Overview
Tall in the Saddle: The Life of Ben Johnson, Hollywood’s Real Cowboy is the definitive biography of Ben Johnson (1918–1996), the only man to win both an Academy Award and a world rodeo championship. Born on a historic Oklahoma ranch, Johnson could rope cattle before he could read, and his horsemanship took him straight to Hollywood when tycoon Howard Hughes needed horses for The Outlaw in 1943. What started as a behind-the-scenes gig turned into an acting career that spanned six decades. Discovered by legendary director John Ford, Johnson became a fixture in classic Westerns alongside John Wayne, before stepping into more complex roles with filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Bogdanovich—who guided him to his Oscar-winning performance in The Last Picture Show. Though he worked with Hollywood greats like Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, Johnson remained rooted in the authenticity of the American West, both on and off screen. Drawing from a wealth of interviews with costars, directors, and rodeo companions, Kathryn Jones captures the grit, grace, and enduring legacy of a man who didn’t just play a cowboy—he was one. Tall in the Saddle is a rich, cinematic portrait of a Hollywood legend whose real-life story is as unforgettable as any role he played.
Full Product Details
Author: Kathryn Jones
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 9781496861559
ISBN 10: 1496861558
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 10 March 2026
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available
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Reviews
Tall in the Saddle: The Life of Ben Johnson, Hollywood's Real Cowboy is rich with research by the author, interviews, and telling, behind-the-scenes detail about the making of key movies in Johnson's career, as well as his other career as a world-champion roper.--Joseph B. Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood's Zen Rebel Kathryn Jones's treatment of the actor's life history and comprehensive discussion of all of Johnson's films, television productions, and related professional and philanthropic work is impressive. Tall in the Saddle cements Johnson's contribution to the Western genre as well as twentieth-century film and Oklahoma history.--Jennifer L. McMahon, coeditor of The Philosophy of the Western
""Tall in the Saddle: The Life of Ben Johnson, Hollywood’s Real Cowboy is rich with research by the author, interviews, and telling, behind-the-scenes detail about the making of key movies in Johnson’s career, as well as his other career as a world-champion roper."" - Joseph B. Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel. ""Kathryn Jones’s treatment of the actor’s life history and comprehensive discussion of all of Johnson’s films, television productions, and related professional and philanthropic work is impressive. Tall in the Saddle cements Johnson’s contribution to the Western genre as well as twentieth-century film and Oklahoma history."" - Jennifer L. McMahon, coeditor of The Philosophy of the Western.
Author Information
Kathryn Jones is a journalist, essayist, and poet whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Texas Monthly, and other publications, and in numerous anthologies, including A Uniquely American Epic: Intimacy and Action, Tenderness and Violence in Sam Peckinpah’s ""The Wild Bunch."" She is author of two volumes of poetry about the beauty and brutality of nature. She was born in Hollywood and grew up in Texas, where she lives on a ranch southwest of Fort Worth. Jones was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2016.
