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Post by Hiram on May 12, 2011 16:28:21 GMT -5
If you watch the opening, credit is given to Monte Barrett, author of The Tempered Blade. Barrett was a newspaper man in Texas and in Chicago (the Herald-Examiner.) He also helped create the comic strip Jane Arden, the proverbial spunky girl reporter. The juxtaposition of Jim Bowie with Jane Arden is an odd one, but there it is, thanks to Monte Barrett.
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 12, 2011 16:49:30 GMT -5
"Jim Bowie, Jim Bowie, he was a bold adventuring man. Jim Bowie, Jim Bowie, battled for right with a powerful hand. His blade was tempered and so was he, Indestructible steel was he, Jim Bowie, Jim Bowie, he was a fighter a fearless and mighty adventuring man." I don't know how many of you remember this theme song for the Life and Legend of Jim Bowie TV show starring Scott Forbes. It was one of my favorites, and I watched it every week hoping the episode would involve the Alamo, which, to my knowledge, it never did. I have a few episodes in my DVD collection. The first one recounts the story that his gun misfired while hunting a bear. He wanted a weapon that couldn't misfire and locates a nearly blind Blacksmith, who forges his knife and as an added measure, installs a brass strip to catch the blade of an opponent. He was sure Jim would need that feature in the future. I know there's nothing historical about this, but I don't know of any way to strip away the myth surrounding Bowie and his knife. For me, it's sufficient to say, he had it, it was big and he wasn't afraid to use it. The postings you guys provide are excellent!!!! Although 99% fictional, this TV series is one of my favorite Alamo-related productions. I loved Forbes' take on Bowie and, as I recall, there is evidence of Bowie's sense of humor somewhere in the pages of "Alamo Journal." I also never lost my infatuation with the "Iron Mistress" Bowie knife used in the series, and which has quite an extensive history of its own. One edition or another of it appeared in the movies "The Iron Mistress," "The Last Command," and Wayne's "The Alamo" as well as the Disney "Davy Crockett at the Alamo" episode and the Bowie TV series. The entire series was issued on DVD a few years ago and is still available from Amazon: www.amazon.com/Jim-Bowie-Complete-Collection/dp/B000PMLJLW/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1305236510&sr=1-1And there was at least one episode involving Davy Crockett that mentions the Alamo and has a likeness of the 1836 compound on screen at the end (taken from "Last Command" I think). There's also an episode with Johnny Appleseed in which Bowie is warned not to go to San Antonio because death awaits him there. Also, a few episodes take place in Texas, including a meeting with Deaf Smith and Bowie's efforts to find the "lost" San Saba silver mine, as well as a run in with Bradburn and early meetings with his future wife, Ursula Veramendi. Finally, there were a couple of versions of the theme song recorded before the final one was chosen for the series and at least 2 commercial recordings of it were released. You can read all about that in "Music of the Alamo: From 19th Century Ballads to Big-Screen Soundtracks," written by two Alamo junkies from New Jersey. Allen
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Post by loucapitano on May 14, 2011 11:00:02 GMT -5
Hiram - I can't thank you enough for that Link. Not only did it have the Jim Bowie opening, by drilling down I also found the opening to Rin-Tin-Tin and something that gave me tears and chills. It was Lt. Rip Masters singing the "Legend of the White Buffalo." Give it a listen.
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 14, 2011 11:07:40 GMT -5
Brown released that White Buffalo song on a record back then, which I had, but 78 rpm discs being what they were, it did not last long. I don't think it's ever been reissued, so enjoy that video clip!
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Post by loucapitano on May 14, 2011 11:13:04 GMT -5
Allen - as usual, you're the fount of detailed information. I was not aware of those Jim Bowie Alamo episodes. I grew up in a one TV household and Jim Bowie was probably bumped by Brooklyn Dodger games or some other show my parents or brothers wanted to watch. Do you know what time and network showed Jim Bowie and what was up against it from the other networks. New York had 12 channels in those days, so the competition was fierce. I just got box sets of Abbot and Costello, Alfred Hitcock and Errol Flynn. It might be a while before I get the Jim Bowie set. Thanks for letting me know it exists. Best regards, Lou
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 14, 2011 11:59:33 GMT -5
Yeah, Lou, that's me -- a warehouse of useless information!
The Bowie show was on ABC-TV, Friday nights 8-8:30 p.m. Durng it's first season (1956), it was up against "West Point Story" on CBS and "Life of Riley" on NBC. During it's second season (1957) its competition was "Trackdown" with Robert Culp on CBS and ""Court of Last Resort" on NBC. And speaking of the White Buffalo, the Bowie series was replaced the following year by "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin."
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Post by loucapitano on May 15, 2011 12:23:44 GMT -5
Allen - for years my friends, especially those at work, considered me the recepticle of obscure and useless information. It helped settle a lot of bets, otherwise, it wasn't very marketable. Except once, the company I worked for New York Life, was proud that it issued life insurance policies on Custer and 5 of his fellow officers in the 7th. For years they published brochures recounting how we gladly paid the claims and noted the date of the battle as July 25th, 1876. Someone came to me to verify the date and I recalled how news of the massacre put a damper on July 4th Cenntenial celebrations, so I checked and had them change tha date to June 25th. So, not all information is useless, but I'm glad to pass the honor to you.
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 15, 2011 18:12:44 GMT -5
That's a lot more than I've accomplished with my useless info, Lou. I once worked for a small PR firm in Newark and was assigned to ghost write a science text book. My boss took issue with my listing Allen Shepherd as the first American in space; he actually got quite heated up in his insistence that it was John Glenn. I had actually been a fanatical follower of the early space program and recall the day (to this day) when my gym teacher announced that Shepherd had gone up and safely returned from his sub-orbital flight. Later, Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, something Shepherd had not done, although he had, indeed, gone into space beyond earth's atmosphere, turning his Mercury capsule around and re-entering without actually completing an orbit. I don't recall how I persuaded the guy that I was right, but I think it was by attrition -- simply talking so long about the early space program, the little plastic model rocket's I had built, the names of other astronauts, etc., that tired him out and made him willing to defer to me. Such were the days before the internet!
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Post by sloanrodgers on May 15, 2011 18:48:58 GMT -5
The first one recounts the story that his gun misfired while hunting a bear. He wanted a weapon that couldn't misfire and locates a nearly blind Blacksmith, who forges his knife and as an added measure, installs a brass strip to catch the blade of an opponent. He was sure Jim would need that feature in the future. I know there's nothing historical about this, but I don't know of any way to strip away the myth surrounding Bowie and his knife. For me, it's sufficient to say, he had it, it was big and he wasn't afraid to use it. The postings you guys provide are excellent!!!! Thanks for noticing. I don't know much about Rin-Tin-Tin, white buffalo and seeing-eye dogs, but the Bowie series' knife creation story with the half-blind blacksmith probably originates with Ol' Pedro, the Spanish cutler in New Orleans. Several stories state that he forged the first Bowie Knife out of a big file and some tales say Pedro was blind in one eye. Here's an interesting 1901 article that mentions the alleged knife origin, Pedro, The Sandbar Fight, Governor Wells and the Spanish fighting knife among other Bowie biographical stuff. I love the thick, choppy fonts in the title of this article. It seems very appropriate for the story and inventive for the time period. Colonel James Bowie and His Knife That Never "Missed Fire" - San Francisco Call, July 14, 1901 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1901-07-14/ed-1/seq-2/;words=Pedro+bowie+BOWIE+B,owie+Bowie
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Post by loucapitano on May 16, 2011 16:22:47 GMT -5
Allen - Allen Shepherd and John Glenn are frequent topics on Jeopardy. I remember both flights very well and was always surprised that people didn't know the differences in their accomplishments. I was intrigued when my Social Studies teacher predicted Glenn would run for senate and eventually become president. He was almost right.
Ranger Rod - I loved that "San Francisco Call" article on the origin the KNIFE! It had an interesting new spin on the Alamo Battle. As you said, it was inventive.
As a person who enjoys social history along with the military, I was greatly amused by the article on swimming lessons. I couldn't be sure if it was really trying to teach women to swim, or simply an excuse to show the 1901 version of scantily clad beauties. It's something magazines like the "Police Gazzett" did frequently in the guise of social commentary. Great stuff - thanks!
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Post by Paul Sylvain on May 16, 2011 23:10:35 GMT -5
And I especially remember Allen Shepherd because his short ride up and back was a HUGE deal for the folks in the then-small town of Derry, New Hampshire, where Allen lived for a while. Derry is about 12 miles from Nashua where I grew up and went to school and lived at at the time. News media were there on the day of the launch, of course, and Derry was dubbed "Spacetown U.S.A." because of it.
Now, if that isn't a load of useless trivia, I dunno what is.
Paul
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 17, 2011 7:08:22 GMT -5
Paul - it shows what a big deal space launches used to be. They'd cover them on TV all day and the news mags would put them on the cover. Lou - where would history be without the Police Gazette???
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Post by sloanrodgers on May 17, 2011 17:52:14 GMT -5
Ranger Rod - I loved that "San Francisco Call" article on the origin the KNIFE! It had an interesting new spin on the Alamo Battle. As you said, it was inventive. Thank you. I agree the San Francisco Call narrative was very inventive in places, but I was commenting on the creative quality of the whacky title fonts above the article in my previous post. The article might have some kernels of truth on Col. Bowie's big knife, so I thought it might be relevant to the Bowie Knife subject and interesting to some people. I guess I was wrong since this thread appears to be spinning off into some completely unrelated topics. Despite Bowie's eventful life and legend he doesn't seem to get the same attention as some Texas heroes.
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Post by loucapitano on May 18, 2011 15:58:59 GMT -5
Bowie does get a lot of attention in some quarters and less in others. But his life's circumstances seem to cause some historians and writers to dwell on his warts rather than his virtues. Historically, people like Crockett get pretty good press throughout their lives. To many people he was the embodiment of the American frontiersman. His fame encompassed all the noble requisits of his day. He was a Husband,father, farmer, politician, and crack shot(?) who knew how to sway a crowd and never bored anyone. I can't think of any actions that might cause people to dislike him or not trust him. By most measurements, Travis was just a kid. I don't think his domestic qualities were much to praise, but he was a firebrand during a time of firebrands. So most of what we know about him is his 13 Days of Glory. And, he gets to go to his grave with the words, "Victory or Death!"
But Bowie is different. Much of his reputation was built on violence. And, in his early years he made his living in the odious slave trade and in land speculation in his later years. While these ventures crossed the boundry of legality, there were few people willing to enforce whatever laws were violated. And he lived among people where "survival of the fittest" was the accepted method of getting ahead. I'm not excusing his life, just noting that historically, you have to look at the time and the place before any judgements are made.
But once he crossed the line, his legend was assured. Remember, at least 100 men looked to his as their leader prior to his sickness. And they accepted his transfer of command to Travis. So there had to be some semblence of character to the man. As I said, his warts made him less than perfect, but he died among heros.
Hope that gets the thread back on track. Now bring it on.
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Post by sloanrodgers on May 19, 2011 20:37:13 GMT -5
Bowie does get a lot of attention in some quarters and less in others. But his life's circumstances seem to cause some historians and writers to dwell on his warts rather than his virtues. Historically, people like Crockett get pretty good press throughout their lives. To many people he was the embodiment of the American frontiersman. His fame encompassed all the noble requisits of his day. He was a Husband,father, farmer, politician, and crack shot(?) who knew how to sway a crowd and never bored anyone. I can't think of any actions that might cause people to dislike him or not trust him. By most measurements, Travis was just a kid. I don't think his domestic qualities were much to praise, but he was a firebrand during a time of firebrands. So most of what we know about him is his 13 Days of Glory. And, he gets to go to his grave with the words, "Victory or Death!" I agree with most of your opinions on the nobility of the so-called Alamo trinity. There's no doubt that Crockett holds a secure position at the top and Travis an arm on the figurative cross. Because of Bowie's slave trading, land sharking, drinking, knife dueling, etc. and the real possibility that he was completely incapacitated during the final days of the Alamo battle, I didn't believe Bowie was the chivalric or heroic equal to Travis. Once, I probably would have put Bonham or another Alamo defender next to Travis and Bowie on the opposite end of the crucifix from Crockett. I try not to judge historical figures to harshly, especially when they redeem themselves or apologize for their misdeeds in the end. In casually reading about Bowie and his knife, so much of his story seems to be based on legend, bad history and wild speculation. I don't believe anyone will ever determine what Bowie was like to any degree of certainty without better documentation of his life. In a similar vein it might be impossible to get a completely accurate picture of Bowie's Sandbar and Alamo Knives since we apparently don't have a single detailed contemporary description of the weapon he used in either battle or the knife he brought to Texas. Bowie desperately needs a new biography by a competent historian. Yes, much of Bowie's reputation is based on violence, but what degree is founded on actual facts? Several legends and stories state that he was a participant in several bloody encounters with his famous knife, where he defended his honor or protected the weak, but where is the documentation in the contemporary record? Apparently, the only recorded incident of his participating in a duel was the 1827 event near Natchez, Mississippi. Bowie was clearly driven to violence by men with sword canes, Comanche spears and Mexican lances, but apparently not by fellows with mere knives. Well, I haven't seen any evidence for a line-crossing or cross guard on Bowie's blade, but I like your stance on this issue. Despite his troubled past he became a leader of small groups of men in Texas. Men were willing to die with him in those Alamo ditches before he was laid low by unexpected illness, then prematurely cut-down on a deathbed. No matter where Alamo defenders fell, fighting to the end or not, they all died heroes for their cause in my mind and deserve to be remembered for their sacrifice. As an amateur historian and novice Alamo buff I've speculated on the life and knife of Jim Bowie, but no more so than others have done before me. I'm also not as serious and fanciful with my musings as some folks. Well, at least not in my opinion. Stranger things have happened.
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