Rudy Robbins

Actor and stuntman Rudy Robbins was born on November 17, 1933 in Evergreen, Louisiana. His father was a horse and cattle trader. At age two Robbins moved with his family to Port Arthur, Texas, where he grew up with his father working a variety of jobs ranging from being a cook on ocean going ships to cafe owner to used car salesman. (His mother worked at the small cafe he owned.) Following graduation from East Texas Baptist College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Sociology, Rudy enlisted in the U.S. Army and competed in track team javelin throwing contests (he set a new record for the javelin throw in 4th Army track meets). While in the Army Robbins met a man whose father produced Western movies. After being discharged from the Army, Rudy decided to pursue a career as a stuntman in Westerns and moved to Bandera, Texas, where he worked as head wrangler on a dude ranch prior to landing his first job as a stuntman on the John Wayne epic The Alamo (1960). Robbins went on to perform stunts and play small roles in a handful of films. Moreover, Rudy also worked as a production manager on some of the largest exposition type shows in the country as well as played Buffalo Bill in a Buffalo Bill Wild West show with a cast of 125 that toured the world and served as a goodwill ambassador for the US. Department of Commerce in which he toured Europe to promote the sales of western trade goods. Robbins eventually moved back to his native Texas when the production of Westerns declined. Rudy produced and performed in both his own Rudy Robbins Western Variety Show and the All American Cowboy Get-Together. In addition, Robbins formed the four piece western harmony group The Spirit of Texas, who were so well received that the Texas Legislature passed a special resolution naming them the Official Cowboy Band for Texas. (They were also nominated as Best Western Group of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.) Rudy died at age 77 from cancer on February 21, 2011 in Bandera, Texas.