I think I’ll just let this here without comment. I sure won’t argue number one.
7mm

They left out Randolph Scott and Audie Murphy...

disagree with burt lancaster. his voice never was right for a western. not sure who i'd put in his place. pretty solid list, i think ...

Take Duvall out, and I agree they left out R Scott and A Murphy.

Good list. Seems right for those with a body of work in Westerns. I might change the order a bit but that’s my subjective opinion.

Left out, hardly. Starring in a western and being iconic are 2 different things and neither of these guys were good actors…

I don't think Randolph Scott is a particularly good actor but I watch every Western he is in.

Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart are my guys

Kinda where I am. He's a "western guy" and IMO, I've never been a fan of AM the actor. The Soldier - sure, but actor, not really. Hard to stomach.

Good list. A bunch I'd never seen. Never saw that Robert Duvall movie about Geronimo, for example. Looks good.

Duvall should be moved up to #3 or arguably #2

They left out Noah Berry and Ben Johnson!

Randolph Scott....

LOL

do I need to send yall some 1000 piece puzzles???

Ben for sure!

He was the real deal! Not an actor, but a real cowboy!

Never Duvall was all that good

For those who don't want to watch the whole thing.

10. Lee Marvin
9. Robert Duvall
8. Burt Lancaster
7. Steve McQueen
6. Robert Mitchum
5. Henry Fonda
4. James Stewart
3. Gary Cooper
2. Clint Eastwood
1. John Wayne

I have Duvall’s and Eastwood’s autograph as well as Sam Elliot. Lancaster was bisexual so there’s that….

When I was 15 Ben Johnson was in our fish camp up at Big Lake. Really down to earth guy.

I'd probably pick Kirt Douglas over Lancaster.

Kent

Like John Wayne, he pretty much always played the same character. You could say that for Eastwood, too, though.

I would have thought James Garner would make the list and, when it comes to being a cowboy icon, it's hard to ignore Roy Rogers. Another with some good western roles is Gregory Peck. GD

How many, really diverse, characters were there in Westerns tho? That's where the work was, you had type A or type B - if you do any volume, you'll repeat a lot.

Thought Bruce Dern was a great "bad guy" western actor.

Walter Brennan was an iconic supporting actor in many westerns. Won three academy awards for best supporting actor

Could have easily added:

Rory Calhoun, Richard Widmark, Glen Ford, Richard Boone and the list goes on.

As did Dub Taylor.

Dub was Buck Taylor's dad. (Newly on Gunsmoke)

This may seem like a sacrilege to some but I don’t believe Jimmy Stewart belongs in that group. He always sounded like he was talking with a mouth full of spit and wasn’t really believable in most of his character portrayals. As the doctor in the shootist however, he did a great job there.

Robert Mitchum isn’t worthy of the top 10 either. Bruce Dern was easily the best bad guy in all those westerns. He deserves a place much more than Mitchum.

Duvall without a doubt should be in the top three. It’s too bad that Lonesome Dove wasn’t a movie. Duvall should have gotten an Academy award for his portrayal of Gus.

Jack Elam should be on that list.

Ed

Got any 500's?
I can't take all day.
I gotta make it to the Blue Plate Special before 5 pm.

Richard Boone in "Hombre" was THE bad guy in a western. What a role.

I agree. And where's Joel McCrea? Burt Lancaster doesn't belong either. Robert Mitchum was a great actor, but I associate him more with film noir, which he practically owned. And what about Ben Johnson; the greatest actor to ever swing a leg over a horse (but not a leading man, I get it). I have to agree about Bruce Dern, never saw a movie he was in where I didn't hate him. Henry Fonda doesn't belong, either.

Lee VanCleef

“All the best cowboys have Chinese eyes”
-Pete Townsend 1982

Nobody has said Jake Gyllanhall and Heath Ledger yet?

Sheesh.

In before varmintguy

What about that kid from the mighty ducks?

No Jack Palance either. He was pretty badass in those City Slickers movies.

Slim Pickens
Alan Ladd
Charles Bronson

Ask my Dad and Father in law.
I blame them for my not being able to stand Westerns anymore.

All Dad watches. Anytime he is watching TV, it's Westerns.
I mean every single time.
He complains about a friend always having a news channel on,
Mom just grins.



Boomers.

I have enjoyed watching all that have been mentioned over the years. It would be difficult to pick just ten.

Hang 'Em High, and Support Your Local Sheriff.

If TV westerns were added, who would get added to the list? Roy Rogers, Clayton Moore, James Arness, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon and others are in the conversation too.

OMG I seriously opened this thread thinking "I'm gonna ask Slum if he'll weigh in on this"

Another BS opinion, by a Limey no less, for mostly popularity, rather than iconic, long term cowboy actors that had you believing they were that person they played.

Just many that were in several. & Whoodah thunkit, Wayne at #1.

Yeah, ask Slum to send ya a puzzle, as so many answers were SO obvious.

James Aeness should easily make that list.

Tom Selleck Glen Ford an Ben Johnson should easily make the list. Id argue for Gene Hackman to be there..

I can only think of two Gene Hackman Western roles.

Selleck, Ford, and Ben Johnson should have a said all made the list for sure.

Gene Hackman??? Nah. I can only think of 3 westerns he was in. And only one of them was a good movie.

Yep. Former World Champion Team Roper.
As was his father also.

You’ve never seen Geronimo???
Pretty good movie except for that dumbass Matt Damon being in it.

They were, are all good! Sidekicks included!
And, Count Basie's Orchestra, playing behind that hill.

Slim Pickens was also a rodeo performer and capable of doing his own stunts in westerns. He supposedly hurt his back at the 320 ranch in Montana, doing a stunt by riding an elk in the corral at the 320 ranch and was thrown into the corral poles and hurt his back, giving him his perpetual limp fore the rest of his life...

Well heck fire!! What about Timothy Nelson? I mean come on man "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"?

But seriously, James Arness? He should have been in there somewhere I think. Who doesn't like gun smoke?
But to be fair, it's a really tough list to put together and it's virtually impossible to generate a list that everyone would agree on 100%

Bite the bullet,Zandys bride,unforgiven, Geronimo,hunting party and quick an the dead. Knocked it out of the park in em all. Duvall had 1 lonesome dove.. fuQ lancaster.

Yakima Canutt.

Charlton Heston was better than burt fuggin lancaster.. dammitman

^^^This^^^ X 100

Riding an elk would be tougher than riding a saddle bronc.
Rode some broncs and bulls when I was young & dumb.
I’d pass on riding an elk. 🤪

Which JW Movie did Ben Johnson ride two horses standing up on their backs ? Roman style.

RioGrande i believe

Burt Lancaster did 16 westerns, most a lot that were different where he played vastly different characters. Not just Duval acting like Gus in anything since the Dove, or Duke being Duke in most of his.
Lancaster also performed his own stunts.

Not saying he should be #1, or even top 5, but I'd find it hard to kick him of the list for somebody more popular, not necessarily better.

True, as for being a good actor................The absolute best actor on that list by far is Lee Marvin, & it's not even close with James Stewart probably 2nd.

John Wayne, at the top of the list, is iconic & a "tough guy" that lots of people liked to identify with, but as a talented actor, he probably at the very bottom of the list or even below. He had one style, & one style only.

As for a top western actor's list, Kirk Douglas surely belongs on it.

MM

Even in True Grit, Duval was just playing a younger version of Gus, personality and mannerism-wise.

Walter Brennen.

No argument with the list but I agree there should have been others included. Fun to reminisce all the really great westerns.

Was James Coburn mentioned? His quick draw knife scene was badazz.

Gregory Peck would have made the list if it wasn't for that damned whale!

Lancaster had one good western.

John Wayne movies, ok. Boomers love Marion, whatever. Even the one with kids and Bruce Dern can't turn em off.

Randolph and Audie should have been on there along with Ben Johnson and Dick Boone. All iconic.
I'd kick off Marvin, Stewart, Mitchum and Lancaster.

McCrea was decent too along with Whidmark.

"Lancaster had one good western"

Which one?

Lots of rumors that Randolf Scott was GAY. And had a love nest with Carey Grant. 🤪

Marlon Brando was great in One Eyed Jacks, one of my favorite of all time Westerns

Was Audie Murphy a good actor?

With all due respect, can't/wouldn't try, to down play his previous achievements but could he have made a living acting had he not had the notoriety to begin with?

Stuntman, and bit rolls, yet one of the most talented horsemen!

Clint Eastwood, but he's no cowboy. He's an actor. Anyone who knows cowboying knows that the job goes from the lowest of the low, to the best of the best.

Burt Lancaster's outstanding western movie roles: The Professionals, Valdez is Coming, Ulzana's Raid, The Unforgiven (also probably Audi Murphy's best performance in any movie he ever did), Lawman (w/ Robert Ryan, Robert Duval and Ralph Waite in support roles).

Lawman.

Lee van Cleef should be on that list

Agreed.
His one style was bad.

I have always thought he was an absolutely terrible actor and never could figure out why he was popular.

Yes.

Let's kick off John Wayne or Fonda for some howls.....

"This train will stop at Tucumcari"

What about Butch & Sundance?

Valdez is on right now on GRIT. Seems like a good movie. I also like Lawman. I’ll keep Burt on my top 10.

My number one is definitely Eastwood. John Wayne ranks about 50th.

I've watched this movie called McKenna's Gold with Gregory Peck 2 or 3 times. Its bad, like comically bad. I can't believe Peck would have accepted that role, He must have been going thru a divorce.

Good cast of actors for it to be such a bad movie - Eli Wallach, Edward G. Robinson, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas - Starz has a channel dedicated to Westerns and I'll hit it up about 8:00pm to see what is on, this movie has been in the rotation lately.

Rip from Yellowstone

Walter Brennan
Gabby Hayes
Pat Buttram
Hank Wordon
Smiley Burnett
Jack Elam
Ward Bond
Warren Oats
L Q Jones
Edgar Buchanan


There! 🤣

And they left out Joel McCrea

You must be black, jewish and a democrat

For the Wayne haters, obviously you haven't truly seen his acting role in the Searchers. That in my opinion was his best. I also like Joel McRea and of course Sam Elliott and Lancaster DID make some great westerns, but like Randolph Scott (both were gaggers incidentally), that NE yankee accent, kinda was out of place.

And speaking of jewish democrats, the best Meskin' Bandido ever? Eli Wallach!

1 Eastwood. Good Bad Ugly, Fistful of Dollars, Few Dollars more, Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter
2 Wayne. The Searchers, True Grit, The Shootist
3 Cooper. High Noon

IMO, Burt is one of the best. The OK Corral with Kirk Douglas is the greatest western of all time.

Two words:

Dub Taylor

And in The Missouri Breaks with Jack Nicholson. That was a great movie of which a many western fans are not aware.

Tom Selleck, in my opinion, should be #1 or #2 on that list. His acting in westerns is exceptional and convincing.

To be a "top western actor" - I'd think you need to be in more than 1 or 2 westerns total.

I mean Wayne, Lancaster, Eastwood - they have a large body of work and thus - IMO, consideration as a "western actor" vs a guy who did 1-2 westerns and was good at it. Had a great western role but not necessarily a western actor.

Slim Pickins

Roy Rogers, Gene Autry.

Although I don’t consider either Roy Rogers or Gene Autry the real western movie actors, Gene is the only entertainer that has 5 stars on the Hollywood walk of fame.

There is more than one reason, none of those guys were considered…

Dan Blocker, big as he was, rode a horse pretty well.
And owned the TO Ranch, east of Raton, for a while.

You forgot Broderick Crawford!

Tough guy!

Ben Johnson, Ken Curtis,…..there are so many ,should be a top 100 IMO.

My favorite line in Chisum.

James Pepper : You know, there's an old saying, Miss Sally. There's no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pecos. Right, Mr. Chisum?

John Simpson Chisum : Wrong, Mr. Pepper. Because no matter where people go, sooner or later there's the law. And sooner or later they find God's already been there.

Agreed !!!

And “The Searchers” was one of the greatest Western ever made !
And Eli Wallach for best bad guy, followed closely by Lee Van Cleef and Lee Marvin.

I’m really surprised Sam Elliot didn’t get more mentions.

Evidently you’ve never seen “Tombstone”. 🤪

Always liked this from Big Jake -

Jacob : And now *you* understand. Anything goes wrong, anything at all... your fault, my fault, nobody's fault... it won't matter - I'm gonna blow your head off. No matter what else happens, no matter who gets killed I'm gonna blow your head off.

Great list Bob. Can’t believe I forgot about Ward Bond.

I was given a stack of classic old western dvds and One Eyed Jacks was in there. I'd never seen or heard of it before but it's now one of my favorite westerns. Brando insolent and dangerous, Karl Malden as his double crossing partner, Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens round out the cast set in old coastal town Monterey.

Twas all in jest shrap.

One of my favorite scenes was the adopted son in Red River can’t remember his name.

Picking up that horned toad.

Tombstone is terrible. Horrible acting, and not remotely enjoyable.

Jack Elam for sure needs to be included.

50% of the actors in the 50/60's couldn't get work today as their ability isn't on par with average today.

Just goes to show you, if a thread runs more than two pages, sooner or later stuff will come out of the woodwork..

My List:

1. John Wayne
2. Clint Eastwood
3. Ben Johnson
4. Henry Fonda
5. Randolf Scott
5. Joel McCrea
7. Garry Cooper
8. Walter Brenan
9. James Stewart
10. Lee Van Cliff

Glen Ford should be on this list of all time movie cowboys.

One of my favorites, too. Some memorable lines.

Ben Johnson as Bob Ermey to Harvey - "Harvey, you're gonna be famous around these parts."

Harvey - "How's that?"

Ben Johnson - "You're gonna be knowed as the man who got his brains blowed out by the Rio Kid."

Or ...

Ben Johnson as Bob Ermey to Brando " Kid, that hand ain't never gonna be any good. Hell, I think even I could get six in in you now."

Brando as the Rio Kid - "You might get them six in me, Bob ... but not before I got that one in you."

Yep, One Eyed Jacks is a classic, in my opinion.

L.W.

Get Up You Scum SUCKING PIG............GET UP!!! I want you to stand..... I am going to open you up.

My Favorite:

"Get Up You SCUM SUCKING PIG............GET UP!!! I want you to stand..... I'm going to open you up."

One Eyed Jacks is the only Movie Marlon Brando ever directed. OUTSTANDING!

John Wayne was so good an actor that he fooled a bunch of you into thinking he couldn't act.

Lots of the most successful actors didn't need to "act". They just figured out a character they were comfortable within their own personality and used it.

John Wayne.

Clint Eastwood.

Charles Bronson.

Tommy Lee Jones.

Sam Elliott.


People go see them in different movies because they like the "character" the actor portrays. Could be a western or a gangster movie, but the character is the same, and the draw from the public wanting to see that... makes them successful.

Doesn't make them a "great" actor, but it does make them successful.

Damn, I don’t know how I left out Glenn Ford! I’d put him above Eastwood any day,
John Wayne’s characters were always the same sorta guy. He was always the good guy who got crossed, and always righted what was wrong.
Ford played many different roles, a bad guy in “3:10’to Yuma”, a mild mannered shopkeeper in “The Fastest Gun Alive”, and a Bounty Hunter in another that I can’t remember the name.
Let me put it this way. I had some real heroes who’ve I’ve always tried to emulate. The Old Man was first, Duke was second, Audie Murphy & Glenn Ford we’re right in there. Not to leave out James Longstreet or Winfield Hancock either
I’ve had an easy time finding heroes, but it hasn’t been easy living up to these guys.
Maybe I shoulda set my sights lower. But one of the proudest moments of my life was when a lady I didn’t know told me “You remind me of a cowboy”.
Like Waylon said, “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”!
7mm

Gary Cooper, High Noon.

I remember watching High Noon as a teenager and thinking, "Wow this is f'd up."

Cooper and the other actors did remarkable jobs but the story...ugh

LMAO...no. Just, no. All of these guys played a number of different characters many times...just no.

Glen Ford
Bob Johnson

If you’re going to name Al Gore’s college roommate and homo lover then might as well add Danny glover. He was in lonesome dove too.

The selection of actors that get cast in lead roles in movies is almost always based who the studio big wigs think will generate the most ticket sales. Seldom is it based on who would be the best actor / best fit for a role.

It was Montgomery Clift that picked up the horned toad.


IMO dishing someone’s enjoyment of a actor

Is like debating vanilla versus chocolate

Personally ….I am in the equine industry…..so a western in any form is nice for me to watch….


Beats the bee juss outta some of the other generes in Hollywood.

I really enjoyed Kevin Costner in Silverado….

And a lot of them ponies featured in Yellowstone are freaking broke.

I liked
Buck and the preacher
Sidney portier
And Harry belafonte
Also like Silverado

Ulzana’s Raid. Best movie about following a trail and managing horses over the long haul I’ve seen.

And Ben Johnson was a real cowboy.

Don't forget the original "cowboy actor" who got it all started. William S. Hart.

L.W.

James Drury is at the utmost top of my list for a "cowboy" actor.

Even after he retired he was still active in cowboy action shooting and had a

voice in second amendment issues
Everyone else just starred in western movies

Forgot William Holden. Top notch in anything he did.

Woody Strode.

Yep. And John Wayne was the most successful Cowboy actor of all time.
Probably helped that he had one of the greatest Directors of the time, John Ford, to put him in some great films.

No Doubt !!! 🤪🤪🤪

Tombstone is one of the best “modern” Westerns ever made !

I’ve never seen that one. I’ll have to check it out.

Tom Mix
Tim McCoy
Charles Starrett
Lash LaRue
Cisco Kid
Johnny Mack Brown
Buster Crabbe
Fuzzy Q. Jones
Joel McCrea
Ben Johnson

I'm in the camp that John Wayne WAS a good actor. Too successful to see it any other way. His character just made a lot of movies come alive. He could look the western part and did it enough times to prove it. Lots of good actors in those roles. Look at Russell Crowe in 3:10 to Yuma. But he is NOT a western actor

Hoot Gipson

Even better yet was Ben Foster as Crowe's sidekick.

George, "Gabbby", Hayes

Any acting list that puts Wayne at the top is suspect, IMO. Being popular does not necessarily mean great.

A great scene with Slim Pickens.

Should have been a top 20.....Cannot fit all the great ones into just a top 10

Just because they were a good box office draw and had a staring role does not necessarily promote them to good actor status in my opinion. As stated before, some of the supporting roles were by far better actors.

Yep. Classic scene, from one of the funniest movies of all time. Always heard that Slim Pickens was a real cowboy.
As for Alan Ladd, I thought he was great in ”Shane”, but I’ve not seen him in many other westerns.

You do chlinstructor, I'll bet you watch it more than two times, awesome western :o)

Just realized lil joe…

On bonanza is a left handed gun….

Didn’t Paul Newman star in that movie?

But the thing I most ponder about lil joe is following:

Why did he prefer paints?

How in the B GSUS did his britches stay above his knees without belt loops?

Mystery 2me

Duh..... Lucas McCain