Book excerpt: During the course of a Western movie, the white hat could sing six songs to a beautiful girl, shoot half a dozen cattle rustlers, fight off an Indian attack and still have time to kiss his horse before he rode off into the sunset. Dashing heroes, dastardly villains, lovely ladies in distress and comical sidekicks--this was the formula for the westerns so popular through the fifties and sixties. This nostalgic reference work covers the heroes (90+ western stars), the sidekicks (60+ saddle pals), the cowgirls (60+ leading ladies), the bad guys (40+ villains), plus miscellaneous other players. A biographical sketch and career description with photographs and a filmography is given for each performer.