The Oklahoma Museum Goes TV Western!
© press release
OKLAHOMA CITY ~ Since 1958, seven years before the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum opened its doors to the public, the Board of Directors selected the first inductee, Tom Mix, into the Hall of Great Western Performers. The next induction, Gary Cooper, would not take place until 1966. On April 12, 2003, during the prestigious Western Heritage Awards weekend, the Museum's long-awaited Western Performers Gallery will officially open with a list of celebrities in attendance.
The 4,000 square foot exhibition space, underwritten by the Williams Corporation, was designed by The 1717 Design Group of Richmond, Virginia. Presentations on the careers and contributions of the legends of the silver screen are blended with colorful graphics exploring the fascinating history of the Western film genre from Broncho Billy to the present. As a genre, the Western movie, which began with The Great Train Robbery (1903), celebrates its 100-year anniversary in 2003.
Although a typical visitor now spends about four hours touring the Museum's galleries, the most frequently asked question is, "Where are the Western stars? Where is John Wayne's collection?" The galleries include presentations on the American Cowboy, American Rodeo, the Frontier West, Native American, Fine American Firearms, and art of the American West galleries, as well as unique traveling exhibitions.
The Western Performers Gallery examines the role of fiction in our perception of the American West. Dime novels, Wild West shows, motion pictures and television all have contributed to the "West" of our imagination. Separate sections of the exhibition will explore the silent movie era, the colorful B Westerns, the classic Western feature films, and the heritage of Westerns on radio and television. Exhibit cases display memorabilia from the collections of stars like John Wayne to the saddle ridden by Tom Selleck in TNT's highest rated made-for-television movie, Crossfire Trail. From the 1940s through the 1970s, 500 Westerns were produced by four major motion picture companies. After the 1970s, there had been a decline. Not until Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves, and Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven have there been Westerns worthy of the Oscars each of these received. Westerns are again experiencing some popularity with stars such as Selleck, Robert Duvall and Costner. And the casts are loaded with well-known actors who love to play "cowboy" like Keith and Robert Carradine, Wilford Brimley, Barry Corbin, James Gammon, William Devane, and the star of the 2003 Western Heritage Awards television feature film winner, King of Texas, Patrick Stewart.
