SLIM PICKENS
Information from IMDb
Date of birth
29 June 1919
Kingsburg, California, USA
Date of death
8 December 1983
Modesto, California, USA. (brain tumor)
Birth name
Louis Bert Lindley Jr.
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Spouse
Margaret Pickens (? - ?)
Trivia
Ever remembered as the Air Force major from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), it is therefore ironic that Pickens' nephew, Jim "Slim" Pickens, became a career officer in the US Navy.
Before becoming an actor, Slim was riding on the rodeo circuit. Someone told him that he should take up another line of work because all he would ever get in the rodeo was "Slim Pickin's."
Brother of Easy Pickens
Dedicatee of Howard Waldrop's story "Night of the Cooters", whose protagonist is "Sheriff Bert Lindley".
Well, there was this big, lanky, fourteen-year-old California ranch kid, and he went into the rodeo manager's office and said, "Mister, I want to sign up for the calf-roping but my paw says I ain't allowed to. So I can't use my right name." And the manager said, "Son, no matter what name you use, it'll be slim pickin's out there today." So the boy said, "That's as good a name as any, I reckon-put me down as Slim Pickin's." The manager spelled it "Pickens," and the boy won $400 that afternoon. (As told to Ed Zern)
Was Stanley Kubrick's first choice to play the role of Dick Hollaran in the film The Shining (1980). Pickens declined, saying that after enduring Kubrick's notorious style of multiple retakes in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), he had no desire to work for Kubrick again. Subsequently, the role Hollaran went Scatman Crothers.
Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1982.
When he showed up on the set of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) fully dressed as a cowboy and speaking in a thick Southern accent, the British crew thought he was "Method" acting, not knowing that this was how he always dressed and acted.
Bareback bronc rider; saddle bronc rider; rodeo clown & bullfighter.
Inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the Rodeo Historical Society (a support group of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum) in 1986.
For his role as Major Kong in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), he had to travel to Shepperton Studios in England. Upon his arrival, it was discovered that he had never gotten a passport because he had never been outside the US before. His entrance was delayed while he had to go through the process of getting one before he was allowed to leave the airport.
Inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall Of Fame (2005)
Although he was known for his heavy Southern drawl, leading many to believe he was from Texas or Oklahoma, he was actually born not far from Fresno, California, and raised in California's San Joaquin Valley.
Personal Quotes
(From his character Taggart in Blazing Saddles (1974)): "What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?!"
"After 'Dr. Strangelove', the roles, the dressing rooms, and the checks all started gettin' bigger."
Mini Biography
Slim Pickens spent the early part of his career as a real cowboy and the latter part playing cowboys, and he is best remembered for a single "cowboy" image: that of bomber pilot Major "King" Kong waving his cowboy hat rodeo-style as he rides a nuclear bomb onto its target in the great black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Born in Kingsburg, in California's Central Valley, he spent much of his boyhood in nearby Hanford, where he began rodeoing at the age of 12. He spent the next two decades touring the country on the rodeo circuit, becoming a highly-paid and well-respected rodeo clown, a job that entailed enormous danger. At the age of 31 he was given a role in a western, Rocky Mountain (1950), and quickly found a niche in both comic and villainous roles in that genre. With his hoarse voice and pronounced western twang, he was not always easy to cast outside the genre, but when he was, as in "Dr. Strangelove", the results were often memorable. He died in 1983 after a long and courageous battle against a brain tumor. He was survived by his wife Margaret and three children, Darryle Ann, Thom, and Margaret Lou. His brother has acted under the name Easy Pickens.
IMDb mini-biography by Jim Beaver
Flmography
Actor
1. Sawyer and Finn (1983) (TV)
2. Pink Motel (1982) .... Roy
3. "Filthy Rich" (1982) TV Series .... Big Guy Beck (I)
4. "The Nashville Palace" (1981) TV Series .... Regular (1981-82)
5. The Nashville Grab (1981) (TV) .... Ross Common
6. "Best of the West"
- The Prisoner (1981) TV Episode .... Sheriff
7. Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase (1981) (TV) .... Ben Khlover
... aka Charlie's Balloon
8. This House Possessed (1981) (TV) .... Arthur Keene
9. The Howling (1981) .... Sam Newfield
10. "B.J. and the Bear" .... Sergeant Beauregard Wiley (1979-1980)
- Snow White and the Seven Lady Truckers: Part 1 (1981) TV Episode .... Sergeant Beauregard Wiley
- Snow White and the Seven Lady Truckers: Part 2 (1981) TV Episode .... Sergeant Beauregard Wiley
- Mary Ellen (1979) TV Episode .... Sgt. Wiley
11. Christmas Mountain (1981)
... aka The Cowboy Angel (USA: video title)
... aka The Story of a Cowboy Angel
12. Honeysuckle Rose (1980) .... Garland Ramsey
... aka On the Road Again (USA: reissue title)
13. Tom Horn (1980) .... Sheriff Sam Creedmore
14. Swan Song (1980) (TV) .... George
15. "The Love Boat"
- The Kinfolk/Sis and the Slicker/Moonlight and Moonshine/Affair: Part 1 (1980) TV Episode .... Grandpa Shoenfield
- The Kinfolk/Sis and the Slicker/Moonlight and Moonshine/Affair: Part 2 (1980) TV Episode .... Grandpa Shoenfield
16. The Black Hole (1979) (voice) .... Bob
17. Spirit of the Wind (1979) .... Obie
... aka Attla (USA)
18. 1941 (1979) .... Hollis P. Wood
19. "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo"
... aka Lobo (USA: new title)
- Finders Keepers: Part 2 (1979) TV Episode
- Finders Keepers: Part 1 (1979) TV Episode
20. Undercover with the KKK (1979) (TV) .... Yancey Hicks
... aka My Undercover Years with the KKK
... aka The Freedom Riders
21. Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979) .... Tex
22. The Sacketts (1979) (TV) .... Jack Bigelow
... aka The Daybreakers (USA: cut version)
23. "Disneyland"
... aka Disney's Wonderful World (USA: new title)
... aka The Disney Sunday Movie (USA: new title)
... aka The Magical World of Disney (USA: new title)
... aka The Wonderful World of Disney (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney Presents (USA: new title)
... aka Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (USA: new title)
- Never a Dull Moment (1979) TV Episode .... Cowboy Schaeffer
- The Apple Dumpling Gang (1976) TV Episode .... Frank Stillwell
- Runaway on the Rogue River (1974) TV Episode .... Bucky Steele
- Bristle Face: Part 2 (1964) TV Episode .... Newt Pribble
- Bristle Face: Part 1 (1964) TV Episode .... Newt Pribble
(16 more)
24. The Sweet Creek County War (1979) .... Jitters Pippen
25. Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws (1978) .... Sheriff Ledy
... aka J.D. and the Salt Flat Kid (USA)
... aka Smokey and the Outlaw Women (USA)
26. "Vega$"
- Yes, My Darling Daughter (1978) TV Episode .... Ben Handler
27. The Swarm (1978) .... Jud Hawkins
28. The Busters (1978) (TV) .... Kane
29. "How the West Was Won" (1978) (mini) TV Series (uncredited) .... Tap Henry
30. The Shadow of Chikara (1977) .... Virgil Cane
... aka Demon Mountain
... aka Diamond Mountain (USA)
... aka Shadow Mountain (USA: reissue title)
... aka The Ballad of Virgil Cane
... aka The Curse of Demon Mountain
... aka Thunder Mountain
... aka Wishbone Cutter
31. The White Buffalo (1977) .... Abel Pickney (stage driver)
... aka Hunt to Kill (USA: TV title)
32. "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams"
- The Unholy Beast (1977) TV Episode
33. "Baretta"
- Big Bad Charlie (1977) TV Episode .... Charlie
- When Dues Come Down (1975) TV Episode .... Mazurski
34. Mr. Billion (1977) .... Duane Hawkins
... aka The Windfall
35. The Winged Colt (1977) (TV)
36. Pony Express Rider (1976) .... Bob Jay
37. Hawmps! (1976) .... Naman Tucker
38. Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free (1976) (TV) .... Lijah Tuttle
... aka Banjo Hackett
39. "McMillan & Wife"
... aka McMillan (USA: sixth season title)
- Greed (1976) TV Episode .... William Halstead
40. Babe (1975) (TV) .... Colonel M.J. McCombs
41. White Line Fever (1975) .... Duane Haller
42. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) .... Frank Stillwell
43. Poor Pretty Eddy (1975) .... Orville
44. Rancho Deluxe (1975) .... Henry Beige
45. The Legend of Earl Durand (1974) .... Phil Chumley
46. Ginger in the Morning (1974) .... Sheriff
47. Bootleggers (1974) .... Grandpa Pruitt
... aka Bootleggers' Angel
48. The Gun and the Pulpit (1974) (TV) .... Billy One-Eye
49. Twice in a Lifetime (1974) (TV) .... Pete Lazich
50. Blazing Saddles (1974) .... Taggart
... aka Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles or Never Give a Saga an Even Break (USA: poster title)
51. "Kung Fu"
- Empty Pages of a Dead Book (1974) TV Episode .... Bart Fisher
52. Runaway on Rogue River (1974) (TV) .... Bucky Steele
53. "Hawaii Five-O"
... aka McGarrett (USA: rerun title)
- One Big Happy Family (1973) TV Episode .... Sam
54. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) .... Sheriff Colin Baker
55. "Night Gallery"
... aka Rod Serling's Night Gallery (USA)
- Die Now, Pay Later (1973) TV Episode .... Sheriff Ned Harlow
56. The Getaway (1972) .... Cowboy
57. "The Partridge Family"
- Nag, Nag, Nag (1972) TV Episode .... Trainer
58. "Alias Smith and Jones"
- The Strange Fate of Conrad Meyer Zulick (1972) TV Episode .... Sheriff Sam
- The Day They Hanged Kid Curry (1971) TV Episode .... Sheriff Whittaker
- The Man Who Murdered Himself (1971) TV Episode .... Sheriff Benton
- Exit from Wickenburg (1971) TV Episode .... Mike
59. Rolling Man (1972) (TV) .... Chuck
60. "Gunsmoke"
... aka Gun Law (UK)
... aka Marshal Dillon (USA: rerun title)
- The River: Part 2 (1972) TV Episode .... Charley Utter
- The River: Part 1 (1972) TV Episode .... Charley Utter
- The Scavengers (1970) TV Episode .... Colley
- Sweet Billy, Singer of Songs (1966) TV Episode .... Pony Beal
- Once a Haggen (1964) TV Episode .... Bucko Taos
61. The Honkers (1972) .... Clete
62. J.C. (1972) .... Grady
... aka Iron Horsemen
63. The Cowboys (1972) .... Anse Petersen
64. Outdoor Rambling (1972)
65. The Devil and Miss Sarah (1971) (TV) .... Stoney
66. Temporada salvaje (1971)
... aka Savage Season (USA: TV title)
... aka The Wild Season (USA)
67. Hitched (1971) (TV) .... Sam/Bart Dawson
... aka Westward the Wagon (UK)
68. The Deserter (1971) .... Tattinger
69. "Mary Tyler Moore"
... aka The Mary Tyler Moore Show (USA: promotional title)
- The 45-Year-Old Man (1971) TV Episode .... Wild Jack Monroe
70. "The Virginian"
... aka The Men from Shiloh (USA: new title)
- The Angus Killer (1971) TV Episode .... Sheriff
- Big Image...Little Man (1964) TV Episode .... Hogy
- Run Quiet (1963) TV Episode .... Slim
71. Sam Hill: Who Killed Mr. Foster? (1971) (TV) .... Kilpatrick
... aka Sam Hill: Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?
72. "The Name of the Game"
- Little Bear Died Running (1970) TV Episode .... Joe Cutter
73. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) .... Ben Fairchild
74. "Bonanza"
... aka Ponderosa (USA: rerun title)
- What Are Pardners For? (1970) TV Episode .... Sheriff
- Catch as Catch Can (1968) TV Episode .... Sheriff Gant
- King of the Mountain (1964) TV Episode .... Big Jim Leyton
- Half a Rogue (1963) TV Episode .... Big Jim Leyton
75. "Medical Center"
- The Professional (1970) TV Episode .... Smokey Bradville
76. Rosolino Paternò: Soldato... (1970) .... General Maxwell
77. 80 Steps to Jonah (1969) .... Scott
78. The Desperate Mission (1969) (TV) .... Three-Finger Jack
... aka Joaquin Murietta (USA)
79. "That Girl"
- Nobody Here But Us Chickens (1969) TV Episode .... Major Culpepper
80. "Ironside"
... aka The Raymond Burr Show (USA: syndication title)
- Goodbye to Yesterday (1969) TV Episode
81. "Mannix"
- Only Giants Can Play (1969) TV Episode .... Mike Ray
82. Skidoo (1968) .... Switchboard Operator
83. "The Outcasts"
- The Outcasts (1968) TV Episode .... Sergeant
84. Never a Dull Moment (1968) .... Cowboy Schaeffer
85. "Gentle Ben"
- Ol' Joe's Gotta Go (1968) TV Episode .... Lloyd Larkin
86. Will Penny (1968) .... Ike Walterstein
87. "Cimarron Strip"
- Fool's Gold (1968) TV Episode .... Malachi Grimes
88. The Legend of Custer (1968) .... California Joe Milner
89. "Custer" (1967) TV Series .... California Joe Milner
... aka The Legend of Custer (USA: theatrical title)
90. The Flim-Flam Man (1967) .... Jarvis Bates
... aka One Born Every Minute (UK)
91. Rough Night in Jericho (1967) .... Yarbrough
92. Magnifico extranjero, El (1967) .... Sheriff
... aka The Magnificent Stranger (USA)
93. "Run for Your Life"
- A Very Small Injustice (1967) TV Episode .... Sheriff Hoag
94. Tipo dificil de matar, Un (1967)
95. "Daniel Boone"
- Dan'l Boone Shot a B'ar (1966) TV Episode .... Cletus Mott
- The Deserter (1966) TV Episode .... Simon Harman
96. An Eye for an Eye (1966) .... Ike Slant
... aka Talion
97. "The Legend of Jesse James"
- Wanted: Dead and Only (1966) TV Episode .... Sheriff Homer Brinks
98. Stagecoach (1966) .... Buck, Stage Driver
99. The Young Rounders (1966)
100. The Glory Guys (1965) .... Sgt. James Gregory
101. Up from the Beach (1965) .... Artillery Colonel
102. In Harm's Way (1965) .... C.P.O Culpepper
103. Major Dundee (1965) .... Wiley
104. "Profiles in Courage"
- Sam Houston (1964) TV Episode .... Rogers
105. "Rawhide"
- The Backshooter (1964) TV Episode .... Sheriff McKay
106. "The Fugitive"
- Nemesis (1964) TV Episode .... Corbin
107. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
- The Iowa-Scuba Affair (1964) TV Episode .... Clint Spinner
108. "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"
- The Jar (1964) TV Episode .... Clem Carter
109. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) .... Maj. T.J. 'King' Kong
... aka Dr. Strangelove
110. Bristle Face (1964) (TV) .... Newt Pribble
... aka Fox Hunter
111. "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters"
- The Day of the Homeless (1963) TV Episode .... Bly
112. Savage Sam (1963) .... Willy Crup
113. "The Wide Country"
- Speckle Bird (1963) TV Episode .... Slim Walker
- Don't Cry for Johnny Devlin (1963) TV Episode .... Slim Walker
- Memory of a Filly (1963) TV Episode .... Slim Walker
- Tears on a Painted Face (1962) TV Episode .... Slim Walker
114. "Wagon Train"
... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
- The Eve Newhope Story (1962) TV Episode
- The Tent City Story (1958) TV Episode .... Rafe
115. "The Tall Man"
- The Black Robe (1962) TV Episode
116. "Route 66"
- A Long Piece of Mischief (1962) TV Episode .... Jud
117. "Outlaws" (1960) TV Series .... Slim (1961-62)
118. A Thunder of Drums (1961) .... Trooper Erschick
119. "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"
- Final Arrangements (1961) TV Episode .... Bradshaw
120. "COronado 9"
- Gone Goose (1961) TV Episode
121. One-Eyed Jacks (1961) .... Deputy Lon Dedrick
122. "The Americans"
- The Escape (1961) TV Episode .... Johnson
123. "Surfside 6"
- Ghost of a Chance (1961) TV Episode .... Muskrat George
124. Chartroose Caboose (1960) .... Pete Harmon
125. "The Westerner"
... aka The Westerners (USA: syndication title)
- Line Camp (1960) TV Episode .... Oscar Hudson
126. "Daniel Boone" (1960) (mini) TV Series .... Captain Gass
127. "Riverboat"
- River Champion (1960) TV Episode
128. "Overland Trail"
... aka Overland Stage
- Sour Annie (1960) TV Episode .... Allard
129. "Texas John Slaughter"
- The Slaughter Trail (1959) TV Episode .... Buck
- Killers from Kansas (1959) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Stagecoach Driver
130. "Frontier Doctor"
... aka Man of the West (USA: syndication title)
... aka Unarmed (USA: syndication title)
- Bittercreek Gang (1959) TV Episode
131. Stump Run (1959) .... Babe Gaskin
... aka Stump Run in Skunk Hollow (USA: reissue title)
132. Tonka (1958) .... Ace
... aka A Horse Named Comanche (USA: reissue title)
133. "Maverick"
- The Spanish Dancer (1958) TV Episode .... Jed
134. Escort West (1958) .... Wheeler
135. "Sugarfoot"
... aka Tenderfoot (UK)
- Short Range (1958) TV Episode .... Henry
- Brannigan's Boots (1957) TV Episode .... Shorty
136. The Sheepman (1958) .... Marshal
... aka Stranger with a Gun (USA: new title)
137. The Saga of Andy Burnett (1957) (TV) .... Old Bill Williams
138. Gunsight Ridge (1957) .... Hank Moss
139. "Cheyenne"
- Big Ghost Basin (1957) TV Episode .... Gary Owen
140. "Annie Oakley"
- Grubstake Bank (1956) TV Episode .... Garner
- Annie Rings the Bell (1956) TV Episode .... Ed Morgan
- The Waco Kid (1956) TV Episode .... Slim
- Annie and the Leprechauns (1956) TV Episode .... Sundown
141. "Circus Boy"
- The Proud Pagliacci (1956) TV Episode .... Curly
142. "The Lone Ranger"
- The Letter Bride (1956) TV Episode .... Ed Jones
- The Sheriff of Smoke Tree (1956) TV Episode .... Joe Boley
143. Gun Brothers (1956) .... Moose MacLain
144. "Buffalo Bill, Jr."
- A Diamond for Grandpa (1956) TV Episode
- Kansas City Lady (1956) TV Episode
145. The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) .... Pete Bracken
... aka Andrews' Raiders (USA: TV title)
146. Stranger at My Door (1956) .... Ben Silas
147. When Gangland Strikes (1956) .... Slim Pickett
148. The Last Command (1955) .... Abe
... aka San Antonio de Bexar (USA)
149. Santa Fe Passage (1955) .... Sam Beekman
150. "Stories of the Century"
... aka The Fast Guns (USA: reissue title)
- Kate Bender (1955) TV Episode .... Driver Billy Hilton
- The Wild Bunch of Wyoming (1954) TV Episode .... The Smiling Kid
151. The Outcast (1954) .... Boone Polsen
... aka The Fortune Hunter (UK)
152. The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) .... Shorty, Turlock Henchman
153. Phantom Stallion (1954) .... Slim
154. Shadows of Tombstone (1953) .... Slim Pickens
155. Down Laredo Way (1953) .... Slim Pickens
156. Iron Mountain Trail (1953) .... Slim Pickens
157. The Sun Shines Bright (1953) .... Sterling, Lanky Backwoodsman
158. Old Overland Trail (1953) .... Slim Pickens
159. Thunderbirds (1952) .... Pvt. Shelby
160. South Pacific Trail (1952) .... Slim Pickens
161. Old Oklahoma Plains (1952) .... Slim
162. The Story of Will Rogers (1952) .... Dusty Donovan
163. Border Saddlemates (1952) .... Slim Pickens
164. The Last Musketeer (1952) .... Slim Pickens
165. Colorado Sundown (1952) .... Joshua 'Slim' Pickens/Ma Pickens
166. Rocky Mountain (1950) .... Plank (CSA)
Soundtrack
1. The Honkers (1972) (writer: "I'm a Rodeo Cowboy") (performer: "I'm a Rodeo Cowboy")
Composer
1. The Honkers (1972) (song "I'm a Rodeo Cowboy")
Miscellaneous Crew
1. The Honkers (1972) (singer: "I'm a Rodeo Cowboy")
Self
1. "Hee Haw" .... Himself (1981-1983)
- Episode #14.1 (1982) TV Episode .... Himself
2. "The Merv Griffin Show"
- Episode dated 26 November 1970 (1970) TV Episode .... Himself
3. Red River Shore (1953) .... Himself
