Western Heritage Awards to honor notable cowboys
GOING ON
55TH ANNUAL WESTERN HERITAGE AWARDS
When:
Ticketed events include a cocktail reception, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, $50; and awards reception and ceremony, 5 p.m. Saturday, $185.
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63.
478-2250, ext. 219.
When it comes to being a cowboy, Rusty Richards knows pretty much what that job description and lifestyle entail.
During his career, Richards did “riding-shooting” stunt work on such classic TV Westerns as “Rawhide,” “Wagon Train,” “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza” and “Have Gun — Will Travel,” and he sang tenor for 21 years with the Sons of the Pioneers.
“I’ve done everything you can do, wearing a cowboy hat, that’s moral, honest and legal,” Richards joked during a recent telephone interview from his home base in Orange County, Calif.
Born 82 years ago in California, Vincent “Rusty” Richards has often been labeled “a cowboy who sings.” But his award-winning accomplishments also include songwriter, recording artist, bronc and bull rider, horse trainer, poet and author.
The Western Heritage Awards on Saturday will add another honor to Richards’ resume: the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award. Named for the founder of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the prestigious award honors an individual who embodies the Western lifestyle.
Established in 1961, the Western Heritage Awards salute works in