Voices of the West

We celebrate America's 250th birthday and the birthday of our Founder--Emil Franzi. Indeed, he was a Yankee Doodle Dandy born on the Fourth of July! Emil's daughter, Monica, and son-in-law, Darryl, join us to remember Franzi, as we affectionally called him. Lots of stories and clips from previous interviews.

E.J. Stephens joins us to talk about where the silent westerns were filmed. Most of them were produced in the Santa Clarita area, north of Hollywood. E.J. and his wife operate a tour company showing off those locations. Visit his website here .

Dave Kennedy from the U.S. Marshals Museum joins us to talk about this new museum dedicated to telling the stories of the U.S. Marshals. It's located at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Visit their website here . The U.S. Marshals Service was established in 1789 and their primary job is to serve as the enforcement arm of the U.S. District Courts.

Western Author Scott McCrea joins us for the hour. This guy has written a buttload of Westerns as well as books in other genres. He's a member of the Western Writers of America and a hoot to talk with!

On this edition of Movie Saturday, we talk about Indigenous Film Makers.

Our program for this time is about this, that, and, the other thing.

It's our version of a Seinfeld episode--not about anything, but about everything!

Western Writers of America author R.G. Yoho joins us to talk about his books, which number more than a dozen. His books are fiction save for the story of Charles E. Lively who was called the "The Deadliest Man in the West Virginia-Colorado Coal Mine Wars" of the early 1900s. You can find his books here .

It's our Movie Saturday program from the White Stallion Ranch! Our topic is the Westerns that changed the Genre. Not the shoot 'em ups, but thinking man Westerns. Think about "Stagecoach" from1939, some of the notable silent westerns with William S. Hart and others.

Cindy Mitchum Azbill joins us. She's the daughter of actor John Mitchum and the niece of actor Robert Mitchum. The book is "Them Ornery Mitchum Boys" written by John. It details a number of stories about the Mitchum boys growing up and eventually working in Hollywood. The book had been out of print, but is now being reprinted. You can find it here .

Today's program attempts to answer the age-old question of what happened to tumbleweeds in the Old West. Also, when movie critics make complete fools of themselves.

We take this hour to talk about Cowboy Jerry England. He's done a lot of different things in his life, including canoeing, mounted shooting and making furniture. He has a couple of books out about famous movie locations in California. He is also able to trace his lineage back to the Vikings. His family came to this side of the Atlantic Ocean in the 1600s. Here's his website .

For our Movie Saturday program from the White Stallion Ranch this time we talk about international westerns. From the Spaghetti Westerns to Roast Beef Westerns to Bushranger Westerns, we try to cover them all!

Author and photographer Lindsay Linton Buk joins us for the hour to talk about her book, "Women Shaping the West." Her project consisted of talking with some of the leading women in Wyoming who helped forge the west in that state. The book is available here .

On the show this time are a variety of topics--including how horses make the sounds they do. The link to that article is here .

Joining us for the hour is Cory Zamora. Her father, Manuel, was the Gunsmith to the Stars in Hollywood. In fact, she's written a book about her dad called "Manuel Zamora - Gunsmith to the Stars." You can order the book here . She shares a number of stories about her dad being lined up along a wall for an execution three separate times. One of those times he was pulled from the wall by...

Our program for Valentine's Day is open-ended. No particular topic. But we do talk about stagecoaches and their drivers among other things pertaining to the Old West!

What is it about Cowboys and Old West that captures America? Longtime listeners to our program will already know the answer to that question. Yet the New York Times decided it wanted to delve into the question and tasked two writers and an editor to come up with an answer. As you might expect, the't NYT failed miserably. The writers couldn't or wouldn't look at our history because hist...

For our Movie Saturday program we delve into what Hollywood gets wrong about Westerns. They do get some things right, but, overall, Hollywood's portrayal of Westerns is mostly wrong. From wardrobe to firearms, Tinsel Town frequently blows it. But, the end result is we still love 'em for the entertainment!

Author and filmmaker Sam K. Dolan joins us. He's got three books out about the Old West. His latest covers the history of the U.S. Border Patrol in the 1920s. Another discusses El Paso and how important of a town it was in the Old West. His first book explains the untamed West and the lawlessness. He's also produced documentaries for the History Channel and other cable programs. His websit...

Our guest is Craig Hammill, founder of the Secret Movie Club in Los Angeles. He's been interested in film since he was a kid. He graduated from USC's Film School. The Secret Movie Club is a venue where folks can come and watch classic movies across all genres and hear guest speakers talk about film. Craig is a huge John Ford fan, too. The website is here .

Documentary filmmaker Katie Ryan joins us. She's produced two documentaries: "The Last Coyote," about Cowboy Troubadour Don Edwards, and, "Ghosts of California." That one dives deep into California history--some of it good, some of it bad. Her website is here .

Rob Word joins us for our first show of the New Year. He's a writer and producer of television content as well as hosting the long-running A Word on Westerns on YouTube. Rob has also written and produced a number of westerns showing on various platforms. He has interviewed numerous western stars.

It's our Movie Saturday program streamed live at the White Stallion Ranch. Our guest is Meredith Pondedel. We're talking about Meredith's aunt Dottie Pondedel. She was a silent movie star and later moved into the makeup department. She was the first female makeup artist in Hollywood dating back to the 1930s. The book is ABOUT FACE The Life and Times of Dottie Ponedel: Make-up Artist to...

Dan McCorison joins us for the hour to talk about Western Music. He's been performing for many years and his band has opened for Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Flatt & Scruggs. He's also won numerous music awards. His website is here where you can purchase his music.