- Term
Rodeo Riders, Honky-Tonk Heroes and Little Buckaroos
- Qualifier
How the West was Worn exhibition
- Remarks
Movie star cowboys remained enormously popular from the 1930s through the 1960s. The new medium of television also adopted Western themes as mainstays of programming, yielding an abundance of television idols for a new generation known today as baby boomers. Added into the mix were a host of singing cowboys, honky-tonk heroes, and country music superstars, riding the trendy cowboy image to new heights of fame and fortune as recording artists and performers. Real cowboys became increasingly rare during the period. The best joined a circuit of rodeo riders when they were not working their own little spreads or on one of many large Western ranches. Some became wildcatters, finding work in the oil industries that replaced stock-raising on the plains and prairies of Texas, Oklahoma, and elsewhere. For the public, television was the biggest new thing. Kids across the nation and around the world joined clubs and donned playsuits, adopting the personas of favorite TV characters. Big kids fancied their own opportunities for escapism in the new Western resorts catering to automobile tourists visiting destinations like Reno, Nevada, and Tucson, Arizona.