Frank Calabrese (right), Yonkers, NY, is inducted into the Hall of Fame by Director Mike Chew during the 2003 World Cowboy Gunspinning Championships in Sioux Falls, SD. Calabrese also placed 2nd in the Technical Division and 3rd in the Showmanship Division of the Championships.
HISTORY OF SILVER SCREEN GUNSPINNING
The art of gunspinning flashed on the Silver Screen in 1930 with Johnny Mack Brown’s Billy the Kid, thrilling moviegoers with his fast and flashy gunspinning, flipping, and fancy silver-studded holsters. During the 1940s and 1950s, through the adventures of John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and the Lone Ranger, no baby-boomer worth his or her spurs missed the weekly serials at the neighborhood theater. During the 1960s heyday of the TV Westerns, Saturday night was TV tray night, with Paladin and Have Gun Will Travel at 7:30 and Marshall Dillon and Gunsmoke at 8:00. Enter Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone’s classic “Spaghetti Westerns” of the 1970s and 1980s, and the stage was set for blockbuster Academy Award-winning movies like Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves in 1990 and Eastwood’s The Unforgiven in 1992, Suddenly, Westerns were breaking box office records again. Currently, Tom Selleck’s classic Western TV movie blockbusters continue the Old West all-American genre of Great Western outfits, highly skilled performers, and positive family values.
THE 2003 WORLD COWBOY GUNSPINNINGHALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
1. Johnny Mack Brown (1904-1974) was ranked in the top ten movie cowboys for over ten years and has over 168 films to his credit. In addition, Johnny Mack was credited with being one of the finest trick gun handlers in the United States and continues to be a catalyst and inspiration among those who practice this art today. He is already recognized as the member of several Hall of Fame organizations for his collegiate football prowess. He was one of the first group of actors to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
2. Joe “The Straight Shooter” Bowman, Houston, TX, has been a master Western performer for over 50 years. He is the premier gunspinning coach in the world today. He was the gun coach for Robert Duvall in “Lonesome Dove” and an instructor for the Texas Rangers. Joe has worked with and performed for John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Jock Mahoney, Sammy Davis, Jr., Clayton Moore, Glen Ford, Humphrey Bogart, American astronauts, Russian cosmonauts, and heads of state around the world. As a performer skilled in the art of fancy gun handling and precision rifle shooting, Joe has no peer.
3. Jim Martin, Cave Creek, AZ, has been a highly respected Hollywood gun handling coach for many years and two-time World Fancy Gunhandling Champion, who created the famous two-gun-draw/shot performed by Kevin Costner as he backed out of the saloon in the movie “Silverado.” Jim is respectfully known as the last of the old-time Colt SAA-qualified gunsmiths. Jim, and his buddy Ray Parks, are regarded by many as two of the most creative gunspinners that ever lived.
4. Tom Wentz, Red Lodge, MT, is an accomplished 20-year gunspinning performer, 32-year fast draw competitor and 1994 World Champion, and 5-time Director of the World Gunspinning Championships. Tom has been the featured gunspinning performer at many Western-theme locations, including the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and Roy Rogers Museum. Roy Roger credited Tom with being a pioneer in developing many new gunspinning moves used by today’s best Western performers.
5. Frank Calabrese, Yonkers, NY, is accomplished in the art of gun handling, as evidenced by his distinction as the first Wild West Arts Club Gunspinning Champion in 1998 and finishing in the top three in two divisions of the 2002 World Gunspinning Championships. He has been a popular performer at Western festivals all over the country for many years and is considered by many to be the Ambassador of Good Will for Gunspinning. Frank is also famous for his dazzling hand-made silver screen style Western dress and fancy gunspinning technique, reminiscent of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Clayton Moore.
6. Mark Allen, Las Vegas, Nevada, is President of Western Stage Props, which has furnished Western props for many major Hollywood motion pictures. He is also Director of the Wild West Arts Club and an accomplished gunspinner. Mark is responsible for promoting top-level gunspinning contests since 1998 and is considered one of the leading all-around Western performers and promoters of the Western arts in the world today.
