Sunday, February 25, 2007
Happy Birthday, Dub!
On February 26, 1907, Dub Taylor came into the world. Who knew that he would go on to star in over 500 film and television series? What do you remember from his astounding career?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Mason-Dixon Wild West
At the end of Deb Goodrich's February 19th blog, she wrote:
"There is a documentary in the works on screen legend, Dub Taylor. Called, That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor, the film is so named because people remembered Dub's face and not his name. Well, they've been talking to the wrong crowd, because I'll guarantee that everybody in our house knows his name. One of Tom's favorite movies, other than Tombstone, of course, is Bonnie and Clyde, and who can forget Dub as "Melvin," the father of C. W. Moss? But I'll always remember the Dub who was hiding under a table during a fracas in the movie The Undefeated. Trying to avoid the fight, he decided to reach up and grab vittles instead. What he came back with was a handful of "Grits!" Dub's first name was Walter, and as Southerners are wont to do, friends called him "Dubya." Now you know. Another reason for me to love Dub is the fact that he was born in Virginia (add another lustrous name to my list!) Visit the filmakers website at http://thatdub.com"
Deb Goodrich is a public speaker and historian. She has a broad range of topics from Women's Experiences in the West to the story of Mary Lincoln and Varina Davis. You can visit her blog here.
"There is a documentary in the works on screen legend, Dub Taylor. Called, That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor, the film is so named because people remembered Dub's face and not his name. Well, they've been talking to the wrong crowd, because I'll guarantee that everybody in our house knows his name. One of Tom's favorite movies, other than Tombstone, of course, is Bonnie and Clyde, and who can forget Dub as "Melvin," the father of C. W. Moss? But I'll always remember the Dub who was hiding under a table during a fracas in the movie The Undefeated. Trying to avoid the fight, he decided to reach up and grab vittles instead. What he came back with was a handful of "Grits!" Dub's first name was Walter, and as Southerners are wont to do, friends called him "Dubya." Now you know. Another reason for me to love Dub is the fact that he was born in Virginia (add another lustrous name to my list!) Visit the filmakers website at http://thatdub.com"
Deb Goodrich is a public speaker and historian. She has a broad range of topics from Women's Experiences in the West to the story of Mary Lincoln and Varina Davis. You can visit her blog here.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Journey
The journey of this documentary is very special to me, even though I came in towards the middle of the process. I have known Mark since I was in the sixth grade. His mother was my sixth grade teacher and Mark and I were involved in a few school activities together. Ever since then, I knew that Mark was a very special person. When Mark and I reconnected in April last year, he told me about his passion for filmmaking and how excited he was to be working on his first project. I had been working on some short films in college, so I told him if he needed any help with any aspect of the process, I would be available.
It was only a few weeks after we started dating that I was on my way to meet Dixie Carter for an interview about her experience working with Dub Taylor. The journey started making unexpected turns when we got a phone call that we could interview Buck Taylor as well on this trip. It was really exciting, and we got a ton of footage that was essential to the project's success.
The next trip was to some B-Western experts in Augusta. Mark and I went alone, and by this time, Mark and I were planning a wedding, so I snuck off and did some wedding dress shopping while he got more interviews. Next, we interviewed Bobby Copeland in Tennessee. Even though we got some good footage, I remember that being a horrible trip because I was sick as a dog and I drove most of the way.
Our most recent trip was to Oklahoma City, where we interviewed some representatives of Dub's old high school, Classen High School. We also were able to meet with the curator of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and to get a great interview and some wonderful b-roll footage.
What I have taken away from this experience so far is that the team that is working on this project is really dedicated to great filmmaking. Mark has such a unique vision and passion, and the people that allow us to interview them are visibly calm and relaxed around him, which I contribute to his extraordinary amount of compassion. Mark's love of good story-telling, along with his team who understand and execute his vision, make me proud to say that I am an executive producer of a great project, and a proud wife of a wonderful man. This might sound strange, but I think that this is the essence of Dub Taylor's legacy: that people remember not who he was or what he looked like, but that he contributed to some of the best memories of people's lives. Whether it be little boys going to see B-Westerns, or a father and daughter watching a rerun of Bonanza together, or a couple of kids who fell in love working on his documentary, Dub's legacy, to me, is that he could provide an outlet for joy in people's lives. I truly believe that, and in turn, truly believe in this project.
Kasey Ray-Stokes
It was only a few weeks after we started dating that I was on my way to meet Dixie Carter for an interview about her experience working with Dub Taylor. The journey started making unexpected turns when we got a phone call that we could interview Buck Taylor as well on this trip. It was really exciting, and we got a ton of footage that was essential to the project's success.
The next trip was to some B-Western experts in Augusta. Mark and I went alone, and by this time, Mark and I were planning a wedding, so I snuck off and did some wedding dress shopping while he got more interviews. Next, we interviewed Bobby Copeland in Tennessee. Even though we got some good footage, I remember that being a horrible trip because I was sick as a dog and I drove most of the way.
Our most recent trip was to Oklahoma City, where we interviewed some representatives of Dub's old high school, Classen High School. We also were able to meet with the curator of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and to get a great interview and some wonderful b-roll footage.
What I have taken away from this experience so far is that the team that is working on this project is really dedicated to great filmmaking. Mark has such a unique vision and passion, and the people that allow us to interview them are visibly calm and relaxed around him, which I contribute to his extraordinary amount of compassion. Mark's love of good story-telling, along with his team who understand and execute his vision, make me proud to say that I am an executive producer of a great project, and a proud wife of a wonderful man. This might sound strange, but I think that this is the essence of Dub Taylor's legacy: that people remember not who he was or what he looked like, but that he contributed to some of the best memories of people's lives. Whether it be little boys going to see B-Westerns, or a father and daughter watching a rerun of Bonanza together, or a couple of kids who fell in love working on his documentary, Dub's legacy, to me, is that he could provide an outlet for joy in people's lives. I truly believe that, and in turn, truly believe in this project.
Kasey Ray-Stokes
Monday, February 12, 2007
Oklahoma City
We had an hour of sleep on Thursday Night, and left for Jacksonville at 4:00 am. We were planning on getting about 4-5, but this became impossible as Mark just moved, and a lot of the equipment is lost in boxes somewhere. Anyway, this caused our trip to be delayed, causing us to not get to sleep until about 1:30-2:00. Upon arriving at the airport at 5:50, we didn't have enough time to get on the 6:15 flight because of security lines. So, they switched us from American to Continental at 6:45, only putting us off about an hour -- not bad at all.
Upon arriving in Oklahoma City, we had to get a new microphone, because we couldn't find our mic system to go with our Digital Recorder. Donna Dykes, who picked us up and took us around everywhere, helped us out with this by finding a Radio Shack to visit. Afterwards, we headed to Classen High School, where we interviewed the Curator of the Alumni Musuem, who provided us with old newspapers and a very useful interview. Two Seniors then gave us a tour of the school, where we ran across two younger brothers of current "American Idol" contestants, Michael Preston and Andrew Foster.
After Classen, we headed to the National Cowboy and Western Museum, where we met with Chuck Rand, who provided us with a good bit of Lobby Cards and Posters that Dub was on. We had a tasty dinner with the Dykes family and headed to bed, as we had been going on an hour of sleep from 3:00 am to 7:30 pm that night, not to mention the full day before then on Thursday.
Saturday brought the interview with Don Reeves, the Curator of the Western Performers Gallery and head of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. We discussed the history of the west, the contributions of western actors, and the selection process as to how one may enter the museum. After the interview and touring the museum, we took a tour of Oklahoma City, which included a tour of the Oklahoma City Bombing Site, which was quite powerful. We ended the day at a Mexican restaurant in Bricktown, OKC's entertainment district, that ranks among the best Mexican I have ever had.
It was a very successful trip, as we made some good contacts and potentially may have another interview with one of Dub's last remaining classmates from High School, an era that is virtually to get first hand accounts on. Our next interviews will be (hopefully) in Washington State and Los Angeles, and if we can touch base with John Mellencamp, with him as well.
Upon arriving in Oklahoma City, we had to get a new microphone, because we couldn't find our mic system to go with our Digital Recorder. Donna Dykes, who picked us up and took us around everywhere, helped us out with this by finding a Radio Shack to visit. Afterwards, we headed to Classen High School, where we interviewed the Curator of the Alumni Musuem, who provided us with old newspapers and a very useful interview. Two Seniors then gave us a tour of the school, where we ran across two younger brothers of current "American Idol" contestants, Michael Preston and Andrew Foster.
After Classen, we headed to the National Cowboy and Western Museum, where we met with Chuck Rand, who provided us with a good bit of Lobby Cards and Posters that Dub was on. We had a tasty dinner with the Dykes family and headed to bed, as we had been going on an hour of sleep from 3:00 am to 7:30 pm that night, not to mention the full day before then on Thursday.
Saturday brought the interview with Don Reeves, the Curator of the Western Performers Gallery and head of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. We discussed the history of the west, the contributions of western actors, and the selection process as to how one may enter the museum. After the interview and touring the museum, we took a tour of Oklahoma City, which included a tour of the Oklahoma City Bombing Site, which was quite powerful. We ended the day at a Mexican restaurant in Bricktown, OKC's entertainment district, that ranks among the best Mexican I have ever had.
It was a very successful trip, as we made some good contacts and potentially may have another interview with one of Dub's last remaining classmates from High School, an era that is virtually to get first hand accounts on. Our next interviews will be (hopefully) in Washington State and Los Angeles, and if we can touch base with John Mellencamp, with him as well.
411mania talks Taylor
Q: Leonard -
I saw you mentioned Dub Taylor in your recent article on 411mania.com. I thought it might interest you that there is a feature length production about his life and contributions as a character actor that will be released in April. The article was interesting to us, we're doing lots of research on the B-western, obviously, because of his contributions. Anyway, just wanted to drop you a line for the interesting read.
Best,
James Kicklighter
Assistant Director/Executive Producer
That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor
http://www.thatdub.com/
A: That sounds like an awesome project and I wish you a lot of luck with it. I almost previewed Taylor last week, but didn't. That works out, because I can go over him this week. Be sure to let me know if I get anything wrong.
Dub Taylor was born Watler Clarence Taylor III on February 26th 1907. Friends called him by his first initial "W" and that eventually turned into "Dub." He started out in vaudeville and made his film debut in Frank Capra's 1938 film You Can't Take it With You. From there Taylor became the sidekick to actor Bill Elliot in a series of films as Cannonball. He left the series when Tex Ritter came in as Elliot's partner. He then played Cannonball in films starring Russell Hayden, Jimmy Wakely and, as mentioned last week, Charles Starrett. In the fifties, Taylor broke away from the Cannonball character and became a popular character actor in movies and television. In the sixties, Taylor became part of director Sam Peckinpah's stable of actors appearing in his films Major Dundee, The Wild Bunch, Junior Bonner and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Taylor continued to work steady in the seventies and eighties even with the Western fading out. He often lampooned his image, such as in a series of bubblegum commercials and joining the cast of the country music and comedy variety series "Hee-Haw." Taylor had become a Western icon by the nineties and a small revival in the genre saw him landing bit parts in major films late in his career including Back to the Future III, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys and Maverick. He died in 1994 of congestive heart failure. Among his other films are Bonnie and Clyde, Them!, A Star is Born, No Time for Sergeants, Spencer's Mountain, The Cincinnati Kid, Bandolero!, The Undefeated, A Man Called Horse, Support Your Local Gunfighter, Gator, 1941 and Used Cars.
http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/50686
I saw you mentioned Dub Taylor in your recent article on 411mania.com. I thought it might interest you that there is a feature length production about his life and contributions as a character actor that will be released in April. The article was interesting to us, we're doing lots of research on the B-western, obviously, because of his contributions. Anyway, just wanted to drop you a line for the interesting read.
Best,
James Kicklighter
Assistant Director/Executive Producer
That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor
http://www.thatdub.com/
A: That sounds like an awesome project and I wish you a lot of luck with it. I almost previewed Taylor last week, but didn't. That works out, because I can go over him this week. Be sure to let me know if I get anything wrong.
Dub Taylor was born Watler Clarence Taylor III on February 26th 1907. Friends called him by his first initial "W" and that eventually turned into "Dub." He started out in vaudeville and made his film debut in Frank Capra's 1938 film You Can't Take it With You. From there Taylor became the sidekick to actor Bill Elliot in a series of films as Cannonball. He left the series when Tex Ritter came in as Elliot's partner. He then played Cannonball in films starring Russell Hayden, Jimmy Wakely and, as mentioned last week, Charles Starrett. In the fifties, Taylor broke away from the Cannonball character and became a popular character actor in movies and television. In the sixties, Taylor became part of director Sam Peckinpah's stable of actors appearing in his films Major Dundee, The Wild Bunch, Junior Bonner and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Taylor continued to work steady in the seventies and eighties even with the Western fading out. He often lampooned his image, such as in a series of bubblegum commercials and joining the cast of the country music and comedy variety series "Hee-Haw." Taylor had become a Western icon by the nineties and a small revival in the genre saw him landing bit parts in major films late in his career including Back to the Future III, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys and Maverick. He died in 1994 of congestive heart failure. Among his other films are Bonnie and Clyde, Them!, A Star is Born, No Time for Sergeants, Spencer's Mountain, The Cincinnati Kid, Bandolero!, The Undefeated, A Man Called Horse, Support Your Local Gunfighter, Gator, 1941 and Used Cars.
http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/50686
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Release and Oklahoma
Just to clarify, at the moment, we're scheduled to premiere at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, GA on April 14, 2007 at 7:00pm. Beyond that, we don't know what's happening. There are plenty of options, we have a couple of networks that are interested, so we'll see what happens there. Additionally, we would love to ride the Film Festival circuit, so if you represent one of those interests, please get in touch with us ASAP.
We're heading to Oklahoma City, OK to Classen High School and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum this weekend for more interviews. Dub went to high school at Classen, which is now one of Newsweek's Top 100 High Schools in the Country, and a peforming arts school for gifted kids to boot. At NCWHM, we'll be looking into some artwork with Dub on it (Lobby Cards and the like) and conducting interviews with some of the curators. It's going to be an exciting trip, hopefully we'll get the chance to live blog for you while we're there.
Keep your messages coming, we enjoy reading them!
We're heading to Oklahoma City, OK to Classen High School and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum this weekend for more interviews. Dub went to high school at Classen, which is now one of Newsweek's Top 100 High Schools in the Country, and a peforming arts school for gifted kids to boot. At NCWHM, we'll be looking into some artwork with Dub on it (Lobby Cards and the like) and conducting interviews with some of the curators. It's going to be an exciting trip, hopefully we'll get the chance to live blog for you while we're there.
Keep your messages coming, we enjoy reading them!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Hollywood Elsewhere Talks "Taylor"
Well, if only for a brief synopsis. Ross Williams, who writes a documentary column for the site, has taken notice of the project. Check it out!
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/truth/archives/2007/02/electric_car.php
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/truth/archives/2007/02/electric_car.php
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