Laboratory where scientists probed for secrets of
and uses for the atom. He retired from that work in 1996.
It was about 1985 that
he turned
on a local TV show hosted by
"Marshal" Andy Smalls. The program featured the old B-Western movies.
Marshal Smalls was showing a feature by Lash LaRue. That program
ignited a new fire of enthusiasm for Western movies within Copeland
that is still burning brightly. That same year he was a co-founder of
the "Riders of the Silver Screen Club" based in Knoxville, Tenn. He
served as president of the organization five different times. In
addition, he started and continues to edit the club's newsletter.
Bobby Copeland and CowboyDirectory.Com editor Stan Paregien
at the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum Film & Music Festival
at Gene Autry, Oklahoma on Sept. 19, 2009
[Photo by Peggy Paregien]
He started researching the
stories
behind the Western movies themselves
and the biographical information about the actors who played in them.
As his stockpile of information grew, he decided to put some of it
together for a book. That was 16 books and some 150 published articles
ago. And he is still researching, writing and planning on publishing
more books. His books include:
Gabby Hayes: King of the
Cowboy
Comics ($24)
Sunset Carson: The
Adventures of a
Cowboy Hero ($21)
Smiley Burnette: We
Called Him
Frog ($21)
Johnny Mack Brown: Up
Close and
Personal ($24)
Bill Elliott: The
Peaceable Man
(2000, $18)
Roy Barcroft: King of
the Badmen.
($18)
Charlie King - We Called
Him
Blackie ($15)
The Whip Wilson Story
(1998, $13)
The Bob Baker Story (1998, $13)
Tom Tyler ($24)
Silent Hoofbeats ($24)
-- All about the
movie cowboys and their horses (lots of photos).
Best of the Badmen --
Over 300
pages with 300+ badmen from A and B-westerns and TV. ($44)
Five Heroes -- Featuring
Russell
Hayden, Eddie Dean, Tom Keene, John "Dusty" King and George Houston.
($13)
B-Western Boot Hill -- Over 1100
entries citing where the cowboys were born, died, and buried. Actual
obituaries. ( $18)
Trail Talk (1996) -- Cowboy
quotes, creeds, names of horses, real names of cowboy and cowgirl
before changed by Hollywood, plus much more. ($15)
All books postpaid inthe U.S.
(foreign, extra). Autographed by
request. Check or money order only to: Bobby Copeland, 104
Claremont, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
He is a regular columnist for Western Clippings and for the
British publication, Wrangler's Roost.
Copeland has also provided commentary for two DVDs on the B-Western
movie genre. These provide informative
and nostalgic looks back at the six-gun heroes of yesterday. Includes
an
exclusive interview with Johnny Mack Brown's daughter Cynthia. In fact,
he was instrumental in getting Johnny Mack Brown inducted to the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's "Hall of Fame".
Because of his prolific number of
books and articles, Bobby Copeland is considered the world's Number 1
author of information related to movie cowboys. That work has brought
him many honors and wards, including:
1988:
Buck Jones Memorial Trophy.
1991:
Achievement Award from the Riders of the Silver Screen Film Club
1994:
National Shoot-em Ups Plaque.
1995:
Achievement Award from the Riders of the Silver Screen Club.
2006:
Saddle Pal Award.
2007:
Edward A. Wall Memorial Award by the Williamsburg, VA Film Festival.
2008:
Awarded one-of-a- kind cowboy knife created exclusively for him by
master engraver Bill Rankin of Montana.
Bobby
Copeland is a dedicated
Christian man who has served as an usher,
a deacon and as a Sunday School teacher at his home church in Oak
Ridge, the Central Baptist Church.
Be sure to check out
his web site
devoted to providing B-Western trivia information for each day of the
year. You can go there by clicking HERE.
HOME
Last revised on Aug. 7, 2009
We are careful about our research, but errors may exist in
this listing. Western entertainers and/or their agents
are requested to submit recommended changes by contacting Cowboy Stan
through his e-mail address.
© 2000-2010 by Stan Paregien