Casey Duane Tibbs (March 5, 1929 – January 28, 1990) was an American professional

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

and actor.

Life and career

Tibbs was born to John F. Tibbs (1886–1948) and Florence M. Tibbs (1889–1974) in rural Orton, northwest of Fort Pierre in Stanley County in central

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. He was of English descent. As a rodeo cowboy, he competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) and held the " World All-Around Cowboy Champion" title twice, in 1951 and 1955. He won in 1949, 1951–1954, and 1959, the world

saddle bronc Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally bas ...

riding championship and in 1951 world bareback bronc riding championship. He was featured on the October 22, 1951 cover of ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine. He moved to

Ramona, California Ramona is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 21,468 at the 2020 census, up from 20,292 at the 2010 census. The name ''Ramona'' also refers to an unincorporated community of San Diego (with so ...

, in 1976 to raise and breed horses. After battling bone cancer and then lung cancer for about a year, he died at his home in Ramona, while watching the

1990 Super Bowl Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

. He is interred at the Scotty Philip Cemetery in

Fort Pierre, South Dakota Fort Pierre is a city in Stanley County, South Dakota, United States. It is part of the Pierre, South Dakota micropolitan area and the county seat of Stanley County. The population was 2,115 at the 2020 census. The settlement of Fort Pierre ...

Selected filmography

After his successful rodeo career, Tibbs became a

stunt man A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, stunt coordinator, technical director, livestock consultant, wrangler, and actor for the film industry. He wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film ''Born to Buck''. *Actor: ** ''Bronco Buster'' (1952) as Rodeo Rider ** '' Screen Director's Playhouse'' (1956, Episode: "Partners") (with

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theatre, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway theater, Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon b ...

) as himself ** ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

'' (1956) as himself (uncredited but announced by rodeo announcer) ** ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'' (1957) as himself (uncredited) ** ''Wild Heritage'' (1958) as Rusty (trail boss) ** ''

The Ann Sothern Show ''The Ann Sothern Show'' is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for three seasons from October 6, 1958, to March 30, 1961. Created by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf, the series was the second starring vehicle for Sothern, wh ...

'' (1959, Episode: "Katie and the Cowboy") ** ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...

'' (1961, Episode: "Town Against a Man") as Sheriff Jim Hogan ** ''Tomboy and the Champ'' (1961) as Himself ** ''A Thunder of Drums'' (1961) as Trooper Baker ** '' Stoney Burke'' (1962–1963) as Rodeo Judge ** '' The Rounders'' (1965) as Rafe ** '' Branded'' (1965, TV Series) as The Cowboy ** '' Gunpoint'' (1966) as Dealer (uncredited) ** '' The Rounders'' (1966, TV Series) as Folliat / Buck / 3rd Posseman ** '' The Monroes'' (1967, Episode: "To Break a Colt") (uncredited) ** '' A Time for Dying'' (1969) as Southerner's Sidekick ** ''The Young Rounders'' (1972) ** ''

Junior Bonner ''Junior Bonner'' is a 1972 American contemporary Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Joe Don Baker, and Ida Lupino. The film focuses on a veteran rodeo rider as he returns to his hometown of ...

'' (1972, rodeo coordinator) as Parade Grand Marshal (uncredited) ** ''Climb an Angry Mountain'' (1972, TV Movie) as Buck Moto ** ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

'' (1974, Episode: "The Conflict") as Flagman ** '' Breakheart Pass'' (1975) as Jackson ** ''More Wild Wild West'' (1980, TV Movie) as Juanita's brother (final film role) *Stunts: ** '' A Thunder of Drums'' (1961) (stunts) (uncredited) ** '' The Rounders'' (1965) (stunts) ** '' Gunpoint'' (1966) (stunts) (uncredited) ** '' The Plainsman'' (1966) (stunts) (uncredited) ** ''

Texas Across the River Texas Across The River is a 1966 American Techniscope comedy western film directed by Michael Gordon and starring Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Rosemary Forsyth and Joey Bishop. Plot Phoebe Ann Naylor is about to be wed to Don Andrea Baldazar, El ...

'' (1966) (stunt coordinator) (uncredited) ** ''

Firecreek ''Firecreek'' is a 1968 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Vincent McEveety and starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda, the latter in his first of two roles that year as a villain (the second being Sergio Leone's ''Once Upon a ...

'' (1968) (stunts) (uncredited) ** '' Heaven with a Gun'' (1969) (stunts) (uncredited) ** ''

The Cowboys ''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the sam ...

'' (1972) (stunts) (uncredited) ** '' Once Upon a Texas Train'' (1988) (TV) (stunt coordinator) *Director: ** ''The Young Rounders'' (1966) ** ''Born to Buck'' (1966; and producer)

Tributes

* Annual Casey Tibbs Ramona Roundup in

* 28-foot-tall bronze likeness,

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, p ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

Ian Tyson Ian Dawson Tyson (25 September 1933 – 29 December 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who wrote several folk songs, including " Four Strong Winds" and " Someday Soon", and performed with partner Sylvia Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. Ea ...

wrote a song about Tibbs for the album ''I Outgrew the Wagon'' * Mentioned in the film ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American action comedy road film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. The film marks the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham ...

'' * Mentioned in the film ''Cotter'' * Mentioned in the

Chris LeDoux Christopher Lee LeDoux (October 2, 1948 – March 9, 2005) was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor, and hall of fame rodeo champion. During his career, LeDoux recorded 36 albums (many self-released), which have sold mor ...

song "Back when we was kids". * Cole Elshere plays the role of Casey Tibbs in "Floating Horses – The Life of Casey Tibbs". * In 1979, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, the highest honor in rodeo.

Honors

*1955

Rodeo Hall of Fame The National Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. ...

of the

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native American art works and Artifact (archaeology), artifacts. The facility also has the worl ...

*1976 South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame *1979

*2001 Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame *2002 Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame *2004 Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame *2010

Texas Trail of Fame The Texas Trail Hall of Fame is a cowboy hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas. Established in 1997, the building is located at 130 E. Exchange Avenue, in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District of the city. The hall honors individuals ...

*2018 California Rodeo Salinas Hall of Fame *2024 PBR Ty Murray Top Hand Award

In popular culture

Mentioned in "Life of a Rodeo Cowboy", recorded by

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

, written by

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...

. The song ''Casey Tibbs'', also known as ''Casey the Rainbow Rider'', by

. The song "Legend Known as Casey", by Kyle Evans The song ''Tibbs'' by cowboy singer/songwriter Matt Robertson. Also mentioned in Robertson's ''Bronc Star''. Mentioned in the film ''

''. While discussing their different interests, Bandit asks Frog, "Do you know who Casey Tibbs is?"

References

External links

Casey Tibbs bio from his own website

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tibbs, Casey 1929 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American male actors All-Around American male film actors American male television actors Bareback bronc riders Deaths from bone cancer in California Deaths from lung cancer in California Male actors from South Dakota People from Ramona, San Diego County, California People from Stanley County, South Dakota ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees Saddle bronc riders