Some of the old Cowboy stars were accomplished horseback riders, but very few could “set a horse” as if they were one with the animal. Cowboy actor Ben Johnson was one of the best ever. He was discovered when he doubled Henry Fonda in Fort Apache and he went on to star in many Westerns, winning the Academy Award for best actor in Last Picture Show (1971). He died of a heart attack at age 77, while visiting his mother, Ollie, at
Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona.
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In 1999, Bob Boze Bell and partners bought True West magazine (published since 1953) and moved the editorial offices to Cave Creek, Arizona. Bell has published and illustrated books on Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, as well as Classic Gunfights, an Old West gunfight book series. His latest books are The 66 Kid and True West Moments.