The Iconic Cowboy Stars Of Your Favorite Westerns Look Very Different Today

Audiences have been hitching their wagons to Westerns for almost as long as Hollywood has been making pictures. And the genre was so popular in the early 20th century that sheriffs, outlaws and cowboys dominated our screens. These rugged Old West tales made stars out of Clint Eastwood, Burton Gilliam, Johnny Crawford, Robert Redford, Kim Darby – and plenty more. But have you ever wondered what these actors got up to after they hung up their Stetsons? Well, pilgrims, you’ve come to the right saloon. Pour yourself a sarsaparilla and settle in.

20. Burton Gilliam

Director Mel Brooks reckons that 1974’s Blazing Saddles wouldn’t stand a chance of getting made these days. Yet the comedy was a big hit at the time – and even rode home with three Oscar nominations. The Western also made a star of Burton Gilliam, who played the movie’s black-hat-wearing bad guy.

Gilliam later popped up in everything from Back to the Future III to The A-Team. Nowadays, though, you might find the one-time fireman delighting fans by touring the country for Blazing Saddles’ special screenings. He’s got no plans to stop working, either. “I’m gonna live to be 100 years old,” Gilliam told the Houston Chronicle in 2019.

19. Kim Darby

Kim Darby cut her teeth in classic TV Westerns such as Wagon Train, Gunsmoke and Bonanza. But she’s best remembered for her iconic turn opposite the one-and-only John Wayne in 1969’s True Grit. And even though the Duke apparently didn’t think much of Darby during the film’s shoot, the actor’s star-making performance earned her a BAFTA nod.

Darby’s branched out from Westerns now, and the one-time Mattie Ross has also taught others the tools of her trade. But the big question is: what did she really think of Wayne? Well, shucks, she liked him just fine. “He was there on the set before anyone else and knew every line perfectly,” Darby told the Los Angeles Times in 2011.