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Abilene
Reporter News
One Burleson meets actor who portrayed hero ancestor
By Ken
Ellsworth
October 21, 2006
Don Burleson, an Abilene businessman, finally met
the man he's wanted to meet since 1986, the actor who played the
part of Texas Revolution hero Edward Burleson in the 1986
television movie ''Gone for Texas.''
Don Burleson is Edward Burleson's cousin five times
removed. Edward Burleson was the first person to be honored with a
burial in what was to become the Texas State Cemetery. The man who
played Col. Burleson in the movie is Robert Hoy, a movie actor and
stuntman since 1949. Hoy was in town for the weekend to support
the Dean Smith Celebrity Rodeo at the Taylor County Fairgrounds.
Hoy and Smith, a famed stuntman in western movies, participated in
dozens of movies together.
Don Burleson met Hoy on Friday following a stuntman
forum held at the Expo Center.
''It was a pleasure,'' Burleson said of meeting
Hoy, who still looks like he can ride and act. ''I had been
wanting to shake his hand and talk with him for a long time.''
Hoy said it was his pleasure, too, to meet Burleson
and Burleson's granddaughter, Samantha Burleson, 6. Samantha
seemed a little overwhelmed by the crowd of actors and stunt
performers, all of whom sported the usual western wear of Stetsons
and boots. Some of those included holsters and pistols with their
outfits.
Hoy's own movie career began in 1949 with the movie
''Ambushed'' and his last movie credit is listed as a television
film named ''Detective'' made in 2005. During that span, Hoy
appeared in 136 movies, according to http://www.imdb.com, an
Internet movie database.
According the Handbook of Texas, Edward Burleson (1798-1851),
originally from North Carolina, came to
Texas in 1830, applied for land and was elected lieutenant colonel
of the Austin Municipality militia in 1832. He was a lieutenant
colonel in Gen. Stephen F. Austin's volunteer army and later
became its general. Burleson was a colonel under Sam Houston at
the 1836 battle of San Jacinto, which won Texas' freedom from
Mexico.
He was also an American Indian fighter and in 1837
became brigadier general of the militia established by the First
Congress of the Republic of Texas. He was elected a senator to the
Third Texas Congress, and in 1844 ran for president of the
Republic, but lost to Anson Jones, again according to the Handbook
of Texas.
Copyright
2006, Abilene Reporter News. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.reporternews.com/
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