THE 2023 GUESTS …
Cheryl Rogers Barnett is the adopted daughter of Roy Rogers and his first wife, Arline. She is the author of “Cowboy Princess” and “Cowboy Princess Rides Again”. Cheryl and her husband Larry are the co-producers of two documentaries, ROY ROGERS: IN HIS OWN WORDS and DALE EVANS: A MOST REMARKABLE WOMAN, which are available on a DVD set. She attends various film-related events around the Western U.S. giving presentations on her famous family.
Dorothy Best, Born Dorothy Collier, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Dorothy Best has been active in show business for seven decades. As a child actor, she first landed television roles on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER and GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER, and sang on a television special with Frank Sinatra. She first met legendary character actor James Best in 1977 and their chemistry was immediate. During his long run as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, Dorothy managed his lucrative personal appearance schedule and ran interference with Warner Brothers studio executives. She also resumed her acting career, appearing on the DUKES OF HAZZARD and ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE, as well as performing on stage and touring with her husband in his bittersweet and comic depression-era play HELL BENT FOR GOOD TIMES. As the DUKES OF HAZZARD ended its successful seven year run in 1986, James and Dorothy were married and continued their careers, mixed with year’s of world travel and fishing. Lots of fishing. By the late 1990s, Dorothy had moved into producing, with a series of television projects and films, including DEATH MASK, HOUSE OF FOREVER, the film version of HELL BENT FOR GOOD TIMES (co-starring Lone Pine favorite Peggy Stewart) and RETURN OF THE KILLER SHREWS, which reunited James Best with Dukes co-star John Schneider. James Best passed away in 2015 and Dorothy continued her career as a stage actress. Prior to Jimmie’s passing, she had co-starred with him in the Hickory Community Theater’s presentation of ON GOLDEN POND, which was his last performance in a stage play. Residing in Hickory, North Carolina, in recent years, Dorothy has been a long time Board of Directors member for the Hickory Community Theater as well as acting in a number of plays and musicals, including YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and NOISES OFF. This is her first visit to Lone Pine.
Bruce Boxleitner has starred on Broadway in Status Quo Vadis with Ted Danson and in Los Angeles, after notable roles in films and TV. Bruce endeared himself to fans everywhere in a four-year run for CBS TV’s, SCARECROW and Mrs. King. Boxleitner is also internationally known for his science fiction roles – in both the TRON franchise as well as his starring work in the hit series BABYLON 5. A skilled horseman, Bruce was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma.
Tony Cameron was drafted twice by Major League Baseball, the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners and also played in the minors. He later went on to do television and print ads. He now lives in Atlanta with his wife Meghan, their two dogs and two horses. Tony is the son of Rod Cameron. Rod Cameron was an American actor known for his rugged and strong on-screen persona. His career spanned several decades, encompassing both film and television. Cameron appeared in numerous films and TV shows, primarily in Western and action genres. He made a name for himself starting in the late 1930s and became one of the top Movie Box Office Stars in the 1950s. Throughout his career, he starred in over 70 movies and had his own television series, including State Trooper, Coronado 9, and City Detective. He also made guest appearances in various television shows, such as Bonanza and Laramie. With a recognizable face in the genre, Cameron established himself as a prominent figure in Westerns, starring in films like Ride the Man Down, Southwest Passage, and Oh Susanna.
Robert Carradine’s first film role was in the 1972 film THE COWBOYS, which starred John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne. He also portrayed fraternity president “Lewis Skolnick” in the REVENGE OF THE NERDS comedy film series. In one of the most unusual casting arrangements in movie history, David, Keith, and Robert Carradine played the Younger brothers in THE LONG RIDERS with three other sets of acting brothers: Stacy and James Keach, Dennis and Randy Quaid, and Christopher and Nicholas Guest.
Kirk Ellis is a two-time Emmy Award and two-time Humanitas Prize-winning writer/producer who wrote and produced the acclaimed event series John Adams. Among his many other credits are the Emmy-nominated Into the West and the Emmy Award-winning Anne Frank: The Whole Story. In his new book RIDE LONESOME, this veteran screenwriter brilliantly unpacks the themes, narrative, visual language, and editing in this seminal film. For decades, Ellis was a friend and collaborator with his mentors Burt Kennedy and Budd Boetticher. In his new book, Ellis not only shows how the Randolph Scott classic embodies a turning point for the Western, but also explores the unique vision and contributions of director Boetticher and his writing partner Kennedy. Formerly cogovernor of the writers’ branch of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and past president of the Western Writers of America, Ellis splits his time between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Palm Springs, California.
Diamond Farnsworth is an accomplished stuntman, serving as stunt coordinator on the show NCIS, and before that working on JAG and QUANTUM LEAP. Diamond is the son of Academy Award® Nominated actor/stuntman Richard Farnsworth. He began his stunt career in 1968 and has been serving as a stunt coordinator since 1980. He began with PAINT YOUR WAGON and served as a stunt double for Sylvester Stallone in FIRST BLOOD, RAMBO and RHINESTONE. He has also doubled Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid and Jeff Bridges.
Darby Hinton – Just before he turned 6, actor/producer/writer Darby Hinton accidentally stood in the wrong line at Twentieth Century Fox and landed the part of Israel Boone with Fess Park on Daniel Boone which ran from 1964-1970 – and still works today in many TV and film projects. Hinton considers some of his most important work to be with the SAG/AFTRA Young Performers Committee, geared to helping the creative youth of today.
Steve Latshaw – Steve began his film career in a distinctly Corman-esque style, producing and directing a string of hit B movies in Florida, including the Halloween Cult Classic JACK-O. Relocating to Los Angeles led to a prolific career as a successful screenwriter in various genres, most notably action and sci-fi films, writing over 30 produced features at last count. His credits include the western family adventure AMERICAN BLACK BEAUTY, starring Dean Stockwell, the Stan Lee Sci-Fi adventure LIGHTSPEED and COMMAND PERFORMANCE, a collaboration with Dolph Lundgren which became a comeback film for the legendary action star.
Daryle Ann Lindley is the oldest daughter Louis Burton Lindley, Jr., better known by his stage name Slim Pickens. This is Daryle Ann’s first appearance at the Lone Pine Film Festival remembering her father. In her own words: “ You can only imagine what life was like growing up in our house”. She is an accomplished actress, producer, stunt woman,and equestrian. She continues today as a successful race horse owner along side her Husband, Mark Gardino. Daryle Ann has appeared on classic TV shows such as Dallas, Baretta, Barnaby Jones, B J and the Bear, Charlie’s Angels, Designing Women, The Shadow Ryders, Son of the Morning Star, and The Rounders, just to name a few. She and her husband’s love for horse racing have inspired them to become producers of the award-winning western documentary, “Behind the Gate”
Kat Lively – Film and Music Historian, Writer, Musician, and Host and Producer of The Calling old Hollywood Podcast. Kat began her film preservation journey in 2019, following a serendipitous stay in James Dean’s former apartment in New York City. From there, the match was lit. Kat created, hosts, and produces the ‘Calling old Hollywood’ Podcast where she has been interviewing legends and enthusiasts of Film and Music History since. She was raised on Classic Entertainment by her parents from a young age. Her father raised her on the classic westerns. She carries a torch of a bygone era with passion in efforts to preserve the history and educate younger generations about those who came before. She is also a Poet, and a Folk Singer, Songwriter, and Guitarist.
Larry Maurice – Tour Guide, Cowboy Poet, and Festival Host has spent the last 36 years as a cowboy, horse wrangler and packer in the Eastern Sierra and the high deserts of Nevada. You’re likely to find him on a horse when he is not performing his brand of Cowboy Poetry. He received the Lifetime Achievement in Cowboy Poetry Award from the National Cowboy Symposium, and the Academy of Western Artists’ coveted Will Rogers Cowboy Award for Cowboy Poet of the Year. Maurice has been a Lone Pine regular since the Festival’s beginning in 1990.
David Matuszak is a Western historian and modern-day frontiersman. He has written extensively about the American West, particularly the Western film genre, and has spent his life experiencing frontier adventures. From breaking horses in the tradition of the Californio vaquero, competing in ranch roping competitions, prospecting the Sierra Nevada, performing in a Wild West show, riding with the mounted posse, building a log cabin, buffalo hunting, re-enacting the Lewis & Clark expedition, to ranching, Matuszak has spent his entire life living and exploring in the West. He brings to any discussion of the West real-life frontier experiences along with an academic background.
Wyatt McCrea is a lifelong lover of film, Wyatt is the oldest grandchild of actor/rancher Joel McCrea and his actress wife Frances Dee and he is deeply involved in the ongoing historical preservation of his film making grandparents. He has worked both as a producer and actor in television and film productions such as “Sod and Stubble”; “The Contested Plains”, “Gen’s Guiltless Gourmet”, “Call 911”, “Big History”, “Canyon Trail”, the award winning documentary “Floating Horses – The Story of Casey Tibbs”, as well as many commercials and local theatrical productions. He is a co-author and contributor to several books on Hollywood literature, film and television history and has been a guest speaker/presenter at the TCM Film Festival and on the TCM Movie Cruise. Wyatt is a multiple time co-emcee of the Western Heritage Awards and the Western Music Association Awards. Having grown up in a ranching environment Wyatt is also a huge proponent of western values and the preservation of the western way of life. He is the founder and board president of the Joel and Frances McCrea Ranch Foundation; current Vice Chair of the Board of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum – past chairman of the Western Heritage Committee; past member of the Executive Committee for the Golden Boot Awards; Board Member of the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation; Board Member of the Will Rogers Memorial Foundation; Board Member and past board president of RideOn Therapeutic Horsemanship; member of the Advisory Board for the Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo, CA; and member of the Advisory Committee for TOArts in Thousand Oaks, CA.
J. C. Munns – Composer and Musician has been entertaining audiences for nearly five decades, specializing in vintage American music from saloon piano to the great hits of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. He has performed for two U.S. presidents and entertained countless celebrities including Bob Hope, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart, as well as movie directors from Hal Roach and Mervyn Leroy to Steven Spielberg.
Julie Rogers Pomilia
Julie is the granddaughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and the youngest daughter of Tom Fox, Dale’s only biological son. She has appeared on TV multiple times with her famous grandparents on variety shows, commercials and Christian broadcasts. Julie has performed at the Grand Ol’ Opry, Carnegie Hall, and several Western Festival around the country, often teaming up with Roy Rogers, Jr. and the Sons of the Pioneers – the group her grandfather began back in 1933. She is also seen riding in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA.
Marc Wanamaker – Presenter, Archivist, Author; is a historian, archivist, and lecturer in film history. He founded Bison Archives in Los Angeles, a leading repository of research and photographs of motion picture history. He assisted in forming the American Film Institute facilities in Beverly Hills. His extensive list of publications includes over a dozen books as well as articles in the Los Angeles Times and interviews in numerous documentaries related to motion picture history.
Jay Dee Witney 