Finding fame in the Wild West
Ani Amirkhanian
Ever since he was a boy, Glendale resident Roy Green had an interest
in cowboys of the American West.
As a child, the 79-year-old English native watched westerns and
learned about the cowboy stars of the time.
In his mid-20s, he decided to go into show business, after serving
two years in the British Army and returning to work in the coal
mines.
Green starred as Steve Larrabee “The Lone Star Rider,” and had his
own show on television. The “Steve Larrabee Lone Star Show” aired on
the BBC and featured Green riding in on a horse dressed as a cowboy.
Green also expanded to the air waves and starred in the “Steve
Larrabee Ranch Show” on British radio. He also endorsed merchandise
which included toys, books, manuscripts, comic books, hats and rifles
when he portrayed Steve Larrabee. Then in 1956 he left England for
the United States and landed jobs at rodeos performing in western
shows for brief periods.
About four years ago, Green donated his merchandise to the Autry
National Center’s Museum of the American West Collection.
Glendale News-Press News Assistant Ani Amirkhanian sat down with
Green and asked him some questions about his career in show business.
Were most children interested in the West when you were growing up
in England?
I thing every kid was interested in westerns. I know what it
was...it was the Depression and we were all very poor. For three
pennies, you could see [westerns], and all the old timers. That’s how
I started to crave them.
What kind of image or impression did the American West have on
England?
The cowboy period in America was like Camelot. Everything was
nice, they never shot anybody, they just shot their guns in the air,
sang...it was like an American Camelot. I think that Gene Autry was
the epitome of that.
What kind of cowboy did you portray?
I was more of a Buffalo Bill type of guy. I didn’t make films like
in Wild West Shows. I had to raise my hat off, spin ropes, catch
people and chase after the stage coach.
What was the Steve Larrabee character like?
I was like Paris Hilton. I was famous for being famous. I was
famous for being a cowboy. I did a lot of nice cowboy things but that
was it. We had great dancers and animal trainers and I’d come on in
and I was there. I made my appearance but I didn’t have too much, but
I was a star.
When did American Westerns lose popularity in England?
About toward the end of the 50’s, cowboys started to fade, and at
that time there were Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy.
They all started to go, so I left for America. I got to Knott’s Berry
Farm and they offered me jobs. They said they wouldn’t pay if I just
got dressed up [as a cowboy]. I got out of the business and went into
magic.