Ben Johnson

[mongoII]

Paula, some of the recent images you posted are outstanding, especially the one of Ben and his wife.
Keep up the good work.

[pvitari]

Dear Joe, glad you liked that picture -- it's courtesy Doug O'Neal, Carol's first cousin once removed. He's been an invaluable source for family photos... he recently sent me another one I will post before too long.

Today's post is a complete set of vintage Wagon Master lobby cards. To download even bigger size scans, go here: http://benjohnsonscreencaps.shutterfly. ... bilia/1209



I already had this card in my collection and had posted it some time ago but it's nice to have the whole set now.














And the back of one of the cards.

[JackFavell]

I love the set-up of the second card, the way the actors are ranged across the main picture, from Wardy's smug look to Francis Ford's drunken expression. And is there anything as suspenseful as that last one? I HAVE to see the movie now, just to find out what happens to that precariously perched wagon....

[pvitari]

Major Dundee Blu-ray news. :)

Twilight Time has announced that their Blu-ray of Major Dundee will be available for pre-order on March 15 at 4 p.m. EST from their retailer Screen Archives Entertainment. This is Twilight Time's first two-disc set and the second disc will present on Blu-ray the original theatrical cut, the first time this version has ever been issued in a digital format. It was last issued on laserdisc (an analog format) in the mid-nineties. Twilight Time's Blu-rays are released in limited editions of 3,000 copies, and I anticipate this will be a popular title, so putting in your pre-order as soon as possible is advisable.

Artwork still forthcoming.

[pvitari]

Back to the "BJ Ranch," as Cinemaven puts it. ;)

You all will like this. ;)



I first found this picture hanging on the wall of the Dewey Hotel in Dewey, Oklahoma, and I took a photo of it, which you can see online at my Ben page: http://benjohnsonscreencaps.shutterfly. ... tivals/761

I found this scan of the same photo at a website called the Portal to Texas History, which is this amazing online archive of thousands of items relating to Texas History.

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/ ... %20johnson

You can download an even bigger version of this scan at the Portal page, or at my webpage.

To continue this story -- the Portal website said the original of this photo was in the collection of the Cattle Raisers Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, so I e-mailed the museum's contact person, Kim Smith, and she and her staff spent over a week looking through old issues of The Cattleman magazine to see if the photo had ever been published. Eureka! Ben was the subject of an article in the November 1955 issue. The article was written by the famous rodeo journalist Willard H. Porter, who no doubt knew Ben well, and it's a unique piece because it's all about Ben as rodeo man, not as a movie star. Kim sent me a PDF which I have turned into jpegs and now you can all enjoy the article too. ;)







I just love digging up stuff like this -- or having people dig it up. A big thank you to Kim Smith and her staff, that's for sure! ;)

Oh... Willard H. Porter. This is the back cover of one of his books, 13 Flat: The Rodeo, Horses and Riders.

[JackFavell]

Oh man! Fantastic! Thanks for going that extra mile and getting the article... please thank Kim Smith too!

[pvitari]

There's a 14 minute interview with Ben on youtube! It's been there since May but I just found it a couple of days ago. The interviewer is Dennis Hunt, a well-known Las Vegas personality -- entertainer, broadcaster, host, emcee, etc. (Dennis Hunt's bio: http://www.lasvegasrockreunion.com/indu ... 0Hunt.html). The date of the interview supposedly is January 24, 1982 but I'm thinking it might actually be 1983 from what they talk about. Anyway, it's lots of fun to watch and I especially chuckled when Ben declared he didn't work with "pot smokers and hop heads" as I can think of quite a few movies he did that had cast and crew who were those very things -- in some cases, famously so. ;) He's such a big ole cowboy -- so cute! ;)

If someone can figure out how to embed this video here... please do so. I click on the "youtube" button above and all I get is code, not an embedded video.



Some screencaps from the video, which unfortunately is stretched out thus distorting the picture.

[Maricatrin]

If someone can figure out how to embed this video here... please do so. I click on the "youtube" button above and all I get is code, not an embedded video.

Great find Paula! Thanks so much for posting
[youtube][/youtube]

[pvitari]

Tell me the big secret! How do you embed videos???????!!!

[Maricatrin]

Tell me the big secret! How do you embed videos???????!!!

Well, I don't know if my method is the best, but I:

1. Paste the link into the message
2. Select/highlight the link
3. And then press the "youtube" button

[youtube]this-is-how-the-youtube-link-should-look-before-embedding
[/youtube]

Hope this helps!

[pvitari]

That is exactly what I do... and yet it won't embed for me.

*sigh*

[Maricatrin]

That is exactly what I do... and yet it won't embed for me.

*sigh*

I'm sorry to hear that it didn't help --- I can't understand why it won't work for you.

Maybe this tread over on the Help! forum can be of some use? http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... =11&t=5873

Good luck!

[pvitari]

Oscars weekend! Nah... I'm not excited either.

But to celebrate anyway, here's a candid shot from a party after the 1972 Oscars ceremony. My little cinephile heart is going pit-a-pat at the sight of two of my all-time favorites together in the same photo -- Ben and Charlie Chaplin. The Little Tramp made a triumphant return to the U.S. after his 20-year exile to receive an honorary Oscar for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century." Chaplin was instrumental in my conversion into a classic movie buff. Sitting next to Chaplin is his wife Oona O'Neill. Standing with Ben is Cloris Leachman and Gene Hackman, who also both won that night.

[pvitari]

I was lazy this weekend so nothing too exciting today, just artwork for the two upcoming DVD sets with Ben's first Gunsmoke episode ("Quint-cident") and last Have Gun Will Travel episode ("The Fifth Bullet").

[pvitari]

A Facebook user's memory of Ben Johnson:

He stored hay in my moms barn out in Nelagoney. He came to visit one time and me and my brother ran out to shake his hand. I expected to see a big cowboy in cowboy hat and all. Bit he showed up in a sportscar, wearing what looked like golfing clothes. But he was very nice.


***

Ben in a sports car wearing golfing clothes? I wish I could have seen that. :)