John Wayne, Jeff Bridges & Warren Oates have TRUE GRIT! The Adventure Continues with Jeff Osterhage!

Western TV Pilots were usually shot movie length...in case they did not sell they could be sold as a feature. Would you believe a TRUE GRIT TV pilot with Warren Oates as Rooster Cogburn? TRUE GRIT: A FURTHER ADVENTURE (1978) came between John Wayne's classic portrayal of the one-eyed Marshall in 1969's original feature, its 1975 sequel, ROOSTER COGBURN, and Jeff Bridges' interpretation of Rooster for the Cohen brothers multi-Oscar nominated 2010 version of TRUE GRIT. The movie, with Warren Oates as Rooster, was the film debut of actor Jeff Osterhage. Ironically, Jeff made two more backdoor western pilots the very next year. THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN GUN with Hal Holbrook, Keir Dullea, Carl Franklin and Robert Davi, and THE SACKETTS miniseries, now a true classic, with Glenn Ford, Sam Elliott, Ben Johnson and another newcomer, Tom Selleck, were both made in 1979. None of the three pilots sold as a series! There was even another TV western pilot starring Jeff and future Oscar nominee (and former stuntman) Richard Farnsworth called THE Texas Rangers (1981), a modern day take on the famed law enforcement agency, with the final screen appearance of veteran heavy, Robert J. Wilke. Unfortunately, it was not picked up as a series either. Jeff recalls those western TV movies, his horseback riding experiences, his lovelife and much more in this episode of A WORD ON WESTERNS. Some western TV pilots that did go to series include, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, KUNG FU, THE QUEST, WANTED: Dead or Alive, THE RIFLEMAN and THE OREGON TRAIL.

Видео John Wayne, Jeff Bridges & Warren Oates have TRUE GRIT! The Adventure Continues with Jeff Osterhage! канала A Word on Westerns