Joe Bowman (marksman)
Encyclopedia
Joe Bowman, born Joseph Lee Bowman (April 12, 1925 – June 29, 2009), was a Houston
bootmaker
and marksman
called "The Straight Shooter", considered to have been a guardian of Texas
and western
frontier culture. Shortly after his death, Bowman was inducted posthumously into the Texas Heroes Hall of Honor at the Frontier Times Museum
in Bandera
, along with museum
founder J. Marvin Hunter
and folklorist J. Frank Dobie
.
in East Tennessee
. He was reared in Asheville
, in western North Carolina
, where he and his brother, Mark, Jr., watched Tom Mix
and Gene Autry
films as boys. When he was twelve in 1937, Bowman moved with his parents to Houston, where his father procured work as an auto mechanic
and as a place of potential relief for young Mark’s asthma
. Young Bowman learned to shoot flies off the garbage can with BB gun
s. At the age of fifteen, he began apprenticeships with Roy Smith Boots and Palace Boots in downtown Houston. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts of America
during his formative years in Houston and attained their highest rank of Eagle Scout
.
In 1943, he graduated from Sam Houston High School in Houston and was drafted into service during World War II
, during which he was severely injured by a land mine
and blown against a tree while stringing telephone lines for the Allies down a steep hill during the German occupation of France. He received three Bronze stars and a Purple Heart
for his service as a combat infantryman in a US Army communications squadron in France
during World War II. After the war, Bowman returned to Houston, where he attended the University of Houston
for two years before he opened Bowman and DeGeorge Boot Shop in Rice Village. He toured alone as “The Straight Shooter.”
and rifle
at gun shows and rodeo
s throughout the United States
. One celebrated act involved lighting two candles on each side of an ax blade. He then fired a .22 caliber rifle at the leading edge of the ax blade, split the bullet with a rifle shot, and the two pieces of the bullet extinguished the candle flames. He also routinely split playing cards in half with the same technique and had the accuracy to blast tiny saccharine tablets into powder, which were actually smaller than the .22 caliber bullet itself. He also performed for King Hussein in Jordan, the ruling family of Kuwait
and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
. Bowman was sought out by law enforcement agencies around the world to give specialized firearm instruction and taught police Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) teams and Federal Bureau of Investigation
(F.B.I.) teams the techniques of “instinct shooting”. Based in Houston, site of the Johnson Space Center, Bowman entertained American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts and he performed in the world famous Houston Astrodome many times. He also gave sharpshooting exhibitions at such events as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
.
Bowman’s marksmanship drew the attention of Roy Rogers
, John Wayne
, Jock Mahoney
, James Garner
, James Drury
, Sammy Davis, Jr.
, and Dan Pastorini
, former quarterback
of the Houston Oilers. Drury, a Houston resident and co-star of NBC’s The Virginian
western television series from 1962–1971, told The New York Times
, “I’ve seen fast, I’ve seen faster, I’ve seen fastest, and then I’ve seen Joe Bowman.” Bowman’s son, Mark Bowman, of Austin, Texas
said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle
that his father “loved an era of bygone days and lived by that code. We lost a part of Houston’s heritage and a great guardian of Texas culture and history.” Until the last days of his life, Bowman took part in shooting exhibitions. Pastorini called Bowman “probably one of the most unselfish men I’ve ever met. He had a heart of gold and whenever you needed him, he was always there. He always had time for kids and charities … to talk about his gunslinging and his adeptness at handling a weapon,” Pastorini told The Chronicle.
In 1989, on the occasion of the death of his close friend, actor/stuntman Jock Mahoney
, Bowman issued a stirring tribute written by Mahoney entitled "Coming Home", preserved on Bowman's Internet
site. Mahoney starred in the former CBS western Yancy Derringer
. The poem was read in 1990 in Studio City, California
, by Jock Mahoney's widow, Autumn, at a memorial tribute to Mahoney, who died at seventy of a stroke
prompted by a road accident in Washington State.
Bowman made two pairs of boots for Roy Rogers
, which are displayed in the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson
, Missouri
. In the early 1960s, Bowman ended his bootmaking business and concentrated on his western show in which he wore a ten-gallon hat, an embroidered shirt and leather boots. He was a consultant to actor Robert Duvall
for his role as Augustus "Gus" McCrae, patterned on the legendary Texas cattleman Oliver Loving
, in the screen adaptation of Larry McMurtry
's classic Western Lonesome Dove. He taught Duvall how to use a Walker revolver, once a favorite of the Texas Rangers
.
He also took Duvall to Bowman's favorite boot shop (Wheeler Boot Company) in Houston and introduced him to bootmaker Dave Wheeler, where the iconic boots Duvall wore as Gus were crafted.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
purchased several of Bowman's custom fast draw holsters and two sets of Bowman's custom retooled Ruger Blackhawk
single action revolvers, with extremely intricate engraving and the legendary "smooth" action on the trigger hammer, early in the 1960s. There is film circulating of Bowman and Sammy Davis, Jr.
practicing fast draw against each other on a film set in Nevada during the Rat Pack
era of the late 1950s. Bowman also designed and created several pivoting, reinforced competition Western fast draw holsters that created a paradigm shift in competition fast draw, resulting in faster competitive draw times in the late 1950s and early 1960s competitions. Into his 80's, Bowman still designed boots, belts and holsters for his friends, leaving seven decades of artisan expertise and master craftsmanship as his legacy.
in his sleep at a hotel
in Junction
, the seat of Kimble County in central Texas, where he and his wife of seventeen years, Betty Reid-Bowman, had stopped for the evening while en route to their home in Houston following an exhibition trip to Albuquerque
, New Mexico
. Mrs. Bowman said that her husband had been in good health though he wore a pacemaker
. He was "soft-spoken and he was a man’s man," his widow told The Chronicle.
In addition to his wife and son, Bowman was survived by a daughter, Jan Bowman of Dallas
, Texas; a daughter-in-law, Charlene Bowman of Austin, Texas
and his brother, Mark M. Bowman, Jr., of Denver
, Colorado
. Bowman's father, brother, and son have the same names. In 1954, Bowman married the former Betty Fruge', (a Houston model and local TV star of the 50's Houston television show "Fashions in Motion"), who despite the lack of background with weaponry but with Bowman's tutelage, became the U.S. & North American female fast-draw champion. She appeared as the episode subject in 1962 on CBS's former quiz show
, To Tell the Truth
. The marriage ended in 1968 in divorce
. Bowman is interred at Forest Park Lawndale in Houston.
In an interview in 1992 with the Houston Chronicle, Bowman lamented the passing of television westerns and culture: "So much of what I do is for the adults, reminding them of their childhood. What I remember is the morality of the westerns and of the cowboy
s. That’s all that westerns were: morality plays, where there was good and evil. Now look at the movies and on TV: good can be bad, there’s no distinct line. I don’t think kids learn from that."
In 2006, the official State of Texas sculptor, Edd Hayes, did an extremely lifelike bronze of "Joe Bowman – The Straight Shooter" to commemorate his lifetime of achievement. Bowman was appointed "Texas Ambassador of Goodwill" by 4 Texas governors. He was also named international spokesman for Sturm, Ruger, & Co., Inc. and was asked by Bill Ruger, Sr. to star in a nationally televised safety message campaign for "old model" single action revolvers. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated recently introduced a limited edition "Joe Bowman – Straight Shooter" New Vaquero .45 Caliber revolver into their line of traditional single action revolvers.
United States Senator John Cornyn
(R-Texas) wrote a stirring tribute to Bowman's life and legacy that was published on Sen. Cornyn's website on July 20, 2009. Additionally, in July 2009, The New York Times
, The Washington Post
, The Boston Globe
, The Los Angeles Times, and the Houston Chronicle
, among other respected newspapers around the country all wrote feature tributes on the extraordinary life of this decorated war hero, patriot, historian, celebrated marksman and Western artisan.
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
bootmaker
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
and marksman
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
called "The Straight Shooter", considered to have been a guardian of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
frontier culture. Shortly after his death, Bowman was inducted posthumously into the Texas Heroes Hall of Honor at the Frontier Times Museum
Frontier Times Museum
Frontier Times Museum is a museum of the American West located in Bandera in the Texas Hill Country. The facility was opened to the public in 1933 by the author, historian, and printer John Marvin Hunter .-Museum exhibits:...
in Bandera
Bandera, Texas
Bandera is the county seat of Bandera County, Texas, United States,in the Texas Hill Country, which is part of the Edwards Plateau. The population was 957 at the 2000 census, and according to a 2009 estimate, the population had jumped up to 1,216 people...
, along with museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
founder J. Marvin Hunter
J. Marvin Hunter
John Marvin Hunter was an author, historian, journalist, and printer who founded the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, Texas...
and folklorist J. Frank Dobie
J. Frank Dobie
James Frank Dobie was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range...
.
Early years
Bowman was born to parents Mark McKinley Bowman, Sr. and Margaret Clark Bowman, in Johnson CityJohnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
in East Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He was reared in Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, in western North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, where he and his brother, Mark, Jr., watched Tom Mix
Tom Mix
Thomas Edwin "Tom" Mix was an American film actor and the star of many early Western movies. He made a reported 336 films between 1910 and 1935, all but nine of which were silent features...
and Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
films as boys. When he was twelve in 1937, Bowman moved with his parents to Houston, where his father procured work as an auto mechanic
Auto mechanic
An auto mechanic is a mechanic with a variety of car makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of car. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly...
and as a place of potential relief for young Mark’s asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
. Young Bowman learned to shoot flies off the garbage can with BB gun
BB gun
BB guns are a type of air gun designed to shoot projectiles named BBs after the birdshot pellet of approximately the same size. These projectiles are usually spherical but can also be pointed; those are usually used for bird hunting. Modern day BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel, with a bore...
s. At the age of fifteen, he began apprenticeships with Roy Smith Boots and Palace Boots in downtown Houston. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
during his formative years in Houston and attained their highest rank of Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
.
In 1943, he graduated from Sam Houston High School in Houston and was drafted into service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, during which he was severely injured by a land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
and blown against a tree while stringing telephone lines for the Allies down a steep hill during the German occupation of France. He received three Bronze stars and a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for his service as a combat infantryman in a US Army communications squadron in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during World War II. After the war, Bowman returned to Houston, where he attended the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
for two years before he opened Bowman and DeGeorge Boot Shop in Rice Village. He toured alone as “The Straight Shooter.”
Western entertainer
“The Straight Shooter” performed with pistolPistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
and rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
at gun shows and rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
s throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. One celebrated act involved lighting two candles on each side of an ax blade. He then fired a .22 caliber rifle at the leading edge of the ax blade, split the bullet with a rifle shot, and the two pieces of the bullet extinguished the candle flames. He also routinely split playing cards in half with the same technique and had the accuracy to blast tiny saccharine tablets into powder, which were actually smaller than the .22 caliber bullet itself. He also performed for King Hussein in Jordan, the ruling family of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Bowman was sought out by law enforcement agencies around the world to give specialized firearm instruction and taught police Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) teams and Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(F.B.I.) teams the techniques of “instinct shooting”. Based in Houston, site of the Johnson Space Center, Bowman entertained American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts and he performed in the world famous Houston Astrodome many times. He also gave sharpshooting exhibitions at such events as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston, is the world's largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. It also includes the richest regular-season rodeo event. It has been held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003...
.
Bowman’s marksmanship drew the attention of Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
, James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, James Drury
James Drury
James Child Drury, Jr. is an American actor probably best known for his success in playing the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971...
, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, and Dan Pastorini
Dan Pastorini
Dante "Dan" Anthony Pastorini is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles.-NFL career:...
, former quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
of the Houston Oilers. Drury, a Houston resident and co-star of NBC’s The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
western television series from 1962–1971, told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, “I’ve seen fast, I’ve seen faster, I’ve seen fastest, and then I’ve seen Joe Bowman.” Bowman’s son, Mark Bowman, of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
that his father “loved an era of bygone days and lived by that code. We lost a part of Houston’s heritage and a great guardian of Texas culture and history.” Until the last days of his life, Bowman took part in shooting exhibitions. Pastorini called Bowman “probably one of the most unselfish men I’ve ever met. He had a heart of gold and whenever you needed him, he was always there. He always had time for kids and charities … to talk about his gunslinging and his adeptness at handling a weapon,” Pastorini told The Chronicle.
In 1989, on the occasion of the death of his close friend, actor/stuntman Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
, Bowman issued a stirring tribute written by Mahoney entitled "Coming Home", preserved on Bowman's Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
site. Mahoney starred in the former CBS western Yancy Derringer
Yancy Derringer
Yancy Derringer is an American Western series that ran on CBS from 1958 to 1959, with Jock Mahoney in the title role. It was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed in Hollywood by Desilu Productions...
. The poem was read in 1990 in Studio City, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, by Jock Mahoney's widow, Autumn, at a memorial tribute to Mahoney, who died at seventy of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
prompted by a road accident in Washington State.
Bowman made two pairs of boots for Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, which are displayed in the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. In the early 1960s, Bowman ended his bootmaking business and concentrated on his western show in which he wore a ten-gallon hat, an embroidered shirt and leather boots. He was a consultant to actor Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
for his role as Augustus "Gus" McCrae, patterned on the legendary Texas cattleman Oliver Loving
Oliver Loving
Oliver Loving was a cattle rancher and pioneer of the cattle drive who with Charles Goodnight developed the Goodnight-Loving Trail. He was mortally wounded by Indians while on a cattle drive. Loving County, the smallest county in the United States in population, is named in his honor.Loving was...
, in the screen adaptation of Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
's classic Western Lonesome Dove. He taught Duvall how to use a Walker revolver, once a favorite of the Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
.
He also took Duvall to Bowman's favorite boot shop (Wheeler Boot Company) in Houston and introduced him to bootmaker Dave Wheeler, where the iconic boots Duvall wore as Gus were crafted.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
purchased several of Bowman's custom fast draw holsters and two sets of Bowman's custom retooled Ruger Blackhawk
Ruger Blackhawk
The Ruger Blackhawk is a 6-shot or 8-shot, single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths.-History:In the early 1950s, Westerns were popular in movies and television...
single action revolvers, with extremely intricate engraving and the legendary "smooth" action on the trigger hammer, early in the 1960s. There is film circulating of Bowman and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
practicing fast draw against each other on a film set in Nevada during the Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
era of the late 1950s. Bowman also designed and created several pivoting, reinforced competition Western fast draw holsters that created a paradigm shift in competition fast draw, resulting in faster competitive draw times in the late 1950s and early 1960s competitions. Into his 80's, Bowman still designed boots, belts and holsters for his friends, leaving seven decades of artisan expertise and master craftsmanship as his legacy.
Death and legacy
Bowman died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in his sleep at a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Junction
Junction, Texas
Junction is a city in and the county seat of Kimble County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,618 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, the seat of Kimble County in central Texas, where he and his wife of seventeen years, Betty Reid-Bowman, had stopped for the evening while en route to their home in Houston following an exhibition trip to Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. Mrs. Bowman said that her husband had been in good health though he wore a pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
. He was "soft-spoken and he was a man’s man," his widow told The Chronicle.
In addition to his wife and son, Bowman was survived by a daughter, Jan Bowman of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas; a daughter-in-law, Charlene Bowman of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and his brother, Mark M. Bowman, Jr., of Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Bowman's father, brother, and son have the same names. In 1954, Bowman married the former Betty Fruge', (a Houston model and local TV star of the 50's Houston television show "Fashions in Motion"), who despite the lack of background with weaponry but with Bowman's tutelage, became the U.S. & North American female fast-draw champion. She appeared as the episode subject in 1962 on CBS's former quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
, To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
. The marriage ended in 1968 in divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. Bowman is interred at Forest Park Lawndale in Houston.
In an interview in 1992 with the Houston Chronicle, Bowman lamented the passing of television westerns and culture: "So much of what I do is for the adults, reminding them of their childhood. What I remember is the morality of the westerns and of the cowboy
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 traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s. That’s all that westerns were: morality plays, where there was good and evil. Now look at the movies and on TV: good can be bad, there’s no distinct line. I don’t think kids learn from that."
In 2006, the official State of Texas sculptor, Edd Hayes, did an extremely lifelike bronze of "Joe Bowman – The Straight Shooter" to commemorate his lifetime of achievement. Bowman was appointed "Texas Ambassador of Goodwill" by 4 Texas governors. He was also named international spokesman for Sturm, Ruger, & Co., Inc. and was asked by Bill Ruger, Sr. to star in a nationally televised safety message campaign for "old model" single action revolvers. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated recently introduced a limited edition "Joe Bowman – Straight Shooter" New Vaquero .45 Caliber revolver into their line of traditional single action revolvers.
United States Senator John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
(R-Texas) wrote a stirring tribute to Bowman's life and legacy that was published on Sen. Cornyn's website on July 20, 2009. Additionally, in July 2009, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, The Los Angeles Times, and the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, among other respected newspapers around the country all wrote feature tributes on the extraordinary life of this decorated war hero, patriot, historian, celebrated marksman and Western artisan.