Slim Pickens



Slim Pickens (1919-1983) was a character actor best known for scores of Western films, his spoof of same in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, and his portrayal of bomb-riding Major T. J. "King" Kong in Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

From 1981 to 1983, Pickens was a regular on Hee Haw (the result of a guest appearance the previous season), hosting the "Slim's Bar-B-Q" segments which showcased assorted guest stars, musical or otherwise. In the October 24, 1981 show, Pickens interviewed Big Bird.

Born Louis Burton Lindley, Jr., Pickens adopted his punning stage name during his early career as a rodeo clown. He shifted to films in the 1950s, playing the comedic sidekick to Rex Allen in nearly a dozen Westerns for Republic Pictures. His distinctive, "yee-haw"-ing drawl was a fixture in such genre efforts as Major Dundee (with Charlton Heston), the 1966 remake of Stagecoach (as driver Buck, originated by Andy Devine in the 1930s), assorted Disney efforts like Savage Sam, and Tom Horn (a 1980 effort, with Steve McQueen).

When not in the saddle, Pickens appeared in such diverse fair as the WWII drama In Harm's Way, Otto Preminger's "head" film Skidoo, Steven Spielberg's comedy 1941, and John Landis' The Howling (as the sheriff). Inevitably, he guest starred at one time or another on nearly every major TV Western, including The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Bonanza, and Maverick, as well as Lassie, Night Gallery, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.