A little over a year ago, I was in Columbia, South Carolina, visiting with two of my childhood friends, Joel Rice and Allen Roberson. Allen is the director of a very neat Civil War museum, the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Museum, which is located in the same complex as the South Carolina State Museum. I told them about the “Texas Movies” exhibit, for which I served as Guest Curator in 2005 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Before I knew it, we were talking about the possibility of mounting a similar exhibit in South Carolina. (more…)

My pals Rusty and Kathy Kern, of Playset Magazine, have just released a new DVD celebrating the world of Alamo toys and playsets. And if there were nothing but pictures of these great playsets, it would be worth the price of purchase. But there’s a whole lot more. There are interviews with Fess Parker, Virginia Shahan (widow of my friend Happy Shahan, owner of Alamo Village in Brackettville, Texas) and me. There’s also a tour of the John Wayne Alamo set as well as a visit to the real Alamo in San Antonio. (more…)

My dear friend Jerry Hadley put a bullet into his head yesterday. He had been having a very rough time recently. He confided in me that he was filing for bankruptcy and was taking medication for depression. He also had some pretty severe family problems stemming from a bad divorce. (more…)

Over the past two weeks, on June 22 and June 29, 2007, I gave two day-long seminars on the Alamo in film and popular culture. These presentations were part of a program called “Remembering the Alamo: Landmarks of American History.” Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the event was attended by community college teachers from around the country. The event was held in Alamo Hall, on the grounds of the Alamo. (more…)