Goodbye Earl.....

[Wayne]

No not the Dixie Chick's song....my cousin Earl Gene Kymala of Sacramento, California passed away last Wednesday, January 10 / 07. A very good friend, who I never met outside of the internet/phone call, a supportive reader of Old Country -Roundup and Saturday Morning Serials. He enabled me to learn about the serials.

One of Earl's favorite western stars was Charles Starrett, better known as The Durango Kid. He had won some bids on Durango Kid films on VHS...but now not sure if I'll get to see them. Earl told me he had won..The Durango Kid(1940-first) movie and a 6 lot and a 10 lot. Earl seemed so glad " We " would get to see them, he even sent me 3 DVD movies of Starrett, non-western, Murder On The Campus, Green Eyes and Jungle Bride. Now I don't know.

Charles Starrett made over 100 western movies for Columbia Pictures from 1935/36-The Gallant Defender-1952-The Kid From Broken Gun. In 1952 while attending Dartmouth University, Charles and some classmates landed bit parts in a Richard Dix film titled The Quarterback, now Starrett was hooked. One of his first movies was Damaged Love(1930), later came a breakthrough with The Mask Of Fu Manchu starring Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt and Myrna Loy as Fu Manchu's daughter. When the ball started to roll for his western movies he made quite a few per year: 5 in 1941 up to 10 in 1946. There must have been at least 16 Durango Kid films.


A side note......American Idol starts tonight(Tuesday 16/07) I wonder how many country singers we'll hear????? From American Idol contestants we have Josh Gracin, Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler seeing a lot of country radio/video action. More than Nashville Star winners..huh..something wrong with this picture? ? ?