Stan Paregien, Editor
William E. Vance
(Deceased)
William E. Vance spent his early years in Alabama, working in the coal mines at the age of fourteen, going to sea at fifteen and joining the U.S. Navy at the ripe old age of 16. He was discharged in 1934, and worked at various jobs on the West Coast. During World War II, his navy training got him a job in air traffic control with the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
Bill Vance began writing short stories for the Salt Lake Tribune when he was stationed in Utah, and he traveled widely in the Western states. Later, he took a job as public relations director and supervised the publication of a weekly newspaper and a monthly magazine.
But his heart was in free lance writing, so he returned to that until he and his wife had five little mouths to feed. Then he settled in back in Alabama and for five years edited the U.S. Army Aviation Digest. Still later, he went back to air traffic control work, this time in Seattle. And there he was active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, taught a Sunday School class in the Methodist Church and wrote articles and/or short stories for true confessions, juvenile publications, sex publications, radio, movies and TV.
He was employed with the Federal Aviation Administration and also taught classes on creative writing. He sometimes wrote under the name of George Cassidy.
He had written more than 40 Westerns, including The Branded Lawman (1952), Avenger from Nowhere (1953), Hard-Rock Rancher (1953), Apache War Cry (1955), Way Station West (1955), Homicide Lost (1956), Outlaws Welcome! (1958), Day of Blood (1961), Outlaw Brand (1964), Outlaw Country (1964), The Wolf Slayer (1964), Tracker (1964), The Wild Riders of Save Valley (1965), Son of a Desperado (1966), No Man's Brand (1967), The Raid at Crazyhorse (1967), Law and Outlaw (1982), Range War West and Drifter's Gold (1979), Death Stalks the Cheyenne Trail (1980), King of the Mountain (as George Cassidy, 1980).
His articles also appeared in such magazines as Argosy, True, Esquire and Adventure. (See his photo and an article about him by his wife in the May, 1963 issue of The Roundup.)
William E. Vance died on May 1, 1986.
Guy Vanderhaeghe
Guy Vanderhaeghe, novelist, was born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1951. He now lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He holds a Masters degree in History. He worked as an archivist, researcher and high school teacher in the 1970s before turning to writing as a full-time vocation.
In 1982, he wrote a collection of short stories under the title of Man Descending. It won the Governor General's Award for English fiction and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in Great Britain. Guy Vanderhaeghe wrote The Trouble with Heroes and Other Stories in 1983 and his first novel, My Present Age, in 1984.
He was a writer-in-residence at The University of Ottawa in 1985. And he has taught creative writing at a Saskatoon college.
In 1993 Vanderhaeghe's first play, "I Had a Job I Liked. Once.", was given the Canadian Authors Association prize for the best drama published that year.
Then in 1996 came Guy Vanderhaeghe's most well-known book, Englishman's Boy , for which he won the Governor General's Award for English fiction. The award is not a handshake and a cheap plaque. He received a cash award of $10,000. And it also won the Saskatchewan Book Award Fiction prize, and the Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award.
The book tells two stories: one about the Canadian West in the 1870s and another of Hollywood in the 1920s, while simultaneously taking a look at the macho mythology of the old West. Its focus in on the Cypress Hills Massacre that took place in 1873 near the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, and the story is told by two different characters. The incident itself happened after someone stole some horses from a group of wolf hunters near Fort Benton, Montana. The hunters believed that they knew who had raided their horses. They went straight to the Cypress Hills and attacked an Assiniboine encampment, killing between 20 and 30 people.
Guy Vanderhaeghe has also written another Western, The Last Crossing (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2004).
R.J. Vandygriff
Robert Joe Vandygriff, singer and songwriter and former rodeo cowboy, grew up in Roxton, Texas. He holds a B.S. in History from East Texas State University and a Masters from Life University.
He grew up ridin' horses and strumming an ol' guitar. He competed in saddlebronc and bareback in the sport of rodeo, and also worked as a rodeo clown and bullfighter.
As a singer and songwriter, R.J. Vandygriff has appeared with folks like Garth Brooks, The Judds, George Jones, Alabama, and Merle Haggard. He has recorded four country albums and one Western album. His records of "Big Blue Diamond" and "Say Lady" topped the charts in the early 70's. His "Dedicated" album went to number three on the European Country Music Charts, leading to eight successful tours of England and the European Continent. Robert Joe and his band, "The Shades of Country, toured the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Then Vandygriff turning his energy to acting. He has appeared in numerous commercials, a couple of movies, and in over 100 episodes of "Walker, Texas Ranger" on CBS.
R.J. Vandygriff was nominated as one of the TOP Western Humorist/Storytellers by the Academy of Western Artists in 2003! His one-man show, "The Cowboy Ain't Dead Yet!," will be available on video in the spring of 2004 along with educational home schooling videos about the history and life of the American Cowboy.
When not performing, Robert Joe Vandygriff raises and trains Quarter horses in north Texas. R.J. is a 32 degree Mason. And he is a Layman in the First Baptist Church of Gordonville, Texas.
CLICK HERE to go to R.J. Vandygriff's own web site, "The Cowboy Ain't Dead Yet".
Lee Van Cleff
(Deceased)
Lee Van Lee Van Cleef, actor, was born on . January 9, 1925. Van Cleef was actually a New Jersey farmer before being discovered by a local theater. Despite the fact that he had no intention of pursuing acting, he was continually cast in every production he read for. His first big screen break came in 1952 when he played bad guy Jack Colby in the classic Western, High Noon.
Van Cleef's height, weight, and looks (he was 6' 2", weighed 200 lbs, and looked like a snake just about to strike ) landed him consistent work as the bad guy or the bad guy's sidekick in a series of western films.
But Van Cleef didn't gain worldwide notoriety until he played the ruthless Mortimer in Sergio Leone's classic For a Few Dollars More (1965). Lee then became a staple of the "spaghetti western" genre, acting in such classics as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Death Rides a Horse, and Sabata.
His acting career lasted 44 years. And he even did a little bit of singing -- the vocals for the Captain Apache theme song.
Lee Van Cleef died of a heart attack on December 16, 1989 at Oxnard, CA. His remains are at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Hollywood Hills; Courts of Remembrance (Front lawn, right side middle), Serenity Section, Lot 156 ) in Los Angeles, CA.
CLICK HEREto see his complete filmography.
Teresa Van Etten
Teresa Van Etten teaches New Mexican folklore at Santa Fe Community College and is working with a PBS TV station in New Mexico to document her petroglyph symbol character studies. In 1989 she was named chairman of the Board of Regents of the National Pictographic Society.
Teresa Van Etten is the author of Ways of Indian Wisdom (Sunstone Press, 1987), Ways of Indian Magic (Sunstone Press, 1985) Dead Kachina Man (Sunstone Press, 1986), and Discovery: A southwest Bibliography (Sunstone Press).
CynthiaVannoy-Rhoades
A rancher and writer, Cynthia Vannoy-Rhoades is the author of Seasons of a Ranch (Pruett, 1986). She has also written for such outdoor magazines as North American Bow Hunters.
Jane Arnold Vaughan
Jane Arnold Vaughan is the author of three books for Zebra, using the pen name of Vivian Vaughan. Those books are Texas Twilight (1987), Heart's Desire (1987), and Runaway Passion (1988).
Glenn Vernam
A native of Kansas, GlennVernam spent his life in the West as a cowhand and rancher, from northern New Mexico to Canada. Although only having a 7th grade education, Vernam in 1928 began writing for publication. And he achieved success with such novels as Indian Hater (1964), Pioneer Breed, Redmen in White Moccasins, The Talking Rifle, and The Power of the Gods. He was also the author of such nonfiction books as Man on Horseback (1969).
Glenn Vernam died on March 2, 1980, at his Little Sheep Creek home on Thunderbird Ranch near Joseph, Oregon. He was 84. Paul Bailey said of Vernam, "From mile-and-sun-loppy Stetson, to a pair of legs that time had naturally bowed to a horse's middle, Glenn for us was the eternal figure of the authentic westerner who, in his books and short stories had spent a long lifetime telling it like it was. He was all West--kind, gentle, humorous and wise" (The Roundup, May, 1980. See his photo and article, "The Western Myth Myth", in The Roundup, June, 1982, p.12-13.)
Barbara Vernooy
Barbara Vernooy has had two novels published in the Doubleday DD western line: No Word for Farewell and To Ride A Borrowed Horse.
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 exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and let your glory be over all the earth.
--- Bible: Psalm 108:4
© 2003 by Stan Paregien, Sr.