The western bunk house has lost another wrangler and Lone Pine Friend, Rusty Richards.

In 1996, Rusty along with Dick Goodman and Robert Wagoner, as The American Cowboys, opened the 7th Lone Pine film Festival, which featured a tribute to Randolph Scott. Rusty also joined the festival fans in 2019.

A "Real" cowboy who grew up in Modjeska Canyon, California, as well as a “Reel” cowboy in Hollywood, Rusty learned to play the guitar when he was 13, he sang “Hand me Down my Walking Cane” on a radio talent show in Santa Ana. That led to a TV show called “Song Trails with Rusty Richards.” “Meantime he worked on a ranch and was breaking horses. He says, "I knew then I was gonna be a cowboy.” “That’s all I wanted to be.”

But in 1950, the Korean War broke out, so, at 17, he joined the Marines. Along with letters, his mom would send him cowboy magazines, like Hooves and Horns, and that’s when Rusty fell in love with the rising rodeo star Casey Tibbs. “I’m fantasizing about rodeoing myself,” he says. “I couldn’t have known that Casey would one day be my best friend, and I would write his biography.”

After the war, Richards returned to his canyon home, trained to become a firefighter for the Forest Service and started riding bucking horses and bulls (and broke both of his shoulders). One day in ’57, he was out riding at Irvine Ranch where director Billy Wilder was shooting a scene with Jimmy Stewart for his film “The Spirit of St. Louis.” He met wing-walker/stuntman Cliff Rose. “Cliff said, ‘You teach me how to ride, and I’ll teach you how to rig stunts,’ ”Rusty recalls. “We tried to kill each other for a couple years.”

Before long, Richards was a stuntman himself, jumping out of airplanes, falling over waterfalls and off of horses in TV shows like "Rawhide", “Bonanza”, “Gunsmoke”, and classic movies like “How the West was Won.”

Then in 1963, a call came inviting Richards to join the popular harmony singing group Sons of the Pioneers. They played everywhere from the Grand Ole Opry to “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson and toured with “Happy Trails” king and queen Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. In fact, Richards sang the very last song at Roy Rogers’ graveside, “Peace in the Valley,” as the Cowboy King was lowered into the ground.  “Dale stood beside the casket,” he recalls. “The sun was setting over the hills.”

Richards has since been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Western Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, Rusty was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame, with Tommy Lee Jones and Wynonna Judd presenting Richard’s award at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, which houses the Cowboy Hall of Fame. He received the Chester A. Reynolds Award, which honors a living honoree or group that perpetuates the legacy of the American West through ranching and cowboy work; for “unwavering commitment to … the ideals of individualism, honesty, humility and integrity that are closely identified with the American West.”

Rusty, born November 15, 1933 passed away this past Saturday, August 5th, from health complications. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Amy, 4 Children, 8 Grandchildren, and 6 Great Grandchildren. Services have not been announced as of this date.

As noted, Rusty became best friends over the years with Casey Tibbs. In 2010, Richard's wrote, Casey Tibbs - Born to Ride, an authorized biography of the memorable, charismatic cowboy from South Dakota. Movingly written, Richards spent over twenty years meticulously researching, interviewing, and capturing vibrant memories and recollections of the six-time world champion saddle bronc rider.

In 2017, Wyatt McCrea, as Executive Producer and Director, Justin Koehler, premiered their film,  Floating Horses trailer - The Life of Casey Tibbs, at the Lone Pine Film Festival. Also see article > Western Horseman (2017)

Celebrate Rusty's career - view " A Word on Westerns," interview with Rob Word recorded at The Autry, July 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=633ETRO2wCU