Riding the Video Range


Book Description

In June 1949, Hopalong Cassidy. Then Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, Zorro, Davy Crockett, the Cisco Kid, Matt Dillon, Bat Masterson, the Cartwrights, Hec Ramsey, Paladin ("Have Gun Will Travel")--no television genre has generated as many enduring characters as the Western. Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days, Bonanza, Maverick, and Wagon Train are just a few of the small-screen oaters that became instant classics. Then shows such as Lonesome Dove and The Young Riders updated and redefined the genre. The shows tended to fall into categories, such as "juvenile" Westerns, marshals and sheriffs, wagon trains and cattle drives, ranchers, antiheroes (bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns), memorable pairs, Indians, single parent families (e.g., The Big Valley, The Rifleman and Bonanza), women, blacks, Asians and even spoofs. There are 85 television Westerns analyzed here--the characters, the stories and why the shows succeeded or failed. Many photographs, a bibliography and index complete the book.




Intelligent Human Systems Integration 2020


Book Description

This book presents cutting-edge research on innovative human systems integration and human–machine interaction, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and automation, as well as computational modeling and simulation. It covers a wide range of applications in the areas of design, construction and operation of products, systems and services, and discusses the human factors in a wide range of settings. Gathering the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Human Systems Integration (IHSI 2020), held on February 19–21, 2020, in Modena, Italy, the book’s goal is to advance the theory and applications of artificial cognitive systems and improve human-artificial systems collaboration. Special emphasis is placed on automotive design, autonomous vehicles and the applications of artificial intelligence. The book offers a timely survey and source of inspiration for human factors engineers, automotive engineers, IT developers and UX designers who are working to shape the future of automated intelligent systems.




The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck


Book Description

From The Lady Eve, to The Big Valley, Barbara Stanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talents but also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film and television. Catherine Russell’s A to Z consideration of the iconic actress analyzes twenty-six facets of Stanwyck and the America of her times. Russell examines Stanwyck’s work onscreen against the backdrop of costuming and other aspects of filmmaking. But she also views the actress’s off-screen performance within the Hollywood networks that made her an industry favorite and longtime cornerstone of the entertainment community. Russell’s montage approach coalesces into an engrossing portrait of a singular artist whose intelligence and savvy placed her center-stage in the production of her films and in the debates around women, femininity, and motherhood that roiled mid-century America. Original and rich, The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck is an essential and entertaining reexamination of an enduring Hollywood star.




Riding the Range


Book Description

The Backyardigans enjoy a Wild West adventure.




Horse Sense for People


Book Description

From the author of the #1 bestseller The Man Who Listens to Horses, a book for all of us seeking to strengthen our human relationships "Monty Roberts will make you marvel."—The New York Times Book Review In The Man Who Listens to Horses, Monty Roberts revealed the depth of communication possible between human and horse. Touching the hearts of more than four million readers worldwide, that memoir—which spent more than a year at the top of The New York Times bestseller list—described his discovery of the "language" of horses and the dramatic effectiveness of removing violence from their training. Now, the world's most famous horse gentler demonstrates how his revolutionary Join-Up technique can be used not just for horses, but as a model for how to strengthen human relationships. With vivid, often deeply moving anecdotes, Roberts shows how the lessons learned from the thousands of horses he has known can provide effective guidelines for improving the quality of our communication with one another—from learning to "read" each other effectively, to creative fear-free environments, and, most importantly, teaching belief in the power of gentleness and trust.




A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza


Book Description

Bonanza aired on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973, playing to 480,000,000 viewers in over 97 countries. It was the second longest running western series, surpassed only by Gunsmoke, and continues to provide wholesome entertainment to old and new fans via syndication. This book provides an in-depth chronicle of the series and its stars. A history of the show from its inception to the current made-for-television movies is provided, and an episode guide includes a synopsis of each show and lists such details as the main characters of each episode and the actors who portrayed them, the dates they stayed with the show, date and time of original broadcast, writer, director, producer, executive producer, and supporting cast. Also provided are character sketches for each of the major recurring characters, career biographies of Lorne Green, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon, brief biographical sketches of the supporting cast, a discography of recordings of the Bonanza theme and recordings of the four major stars, and information on Bonanza television movies.




Queen of the West


Book Description

This is the first full-length biography of this mid-twentieth century multi-faceted star, one that also charts the broad sweep of changes in women’s lives during the twentieth century, and to have popular music, movies, and television shows as its backdrops. The glitter of country music, the glamour of Hollywood, and the grit of the early television industry are all covered. It is the first book to draw from never-before-seen sources (especially business records and fan mail) at the newly-opened Roy Rogers-Dale Evans collections at the Autry Museum of the American West. One of the central tensions of Dale’s life revolved around chasing the elusive work/family balance, making her story instantly relateable to women today. In addition to fame, Dale longed for a happy, stable, family life. Her roles as wife and mother became the foundation for her public persona: the smart, smiling, cheerful cowgirl. Unusual for its time were Dale Evans’s attempts to control the trajectory of her career at a time when men dominated decision-making in the entertainment fields.




Television Western Players of the Fifties


Book Description

Modeled after the Mack V. Wright 1920 film version, the 1949 western television series The Lone Ranger made Clayton Moore's masked character one of the most recognized in American popular culture. Other westerns followed and by 1959 there were 32 being shown daily on prime time television. Many of the stars of the nearly 75 westerns went on to become American icons and symbols of the Hollywood West. This encyclopedia includes every actor and actress who had a regular role in a television western from 1949 through 1959. The entries cite biographical and family details, accounts of how the player first broke into show business, and details of roles played, as well as opinions from the actors and their contemporaries. A full accounting of film, serial, and television credits is also included. The appendix lists 84 television westerns, with dates, show times, themes, and stars.




Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives


Book Description

Trick-or-treating. Flower girls. Bedtime stories. Bar and bat mitvah. In a nation of increasing ethnic, familial, and technological complexity, the patterns of children's lives both persist and evolve. This book considers how such events shape identity and transmit cultural norms, asking such questions as: * How do immigrant families negotiate between old traditions and new? * What does it mean when children engage in ritual insults and sick jokes? * How does playing with dolls reflect and construct feelings of racial identity? * Whatever happened to the practice of going to the Saturday matinee to see a Western? * What does it mean for a child to be (in the words of one bride) "flower-girl material"? How does that role cement a girl's bond to her family and initiate her into society? * What is the function of masks and costumes, and why do children yearn for these accoutrements of disguise? Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives suggests the manifold ways in which America's children come to know their society and themselves.




Television Western Players, 1960-1975


Book Description

This biographical encyclopedia covers every actor and actress who had a regular role in a Western series on American television from 1960 through 1975, with analyses of key players. The entries provide birth and death dates, family information, and accounts of each player's career, with a cross-referenced videography. An appendix gives details about all Western series, network or syndicated, 1960-1975. The book is fully indexed.