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Posted on 06/29/2026 1:13:35 PM PDT by Leaning Right
Today we remember Slim Pickens (born Louis Burton Lindley Jr.), born June 29, 1919. Best known for his memorable performances in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, 1941, and One-Eyed Jacks, Pickens became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable Western actors and rodeo performers.
Before entertaining audiences around the world, Pickens answered the call to serve during World War II, enlisting in the United States Army Air Forces.
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Especially noteworthy in that final scene were the looks Katy Jurano and Slim shared when each knew his gut shot was the end.
I agree!
“Let’s say goodbye with a smile, dear
Just for a while dear we must part
Don’t let this parting upset you
I’ll not forget you, sweetheart
We’ll meet again
Don’t know where
Don’t know when
But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.....”
Well, he was married to Britt Ekland, and was rumored to have had an affair with Sophia Loren. One thing’s certain, though, he was severely messed up. Might go along with a talent for comedy.
Agree.
Major Kong originally said “A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff”. Before the movie came out, JFK was assassinated. Slim Pickens was flown to NYC to say the word ‘Vegas’ so it could be overdubbed. In the movie, the sound has ‘Vegas’ but his mouth says ‘Dallas’. I read somewhere that this was the most expensive overdub in movie history up to that point.
From AI:
Slim Pickens got his name when he was 14 years old and entering his first rodeo. Wanting to hide his activities from his disapproving father, a rodeo manager told the teenager that his payout would be “slim pickin’s” anyway. The boy adopted the name and won a $400 prize that very afternoon.
Amen.
Great movie trivia!!!! Thanks
“was severely messed up.”
Aren’t we all?
Slim Pickens and Jack Elam were great character actors.
Loved slim Pickens as an actor… Just loved him.
Of course, I enjoyed him in Doctor Strange love… Who wouldn’t?
But I really enjoyed his part in “1941“… The whole scene with him in the submarine with the Japanese was hilarious to me… The way he threw his boots into the toilet and then climbed up into the overhead.
There’s just something about that whole scene that makes me grin… Pickens swallowing the toy, compass, the the Japanese pouring the castor oil into his mouth… while the Japanese captain says mournfully: “There is no honor in this…“
Sellers was Air Force.
Of course… That scene where he’s reading off the checklist is absolutely my favorite of his in that movie.
The most famous horseback jump performed by rodeo-star-turned-actor Slim Pickens occurred in the 1955 Western film Santa Fe Passage. Instead of using a stunt double, Pickens had his favorite personal horse, Dear John, jump cleanly over a wagon.
https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/slim-pickens/
Like I said
I love this piece of trivia...
Director Stanley Kubrick deliberately kept Slim Pickens in the dark, never telling him that Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was a dark comedy. Because Pickens was only given the script for his specific scenes, he played the entire role of Major “King” Kong completely straight, believing he was in a serious Cold War drama.
This intentional deception by Kubrick is exactly what gives the character’s performance—especially the iconic climax of him riding the nuclear bomb like a rodeo bronco—such a brilliant, deadpan, and sincere edge.
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