Monday, January 14, 2008

Classic Images: Tim McCoy


"Col. Tim McCoy
Man of Destiny
by Mike Newton
Lightning Bill Carson stood in the saloon doorway, letting the batwing door flip behind him. His austere presence, set off by his high peaked Stetson, dark shirt, and pants, was made more imposing by his icy cold stare fixed on the men standing at the bar. The room, which had been filled with the tinkling of a piano and men’s conversation a moment before, was now silent with hushed anticipation.
Suddenly, "Blackie", one of the men at the bar reached for his six-gun. It never cleared the holster. Carson’s .45 spoke first and Blackie, wanted by every lawman in the West, lay on the floor.
This typical scene was part of every Tim McCoy B-western of the late Thirties and early Forties. He wasn’t always Lightning Bill Carson, cowboy G-Man. Sometimes he was Trigger Tim Rand, or U.S. Marshal Tim McCall, one of the Rough Riders. Regardless of his name, when he appeared on the screen, Saturday matinee kids knew they were in for thrills and excitement.
The man who became Buffalo Bill’s successor in the field of bringing live wild west show entertainment to the American public, was born to Irish immigrants in Saginaw, Michigan, April 10, 1891.
Growing up, McCoy heard stories about the early settlers, the Indians, and the Civil War, from people who had lived during those times. Those stories, combined with his interest in history, inherited from his father, prepared him for his future career."

read it all...Classic Images: Tim McCoy:

Read the Book Tim McCoy on the Tomahawk Trail by Gaylord Dubois

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