Male on Tuesday
No, it's not Tuesday.
But Monday, January 4th, I have the Male on Monday slot at The Pink Heart blog, and I wrote about one of my very first heroes who came into my life every Tuesday night for four years between 1959-1963.
The hero was Jess Harper, the cowboy-drifter who turned up on Laramie in the very first episode and, while he was always a threat to go, never ever left.
He was played by handsome, talented Robert Fuller -- he of the lean hard body, the piercing blue eyes (though the first two years were in black-and-white so who knew?), the unruly dark hair, the unforgettable rough baritone voice and the mix of wry humor and fi
erce intensity -- who has colored all my heroes to this very day.If ever a man was perfect for a part, Bob Fuller was Jess.
Even he said that. Back in 1992 when writer Jessica Douglass and I were putting together a workshop on My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys for the RWA conference, we asked him.
It was one of those times when research is more fun than you can imagine -- and you learn that your childhood heroes can sometimes be as memorable in person as they were in your imagination.
I wrote about Bob Fuller and Jess Harper and the impact they had on my life and my books in a piece called 'Jess Harper -- My Kind of Hero' that I did my first year writing this blog. I won't rehash it here. If you want a look, click on the link above.
Suffice to say, he inspired either directly or indirectly a lot of my heroes -- but especially Jess Cooper in A Cowboy For Christmas and Robert Tanner in Cowboys Don't Cry. They
were both tough, intense, quiet, lone wolf sorts of men, men who struggled to do the right thing.They had flaws, but fortunately for them -- and for my books and heroines -- not fatal flaws. Life wasn't easy for them. They had tough decisions to make, and while they were busy being noble, sometimes they got it wrong the first time. Happily they got it right in the end.
Who were your earliest heroes?
Tell me and what inspired you, and you could win a copy of A Cowboy For Christmas. Micah and Mitch will be picking a winner (with my help) on Friday.
Labels: Heroes, Robert Fuller, writing
posted by Anne McAllister at 4:42 PM
8 Comments:
Hi again!
A hero you say? There's so many of them in life that inspire.
Back in the seventies, I was introduced to James Bond a la Roger Moore. I had a good many action-packed dreams based on that character! He's still not too hard on the eyes either!
Speaking of which, how about Robert Wagner on Hart to Hart! He and Stefanie Powers' characters were enchanting!
Now here's a doozy for you. One of my very first heroes would have to have been Captain Kangaroo! I looked up to him for a good number of years!
Have a great new year, and thanks for bringing back great memories of Robert Fuller. I was introduced to him on Emergency....
Laney,
Thanks for sharing your heroes. Capt Kangaroo was, very likely, lots of kids' hero. And how often do Robert Wagner, James Bond and Capt Kangaroo end up in the same paragraph?!!
Glad to know you remember Robert Fuller, too.
Happy New Year Anne! I hope 2010 is fully of success and happiness for you! Happy writing :D
Thanks, Lacey. Same to you! Write lots!
Hi, Anne! Since I really do love my cowboys, I am reposting my comment from your Pink Heart post.
I love, love, love my cowboys and men of the Old West! The love of my life is Sam Elliott : )
Robert Fuller & Robert Horton; James Drury & Doug Mcclure (from "The Virginian"); Peter Breck, Lee Majors, Richard Long (the Barkley brothers from "The Big Valley); The Cartwrights--especially Guy Williams as cousin Will Cartwright (he also had the title role as TV's Zorro and Professor John Robinson in "Lost in Space"); James Garner as "Maverick" or just James Garner; James Arness, Ken Curtis, Dennis Weaver from "Gunsmoke"; Clint Walker as "Cheyenne"; Lee Horsley from "Paradise". I love them all, and there are just too many more to mention.
However, one of the greatest TV Men of the West was Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown in "Cimarron Strip". In my opinion, this is one of the best westerns ever put on the screen. The episodes which pitted Stuart Whitman against Richard Boone, whose character called Marshall Crown by the name "Tricky Jim" were outstanding! If you can ever find a sexier lawman than Stuart Whitman, please let me know! Those looks, those eyes, that strut and that voice!
gcwhiskas at aol dot com
Thanks, Virginia! Can't mention cowboys in too many places. They make wonderful heroes. Now, if only Presents could understand the wisdom of that!
Laney, you won! Sorry it took M&M so long to get around to picking a winner. Send me your address and I'll send out the book!
Whoo hoo! YES! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Info has been emailed.
Have a great day!
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