On this day in 1918, cowboy for all seasons Ben Johnson, was born in Foraker, Oklahoma, on the Osage Reservation.
In addition to more than 300 movie credits and a world roping championship, Johnson won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1971 as “Sam the Lion” in the Peter Bogdanovich film Last Picture Show.
Johnson always said he landed in the movies “in a carload of horses.” It was actually by way of eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes who offered Johnson a job wrangling horses for his 1943 movie The Outlaw. After delivering horses from his father’s Oklahoma ranch Johnson decided to stay when his pay jumped from $30 a month to $300.
He got another giant pay raise from legendary Western director John Ford. (Left) A master horseman, Johnson found work as a stunt double for some of Hollywood’s most famous celluloid cowboys. Ford hired him as Henry Fonda’s double in Fort Apache. Johnson became a hero when a team with a wagon and three actors stampeded. Johnson stopped the runaways and Ford was grateful to the tune of $5,000 a week.
In addition, Ford cast him in a starring role in his 1949 film Mighty Joe Young. Johnson also appeared to two of Ford’s Cavalry Trilogy, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande and as the lead in Wagon Master.
Their relationship got rocky, however, over an incident during Rio Grande. Ford, a notorious bully on the set, got told to “go to hell” by the normally amiable Johnson. 
It took more than aa decade for Ford to forgive the actor, but eventually cast him in the uncredited role of Trooper Plumbtree in the 1964 film Cheyenne Autumn. During his rift with Ford, he appeared in four films directed by the unconventional bad boy, Sam Peckinpah. (Left)
Despite a burgeoning movie career, Johnson exited from Hollywood for a year to compete full time in rodeos. His father Ben Johnson, Sr, was a three-time world champion steer roper and his son was determined to follow in his footsteps. At the end of the season he he had a championship belt buckle and bragging rights but just $3 in cash and an unhappy wife.
Apparently his 1953 rodeo hiatus didn’t slow down the film offers. He remained a go-to guy in Westerns, appearing in the movie classic, Shane with Allan Ladd, with Brando in One-Eyed Jack, William Holden in The Wild Bunch and two consecutive Steve McQueen pictures.
The role that won him an Oscar was a hard sell. He originally turned down the part of Sam, not comfortable with the script’s profanity and nudity. He won a rewrite of his scenes.
Unlike a number of cowboy actors, Johnson didn’t rely solely on Hollywood to pay the bills. He continued to ranch and run a horse breeding operation, and an estimated worth somewhere north of $100 million. He used both his money and rodeo experience to found his Pro celebrity Team Roping and Penning event in Oklahoma City which support children’s medical research and the Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma and the world’ s largest amateur rodeo in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Following the death of his wife of 53 years, Elaine Jones Johnson, he moved to a retirement community in Mesa, Arizona. He died suddenly of a heart attack two years later on April 6 while visiting his 96-year old mother, Ollie, who lived there, as well. He was buried at the Pawhuska City Cemetery.
Johnson was inducted into the Great Western Performers Hall at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
His Oscar was wonderful, Johnson said, but his proudest accomplishment was his rodeo world roping championship. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.
Part of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., Oklahoma City, the Williams Companies Performers Gallery consists of 4,000 square feet houses performers important to preserving Western heritage along with an extensive collection of artifacts and memorabilia from past and present including firearms, posters and portraits. It’s just one of a dozen galleries celebrating people, places and events of the West. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 to 5:00, Sunday, Noon to 5:00, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Admission, adults, $12.50, seniors and students with ID, $9.75, children 6 to 12, $5.75, 5 and under 5 free. For more information go to national cowboymuseum.org or call (405) 478-2250.
© Text Only – 2017 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain.