How to get to Hollywood from Pattonsburg 

By Mark Lane
Submitted to Corner Post

Who wants an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock? The top answer among those who have watched “A Christmas Story” is, “Ralphie!” A Red Ryder BB Gun was high on Christmas and birthday wish lists of many boys in the 1940 and 1950s, thanks to popularity of the Red Ryder comic strips, comic books, radio serials, movies and television shows featuring the cowboy character who overcame bad guys and tough predicaments in regular installments from 1938 to 1964.  

Although several actors voiced or played Red Ryder through the decades, the man most recognized for the role was Bill Elliott. Early in his acting career, he went by Gordon Elliott. Before that, folks knew him as Gordon Nance, the name his parents gave him when he was born in Pattonsburg, Missouri.  

His dad was a cattle broker for the Kansas City Stockyards and raised cattle, as well. Gordon learned to ride horses and rope cattle as a youngster, and once even won a roping contest in Kansas City. So, while Western movies motivated other boys to dream of being a cowboy on a ranch, Gordon dreamed of doing it on a big screen. After high school and a brief stint at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, he headed to Hollywood.   

By the time he retired in 1957, Elliott had appeared in more than 200 films, starring in about 80 of them. Among his co-stars are many big names at the time who would not be recognized today. But a few that may be familiar are Gabby Hayes, Lucille Ball, Harry Morgan, Andy Devine, Denver Pyle and Robert Blake. Blake played Little Beaver, the Navajo boy who was Red Ryder’s young sidekick in many episodes. Blake also acted as Mickey in the Little Rascals / Our Gang series.