Movie/TV Cowboy: Slim Pickens started as a rodeo rider and changed his name from Louis Lindley so his father wouldn’t find out about his dangerous sport.
He was born in 1919 and his first film was in 1945 in “Smoky” with Fred MacMurray. He worked with Errol Flynn in “Rocky Mountain” before joining Republic Pictures in 1951 as the sidekick for Rex Allen.
Slim appeared in a number of westerns including “The Big Country” with Gregory Peck, the 1974 “Blazing Saddles” and was a regular on two TV series: “The Outlaws” and “Custer”.
Slim also was a regular on “Hee Haw”, noted for his incredibly twangy voice.His most famous role, however, was as Major King Kong in “Dr. Strangelove” where he rode a nuclear bomb like a bucking bronco.
He was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.