The Golden Boot Awards were an American acknowledgement of achievement honoring actors, actresses, and crew members who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. The award was sponsored and presented by the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Money raised at the award banquet was used to help finance various services offered by the Fund to those in the entertainment industry. Actor Pat Buttram conceived the idea of the Golden Boot Award, and they were presented annually from 1983 until being discontinued in 2007.

Honorees

1983, The 1st Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Rex Allen * Dick Alexander *

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

* Bruce Boxleitner * Sunset Carson * Eddie Dean * Jack Elam * Dale Evans * Monte Hale * Ben Johnson * Lash LaRue * Nat Levine * Doug McClure * Lee Majors * Clayton Moore * Slim Pickens *

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

* Charles Starrett * Bob Steele * Linda Stirling * Forrest Tucker *

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of spaghetti Westerns, particularly t ...

* Al Wyatt * In Memoriam Award: Will Rogers

1984, The 2nd Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Robert Blake *

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his work such as ''Harlow'' (1965), '' They Shoot Ho ...

* Pat Buttram * Yakima Canutt * John Carradine * Iron Eyes Cody * Chuck Connors * Buddy Ebsen * Jennifer Holt * Michael Landon * Sam Peckinpah * Denver Pyle * Ella Raines * Jane Russell * Peggy Stewart * Dennis Weaver * Marie Windsor * In Memoriam Award: Buck Jones

1985, The 3rd Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Amanda Blake *

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...

* Burt Kennedy * Ricardo Montalbán * Dale Robertson *

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

* Dub Taylor * Robert J. Wilke * Joe Yrigoyen *

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enli ...

1986, The 4th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* James Arness * Carroll Baker * Carl Cotner *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known West ...

* Fred MacMurray * Guy Madison * Jock Mahoney * George Montgomery * Fess Parker * Glenn Randall * Cesar Romero * In Memoriam Award: Tex Ritter

1987, The 5th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Gene Barry * Harry Carey, Jr. * André de Toth * Richard Farnsworth * Rhonda Fleming * Glenn Ford * Robert Livingston * Joel McCrea * Debra Paget * John Russell * Woody Strode * In Memoriam Award: Tom Mix

1988, The 6th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Gene Evans * Stuart Hamblen * Virginia Mayo *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

* Ann Rutherford * Fred Scott *

George Sherman George Sherman (July 14, 1908 – March 15, 1991) was an American film director and Film producer, producer of low-budget Western (genre), Western films. One obituary said his "credits rival in number those of anyone in the entertainment indus ...

* Morgan Woodward * In Memoriam Award: William S. Hart * In Memoriam Award:

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

1989, The 7th Annual Golden Boot Awards

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Ellen Corby Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of List of The Waltons characters#Esther Walton, Esther "Grandma" Walton on the Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS television ...

* Angie Dickinson * Robert Duvall * Robert Fuller * John Ireland * Dick Jones * Paul Malvern * Casey Tibbs

1990, The 8th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Noah Beery, Jr. * Budd Boetticher * Sam Elliott * George Kennedy *

Hal Needham Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American Stunt performer, stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in film ...

* Burt Reynolds * Katharine Ross * In Memoriam Award:

Jay Silverheels Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith; May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Mohawk people, Mohawk actor and athlete, descended from three Iroquois nations. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the ...

1991, The 9th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* John Agar * Polly Burson * Anthony Caruso * Alice Faye *

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

* Brian Keith * Andrew V. McLaglen *

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Western (genre), Western television series ' ...

* Maureen O'Hara * In Memoriam Award: Harry Carey

1992, The 10th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Rand Brooks * Arthur Gardner * Richard Jaeckel * Katy Jurado * Arnold Laven * Jules Levy * Pierce Lyden * A. C. Lyles * Ann Miller * Montie Montana *

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Tom Selleck * Alice Van Springsteen * John Sturges * Henry Wills * Sheb Wooley * In Memoriam Award: Tim Holt

1993, The 11th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Chuck Courtney *

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

* Jack Palance * Buck Taylor *

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

* In Memoriam Award: William Boyd

1994, The 12th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Paul Brinegar * Bill Catching * James Coburn * Gail Davis * Joanne Dru *

Walter Hill Walter Hill (born January 10, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western (genre), Western genre. He has directed such films as ''The Driver'', ''The Warriors (film), The ...

* Robert Mitchum * In Memoriam Award: Pat Buttram

1995, The 13th Annual Golden Boot Awards

James Drury James Child Drury Jr. (April 18, 1934 – April 6, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for having played the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series '' The Virginian'', which was broadcast on NBC from 1962 ...

* Andrew J. Fenady * Bo Hopkins * Bob Morgan * Jane Seymour * Claire Trevor * In Memoriam Award:

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

* Founder's Award:

1996, The 14th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Carroll Baker * Lloyd Bridges * Charles Bronson * Bill Campbell * Joe Canutt * Herb Jeffries * In Memoriam Award:

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

* Founder's Award:

1997, The 15th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Leo Gordon * Charles 'Chuck' Hayward * Anne Jeffreys * Karl Malden * Robert Urich * Clint Walker * In Memoriam Award: Randolph Scott * Founder's Award:

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

1998, The 16th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Adrian Booth Brian * David Carradine * Keith Carradine * Robert Carradine *

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

* John Mantley * Founder's Award: Clayton Moore * Harry Morgan * Dean Smith * In Memoriam Award: Barbara Stanwyck * Patrick Wayne

1999, The 17th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Julie Adams * R. G. Armstrong * David Dortort *

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

* James Garner * Jack Williams * In Memoriam Award:

DeForest Kelley Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999) was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in film and television Western (genre), Westerns and achieved international fame as Dr. Leonard McCoy ...

* Founder's Award: Mary Pickford Foundation and Charles 'Buddy' Rogers

2000, The 18th Annual Golden Boot Awards

Tom Berenger Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in ''Platoon'' (1986). He is also known for playing ...

* Melissa Gilbert * Donna Hall * L. Q. Jones * Howard Koch *

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor and television host. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the America ...

* Founder's Award: Dale Evans * Backbone of the B's Award: Gregg Barton * Backbone of the B's Award: Myron Healey * Backbone of the B's Award:

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 23, 1902) was a United States Army, U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito ...

* Backbone of the B's Award: House Peters, Jr.Clayton Moore: The Lone Ranger
retrieved November 26, 2007

2001, The 19th Annual Golden Boot Awards

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

* Barbara Hale * Alex Cord * Andrew Prine * Loren Janes *

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

* Centennial Award:

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

(presented to his son John Clark Gable) * "Best of the West" Movie: '' Shanghai Noon''

2002, The 20th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Bruce Dern * Peter Fonda *

David Huddleston David William Huddleston (September 17, 1930 – August 2, 2016) was an American actor. An Emmy Awards, Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career, and appeared in many films, including'' Rio Lobo'', ''Blazing Saddles'', '' ...

* Whitey Hughes * Ruta Lee * Stuart Whitman * Ron Soble * Peter Brown * Will Hutchins * Robert Colbert * Roy Huggins * William T. Orr *

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film director, film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serial film, serials: ''Dick Tracy Return ...

* Earl Bellamy * Ted Post * Donna Martell * Marion Shilling *

Ruth Terry Ruth Mae Terry (born Ruth Mae McMahon, October 21, 1920 – March 11, 2016) was an American singer and actress in film and television from the 1930s to the 1960s. She claimed her stage name came from Walter Winchell, who combined the names ...

* Gloria Winters * Marsha Hunt * Honorary Golden Boot: Colt's Manufacturing Company

2003, The 21st Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Tommy Lee Jones * Chris Alcaide * Graham Greene (actor) * Tommy Farrell * Terry Leonard * Sue Ane Langdon *

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

* Michael Dante * Kelo Henderson * William Smith * Charles Champlin * Sons of the Pioneers * "Best of the West" Movie: Tom Selleck for '' Monte Walsh''

2004, The 22nd Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Val Kilmer * Scott Glenn * Randy Quaid * Robert Horton * Pat Hingle * Rob Word * In Memoriam Award: Johnny Mack Brown *

Gale Storm Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...

* Noel Neill * Lois Hall * Elaine Riley * Golden Voice of Radio Award: Fred Foy

2005, The 23rd Annual Golden Boot Awards

* James Caan *

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

* Wilford Brimley * Martha Crawford Cantarini, Stuntwoman *

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former American football, football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' ...

* Phil Spangenberger * Ben Cooper * Encore Westerns Channel * Founder's Award: Jim Rogers * Kids of the West: ** Gary Gray **

Mickey Kuhn Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. (September 21, 1932 – November 20, 2022) was an American actor. He started his career as a child actor, active on-screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the 1930s until the early 1950s. He is noted for ...

** Michael Chapin ** Eilene Janssen ** Johnny Crawford ** Lee Aaker

2006, The 24th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Powers Boothe * Ann-Margret * Wes Studi * Joan Leslie * Leslie H. Martinson, Director *

Buddy Van Horn Wayne "Buddy" Van Horn (August 20, 1928 – May 11, 2021) was an American stunt coordinator and film director. He directed the Clint Eastwood films ''Any Which Way You Can'' (1980), ''The Dead Pool'' (1988), and ''Pink Cadillac (film), Pink Cadi ...

, Stunt Coordinator * Special Tribute: George "Gabby" Hayes * Founder's Award:

2007, The 25th Annual Golden Boot Awards

* Caruth C. Byrd * Lee Horsley * Martin Kove * Walt LaRue, Stuntman *

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

* Eva Marie Saint * Champion Award: Jackie Autry, wife of Gene Autry * Founder's Award:

References

{{Reflist

External links

Golden Boot Awards home pageThe Golden Boot Awards at the Internet Movie DatabaseClyde Lucas Musical Director for The Golden Boots Award Show
List of honorees fro

at B-Westerns.com 1983 establishments in the United States 2007 disestablishments in the United States Acting awards Awards established in 1983 Awards disestablished in 2007 American television awards American film awards Western (genre) films