Louis Burton (Bert) Lindley, Jr., better known by his stage name, Slim Pickens, was an American Rodeo performer and film and TV actor, who appeared in several Disney movies, like The Great Locomotive Chase, Tonka, Never a Dull Moment, Savage Sam, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and The Black Hole as the voice of Old B.O.B.. He also played various characters in Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.
He was born in Kingsburg, California and grew on a dairy farm where he developed an interest in rodeo activities. He graduated from Hanford High School, Hanford, California and became a well-known rodeo clown. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. Reportedly when the recruiter asked him his profession, he responded "Rodeo". This was misread on a form as "radio", and he spent his entire enlistment at a radio station in the American Midwest.
After nearly 20 years' rodeo work, Pickens's stage presence gained him a role in the Western Rocky Mountain, which starred Errol Flynn. He later appeared in a variety of films, like Old Oklahoma Plains, Down Laredo Way, The Story of Will Rogers, One-Eyed Jacks, Dr. Strangelove, Major Dundee, Stagecoach (1966), Skidoo, The Cowboys, The Getaway, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Blazing Saddles, Rancho Deluxe, The Swarm, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, Tom Horn, 1941, and The Howling.
His television credits included Overland Trail, Outlaws, Annie Oakley, The Americans, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Fugitive, Hee Haw, The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Route 66, Maverick, The Westerner, The Legend of Jesse James, Alias Smith and Jones, The Virginian, Kung Fu, Bonanza, B.J. and the Bear, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Our Man Higgins, The Love Boat, and Hawaii Five-O.
Pickens lived his last years in Columbia, California. He died on December 8, 1983, after surgery for a brain tumor. His remains were cremated and scattered over his favorite trail areas.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Cow Dog | Cowhand |
| 1956 | The Great Locomotive Chase | Pete Bracken |
| 1957-1958 | The Saga of Andy Burnett | Old Bill Williams |
| 1958 | Tonka | Ace Cook |
| 1959 | Texas John Slaughter | Buck Stagecoach Driver (uncredited) |
| 1960-1961 | The Swamp Fox | Ewald Plunkett |
| 1961 | Daniel Boone | Capt. Gass |
| 1963 | The Horse with the Flying Tail | Cowboy (uncredited) |
| 1963 | Savage Sam | Willy Krup |
| 1964 | Bristle Face | Newt Pribble |
| 1968 | Never a Dull Moment | Cowboy Schaffer |
| 1974 | Stub, the Best Cow Dog in the World | Bill |
| 1974 | Runaway on the Rogue River | Bucky Steele |
| 1975 | The Apple Dumpling Gang | Frank Stillwell |
| 1979 | The Black Hole | B.O.B |
