Hi, everybody!

We just went through our first day of western history in Tombstone, Arizona. It is officially Wyatt Earp Days, but Duke's Hollywood Cowboys are here to perform, and also to honor John Wayne and his 96th birthday.

Ermal looks pretty much like he does on his web site, no surprise there. We haven't actually seen him do any intensive JW portrayal yet, although tonight is the official birthday party/dinner, and I expect we might get to see him in action then.

So far we've had a great time. The weather in Phoenix (where my mother lives) was over 100 degrees :( :( , but here in the Tombstone area, it's not as bad (although I'm sure it's over 90 degrees :( ). It is pretty bad if you're dressed up in authentic 1880's attire - hot, hot, hot!

Everybody is having a good time, though, ducking into the saloons for a cool one periodically. There are many skits of shoot-outs in a street that has been closed off for the event. Tomorrow, we will go see the reenactment of the shootout at the OK Corral.

So . . . we are taking advantage of a hotel computer right now, and our 15 minutes is about up, so we'll check out the board when we get back home (late Tuesday night).

Robbie, you're gettin' awful close to 100 . . . :D . . . who's gonna be next?

Chester

Well, we're home! Even though we hit over 90 degrees today, at least it cools off at night here in Northern California (unlike Arizona).

Regarding Duke's Hollywood Cowboys, the reason people join the group is because they love John Wayne and the Old West, and the members we met this weekend definitely displayed an affection and reverent appreciation for the Duke and the times which his movies represented. The vice president of the group does a great imitation of Bat Masterson, and knows an incredible amount of the history of the late 1800s, including knowledge of authentic apparel for the era. He's as much of a JW fan as anybody you'd meet, and so are the other members we met over the weekend. I told them about this message board, and it won't surprise me if some of them start hangin' out here. Of all the different groups that assembled in Tombstone over the weekend for Wyatt Earp Days, Duke's Hollywood Cowboys was the only one there for the specific purpose of honoring John Wayne.

Genora ("Nodie") from El Paso, Texas, wore an outfit from The Searchers, portraying Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky (Look, or Mrs. Pawley). It looked great, and even our six year old (wait a minute, he turned seven yesterday!) recognized her character. It was a beautiful costume.

Three ladies (2 from CA, one from UT - a grandmother, mother, and daughter) came in their own lovely dresses, complete with hoops and corsets.

There was a gentleman from southern California, who does a great Ward Bond imitation.

Every year, this group (as many members as are able, anyway) meets to celebrate John Wayne's birthday and honor the man they all love. The location changes, as people are coming from all over the country. Last year, they met in Old Tuscon, other years they have celebrated on the Wild Goose. They hope to meet in Bracketville, Texas (home of the set from The Alamo) in the future. In 2007 (the year the Duke would have been 100), they are hoping to make the trip to Ireland, to the site of The Quiet Man. (Robbie, they might need some help with the logistics, and meeting other John Wayne fans in the area.)

Ermal Williamson (JW impersonator) and his wife Betty are two very affable people, and it was a pleasure to meet them. We didn't hear one "yee ha" the whole weekend, but did enjoy two different presentations from Ermal. Not any John Wayne impersonator is going to be perfect, after all there is only one John Wayne. However, impersonating John Wayne, if done well, will do much to perpetuate his image and his life. We saw nothing all weekend (actually, three days) that was degrading or offensive, but did see many happy faces that registered recognition as to who Ermal was trying to portray. Ermal grew up with John Wayne as his role model, and it is obvious he has spent much time incorporating John Wayne's mannerisms and speech patterns, as well as assembling several complete outfits from many different movies. He seems to be a humble, kind man, and I can say these things out of personal experience now (and not just because I happened to buy a belt buckle from him - I went into this with a fairly critical eye, trying to be very objective, and ended up having a great time :D ).

We hope to be posting some pictures on the web within the next couple of weeks, and will let you know as soon as it is a reality.

Chester (and the Mrs.)

I swear, Chester. I am envious. Living on the East Coast (Maryland) I am too far to enjoy those get togethers, but would someday love to go to one. Looking foward to seeing those pictures. Glad you had a great time! dukefan1

Hi Chester!

Glad you enjoyed your experience at the OK Corral!
I became a member on this board when the "Ermal-topic" was already closed down, so I'm using your post to add my 2 cents word. B) I was at the Reunion in Brackettville in 98 - one of my best days! To have Pilar Wayne, Joan O'Brien and many of the co-stars there, people who worked on the film, stuntmen like Dean Smith, that was something to remember. And organized it was by Ermal and his Hollywood cowboys. When I met him, it was evening at the Alamo, he was dressed in buckskin and beaverhead, and in the light of the fire in front of the Alamo chappel, I must say he... looked the part. Even though I didn't have a ticket for the next trip - crossing the border to Mexico and having tortillas and a taste of Duke's favourite tequila - he invited me as a complete stranger to join his cowboys and the stars of the film. That was something to see for the Mexican officials: We might have toasted JW's birthday once to often when we wanted to get across the border again, the whole bunch of us. I was assisting Alamo-actor Bill Daniel (Sam Houston's aid), who later became the Governor of Texas. And a couple of us weren't able to present passports. Ermal dressed up as John Wayne called out to the customs officers in perfect JW drawl: "Let us thru - he's the... Governor a Texas!" And they promptly waved us through!

Now - if somebody read all of this - I wonder if some of you on this board have been there this night...? If not, I'd like to encourage all of you to join one of Ermals birthday-parties. He's a nice guy, a lot of fun, and I hate to admit that he holds his licker much better than me.


:)

chester,

glad you had a great time will wait with baited breath for the pickies(photos), just sad that we all can't experience what you ahve just done

cheers smokey :)

Chester

That would be excellent if this event was to come to Galway do you have any additional information regarding this.

B)

Robbie,

I don't have any further information at this time, it is only in the very early planning stages at this point, but I'd be glad to keep you posted as I receive more info.

Chester

Chester,

What a great trip you've been on. Ditto's to what everyone said, and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures of the trip. Sounds like a great time to spend there. Hope to hear more about the trip on this post.

Hondo B)

Hi Chester, this is Nodie (LOOK) thanks for the kind words. I have been reading the message board for better than an hour, thanks for introducing me to it. I am having a good time. I just finished re-reading a book that had a lot of information about John Wayne, title is "Duke" the life and times of John Wayne. A very good book. As for where we will go for his 97th birthday we will all be discussing it via email, so be sure to give us your input. I really enjoyed meeting you and your family you are a great asset to the DHC's. Welcome aboard. Nodie

Nodie,

Mrs. Chester here - glad to see you found your way to the message board! I haven't gotten around to entering everybody's e-mail addresses so we can invite all, but that's next on the list.

Chester and I have been working this morning on trying to get some pictures from Tombstone posted on the web. What a VERY time consuming task. We'll post here when it's got some stuff worth looking at.

Welcome aboard, and feel free to share your thoughts and knowledge with a wonderful group of John Wayne fans!

:D

"Mrs." Chester

Those are kind words Mrs. Chester.

Northerner. :rolleyes:

Northerner,

On behalf of Mrs. Chester, I thank you for your kind words.

In another vein, I find it interesting how this fascination with cowboy stuff is growing and growing with many people getting into the recreation of costumes of that era. I think that the Duke's Hollywood Cowboys and other groups like them are going to continue to grow in popularity, with the possibility of being started in other countries as well.

Chester

Hello All
Hi Chester and Mrs C, it sure seems like the gathering was a good thing and I wish it was ongoing. I thank you for the word on the McCandles site. I went there and it does require signing up with Yahoo, I will do that some other time and give you the feedback you asked for. Kilo

Hello all