My father, Allen P. Bell, was a stubborn Norwegian. And if you believe my wife, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. But still, even with that...
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Bob Boze Bell
Classic Gunfights: Doc Hits Bottom (but not much else)
August 19, 1884 Broke, sick and usually drunk, Doc Holliday hits rock bottom in Leadville, Colorado. Today, a fellow gambler, Billy Allen, is...
Classic Gunfights: To the Last Man
July 22, 1884 The fuse to one of the West’s most famous feuds is lit a month prior, when Tonto Basin cattleman James Stinson makes a secret pact...
A Mule For Sylvia Durando
Comanche Station opens with an 11-minute montage setup featuring hardly any dialogue. A loner, Jefferson Cody (played by Randolph Scott), is moving...
Sergio’s Epic Open
The classic opening scene that Sergio Leone called the “summa” of his career was ambitious and complicated, and it wasn’t the easiest of shoots....
The Fight At Cajón De Los Negros
May 3, 1886 A few dozen elusive Apache holdouts, led by the intrepid holy man-warrior, Geronimo, are being pursued along the Arizona-Mexico border...
The Navajos Nail It
Leave it to the Navajos to put an eloquent name on those unique summer storms that roll across northern Arizona this time of year. They refer to...
The Man Collectors Trust
Brian Lebel has had his hands on some pretty amazing Western history. He is the guy who brought the Billy the Kid tintype to the True West offices,...
The Boss With The High Forehead
In 1874 a young New Yorker, John P. Clum, 22, accepted a difficult assignment, to be the Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation...
True West Moments: Ben Johnson Knew How to Set A Horse
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...
True West Moment: Horses Hate Horseradish
Back in the old days the word “horse” was often used to describe something large. So, when the pioneers saw a large white radish, they put the two...
A Sticky Wicket
Ever since the only known photo of Billy the Kid sold for $2.3 million back in 2011, new purported photos of the Kid have been surfacing almost...