"You can have the greatest motion picture ever made," said producer Martin Rackin, "but if you don't go out and sell it to the public, you're dead."

In May, 1964, Rackin was telling the world that he had the greatest western ever made---"Stagecoach." Newsmen from all over the world were invited to participate in his promotion of the picture and to attend the premiere in Denver, Colorado. The picture's stars---Alex Cord, Van Heflin, Ann-Margaret, Michael Connors, and Slim Pickens---winged out of Los Angeles aboard a brand new Continental Airlines' jet christened "Stagecoach." In Denver, hundreds of fans, representatives of Governor John Love, and a 21-gun salute welcomed the stars and the press. At 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, May 18th, 4500 fans welcomed the stars' motorcade at the the Centre Theatre. When Slim Pickens rode up on a tall horse waving a white Stetson, the crowd went wild. Eardrums were splattered. Those people loved Slim Pickens.  "They must have seen all those Rex Allen westerns I made in the 50s," Slim said later. Sure enough, after the premiere, the Centre Theatre was ready to show "Border Saddlemates," a Rex Allen western.

Over coffee that night, Slim recalled some of those 35 westerns he made with Allen. Blessed with good looks and a rich baritone voice, Allen enjoyed great popularity as Republic Pictures' last singing cowboy, star of the TV series "Frontier Doctor," and recording artist for Mercury Records. Hits included "Streets of Laredo," "Softly and Tenderly," "Tyin' Knots in the Devil's Tail," and "Don't Go Near the Indians." He also narrated several documentaries for Walt Disney Productions.

On December 17th, 1999, Allen went home. Like his buddy, Slim, God bless him, he never gave up his cowboy image, never sold his guns, never changed. We changed.


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