Mike Dawson |
| Posted 2009-05-06 by Judy Wight Branson |
| Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Saturday, April 25, 2009 Poet, writer, movie stunt man, cavalryman, cowboy, rodeo bronc rider, rancher, husband - Mike Dawson was many things in his 94 years. Mike was born Feb. 10, 1915, in Nolan County, Texas. He died April 22, 2009, in the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Prescott. Mike was born to Irish immigrant stock on his father's side and French on his mother's. One great-uncle, Frank Dawson, was a captain in the Texas Rangers. Mike was first on a horse at three days old. He learned to rope by throwing clothesline on the family chickens, dogs and cats. At 14 he took his first job, as the "cook's louse" or helper, on the Green Land and Cattle Co. ranches. At 17 he went with a shipment of horses to Los Angeles and stayed to work as a horse wrangler for the movies. He met and apprenticed with master stuntman Yakima Canutt and for the next 10 years did stunts in many movies, appearing in films with John Wayne, Tex Ritter, Gabby Hayes, Errol Flynn and Hoot Gibson, including the classic film "Stage Coach." When World War II broke out, Mike enlisted in the horse cavalry and served in the Pacific. After the war he returned to Hollywood and stunt work. While working as a stunt double for Rita Hayworth (Mike's diminutive size resulted in his doing stunts for many ladies) in a scene where a runaway wagon was to go over a cliff, he was seriously injured and spent months in a body cast. He took up a challenge to write scripts and entered a new career: He wrote radio scripts for "Tales of the Texas Rangers" and "The Cisco Kid." Mike also rode broncs during the 1940s and '50s, appearing in rodeos in Arizona, California, Montana and New York's Madison Square Garden. He returned to cowboy work and eventually bought his own ranch near Mingus Mountain, which he operated until 1987. Mike had written many stories and scripts and poems, so when the cowboy poetry gatherings began, he participated as a poet and storyteller. He became known as "Old Griz" and was a popular performer in the Prescott, Sierra Vista and Alpine Texas gatherings. In 2002, Mike married the love of his life, Linda Vandersall, and they moved to Prescott Valley. He is survived by his wife, Linda; her children, Deborah Jones, Bryan Goff and David Stanton; and many, many friends. No service is planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Prescott Valley Senior Center or to Yavapai Food Bank. Information provided by survivors. |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?