Slim Pickens - Actor, Hunter, Rodeo Rider

Slim Pickens, the actor, is probably best known for his roles in Dr. Strangelove and Blazing Saddles. He was an enthusiastic hunter.

A story about the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles. A year or two after the movie came out, I was in San Diego with my father, Grits, and we had dinner with Slim Pickens. Slim and Dad were buddies.

I got the "behind the scenes" story about the campfire scene. But, he also told us about getting the part.

First, understand that Slim's given name was Louis Lindley. When he was a teenager, he loved to compete in rodeos.

Not unexpected, he got hurt a few times, so his father forbade him from riding in rodeos, saying he never wanted to see Louis' name on a rodeo roster again.

Sure enough, according to Slim, he went to a rodeo to sign up. When the guy asked for his name, Louis said he wasn't sure what to put on it, because his Dad didn't want to see that name on the roster.

"How about Slim Pickens, Kid," said the rodeo worker. "That's all you’re going to get."

And that's how we came to know him by that name.

So ... When he got the call about the part, the (probably young) movie exec/assistant asked the 54-year old Pickens if he could still ride a horse. ;) As he explained in his really loud voice in the crowded restaurant, "I told 'em HELL YES! I just got through packing in a team of G** Damn horses and mules into the Bridger Wilderness Area on a muzzleloader elk hunt!"

So, the campfire scene. According to Slim, they are on the set, and Mel Brooks offers, "You know. Cowboys always eat beans, but they never fart." So, he created the campfire scene. While they are shooting this scene, the actors are lifting a cheek, and it's Brooks off-screen making farting sounds by blowing against his hand. Everyone is cracking up, they have to do it over and over, and it takes hours to shoot. The production manager is losing his mind, complaining that they are wasting valuable time, and that this will never make the cut to be in the movie. Slim said he was totally surprised when he went to the premiere and saw that scene in the film. Of course, it became an instant classic. Another testament to the comic genius of Mel Brooks. ~ Tom

Tom Gresham
Author, outdoorsman, gun rights activist, and firearms enthusiast for more than five decades, Tom Gresham hosts Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, the first nationally-syndicated radio show about guns and the shooting sports, and is also the producer and co-host of the Guns & Gear, GunVenture and First Person Defender television series.

‍