 (From Old Corral collection) |  | Remembering "Wild Bill" |
 (Courtesy of Mike Roberts) Mike Roberts remembers Wild Bill Elliott: he used to "hang out" with Mike's family when he was doing rodeos and personal appearances around Graham, Texas. In the above photo from 1951 or 1952 are Wild Bill with Mike and his sister Linda. |
 (Courtesy of Bob Muncy) Bob Muncy remembers Elliott: these are photos I took in 1945 in Denton, Texas at a Bond Rally (I was 15 then). Bill Elliott, Gabby Hayes, and Anne Jeffreys were my favorites! Wore my play guns butt first, and told this story many times, not realizing that these photos were in my 98 year old mother's attic. |
 (Courtesy of Bunnie Daniel Moore) Bunnie Daniel Moore remembers Wild Bill: these are photos of my brother Jimmy and I in La Mesa, Texas in 1952. He was appearing at a rodeo there and my mother took us to find him and get our picture made with him. He was our hero and we were very excited. When we drove up behind him I shot off my cap pistol and he gave me a lecture about guns. My brother and I were around 7 and 10 years old. |
Others have also e-mailed with their remembrances of Elliott:
Edith 'Edie' Woodard writes: "I waited on Wild Bill Elliott in 1958 at Pahaska Teepee in Yellowstone National Park. I knew who he was and I was so nervous, I think I spilled his coffee. Anyway, he left me a big tip. I was so thrilled. I was 18 years old at the time."
Texan Doug Bruton met Bill Elliott and recalls: "'Wild Bill' Elliott came to Denison, Texas around 1945 on a bond tour. Buy a bond and get to see his show. I didn't even have the price of a ticket let alone the price of a bond. However, he did stay out front and talk to us for a while. I also saw and met 'Wild Bill' in Monahans, Texas around 1954. He was touring with his rodeo show (I think it was his). Anyway, at that time he had one of the top cutting horses in the country and put on a demonstration. I stayed around and asked some questions after the show. He was very polite, but I did not have a camera or get his autograph."
Leta Helvey writes: "I was working in a cafe in Sulphur, Oklahoma in 1950 or 51 when Bill Elliott was there for our rodeo. I served him his breakfast one morning. He was a very nice, pleasant gentleman and left me a 50 cent tip, very good for those days. I lived in Scullin, Oklahoma where they kept some of the rodeo horses. A fellow taking care of them told me they belonged to Elliott and that he furnished horses for rodeos."
Mike Newton e-mailed about his meeting with Wild Bill: "I was living in Concord, New Hampshire in 1952. They had a Jimmy Fund which had been started by Ted Williams and the Boston Red Sox. It was for child cancer, but I thought for a long while it was for polio. They had cans in the stores where you could donate change and on the cans were pictures of kids in wheelchairs. As you know, polio was a big threat in those days. Bill Elliott came to town in July, 1952. They advertised in the paper that he would appear on the State House lawn in front of the Capitol building. Concord is the state capital. I was there dressed in my cowboy outfit and red cowboy hat. He came across the street with some campaign people. He was dressed in western clothes but did not have his famous double gun reversed holster belt. Gee Wilikers, what if there were some bad guys lurking around. I was a little disappointed. He spoke briefly about the Jimmy Fund and then asked for questions. My hand went up. "The boy in the red cowboy hat", he called out. "Where's your horse, Stormy". I knew he had a horse Stormy in the comic books. He wasn't Red Ryder at this time, but worked at Monogram where he rode a different horse each picture. "I keep him in a stable back in California" he answered. They passed out photos of Bill with the printed signature and a Jimmy Fund ad on the back. I have it neatly saved in my western scrapbook along with the article about his visit to Concord."
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