If you've attended a fan event where Peter was appearing, we'd love to post scans of snapshots or video grabs of the event [even if Peter isn't in them].  Or we'd love to hear stories about any event where he appeared even if you don't have pictures.  Or maybe you just had a chance encounter.  We're not just looking for recent stuff.  Peter started making appearances for Lawman in 1958 and he appeared with Bill Smith & Neville Brand on numerous occasions for Laredo in the mid-sixties.  Dig out those celebrity scrapbooks from your teen years and share them with Peter's other fans.  [See Part Two Blast from the Past]  And if you have a Peter Encounter story with no pictures, please share.  [See Part Three Encounters - Close & Otherwise.]

American Safari Ranch
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Lone Pine
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Calico Ghost Town
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Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo

http://www.celebrityrodeo.com/

"Dean was one of the top stunt men in the business and now raises and trains horses....known him forever."  Peter

Nancy meets Peter at the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo

Peter competing in Team Penning

Thanks Nancy for this eyewitness account

The Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo was a benefit for the American Cancer Society.Thursday.  It started with practice sessions and my thanks to Ronnie & his stepson Jerry who decided, on instinct & pure faith, to trust me to help warm up horses for the celebrities. (Talk about a cool vacation!) Alex Cord's wife Susannah complimented me on my mare Quad and we had a nice chat about horses & jumping (we both jump) as we rode...nice girl. That night was the Gala & Auction. Jackey & Travis, who provided the wonderful chuckwagon dinner, put me to work serving. Then Jackey decided to find Peter for me, since I'd travelled all the way from Montreal to see him.  He not only came over to meet me, he gave me a big hug and posed for a couple of pictures with me. During the autograph-signing, I also had a chance to chat with him. I met my idol & he turned out to be bright, articulate, funny, definitely charming...and an awfully good sport.

Friday & Saturday we had practice sessions in the morning. I rode again - Quad & her half-brother R.L., plus one of the "real" cowboys (an ex-Texas Ranger named Brantley Foster) had me ride one of his horses as well. Incredibly, these people were thanking me for riding their horses. Unfortunately Alex & Peter's team got eliminated from team penning the first night (one second over the allowed time of 2 minutes - don't ask Peter about that darn gate!), but Susannah's team had the 2nd fastest time of the competition (55 seconds, I believe) with Susannah riding "our mare" Quad. She may be the one person there who had almost as much fun as I did! Alex also competed in cutting & team roping, but didn't do as well as the host Dean Smith. He must be over 70 but if there were an award for "Best All-Round Cowboy", he would've won it. Peter & many of the other celebrities were there because of their friendship with him - what an amazing man.

Apart from the celebrities and the pro ropers, we had musical entertainment (HSU Cowboy Band, Johnny Western, Craig Chambers), specialty acts (One Arm Bandit, trick riders, trick ropers) and great food. (Though I may be prejudiced since I helped the caterers at the Gala & the girls at the concession stand the rest of the time - it's a very small, very friendly town.) The autograph signing wasn't as well organized as it should have been but it was the first time they'd done anything like this - they'll do better next time. There were too many celebrities to name them all but I was happy to see Peter, Alex, Bruce Boxleitner, Marty Kove, Annie Lockhart (just to hear her squeal during the practice sessions for cutting - "scary fun", according to her) & James Drury. I also met Western artist Jimmy Don Cox, who sat at the table next to Peter signing autographs - I made friends everywhere. Call me the Queen of Graham, Texas....what an incredibly friendly town.
Autograph Session I hadn't taken a real vacation in 25 years, so I went down there prepared to have fun no matter what. In fact, if I'd had enough money sooner, I'd probably have gone to one of the events this summer instead. But I don't think anything could've been better than the vacation I ended up having. And I've been invited back next year ..I've been invited to stay at Peggy's, ride Ronnie's horses again, and (of course) eat for free again!  These people really welcomed me.

Addendum - after reading the above, Nancy had a couple of things to add:  "Of course, now that I see it in print, I've started thinking of all the other things I should have told you. For example, Lynn Anderson. She came in on horseback, at a canter (sorry, lope - gotta think Western now!), singing the national anthem. Later I was astounded to see her competing in team roping - I never knew she was a real cowgirl! Then there were the teams (six-up) of Clydesdales & Percherons - talk about impressive. And how could I forget the weather?! For the record, it was miserable...cold & rainy the whole time. Of course when I got back to Montreal, there was snow on the ground, just to bring me back to reality!  I got some pictures taken of me with Pheo (the 27-yr. old bareback-jumper) and with Mafalda (the little 3 1/2 yr. old I'm working with now) out in the snow. I can now write all my thank-you's to my new friends in Texas, and send along photos to show them what I'm dealing with! (Actually, the snow has since melted - it was just that first "hint" of what's coming.)

Thanks to Gerald Baumann for this photo of Peter with James Drury
Western Legends Round-up in Kanab
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Tombstone Film Festival July 2002
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 Festival of  the West - March 14-17, 2002
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CALICO GHOST TOWN HERITAGE FEST - 2001

Peter, along with Robert Fuller, Alex Cord and (we think) Johnny Crawford were celebrity guests at the Heritage Fest at the Calico Ghost Town on Thanksgiving Weekend near Barstow California. The weather didn't cooperate with the show at all and they apparently didn't have the celebrities set up in weather-proof quarters.  The fierce storm on one day, followed by high winds the next, kept the visitors away and made it almost impossible for the celebrities to set up their photos.  The Three Amigos (Peter, Bob and Alex) gave up on Calico on Sunday, driving straight to Laughlin from Barstow,

GOLDEN BOOT AWARDS - Aug. 1999, 2000, 2001

Peter has for several years carried the flag in the honor guard for the annual awards ceremony held in August.  The awards began in the mid-80's.  Peter is getting one this year.  The six photos below come from Sandra Martinez at  http://www.toucan.clara.net/mse/index.html

We rather like the gambler look of the August 2001 awards
The beard was for a role, but it's a nice look.

L. - Golden Boot 2000
R. - Golden Boot 1999

Recent HOLLYWOOD COLLECTORS SHOWS

Robert Fuller's Wedding
 May 19, 2001

We didn't have permission to borrow pictures from Bob's official site but if you want to see the one of Peter it's at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/8334/wedding5.html  The beautiful redhead in the background is Peter's friend LoriDawn who beat him in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting competition at End of Trail.  [see below]
Peter sent this snap of himself & Bob
Their friend Lyle Waggoner is at bottom

"End of Trail"
April 25-29, 2001
20th Annual World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting & Wild West Jubilee

Peter appeared at the "End of Trail"  event on April 25 thru 29, 2001 in Norco California.  [See their website for details although the site doesn't seem to have info about the celebrity appearances; see our Links page for related websites on Cowboy Action Shooting]  Peter was at the Celebrity Autograph session on Friday and Saturday (27-28) and also competed with other celebrities in the Mounted Cowboy Shooting competition. Proceeds for the overall event go to the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Happy Trails Children's Foundation.

And the winner was:  Ben Cooper, who, as the last rider, edged out [by 3 one hundreths of a second] LoriDawn Messuri who had held the lead the entire time - she was the first rider.  She shot a clean round and her time was just over 41 seconds.  On Peter's turn,he shot clean over the first five.  As he was rounding a barrel and changing guns, his horse reared straight up.  When he came down, the horse ducked out to the left and Peter went to the right, hitting the ground on his right hip.  Peter found out later he'd been assigned a trained rearing horse (a little late).  They asked Peter if he wanted a re-ride, on a different horse.  So he went again and had a clean round with time about a 1/2 second behind LoriDawn.  So Peter was third and a little sore but ready to do it again any time.  And bless his nonchauvanistic heart, he didn't seem to mind that his friend LoriDawn beat him.  They all had a great time.  The pictures below came from Barb Wire who has a nice site on the sport at www.californiadesperados.com  If anyone has any other pictures please, please email us a scan.  And we'd be glad to trade a couple of autographed pictures for a photo or video grab of Peter's horse rearing.

If the horse and rigging looks different in the two pictures, it's because one is the rearing horse Peter did the first round on.  He did a clean round on the second horse on a retry (although we're not sure which horse is which.)  Thanks Barb Ben Cooper was a frequent guest star in TV and movie Westerns.  If you don't recognize his name, you should recognize the pictures below.  If you don't recognize LoriDawn from "I'm Watching You" which ran on Showtime, check out her site at http://www.loridawnmessuri.actorsite.com/ Ben Cooper, then & now
Western Stars Walk of Fame On March 30, 2001, Peter was a celebrity guest at the "Western Stars Walk of Fame" dinner in Santa Clarita.  Last year Peter was introduced by Robert Fuller when he got his own saddle on the Walk of Fame along with Dale Evans, Robert Farnsworth and Don Edwards.  Anyone get any photos?

Festival of the West - 2001- Scottsdale

Below: Peter appeared at the Festival of the West in Scottsdale, AZ, March 15-18, 2001.   He participated in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting competition and was barely edged out by Bruce Boxleitner [three days in a row we hear].  This is a heavy duty competition requiring both excellent riding and shooting skills.  [For information on the rules of Cowboy Mounted Shooting check out the associations FAQ page.]  In addition to the shooting competition, the celebrities [including those not participating in the shooting competition], had autograph signing sessions for fans.

Dale Robertson fan Laura took the pictures below and kindly shared them with us.  The little gal in the photos is an internet acquaintance of Laura who flew all the way from Salisbury, England to meet Dale.  She was overwhelmed and had tears in her eyes when Laura brought her up to his table & introduced them. Dale's wife Susan (who has earned nothing but very kind words from fans about her graciousness) told Dale's friend Don to watch out for them so he put two chairs behind where he and Dale were sitting so when Laura and her friend got tired they could sit down and rest.

Peter [wearing his George Strait grin] with Bruce Boxleitner in Scottsdale

This little gal may have come from England to Arizona to see Dale
but we'd say she got her money's worth right there with Peter.

DALE ROBERTSON himself.  The woman on the right is a security person not Dale's reportedly charming wife Susan. [For some reason our scanner insisted this color snapshot was black & white.] We always think of Marty Kove as Isbecki from Cagney and Lacey.  We had no idea he was so adorable in Western duds.  Marty also participated in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting.  Bruce Boxleitner is someone else that despite his appearances in The Gambler movies we had thought of as more of spy guy (Scarecrow & Mrs. King) or space guy (Babylon 5).  However, since he edged out Peter -- our role model for Mr. Western due not only to his two series but his shooting and riding skills -- in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting -- we'll have to give him credit as a cowboy as well.  (Bruce has also written two Western/SciFi novels.)
Buck Taylor [above left], who played Newly on Gunsmoke, is highly regarded as an artist.
[Right] Dale's British fan with Donald "Ike" McFadden
Thanks to R.W. "Wes" Still of www.arizonagunfighters.com for the I.D. on Ike

If you have any pictures or video of the actual mounted shooting competition in Scottsdale, we'd love to have scans or video grabs.  Thanks to Kerstin we have the shots below of the mounted competitors.

We believe they are from left to right Buck Taylor, Bruce Boxleitner, Peter Brown, Alex Cord, Marty Kove.

Below is a group shot sent by fan who was there to see Bruce but found Peter to be charming as well.

L.toR. Alex Cord, Marty Kove, Don (friend of Dale wearing Peter's hat)
 Peter Brown, Bruce Boxleitner, Rusty Richards, ???

Dale Robertson is seated in lower pic

Laura also sent us the four pictures below to give us an idea of the flavor of the overall festival.  It's much more than just a celebrity gathering.  It includes competitions, authentic costumes, food, vendors and much more.

Below:  Peter appeared at the Laughlin,Nevada Riverside Resort Western Movie Stars Extravaganza November 27, 28 & 29, 2000.  There were a lot of no-shows including Robert Fuller, William Smith, James Drury, Andy Prine, George Montgomery (who died shortly thereafter) so fans were gratified to see Peter there as well as the elegant, silver-haired Robert Horton and the extremely gregarious Ben Cooper, among others.  The pictures below were taken by Randy, our web mistress who doesn't pretend to be a photographer.

 

There was a lot of Lawman merchandise sold during the run of the series, so Peter has been asked to autograph all kinds of things.  Randy's lunchbox was not the only one he signed that day, but she had the only thermos. [You can imagine how few thermoses survived childhood usage -- hers didn't either.  She bought this one on ebay.]  See our Memorabilia page to view other Lawman merchandise.

Ben Cooper is next to Peter.  He was a frequent guest star in Westerns.

Below:  There was an evening variety show during the Laughlin Westerns event.  Peter's friend Mike Moroff,a very personable Hispanic singer and self-professed cross between Garth Brooks and Jessie Ventura, calls Peter "Pedro Cafe." Mike brought Peter on for a rendition of "Que Paso?"  Peter is a 'Not Ready for Prime Time Singer' with a very pleasant voice who appeared to be having a good time on-stage.

	PEDRO CAFE & MIKE MOROFF

Mike Moroff also entertained after the first night's dinner by singing the theme songs to virtually every Western TV series which had a theme with words--except Lawman.  Peter's fans were ready for action until we realized that was just Mike's way of teasing his friend Peter.  He finally concluded with Lawman.

Barbara Luna, after a lifetime of playing
black-haired Indian maidens and senoritas
was a blonde diva for this show.

HERB JEFFRIES

It was hard to believe,while watching this former star of The Bronze Buckaroo (1939) and Harlem Rides the Range (1939) belt out classics like "Satin Doll" and "Don't Fence Me In," that he was born in 1911.  The man exuded energy.  He sang with Duke Ellington after his early acting career in black westerns and was a big hit at this Westerns show.  [He made a cameo appearance in Chrome & Hot Leather, a 1971 biker movie costarring Peter Brown and William Smith.]

	Mike Moroff came back for a duet.

 

MORE EVENT SNAPSHOTS

 

PART II BLAST FROM THE PAST

PART III ENCOUNTERS - CLOSE & OTHERWISE

This page is an ongoing project.

If you have some snapshots you can share please email us at:
outrider@peterbrown.tv