ThatŽs SHEB WOOLEY playing Ben Miller in High Noon saying "I
wouldŽnt be surprised". I have always liked that scen, Wooley in closeup with a
sarcastic smile. That was the first time I saw him, the year was 1952 and the place was a
little cinema called City. I didŽnt know then that he already was known as a singer and
songwriter. In fact he did his first recordings already 1945 and has made many after that
beeing under MGM Records contract over 25 years. He had a big hit record with the song
"The Purple People Eater" in 1958. Three weeks after it's release it sold over 3
million copies and Sheb Wooley was awarded a Gold Record. He has also recorded
humorous country songs under the name of Ben Colder. You can find more about his many
songs and records on his The World Wide Sheb Page: http://hometown.aol.com/benkolder/index.html
Sheb Wooley has been in over 50 movies, even if IMDb only names 35. Most of his movies
are westerns from the 50 ths. In the 60 ths he made four movies, in the 70 ths only one:
"The Outlaw Josey Wales" a Clint Eastwood - movie from 1976. He was more
frequently in the 80 ths, with a big role in "Hoosiers" 1986 with Gene Hackman.
He also made av TV-movie with Jane Fonda. But his most famous part has been in the
TV-serie "Rawhide", playing the scout Pete Nolan 1959-65. He has also done guest
appearences in TV-series, mostly westerns, such as "Lone Ranger", "Cheyenne",
"Wyatt Earp" and "Maverick".
Sheb Wooley, 82 years old, died Sept. 16 2003.
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