Slim Pickens

Slim Pickens, or Louis Burton Lindley Jr. as he was born, was an American actor and rodeo performer. He started his career in the rodeo but later moved on to acting, and he appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. Many of the characters he portrayed leaned into his rodeo background, such as his cowboy roles. His performances in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, 1941, and his antagonist role in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando, are remembered fondly.

Born in Kingsburg, California, and an excellent horse rider from his early years, his passion took him away from a life of dairy farming. He ventured into rodeo, even though his father initially did not approve, and assumed the name Slim Pickens, after a phrase used by a doubtful rodeo manager predicting his slim chances of earning prize money. Besides rodeo and acting, he also spent some time in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where a misunderstanding regarding his profession led him to work at a Midwestern radio station instead of the rodeo. His career milestones include his work in the Western Rocky Mountain (1950), which starred Errol Flynn, and a variety of Westerns often portraying villains and comedic sidekicks. His unique physical presence and the authenticity he brought to horseback scenes from his rodeo background are memorable. His extensive contribution to the Western film genre garnered him honors and inductions into several halls of fame.