Jose Cisneros
Jose Cisneros was born in Villa Ocampo, Durango, Mexico in 1910. He moved to Juarez in 1925 and, later, across the border to El Paso, where he painted buses until 1973. He designed the official coat of arms for the city of Juarez and his paintings hang in such places as the home of George Bush. He did the dustjacket illustrations for Floyd S. Fierman's, Guts and Ruts. And he is the author and illustrator of Riders Across the Centuries: Horsemen of the Spanish Borderlands (Texas Western Press, 1984), a book which won the National Cowboy Hall of Fame's "Western Heritage Award". The book also won a 1985 Southwest Book Award, presented by the Border Regional Library Association. He is also the author of Faces of the Borderlands (Texas Western Press, 1977).
Cisneros is recognized as an authority on dress during the Spanish colonial period in the United States, having illustrated more than 60 books and created thousands of pen-and-ink drawings.
Badger Clark
(Deceased)
Badger Clark, writer and cowboy poet, was born in 1883. His father, Charles Badger Clark, was an abolutionist who had been wounded at the Battle of Vicksburg. He went from carrying a gun to carrying a Bible, as he became a Methodist preacher. Then he married Mary Ellen Cleaver. And in 1883 their first child, Charles Badger Clark, Jr., born at Albia, Iowa.
Badger Clark's father was still recovering from his Civil War wounds and decided to return to farming, and moved the family to the Dakota Territory. But by 1898 the senior Clark was back in the ministry, this time in Deadwood, SD. It was there that Badger's mother died. Three years later his father married Anna Morris, a dramatics teacher in high school. And it was she, more than anyone else, who stirred young Badger's interest in words.
Badger Clark graduated from high school in Deadwood, SD. He went to Dakota Wesleyan University (Mitchell, SD) for just one year, then caught caught up in the fervor of a group of people who were going to homestead in Cuba. So in Dec., of 1903, off they went. And four months later, poorer and wiser, most of them returned. Except for Badger Clark.
Clark found a job as an assistant to a plantation owner. Unfortunately, that farmer was a violent man and shot and killed one of his neighbors over a boundary dispute. And Badger was charged as an accessory. He spent six months in a miserable jail cell, where his health deteriorated. But during that time, he began to put his thoughts onto paper and into rhyme. And a poet was born. He sent those writings to his stepmother, and she lavished praise upon his work.
When he was finally acquitted and released, he returned to his family in Deadwood. But his health situation grew even worse. And when a doctor recommended a drier climate, the young Clark jumped at the chance. He wound up living at the Cross I Quarter Circle Ranch, 15 miles outside of Tombstone, AZ. At first he was an unpaid hand, but still received food and lodging thanks to the friendly foreman.
Like a sponge, he absorbed the local folklore. He watched what the working cowboys did and listened carefully to their speech and stories as often as he could.Two months later he wrote his first cowboy poem, "Ridin'". He sent a copy to his stepmother back in Deadwood. Imagine his surprise when, a few weeks later, he received a check for $10 (a pretty nice check, back then) from Pacific Monthly magazine in payment for the poem. It turned out that his stepmother, proud of him and recognizing his real talent, had submitted the poem to the magazine.
Clark spent four years at that ranch, in love with the clear colors of the Western horizon and the cowboy way of live. All of that would be foundational for his later work.
After his return to the Black Hills, he and his parents lived in Hot Springs, SD. Then, following the deaths of his father and stepmother, Badger Clark built himself a small cabin in what is now Custer State Park, some eight miles from Custer City. That modest cabin is now called "The Badger Hole". After a cabin tour, visitors may hike the Badger Clark Historic Trail and read his poetry at quiet stops among the pines. He lived there by himself for the rest of his life. He died in 1957. 
His first book of poetry was Sun and Saddle Leather, published in 1915 and reprinted as late as 1962 (the copy that I have in my own library). His second volumn of poetry, Grass Grown Trails, was published in 1917. In 1920 those two books appeared in one volumn, under the title of Sun and Saddle Leather.
Badger Clark tried his hand at writing a novel, and got it published in 1925. However, Spike was not a success by anyone's standard and never tried that again. In 1927, When Hot Springs Was a Pup was published.
There is a Badger Clark Elementary School at 401 Don Williams Dr. in Box Elder, SD 57719. But on their web site they make no mention of their namesake.
Here below is one of Badger Clark's most famous cowboy poems. It is often recited at cowboy poetry gatherings, and Don Edwards has put it to music and sings it on one of his albums.
A Cowboy's Prayer
by Badger Clark
(Written for Mother)Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow.
I love creation better as it stood
That day You finished it so long ago
And looked upon Your work and called it good.I know that others find You in the light
That's sifted down through tinted window panes,
And yet I seem to feel You near tonight
In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well,
That You have made my freedom so complete;
That I'm no slave of whistle, clock or bell,
Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street.Just let me live my life as I've begun
And give me work that's open to the sky;
Make me a pardner of the wind and sun,
And I won't ask a life that's soft or high.Let me be easy on the man that's down;
Let me be square and generous with all.
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town,
But never let 'em say I'm mean or small!Make me as big and open as the plains,
As honest as the hawse between my knees,
Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains,
Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze!Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget.
You know about the reasons that are hid.
You understand the things that gall and fret;
You know me better than my mother did.Just keep an eye on all that's done and said
And right me, sometimes, when I turn aside,
And guide me on the long, dim, trail ahead
That stretches upward toward the Great Divide.
OTHER POEMS:
The Glory Trail (or High Chin Bob)
A Border Affair (or Spanish is the Lovin' Tongue)
L.D. Clark
L.D. Clark, now retired from teaching at the University of Arizona, has written for American West. In May and June of 1987 he served as a visiting professor at Kansai university in Japan. His novel, A Charge of Angels, was published by Confluence Press in 1987. And he is the author of two novels, The Dove Tree (1961) and The Fifth Wind, as well as a collection of short stories published under the title of Is This Naomi? and Other Stories.
L.D. Clark is a noted authority on D.H. Lawrence. His first book, Dark Night of the Body (1964), was a critical study of D.H. Lawrence's The Plumed Serpent. His scholarly edition of D.H. Lawrence's The Plumed Serpent was published by Cambridge University Press in 1988. And The University of Arizona Press has published his third "Lawrence" book, The Minoan Distance: The Symbolism of Travel in D.H. Lawrence.
As many WWA conventioneers will testify, L.D. is also noted for his talented guitar playing and for singing in either English or Spanish.
LaVerne Clark
LaVerne Clark, born in Smithville, Tex. on June 6, 1929. She is a graduate of Texas Woman's University (1950), has an M.A. from the University of Arizona (1962) and has done further graduate work toward a master of fine arts degree. She is an accomplished freelance writer and photographer who was director of the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson from 1962 to 1966.
LaVerne Clark's books include They Sang for Horses: The Impact of the Horse on Navajo and Apache Folklore (Univ. of Arizona Press, 1966) Revisiting the Plains' Indian's Homeland of Mari Sandoz (1977), as editor The Face of Poetry (1977,1979), They Sang for Horses (1966, 1971, 1984), The Deadly Swarm and Other Stories (Hermes Hous Press), won a national first place for fiction award from the 1986 Biennial Letters Contest of the National League of American Pen Women. Her articles have appeared in St. Andrews Review, American Scandinavian Review, Arizona and the West, American Indian Quarterly, Bits and Pieces, Journal of Popular Culture, Cache Review and Pembroke Magazine.
Lawrence Clayton
Dr. Lawrence Clayton graduated from Rusk (Texas) High School in 1956, received his A.A. from Ranger (Texas) Junior College in 1958, where he was student body president and was named to "Who's Who" (and in 1977 he was named Outstanding Alumnus). He was elected to Kappa Kelta Pi at and earned his B.S. from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1960, and the M.Ed. in 1964. He earned his M.A. in 1969 at North Texas State University, then received his Ph.D. in English from Texas Tech University in 1974 and was also elected to Phi Kappa Phi..
He taught high school English in Rusk, Texas (1960 to 1965) and Carrollton, Texas (1965-68). He then moved to the college level in 1968, accepting an instructor's job at Hardin-Simmons University. He became head of the English department and, since 1980, has served as an English professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He was named Faculty Member of the Year, for 1987-88.
He is the Literary Criticism Editor of Cross Timbers Review, a director of the Southwestern Literature Association and the West Texas Historical Association. he has also served as an officer, counselor, and director of the Texas Folklore Society.
Lawrence Clayton has a keen interest in contemporary West Texas cowboys. His photo and his article, "Cowboy Poetry," appeared in the Sept., 1987 issue of The Roundup. He has also written for Western American Literature, Old West, Concho River Review, Southwestern American Literature, the West Texas Historical Association Yearbook, English in Texas, Redneck Review of Literature, Heritage of the Great Plains, Folklore Forum, Abilene (Texas) Magazine, Horseman, Parenting Today, Dallas (Texas) Times-Herald, True West, Old West, and National Tombstone Epitaph.
Clayton may be the leading authority on fellow Texas writer Elmer Kelton. He wrote Elmer Kelton (Boise State University Press, 1986), and he edited a collection of Kelton's short stories under the title, There's Always Another Chance (Fort Concho Museum Press, 1986). And he co-edited a collection entitled, Living and Writing in West Texas: Two Speeches by Elmer Kelton (Hardin Simmons University Press, 1988).
The Claytons worked together--with wife Sonja doing the photography--to produce, Clear Fork Cowboys: Contemporary Cowboys along the Clear Fork of the Brazos River (Cowboy Press of Abilene, 1985) and Ranch Rodeos in West Texas (Hardin-Simmons, 1988).
He is also the author of Benjamin Capps (University of North Texas Press, 1989), and Horsin' Around: Contemporary Cowboy Humor (Wayne State University Press, 1989). And he co-edited the memoirs of a Wyoming cowboy, Pulling Leather (High Plains Press, 1988).
He was a panelist at the first annual Cowboy Symposium and Celebration in Lubbock, Tex. in 1989 and has present papers and spoken on over 50 other panels. He holds memberships in the Southwestern American Literature Association, Taylor County Historical Commission (this organization in 1986 gave Dr. Clayton an Award of Commendation), Texas Folklore Society, Texas Joint Council of Teachers of English, Western Literature Association, West Texas Historical Association, National Association of Academic Affairs Administrators, and Texas Association of Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Wallace E. Clayton
(Deceased)
Wallace E. Clayton was the long-time editor of the National Tombstone Epitaph (P.O. Box 1880, Tombstone, AZ 85638) and spoke at the 1985 WWA convention in San Antonio.
Dick House wrote an article about Wally and the Epitaph in the Sept., 1986 issue of The Roundup.
Jimmy Clem
Jimmy Clem, actor, played in three Western movies: Winterhawk (1976), The Winds of Autumn (1976) and The Grayeagle (1978).
Calvin J. Clements, Sr.
Calvin J. Clements, Sr. was born on Feb. 14, 1915 at Jersey City, N.J. By the age of 14, he was out on his own. He joined the U.S. Navy when he was only 16, then he worked at odd jobs until he became a Federal prison guard at the age of 23. He joined the New York Police Department when he was 24, and retired as a Fireboat Pilot in 1959.
After "retiring," he moved to Los Angeles, Calif. and began writing. His credits include some 300 TV shows and several screen plays. He is now writing a book about Hollywood.
In the film industry, he held such jobs as story editor, executive story consultant, associate producer, and supervising producer. He was associated with the "Gunsmoke" TV series for many years, along with fellow WWA member John Mantley.
His byline has appeared in magazines like Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Argosy, Blue Book, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and some 40 others, often in conjunction with the work of Bill Cox and Bill Fay. In the 1950's he had four paperback adventure novels published by Gold Medal and Popular Library. Clements has been a member of WWA since 1969, and he chaired the WWA Film Awards selection committee for many years. He became a member of Writers Guild of America, West, in 1959.
In 1966 he received an American Heritage award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame for best TV writing. And he received a Spur from WWA in 1973 for his TV Script, "The Deadly Innocent" (Gunsmoke series), and another in 1978 for his TV Script, "How the West Was Won" (co-written by Earl W. Wallace and WWA member John Mantley). He describes his favorite hobbies as "walking in the woods and kicking pebbles."
Montgomery Clift
(Deceased)
Montomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920. The son of wealth parents, Clift appeared on Broadway at the age of 13 and by age 23 was in Hollywood. He was also by then fully homosexual, although the Hollywood studio publicists often showed him "dating" various women.Montgomery Clift's first film was the Western classic "Red River" (1948) with John Wayne. His only other Western was "The Misfits" with Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe.
Clift had numerous health problems (colitis and severe allergies), which he aggrevated by abusing drugs and alcohol. He wound up spending much of his money on psychological treatment.
In 1956 he was driving drunk, following a party at the home of Elizabeth Taylor, and nearly died when he hit a tree. His face was badly injured and he had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery.
This paperback book was published in 1978 by Avon and was written by Robert LaGuardia.
Montgomery Clift died in New York City on July 23, 1966 from occlusive coronary artery disease. His remains are in the Quaker Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Montgomery Clift.
Andy Clyde
(Deceased)
Andy Clyde was born on March 25, 1892 in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. He appeared in more than 225 films, starting with the silent film "A Small Town Idol" in 1921. He usually made several films a year, and in 1930 appeared in an astounding 18 films that year alone.
His Westerns included "Annie Oakley" (1935), "Cherokee Strip" (1940, "Three Men from Texas" (1940), "Riders of the Timberline" (1941), "In Old Colorado" (1941), "Border Vigilantes" (1941), "Lost Canyon" (1942), "Colt Comrades" (1943), "Hoppy Serves a Writ" (1943), "Bar 20" (43), Texas Masquerade" (1944), "Hoppy's Holliday" (1947), "Sundown Riders" (1948), and his last Western, "Abilene Trail" in 1951.
Andy Clyde was the comical sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy in many of those films. And in them he was often called "California" or "California Carson".
Andy Clyde finished his successful acting career with roles on TV shows. He was a regular on the "Lassie" program as Cully Wilson (1958-64). And he was a regular on "The Real McCoys" as well (1957-63).
Andy Clyde died on May 18, 1967 in Los Angeles. His remains are in the Forest Lawn Cemetery (Whispering Pines, Lot 81) in Glendale, CA.
CLICK HERE to see Andy Clyde's complete filmography.
This listing is far from complete and may contain errors. Therefore, all Western entertainers and/or their agents are requested to submit recommended changes by contacting Stan Paregien.
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
--- Jesus the Christ (Bible: Mark 10:15.
© 2003 by Stan Paregien, Sr.
