On this day, May 22, 1940, filmmaker Kieth Merrill was born.
Kieth Merrill
Born: May 22, 1940 (age 83); Farmington, Utah, U.S.
Notable works
The Great American Cowboy (1973)
The Wild West (1993)
Amazon (1997)
Various films for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Notable awards: Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film (1973)
Kieth W. Merrill (born May 22, 1940) is an American filmmaker who has worked as a writer, director, and producer in the film industry since 1967. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of America, and received an Academy Award for
The Great American Cowboy (1973) and a nomination for
Amazon (1997).
He published a novel,
The Evolution of Thomas Hall, through Shadow Mountain in 2011. His first fantasy novel,
The Immortal Crown, was published by Shadow Mountain in 2016.
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Hat tip, an obituary in
The New York Times
Sun May 21, 2023:
Larry Mahan, the Elvis of Rodeo, Is Dead at 79
Larry Mahan, the Elvis of Rodeo, Is Dead at 79
His eight championships made him a legend to his fans. His mod style, swashbuckling lifestyle and flirtations with Hollywood made him a star.
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Branching into Western wear, he developed a line of cowboy togs including signature boots that became as coveted among lonesome-trail types as prime Air Jordans are among sneakerheads. (Josh Brolins character asks for a pair of Larry Mahans, size 11, when shopping for fresh clothes in the 2007 film
No Country for Old Men.) ... He also made his matinee-idol reputation at least a tad literal, studying acting in Los Angeles and appearing in
The Honkers, a 1972 rodeo drama starring James Coburn and Slim Pickens;
Sixpack Annie, a racy 1975 drive-in special; and
The Good Old Boys, a star-studded 1995 television western directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones. {snip} Perhaps his biggest mark on popular culture came in 1973, when he was the subject of The Great American Cowboy, which won the Academy Award for best documentary feature.
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