Today's cuppa: Bag Ladies English breakfast tea
Fans of "24" may know that Kiefer Sutherland, who plays anti-terrorism agent Jack Bauer (left), is an experienced and celebrated actor, an action star and a man who occasionally gets in trouble with the law while out on the town, but they may not know that he gave up acting for rodeo riding for a while in the late '90s and is a two-time winner of the national team roping championship title.
Furthermore, fans probably don't know that Sutherland is not the only member of the cast who knows his way around horses and cows.
In this season of "24," airing Mondays on Fox, Mykelti Williamson (below) plays Brian Hastings, the head of the New York office of the Counter Terrorist Unit. Jack Bauer used to work out of the Los Angeles office, but owing to some circumstances, he's now trying to save a peace treaty -- and probably the world -- from the Gotham location.
Hastings is an Ivy League-educated guy, but his background is a bit of a mystery, and Williamson's history has some surprises as well. When I dropped by the San Fernando Valley sets of "24" late last year, I sat down with Williamson and learned, among other
things, that he and Sutherland had the rodeo in common.
"I've known Kiefer a long time," said Williamson. "Twenty years ago, he was a team roper, and I used to do a little bulldogging (also known as steer wrestling), but I never ran across him in the rodeo stuff, never. He was a lot more serious about it than I was. He and his partner actually won Arizona as team ropers. So he's the real deal. He's a real cowboy, not a movie, TV cowboy.
"And I'm a bit of a roughneck. It's cool, I like it."
Asked how he got into rodeo, Williamson said, "I had an opportunity to work at a horse stable when I was a kid, so that I could ride the horses for free. So I was a scooper and a wiper and a washer. That's what I did. One thing just sort of led to another, and I was asked to ride with some guys, and I did.
"Then I saw some guys bulldogging, and I met a gentleman named Woody Strode, the character actor. I met Woody Strode when I was a teenager, and I watched him do it. It hooked me. I was hooked.
"I took an interest in bullriding, but I'm too tall. I'm six-three, and it's a little rough on a guy my size. You get slung right off, just schwing ... and wind up in the audience. But If I were of a different stature, I think I would have liked to try being an all-around cowboy, like Larry Mahan.
"I've been a fan of rodeo for years. My first rodeo job was given to me by a gentleman named Cotton Rosser. I was 16. I met him at the Forum, and I asked him if he needed more cowboys. He looked at me and said, 'What do you do?' I said, "Well I work at a horse stables in Gardena (Calif.),' and I started talking to him.
"He said, 'Come on, we'll find something for you to do.' So I would clean up at the rodeo, actually sit behind the chute with the cowboys, all that stuff."
At this point, I said I could see Sutherland and Williamson together in a Western movie, and Williamson said, "So could I. We actually talked about that. A friend of ours is writing a Western right now, and we were just talking about that."
Williamson also knows another veteran actor who's part of the horse world.
"There are a few actors that are rodeo guys. Do you know who Glynn Turman is? Glynn owns a ranch, not too far from (the amusement park, Six Flags) Magic Mountain, and he has a kids' camp every summer. I always throw him a little bread for his Camp Gid D Up, for his kids."
Finally, as to whether Hastings and Bauer might find themselves on horseback during this season of "24," Williamson said, "There are horses in New York, so maybe this year. You never know. Anything can happen on '24.'"
Coming up next week: Williamson talks about accompanying his "Forrest Gump" co-star Gary Sinise to visit the troops in Afghanistan. Click here for that.
Fans of "24" may know that Kiefer Sutherland, who plays anti-terrorism agent Jack Bauer (left), is an experienced and celebrated actor, an action star and a man who occasionally gets in trouble with the law while out on the town, but they may not know that he gave up acting for rodeo riding for a while in the late '90s and is a two-time winner of the national team roping championship title.Furthermore, fans probably don't know that Sutherland is not the only member of the cast who knows his way around horses and cows.
In this season of "24," airing Mondays on Fox, Mykelti Williamson (below) plays Brian Hastings, the head of the New York office of the Counter Terrorist Unit. Jack Bauer used to work out of the Los Angeles office, but owing to some circumstances, he's now trying to save a peace treaty -- and probably the world -- from the Gotham location.
Hastings is an Ivy League-educated guy, but his background is a bit of a mystery, and Williamson's history has some surprises as well. When I dropped by the San Fernando Valley sets of "24" late last year, I sat down with Williamson and learned, among other
things, that he and Sutherland had the rodeo in common."I've known Kiefer a long time," said Williamson. "Twenty years ago, he was a team roper, and I used to do a little bulldogging (also known as steer wrestling), but I never ran across him in the rodeo stuff, never. He was a lot more serious about it than I was. He and his partner actually won Arizona as team ropers. So he's the real deal. He's a real cowboy, not a movie, TV cowboy.
"And I'm a bit of a roughneck. It's cool, I like it."
Asked how he got into rodeo, Williamson said, "I had an opportunity to work at a horse stable when I was a kid, so that I could ride the horses for free. So I was a scooper and a wiper and a washer. That's what I did. One thing just sort of led to another, and I was asked to ride with some guys, and I did.
"Then I saw some guys bulldogging, and I met a gentleman named Woody Strode, the character actor. I met Woody Strode when I was a teenager, and I watched him do it. It hooked me. I was hooked.
"I took an interest in bullriding, but I'm too tall. I'm six-three, and it's a little rough on a guy my size. You get slung right off, just schwing ... and wind up in the audience. But If I were of a different stature, I think I would have liked to try being an all-around cowboy, like Larry Mahan.
"I've been a fan of rodeo for years. My first rodeo job was given to me by a gentleman named Cotton Rosser. I was 16. I met him at the Forum, and I asked him if he needed more cowboys. He looked at me and said, 'What do you do?' I said, "Well I work at a horse stables in Gardena (Calif.),' and I started talking to him.
"He said, 'Come on, we'll find something for you to do.' So I would clean up at the rodeo, actually sit behind the chute with the cowboys, all that stuff."
At this point, I said I could see Sutherland and Williamson together in a Western movie, and Williamson said, "So could I. We actually talked about that. A friend of ours is writing a Western right now, and we were just talking about that."Williamson also knows another veteran actor who's part of the horse world.
"There are a few actors that are rodeo guys. Do you know who Glynn Turman is? Glynn owns a ranch, not too far from (the amusement park, Six Flags) Magic Mountain, and he has a kids' camp every summer. I always throw him a little bread for his Camp Gid D Up, for his kids."
Finally, as to whether Hastings and Bauer might find themselves on horseback during this season of "24," Williamson said, "There are horses in New York, so maybe this year. You never know. Anything can happen on '24.'"
Coming up next week: Williamson talks about accompanying his "Forrest Gump" co-star Gary Sinise to visit the troops in Afghanistan. Click here for that.
Your readers should be aware that "bulldogging" (aka "steer wrestling") was invented in the early 20th century by a black cowboy named Bill Pickett, now in the PRCA's Hall of Fame. Bill's claim to fame was biting the hapless steer on the nose and lip, so that PAIN kept the animal on the ground (hence the name, "bulldogging"). Lovely.
This abusive event was never a standard ranching practice--it's all hype to put fannies in the seat, i.e., $$$.
Should also be noted that the aforementioned rodeo stock contractor, Cotton Rosser, was fined $2,500 at the 2008 Hayward Rowell Ranch Rodeo for "hotshotting" six horses in the holding chutes, in direct violation of the ranch's animal welfare policy.
Know that EVERY major animal organization in the country opposes rodeos due to their inherent cruelty. For most of the animals involved, rodeo is merely a detour en route to the slaughterhouse. They (and) we deserve better. Not surprising that the silly and overtly macho and violent (and sometimes sadistic) "24" TV show should have a bunch of cowboy types in the cast.
Sincerely,
Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland
When I learned that Keifer Sutherland roped calves, I stopped watching '24'.
Rodeos are no fun the animals and result in torment, harassment, and stress being inflicted upon the unwilling, participating animals and expose them to the probability of pain, injury, or death. Many animals have died in California rodeos alone (that we know about), and countless animals have been injured. I know of bulls and horses who sustained fatal injuries in the finals in Las Vegas, some of which were covered up. Every animal protection organization in the U.S. wants it to stop, especially the calf roping. Several municipalities have banned this event. Pasadena recently banned rodeos.
I’ve seen the tails of calves twisted just before they burst out of the chutes. Stock contractors have told me that they’re careful when roping calves on the range, to prevent them from injury, unlike the timed event in the rodeo. On the range, the rope is let out, whereas in the rodeo the calves are jerked abruptly off all four legs by the rope around their neck, then they’re slammed down on the ground, and three legs are tied. All this as fast as the contestants can, not giving a damn about the calf. Money is their motivator.
Rodeos are not an accurate or harmless portrayal of ranching skills. Horses were not “broken†over and over, bulls were not ridden, etc. Rodeos display and encourage insensitivity to the acceptance of brutal treatment of animals in the name of entertainment. Such callous disregard of our moral obligations toward other living creatures has a negative impact on society as a whole and on impressionable children in particular. We don’t have to harm innocent animals for entertainment, nor should we as a civilized society.
Whatever one calls rodeo,-- culture, history, tradition, etc., it should be stopped, like all other, hurtful traditions, such as burning or drowning alleged witches, slavery, etc.
If you see a dog or a child being mistreated, do you look the other way? I would hope not! Please boycott the rodeo. "Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." ~ Elie Wiesel, Romanian-American Writer"
Lucy Shelton