Young Slim

When Louis Lindley, Jr. dropped out of high school at 16 to join a rodeo, he called himself “Slim Pickens” so his father wouldn’t see his name on the entry lists. He spent 20 years as a rodeo bronco buster, trick rider and clown.
Rodeo didn’t pay very well and after a screen test in 1950, he switched to the more lucrative career of acting.
While Pickens never lived in Kansas City, his many screen roles in cowboy movies certainly were emblematic of the region.