Bill Pickett | |
|---|---|
 Pickett c. 1907 | |
| Born | Willie M. Pickett (1870-12-05)December 5, 1870 Jenks Branch, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 1932(1932-04-02) (aged 61) Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Resting place | White Eagle Monument,Marland, Oklahoma |
| Other names | "The Dusky Demon" |
| Occupation | Rodeo performer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 9 |
Willie M. Pickett (December 5, 1870 – April 2, 1932) was anAfrican American cowboy, rodeo performer, and actor. In 1972, he was the first African American man inducted into theNational Rodeo Hall of Fame.[1] In 1989, Pickett was inducted into theProRodeo Hall of Fame.
Pickett was born in theJenks Branch community ofWilliamson County, Texas, in 1870.[2][3][4] (Jenks Branch, also known as the Miller Community, is in western Williamson County, five miles southeast ofLiberty Hill, and near theTravis County line.[5]) He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former enslaved man, and Mary "Janie" Gilbert. Pickett had four brothers and eight sisters. The family's ancestry wasAfrican-American andCherokee.[6] By 1888, the family had moved toTaylor, Texas.[3]
In 1890, Pickett married Maggie Turner, the formerly enslaved daughter of a white southern plantation owner. The couple had nine children.[7]
Pickett left school in the fifth grade to become aranch hand; he soon began to ride horses and watch theTexas Longhorn steers of his native Texas.
He invented the technique ofbulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground.[8] It was known among cattlemen that, with the help of a trained bulldog, a stray steer could be caught. Bill Pickett had seen this happen on many occasions. He also thought that if a bulldog could do this feat, so could he. Pickett practiced his stunt by riding hard, springing from his horse, and wrestling the steer to the ground. Pickett's method for bulldogging was biting a cow on the lip and then falling backward. He also helped cowboys with bulldogging.[7] This method eventually lost popularity as the sport morphed into thesteer wrestling that is practiced in rodeos.[9][10]
Pickett soon became known for his tricks and stunts at local country fairs. With his four brothers, he established The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. The name Bill Pickett soon became synonymous with successful rodeos. He did his bulldogging act, traveling about in Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.[6][11]
In 1905, Pickett joined the101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured the likes ofBuffalo Bill,Will Rogers,Tom Mix,Bee Ho Gray, andZach andLucille Mulhall; he performed under the name "The Dusky Demon."[7] Pickett was soon a popular performer who toured around the world and appeared in early motion pictures, such as a movie created by Richard E. Norman.[12] Pickett's ethnicity resulted in his not being able to appear at many rodeos, so he often was forced to claim that he was ofComanche heritage in order to perform.[13] In 1921, he appeared in the filmsThe Bull-Dogger andThe Crimson Skull.
In 1932, after having retired from Wild West shows, Bill Pickett was kicked in the head by a bronco.[14] After a multi-day coma he died on April 2, 1932; he was buried on the 101 Ranch.[6][7][11][13] He is buried near a 15-foot stone monument to the friendship of Ponca Tribal Chief White Eagle and theMiller Brothers on Monument Hill, also known as the White Eagle Monument to the locals, less than a quarter of a mile to the northeast ofMarland, Oklahoma.[15]
In 1972, Pickett was inducted into the National Rodeo Hall of Fame of theNational Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.[16] In 1989, Pickett was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.[17]
Concert promoter Lu Vason founded theBill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in 1984. The touring rodeo celebratesBlack cowboys.[18]
In 1987, a statue of Pickett performing his signature "bulldogging" maneuver, made by artist Lisa Perry, was presented to the city ofFort Worth, Texas by the North Fort Worth Historical Society. The statue is installed in theFort Worth Stockyards Historic District.[19][20][21]
TheUnited States Postal Service chose to include Bill Pickett in the Legends of the West commemorative sheet unveiled in December 1993.[22] One month later, the Pickett family informed the Postal Service that the likeness was incorrect. Its source material was a misidentified photograph of Bill Pickett's brother and fellow cowboy star, Ben Pickett. In October 1994, the USPS released corrected stamps based on the poster forThe Bull-Dogger.[23]
In March 2015, the Taylor City Council announced that a street that leads to the rodeo arena will be renamed to honor Bill Pickett.[24]
On June 2, 2017 a new statue of Bill Pickett was unveiled in his hometown of Taylor, Texas. It is prominently displayed at the intersection of 2nd and Main Streets in the downtown.[25][26]
On August 6, 2018, Bill Pickett was inducted into the Jim Thorpe Association'sOklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
A hill inBurnet County, Texas was named for Pickett in 2021.[27][28] A trail with an interpretive sign inGeorgetown, Texas honors Pickett.[29]
In the 2021 filmThe Harder They Fall directed byJeymes Samuel, a fictional character, a gunman named Bill Pickett, is played by actorEdi Gathegi.[30] In the related filmThey Die by Dawn (2013), a character named Bill Picket is portrayed byBokeem Woodbine.[31]
Pickett is referenced in season 4 episode 5 ofBaywatch when the African-American cop character played by Gregory Alan Williams wants to ride a horse to capture criminals, bringing up that Pickett was the "first cowboy." Pickett is referenced in the 1996 filmGet on the Bus as the man who created steer wrestling. In the 1994 feature filmThe Cowboy Way, Bill Pickett is referenced byErnie Hudson when discussing famous black cowboys. He is later referred to as "William Pickett" byWoody Harrelson.
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