Saddle Pals and Cowboy Sidekicks

(From Old Corral image collection)

Above, Tex Ritter, and on the far right is his sidekick, Lloyd 'Arkansas Slim' Andrews (1906-1992) in a lobby card from RIDIN' THE CHEROKEE TRAIL (Monogram, 1941). Remember Andrews riding his mule Josephine? The singing group is The Tennessee Ramblers. Andrews and Ritter wound up being personal friends, and 'Slim' did a bunch of personal appearances with Tex over the years. Andrews also did sidekick duties briefly with Don 'Red' Barry in the early 1940s at Republic.

In February, 2000, I received an e-mail from Erik Conard. Erik writes:

"From 1965-68 I was on the faculty at the now-Pittsburg (KS) State U. At KOAM-TV in town, Andrews had a kids show where he was billed as Slim Andrews, the 'old Forty-Niner'. Andrews could play a great number of instruments and the kids loved him. He commuted from Gravette, AR to this SE Kansas town."

Around Christmas, 2001, I received an e-mail from Ray Nielsen, who's been involved with the Memphis Film Festival for many years. Ray writes:

"I first met Slim in 1977 when I attended my first festival in Memphis. I must admit I was not familiar with his filmwork prior to meeting him. But when I saw him, there was something strangely familiar about him. It took me a while to figure it out, but I remembered him from my childhood. But not B western movies. I grew up in California. For a time I lived in the San Jauquin Valley south of Fresno, California. I was about ten at the time. When I came home from school each afternoon, I often watched station KMJ-TV out of Fresno. There was a kids' show on called THE 49ER. It was one of those shows with a colorful m.c. who showed cartoons, played games and engaged in puppet skits and musical numbers. The host, of course, was 'Slim'. But I didn't know about his movie career then. He later moved back to his native Gravette, AR and did a similar show in Pittsburg, KS for years. He commuted up there every weekend. After I got to know him from Memphis, I visited him at Gravette and taped some video interviews with him for Public TV. Slim re-visited Memphis a time or two before he died. He was a great guy who always loved entertaining, be it on a banjo, a bicycle pump or a wood saw."

Joel Towler is another who fondly remembers Slim Andrews:

"Back in 1951, while visiting Los Angeles (came down from Truckee with my family), I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon and evening with Iron Eyes Cody and his wife Birdie. That evening I accompanied Iron Eyes and Birdie down to KTLA television studios, and was a guest on their 15 minute segment that was augmented into the Doye O'Dell show. A featured performer with the show was ol' Slim. He did an interlude of playing the washboard, the kazoo, the harmonica, and a banjo. He crossed back from one instrument to the other so fast that he almost sounded like a band. He was quite talented. While waiting for the show to go on, he showed me how to tie a few western knots, and did some pretty good rope twirling. He was such a nice guy, and calmed my jitters before going on with Iron Eyes and Birdie."

Bob O'Brien sent some info on Slim playing with Bob Wills:

"In September, 1947, he played fiddle on the Tiffany Transcriptions which were recorded that day. He's in the picture, so obviously he was there, probably filling in for Joe Holley and/or Louis Tierney. I don't believe he was actually ever a Texas Playboy, but he could have been as the band had a revolving door as to personnel in the mid-1940's, especially 1948 when major changes shook up the band. Andrews was at the time (1947) booked on tour with Bob Wills by MCA in a comedy musical act (see San Antonio Rose - The Life And Times Of Bob Wills by Charles R. Townsend, University of Illinois Press, 1976)."

The picture that Bob refers to is included in the CD of those recordings and shows Slim and the Wills band doing the Tiffany session at Sound Recorders studio in San Francisco on September 6, 1947.

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above, Tex Ritter on White Flash and
Slim Andrews on his mule Josephine.

(From Old Corral image collection)

Above, from L-to-R are Bill Elliott, George 'Slim' Summerville (1892-1946 or 1949), Roy Barcroft, and Robert Fiske in a scene from Elliott's last cliffhanger, THE VALLEY OF VANISHING MEN (Columbia, 1942). Several folks have asked for info and a photo of Summerville, apparently recalling that he did a lot of sidekick duties. In reality, he did not, and only appeared in about a dozen B westerns and this single serial. Summerville was an early actor in Hollywood silents, initially doing work for Mack Sennett in the Keystone Kops films.

(From Old Corral image collection)

Above, Slim Pickens (real name: Louis Bert Lindley Jr.) (1919-1983). Pickens was the screen pal to Republic singing cowboy Rex Allen in about a dozen films. He's probably better remembered for his role in BLAZING SADDLES, as well as the Air Force pilot who 'rides the bomb' down in DR. STRANGELOVE.

(From Old Corral image collection)

Above, Christian 'Buddy' Ebsen. Ebsen was a 1930s song and dance man, and even did a film with Shirley Temple. He was also one of the actors considered for the role of the tinman in MGM's THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). In the 1950s, he was a sidekick to cowboy hero Rex Allen. However, Ebsen's biggest success was on television where he starred in two long-running shows, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and BARNABY JONES. He is also remembered for his role as sidekick 'Georgie Russell' to Fess Parker in the 1950s DAVY CROCKETT TV adventures from Walt Disney, as well as portraying 'Sergeant Hunk Marriner' in the television series NORTHWEST PASSAGE. Buddy Ebsen passed away on July 6, 2003 at age 95.

(From Old Corral image collection)

Above, from L-to-R are Pat Brady, Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes. Pat Brady (1914-1972) was a member of the Sons of the Pioneers singing group and became a sidekick to Rogers in his later films ... he also made his mark as Roy and Dale's crazy helper (and driver of jeep Nelly Belle) in their 1950s TV show. He took time out from his singing and film work to serve in WW2. Brady's real name was Robert Patrick Aloysius O'Brady. In the earlier Rogers' films, Brady was simply called 'Pat', but in the late 1940s, his screen character was named 'Sparrow Biffle'.

Bobby Copeland provided the following additional info: Pat Brady died on February 27, 1972, in the Ark, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.The cause of death was reported to be a heart attack. At Pat's funeral on March 1, 1972, Hugh Farr and Lloyd Perryman of the Sons of the Pioneers sang. The minister in his remarks made reference to Pat's drinking and gave him credit for admitting himself for rehabilitation. Pat was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery with full military honors. His wife and their son, Pat, Jr. were survivors.

Jim Tipton's Find-A-Grave website has a picture of the grave marker for World War II veteran Tec 4 Pat Brady in the Military Section of the Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8369 . The name on the grave marker reads Robert E. "Pat" Brady.