As business interests have commercialized the American West and publishers and studios have created compelling imagery, the expectations of readers and moviegoers have influenced perceptions of the cowboy as a hero. This book describes the evolution of the cowboy hero as a mythic persona created by dime novels, television and Hollywood. Much of our concept of the cowboy comes to us from movies and the book's main focus is his changing image in cinema. The development of the hero image and the fictional West is traced from early novels and films to the present, along with shifting audience expectations and economic pressures.

Analyzes the modern myth of the cowboy as it appears in movies, advertising, the rodeo, and fiction, and gauges its effect on American thought

"Demonstrating how the methods of popular culture scholarship can be merged with those of marketing and consumer research, a mutually beneficial strategy of analysis is showcased."--BOOK JACKET.

Many legendary players and coaches, including Roger Staubach, Tom Landry, Pete Gent, and Bob Hayes, share the story of this famous football team, which has won five Super Bowls and more games than any other team in NFL history.

In the world of Western films, Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Audie Murphy have frequently been overlooked in favor of names like Roy Rogers and John Wayne. Yet these three actors played a crucial role in the changing environment of the post-World War II Western, and, in the process, made many excellent middle-budget films that are still a pleasure to watch. This account of these three Western stars' careers begins in 1946, when Scott and McCrea committed themselves to the Western roles they would play for nearly twenty years. Murphy, who also joined them in 1946, would continue his Western career for a few years after his cohorts rode into the film sunset. Arranged chronologically, and balanced among the three actors, the text concludes with Audie Murphy's last Western in 1967. Covering both the personal and professional lives of these three Hollywood cowboys, the book provides both their stories and the story of a Hollywood whose attitude toward the Western was in a time of transition and transformation. The text is complemented by 60 photographs and a filmography for each of the three.

Three tall, ruggedly handsome cowboys lasso the love of three very spirited ladies in this collection of romances that includes Lorraine Heath's "The Reluctant Hero," in which a novelist who will do anything for a story sets her sights on sexy Sheriff Matthew Knight. Original.

George-Warren offers the first serious biography in which Gene Autry the legend becomes a flesh-and-blood man--with all the passions, triumphs, and tragedies of a flawed icon.