Ben Johnson

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
Maricatrin
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by Maricatrin »

pvitari wrote:I just posted an amazing article --
You're darned right it is! :shock: Thank you so much for sharing!
pvitari wrote:I've posted just a few pages here to whet your appetite and you can download the entire article (with much larger size scans) from here: https://benjohnsonfanpage.shutterfly.com/print/965
My appetite is officially whetted. Goodbye, guess where I'm off to? :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaricatrinsMusicVideos
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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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Hope you enjoyed. :)

Jan. 21-27 is National Handwriting Week, so although it's almost over, I'm featuring Ben's handwriting this week.

Today I posted a note he wrote that I originally posted back in October 2010 (a couple of months after the website first started).

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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Got this off eBay a couple of years ago. :)

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Maricatrin
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by Maricatrin »

pvitari wrote:Hope you enjoyed. :)
Oh, I did. Thanks a lot :D And I'm very curious to know which film Ben did a variant on Yakima Canutt's famous and often performed off-the-horse, under-the-wagon stunt. My guess would be maybe one of the B-Westerns he doubled in? You'd have Sunset Carson, Monte Hale, and Bill Elliot's films to look over for starters...
pvitari wrote:Jan. 21-27 is National Handwriting Week, so although it's almost over, I'm featuring Ben's handwriting this week.

Today I posted a note he wrote that I originally posted back in October 2010 (a couple of months after the website first started).

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Yikes, his handwriting is better than mine (and he "wasn't much on the schoolin'"). But even if it weren't, the words are pure gold.
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaricatrinsMusicVideos
RedRiver
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by RedRiver »

I watched THE LAST PICTURE SHOW again. It's a movie I admire, but there's one story element that's vague to me.

*****************SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!**********************

When Sam dies, he leaves a thousand dollars to the preacher's son. Why? The natural cinematic conclusion is that Sam is really the disturbed boy's father. But I see no indication of that. Maybe he just feels sorry for the young man? Forgive me if this has already been discussed. It's too hard to search for all these particulars.

Great movie!
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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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It's kind of mysterious in the book too that he left the money to the preacher's son (I think). I've seen some discussion on the subject. As I recall (vaguely), there was some incident where the preacher's son was embarrassed, and possibly Sam left him the money to compensate for it. (He was that kind of man). Or perhaps he was the real father of the preacher's son. I'll have to look at the book again and see if there was anything more concrete.

They're showing The Last Picture Show on the big screen here on March 17 -- can't wait! ;)

Meanwhile... Ben's autograph on a first day cover of the first-class stamp issued in honor of the John Ford film Stagecoach. Day of issue was March 23, 1990. Unfortunately the scan doesn't show how pretty the envelope really is. "Stagecoach" is in raised gold foil, and the dark teal blue colored decorations (including the horse and rider on the right) are also in raised foil.

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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Today is the last of the handwriting posts. This one has three items. The first is a short letter to Ben from a fan named Pat Springer, asking for an autographed picture for her brother. She enclosed a check, presumably to pay for the photo and return postage. The second is the reverse side of the letter, which Ben used to write a note regarding his whereabouts -- he was on location for Soggy Bottom, USA (at that point called Swamp Rats). The third is the check itself (all banking information obscured), which Ben autographed rather than cashed. S

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by pvitari »

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon photo.

I wish I had this photo -- it was auctioned off with 7 other SWAYR photos at emovieposter.com and the final price was $255. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that kind of money to get the one photo I wanted. :( *sigh* Maybe it will show up again somewhere else someday.

Fortunately they had a large-ish size scan I was able to save. ;)

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Maricatrin
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by Maricatrin »

Yikes, $255? You made the right decision!

Forgot to comment about the $2.00 check earlier, but that was very sweet, and so Ben! :D
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaricatrinsMusicVideos
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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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Yes, I just can't imagine Ben cashing a fan's $2 check for a photo...

Three legends! Willie Nelson, Ben and Hank Worden. No idea when/where this was taken, but guessing late 1980s.

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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One-Eyed Jacks photos this week. Here's the first one. :)

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

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More One-Eyed Jacks behind the scenes -- Brando directs Ben and Sam Gilman, with the camera (and its operator under the cloth) taking up the foreground.

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by pvitari »

Blu-ray news.

May 5 -- The Sugarland Express (already available in the Steven Spielberg Director's Collection boxset).

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June 2 -- The Train Robbers

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July (exact date not announced, no artwork yet): Cherry 2000. The Cherry 2000 Blu-ray will include a new director's commentary from Steven De Jarnatt and a new interview with actor Tim Thomerson.
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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by pvitari »

One more from One-Eyed Jacks.

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pvitari
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Re: Ben Johnson

Post by pvitari »

Breakheart Pass.

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