54 Years Since "The Cowboys"

Above, a group photo of John Wayne and his young co-stars.

The final decade of John Wayne's movie career was a mixed bag. Some movies were good, some mediocre and some were great. All were entertaining to various degrees.

One of the great ones was The Cowboys (1972). Yesterday marked 54 years since The Cowboys was released. I remember seeing it at a theater during its initial release. It was directed by Mark Rydell. The score was composed by John Williams.

The John Wayne official Facebook page posted the following yesterday:

Celebrating 54 Years of The Cowboys (1972)

On January 13, 1972, The Cowboys premiered, marking a significant chapter in Western cinema. In this film, John Wayne portrays Wil Andersen, a seasoned rancher who, after losing his crew to a gold rush, enlists a group of schoolboys to drive cattle across treacherous terrain. The film is notable for being one of the few where Wayne's character meets an untimely end.

Directed by Mark Rydell, The Cowboys not only showcased Wayne's enduring talent but also launched the careers of several young actors, including Robert Carradine and A Martinez. The film's blend of grit and heart continues to resonate with audiences today.

To this day, some John Wayne fans hold a grudge against the movie's villain, Bruce Dern. He played a very unlikeable villain, but magnificently so. Around about that time, while my family and I were headed up Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu to attend the Point Mugu airshow, we saw Dern jogging along the side of the road.  

If you haven't seen The Cowboys, I highly recommend seeing it. I have a DVD copy of it.

A Little L.A. Goodyear Blimp History

Above, the new Los Angeles-based Wingfoot Two in December 2017. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The new Los Angeles Goodyear blimp, Wingfoot Two, is not a blimp technically. It is a semi-rigid airship larger than the Goodyear blimps of the past.

As it has framing inside the envelope, it requires some protection from the elements. The former blimps sat out in an open field in Carson, California. It replaced the last real blimp, the Spirit of America in 2017.

A new inflatable hangar was introduced last year. For details, go here.

Above, Goodyear blimp Columbia at Point Mugu circa 1967. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the Spirit of America in Carson, California in 2013. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The old blimps in Los Angeles weren't always out in the open. Decades ago, there was a big Goodyear plant in South-Central Los Angeles and there was a blimp hangar, or dock near the Florence Ave. side of the plant. We used to pass by it often, but we never saw a blimp inside.

Here is what the old blimp dock looked like:

Above, this was Building 57, known as the airship dock at the
 then-Los Angeles Goodyear plant. National Park Service photo.

A side note: Just before the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, I attended a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. During the game, two Goodyear blimps circled the stadium. Besides the Goodyear blimp based in Los Angeles, Columbia, another blimp (America) was brought over by Goodyear to also cover the Olympics.

Art Scholl

Above, Art Scholl and Aileron in October 1984 at the Point Mugu Air Show. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While going through my photo albums this morning, I came across some photos I took at the 1984 Point Mugu Air Show.

One of them was of famed aerobatics pilot Art Scholl with his dog Aileron. I took the photo following his air show performance.

Scholl was killed off San Diego County on September 16, 1985 while doing some filming for the movie, Top Gun.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The air and sea search for famed stunt pilot Art Scholl was abandoned Tuesday as the Coast Guard concluded that he did not survive the crash of his camera-equipped aerobatic biplane while performing an upside-down spin to get footage for a movie off the coast of northern San Diego County. 

The 53-year-old Scholl flew in numerous films, including "The Great Waldo Pepper," "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Blue Thunder" and "The Right Stuff." He was shooting for the Paramount Pictures film, "Top Gun," when his Pitts Special plunged into the Pacific Ocean five miles off Encinitas late Monday afternoon. 

On Monday, mechanic Kevin Kammer and stunt pilot Chuck Wentworth were following Scholl in another plane to watch for possible air traffic about 5:45 p.m., when they saw him go into an inverted spin at about 4,000 feet. 

Kammer said they suddenly heard Scholl radio, "I've got a problem here." 

His Pitts Special then dove into the ocean. 

Debris from the plane was found Monday evening, the Coast Guard said, but neither the wreckage nor the pilot was recovered, and by Tuesday morning, the hunt was called off. 

Scholl was well known throughout the country for his stunt flying at air shows, usually in his Chipmunk monoplane and frequently with his mixed-breed dog, Aileron, clinging to his shoulder as he performed loops and rolls.

I had seen Scholl perform at several Point Mugu Air Shows over the years since 1966.

For more on Art Scholl, go here.

Bob Hoover, One Hell of A Pilot, Dies At 94

Above, Bob Hoover and his yellow Rockwell P-51.

Back in the 1960s through the 1980s, one of the annual events I made it a point to attend was the Point Mugu Air Show.

There, aircraft of all kinds, including military and civilian aircraft, were flown to the delight of the crowds. There were two men whose names stood out for me every year at the Point Mugu Air Show: Art Scholl and Bob Hoover.

Scholl was killed in the 1980s while flying over the Pacific Ocean near San Diego for the movie Top Gun.

I just read in the Japan Times that Bob Hoover just passed away at age 94.

They wrote:

LOS ANGELES – Robert A. “Bob” Hoover, a World War II fighter pilot who became an aviation legend for his flying skills in testing aircraft and demonstrating their capabilities in air shows, has died at age 94. 

Hoover, who lived in Palos Verdes Estates, California, died early Tuesday, said Bill Fanning, a close family friend for many years and fellow pilot. 

“He was every pilot’s icon,” Fanning said, recalling his friend as one of the premier test pilots of the 1950s and ’60s. “Bob tested everything. He flew them all.” 

When the National Air and Space Museum conferred its highest honor on Hoover in 2007, the museum noted that Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the famed 1942 bomber raid on Japan, had once described Hoover as “the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived.”

Hoover provided those who attended any air show he flew at with some great memories. He also had "the right stuff".

To read more, go here.

Bruce Jenner In 1981

Above, Bruce Jenner (background) being interviewed. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With Bruce Jenner in the news lately over his impending sex change operation plans and, this past weekend, his automobile accident in Malibu that left one person dead and several injured, it reminded me that I took a photo of him at the 1981 Point Mugu Airshow (above).

He was being interviewed by a reporter for a KNBC-TV magazine show along with Larry Wilcox of CHiPs. I believe the show was called Everyday.

Goodyear Blimps At Airships.net

Above, the Goodyear blimp Columbia over Point Mugu in 1967. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those of you who are fans of airships (blimps and zeppelins), a website (http://www.airships.net/) that should satisfy your passion.

Above, Columbia at Point Mugu in 1967. This blimp was in service from 1963 to 1969. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The page that intrigues me is one on the history of the Goodyear blimps. This pages has the history of all Goodyear blimps including photographs. Goodyear recently put into service their first semi-rigid zeppelin, Wingfoot One.

Above, the current L.A. Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America, at its base in Carson. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Goodyear blimp page at Airships.net can be reached by going here: http://www.airships.net/goodyear-blimp

Ken Wallis, Autogyro Pilot For Sean Connery, Dies At 97

Above, 'Q' (Desmond Llewelyn) and James Bond (Sean Connery) review the functions of the autogyro "Little Nellie."

Back in October 1966, I saw a demonstration of the autogyro mini-helicopter at the annual Point Mugu Airshow.

The following year, the autogyro was featured as "Little Nellie" in the James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice, starring Sean Connery and Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama.

MI6-HQ.com, a website of James Bond enthusiasts, reports that the stunt pilot for Sean Connery of "Little Nellie" has died at the age of 97.

They wrote:

Commander Ken Wallis, known the world over to James Bond fans as the inventor and pilot of the auto-gyro seen in the 1967 adventure "You Only Live Twice" as Little Nellie, has died at the age of 97. 

Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis MBE, DEng (hc), CEng, FRAeS, FSETP, PhD (hc), RAF (Ret'd), was a leading exponent on autogyros and has held, and in some cases still holds, 34 records related to them.

To read the full article, go here.

Goodyear Blimp "Columbia" At Point Mugu

Back in the 1960s, Goodyear operated two blimps, the Mayflower (based on the east coast) and Columbia (N2A) (based in the Los Angeles area).

In late 1967, we went to the annual Point Mugu Airshow at the navy base near Oxnard, California.  The Goodyear blimp Columbia was there and I took these photos of it with my Kodak Instamatic 104 camera.

Above, the Goodyear blimp "Columbia" rising up over the Point Mugu runway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a few seconds after the first photo, the blimp flies further down the runway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, "Columbia" flies over the Point Mugu Airshow crowd.  Unfortunately, the photo is damaged.
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My grandmother always wanted to take a ride on the blimp (you can never get her in an airplane, though), but she never did.