Stan Paregien, Editor
Larry Underwood
Larry Underwood teaches high school history and German. He is a contributing editor to Illinois Magazine. His articles have appeared in True West, Old West, American History Illustrated, and Illinois Outdoors. He is the author of The Butternut Guerrillas: A Story of Grierson's Raid and of The Custer Fight and Other Tales of the Old West (Media Publishing). And he has produced six film scripts, three of which are Westerns.
Up the Creek
Terry Sneed founded the "Up the Creek" band in 1991, and they are making their mark with the Texas dance scene.
The Up the Creek Band currently consists of Glendell Williams, fiddle; Gary Clark, steel guitar; Bobby Rountree, guitar; Slim Hodge, bass guitar; and Rip Willis, drums.
The Up The Creek band plays a variety of western swing, traditional country, and Top 40 hits. The band has been crowd pleasers at such places as the legendary London Hall in London, the Stampede in Big Spring, the Cabaret in Bandera, and the Farmer's Daughter in San Antonio. For the fifth year they have been invited to perform along with such greats as Johnny Bush, Hank Thompson, Asleep at the Wheel and Ray Price at the four-day "Legends of Western Swing Festival" in Snyder.
Mae Urbanek
(Deceased)
Mae Urbanek was the author of The Covered Wagon (1958), Almost up Devil's Tower (fiction), Chief Washakie, Ghost Trails of Wyoming, Second Man (fiction), Know Wyoming, Songs of the Sage and Names on the Face of Wyoming.
Minerva Urecal
(Deceased)
Minerva Urecal, actress, was born as Minerva Holzer on Sept. 23, 1894 in Eureka, CA. She appeared in over 200 films during a 32 year career that spanned from 1933 to 1965. Many of her early roles were in crowd scenes and uncredited.She appeared in such Western TV series as "The Range Rider," "The Lone Ranger," "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok," and "The Adventures of Jim Bowie."
Minerva Urecal's Western films included "Frontier Scout" (1938), "Destry Rides Again" (1939), "The Sagebrush Family Trails West" (1940), "The Cowboy and the Blond" (1941), "Sons of the Pioneers" (1942), "Riding Through Nevada" (1942), "In Old California" (1942), "White Savage" (1943), "Wagon Tracks West" (1943), "Sioux City Sue" (1946) , "Saddle Pals" (1947), "Apache Rose" (1947), "Fury at Furnace Creek" (1948), "Marshal of Amarillo" (1948), "Outcasts of the Trail" (1949), Arizona Cowboy" (1950), "(Oklahoma Annie" (1952) and "Two-Gun Marshal" (1953).
Minerva Urecal died of a heart attack on Feb. 26, 1966 in Glendale, CA.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Minerva Urecal.
Robert Urich
(Deceased)
Robert Urich was born on Dec. 19, 1946 at Toronto, Ohio. In high school Urich was a fine athlete as well as an outstanding drama student. And he was even the choir master for the school choir.
He received a degree in Communications from Florida State University, thanks to a football scholarship (Bobby Bowden was the offensive coordinator, back then). And then he received a masters degreee in Broadcast Research and Management from the University of Michigan. Upon graduation from Michigan State, he went to work for WGN as an account executive. He ultimately became head of their research department.
Robert Urich holds the record for starring in the most television series.
Robert Urich's Western credits have, so far, been limited to TV productions. He appeared in "Kung Fu," "Gunsmoke," and "Little House on the Prairie". He was in the 1989 smash hit, "Lonesome Dove," TV mini-series. And he was starring in his own Western series, "The Lazarus Man," (1995-96) when he announced that he had synovial cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, and the executives promptly cancelled the show.
Recipient of Emmy and Cable Ace awards, Urich admits that in the past he had created a lifestyle that he could afford but was predicated on his working all the time, and taking jobs he didn't want to take. He said, "I don't know how it got out of control. But it turned into a runaway train."
After the cancer struck, Robert and his family decided to sell their 8,900-square-foot mountain home in Park City, Utah, and move into more modest surroundings in a home on a golf course in Los Angeles. He endured six major chemo courses that ran nine days in a row, each, a month of radiation, and two major surgeries. He lost all of his hair in the process.
A true fighter, Bob Urich recovered and resumed his career for three years or so. But the cancer returned and he died in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on April 16, 2002. Ironically, his last film -- "Night of the Wolf" -- debuted on the Animal Channel on the day that he died.
CLICK HERE to visit the official web page of Robert Urich.
CLICK HERE to see the complete filmography of Robert Urich.
Robert M. Utley
Robert M. Utley rose through the ranks of the National Park Service to become chief historian and, later, an assistant director. Now retired, he holds honorary doctorates from the University of New Mexico and from Purdue University. He is the author of several nonfiction books on frontier and military life, including High Noon In Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier (University of New Mexico Press), Last Days of the Sioux Nation (1963), Custer and the Great Controversy (Westernlore), Indian, Soldier and Settler (University of Washington Press, 1977), Four Fighters of Lincoln County (UNM Press, 1986), Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian, 1866-1891 (Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1984), The Indian Frontier of the American West, 1846-1890 (UNM Press, 1984), Frontiersmen in Blue: The U.S. Army and the Indian, 1848-1865 (Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1981), and with Wilcomb E. Washburn, Indian Wars (American Heritage, 1985).
His book, Cavalier in Buckskin (OU Press, 1988), was a finalist in the Spur competition in the "nonfiction book" category. That book won top honors from the Western heritage Awards presented by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in March, 1989.In addition, The Western History Association in 1995 established the Robert M. Utley Fellowship at the Western Historical Quarterly magazine to provide support to one of the two WHQ editorial assistants. The Western Writers of America bestowed its highest honor, The Owen Wister Award, to Robert M. Utley.
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 through his e-mail address.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
--- Bible: Ephesians 5:1-2
© 2003 by Stan Paregien, Sr.