| Slim Pickens Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 3 in |
| Weight | 90 kg |
| Date of Birth | June 29, 1919 |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Date of Death | December 8, 1983 |
Slim Pickens was an American actor, rodeo performer, writer, and voice artist who started his career in rodeo and then branched out as an actor, appearing in a number of films and television projects. He is best known for playing Maj. ‘King’ Kong in the black comedy film Dr. Strangelove, Taggart in the satirical postmodernist Western black-comedy film Blazing Saddles, and Deputy Lon Dedrick in the Western film One-Eyed Jacks. His film credits also include The Gun and the Pulpit, Tonka, Gunsight Ridge, The Cowboys, The Honkers, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Rancho Deluxe.
Born Name
Louis Burton Lindley Jr.
Nick Names
Slim Pickens, Burt
Age
He was born on June 29, 1919.
Died
On December 8, 1983, Slim Pickens died after surgery for a brain tumor at the age of 64 in Columbia, Tuolumne County, California, United States.
Sun Sign
Cancer
Born Place
Kingsburg, Fresno County, California, United States
Residence
He resided in Columbia, California during the last years of his life.
Nationality
Education
Slim Pickens studied at Hanford High School in Hanford, California and was a member of the Future Farmers of America.
Occupation
Actor, Rodeo Performer, Writer, Voice Artist
Family
- Father – Louis Bert Lindley, Sr. (A Texas-born dairy farmer)
- Mother – Sally Mosher (née Turk)
- Siblings – Samuel (1921–2001) (Younger Brother) (An actor who went by the stage name Easy Pickens)
- Others – Lewis M. Lindley (Paternal Grandfather), Adelaide/Addie Corzine/Kezene/Kazine (Paternal Grandmother), Samuel P. Turk (Maternal Grandfather), Harriet/Hattie Mitchell (Maternal Grandmother)
Build
Average
Height
6 ft 3 in or 190.5 cm
Weight
90 kg or 198.5 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Slim Pickens dated –
- Margaret (née Harmon) Lindley (m. 1950) – He married Margaret (née Harmon) Lindley in the year 1950 and they had 2 children – a son named Thomas Michael Lindley and a daughter named Margaret Louise Wittman (née Lindley). He also raised his stepdaughter, Daryle Ann Giardino (née Lindley), as his own. Slim Pickens and Margaret remained together until his death on December 8, 1983.
Race / Ethnicity
White
Slim Pickens was of English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh, Dutch, and Irish descent.
Hair Color
Salt and Pepper
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Strong physical appearance
- Wide eyes
- Moon face
Religion
Presbyterianism
He was a member of the Presbyterian Church of the Forty Niners in Columbia, California.
Slim Pickens Facts
- He started horseriding at a young age and soon became a skilled horse rider.
- As he grew bored with dairy farming, he started making a few dollars by riding broncos and roping steers in his early teens. When his father found out about it, he forbade the activity.
- Despite his father’s disapproval, he went on to compete in a rodeo where he was told by the doubtful rodeo manager that there would be “slim pickin’s” (i.e. little chance of any prize money) for him. In order to prevent his father from finding out about his participation in the event, he entered his name as ‘Slim Pickens’ and won $400 that afternoon. He subsequently established himself as a popular rodeo clown.
- Slim Pickens enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and when he was asked about his profession by the recruiter, he responded “rodeo”. However, the profession was misread on a form as “radio” so he spent his entire enlistment at a radio station in the Midwestern United States.
- He was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in 1982.
- He was a longtime supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
- His funeral was held at the Presbyterian Church of the Forty Niners in Columbia, California and his ashes were scattered over his favorite trail areas.
- For his work as a rodeo clown, Slim Pickens was posthumously inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs in 2005. The following year, he was inducted into the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame.
- He was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in Washington in 2020.
Featured Image by Film screenshot (Paramount Pictures) / ‘One-Eyed Jacks’ Film (DVD) / Public Domain
