Louis Burton Lindley Jr., was born in Kingsburg, California back in 1919 to Louis Sr., and Sally. In his youth he was an excellent horse rider, but did not like the dairy business his father was in, so he made a few dollars by riding broncos and roping steers. He graduated from Hanford High School in Hanford, California and was a member of the Future Farmers of America.
During WWII he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force, when the recruited asked what his profession was he responded “Rodeo” but the recruited wrote “radio”, thus he spent his entire enlistment at a radio station in the American Midwest.
Because of his country drawl he was recruited to the movie industry which gained him a role in the Western Rocky Mountain (1950). Appearing in many westerns he played both villains and comic sidekicks.
His voice was so unique that in 1975 he recorded a collection of Western ballads, he also appeared in several television guest shots. In 1982, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame. In 1986, he was honored by the Rodeo Historical Society and posthumous inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame.
When I tell you his stage name you’ll recognize it in an instant, “Slim Pickens”.
NW Arkansas, come for a visit, stay for a lifetime.
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