cover image Box-Office Buckaroos: The Cowboy Hero from the Wild West Show to the Silver Screen

Box-Office Buckaroos: The Cowboy Hero from the Wild West Show to the Silver Screen

Robert Heide. Abbeville Press, $19.95 (207pp) ISBN 978-1-55859-070-0

Any would-be cowpoke who once toted a Lone Ranger lunch box to school or used a Roy Rogers cap pistol to get even with bullies and other varmints will enjoy leafing through this droll guide to entertainers who rode tall in the saddle from the 1920s to the 1960s and the legacy of collectibles they left behind. Popular culture specialists Heide and Gilman ( Disneyana ) give the lowdown on Hollywood's greatest cowboy heroes, providing songs and dialogue from their films and TV shows, as well as some juicy tidbits of gossip (``Trigger's best trick, it was said, was practicing self-restraint indoors''). The text is complemented by more than 250 color and black-and-white photos of cowboy-inspired gadgets, sheet music, paper dolls, even a full page ad for Quaker Puffed Rice Sparkies starring Gene Autry, who advises boys and girls to ``Rope yourself this spark up breakfast today.'' The authors' decision not to list prices for the collectibles shown here (because values are ``constantly on the rise'') is understandable but frustrating for those who wonder how much a Tom Mix wristwatch from 1934 is worth today. (Apr.)