A few years ago, a TV Western aired with a character named Bill Longley. He was dressed in a white shirt, black pants and a black hat, and rode a black and white horse. Was there a real Bill Longley?
John Patton
Grand Junction, Colorado
My old pal Jim Dunham came riding to the rescue on this one: “It was called The Texan and ran on television [CBS] from 1958 to 1960, starring Rory Calhoun as Bill Longley. Calhoun was notable for his color-coordinated look.
“The real Longley was a troublemaker who was born in 1851 in Austin County, Texas, and was involved in quite a few gunfights. He was hanged a few days after his 27th birthday in 1878.” The best biography of this Texas bad boy is Rick Miller’s Bloody Bill Longley.
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