Leon Claire Metz (November 6, 1930 – November 15, 2020) was an American cultural historian, author, television documentary personality, and lecturer on the American Old West period. Metz presented hundreds of his programs to groups all over the U.S. particularly in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona. Metz also made numerous TV appearances television documentaries most notably, A&E's ''The Real West'' series, which is also shown on ''

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

''.

Early life and career

Metz was born in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's List of municipalities in West Virginia ...

, and graduated from

Parkersburg High School The Parkersburg High School (PHS) is a secondary school located in Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States. It serves grades nine through twelve, and is part of the Wood County School District. As of the 2023-2024 school year, the school has ...

in 1948. He then joined the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He was primarily stationed at

Biggs Army Airfield Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47) On 15 June 1919, following an attack ...

in El Paso, where he was a propeller mechanic, attaining the rank of staff sergeant, which he would later portray in his book ''Fort Bliss: An Illustrated History''. C.L. "Doc" Sonnichsen a noted historian himself, would serve as an early mentor for the young Metz.

Literary and other works

Metz wrote 17 books. His 17 books include: Turning Points in El Paso, Texas, 400 Years of El Paso, El Paso Chronicles, City at the Pass, El Paso Guided Through the Times, Roadside History of Texas, Fort Bliss, Southern New Mexico Empire, John Westly Hardin, Pat Garrett The Story of a Western Lawman, John Selman, Texas Gunman, Dallas Stoudenmyer, The Shooters, Border, Desert Army, Robert McKee Master Builder, and The Encyclopedia of Lawmen, Outlaws, and Gunfighters. , most notably '' John Selman: Texas Gunfighter'' and a biography of Old West lawman

Pat Garrett Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett (June 5, 1850February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender and U.S. Customs, customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Me ...

. Metz also hosted a weekly column in the ''

El Paso Times The ''El Paso Times'' is the newspaper for the US city of El Paso, Texas. The paper is the only English-language daily in El Paso (after the ''El Paso Herald-Post'', an afternoon paper, closed in 1997), but often competes with the Spanish-languag ...

'' and hosted a radio show, ''The Leon Metz Show'' on KTSM, which related to Southwestern U.S. history. He was often seen on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television specials about the west. On June 16, 2012, Metz contributed his voice to an

alternative hip hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...

album entitle
''Greetings from El Paso''
a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

by local

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Zyme One. In 1991, Metz, together with researcher Sylvia Gevália Landeros, created Travel the Pass, a partnership dedicated to exploring and documenting the borderland history of the Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico region. In October 2024, the City of El Paso, Texas, issued a proclamation honoring Metz's numerous works, contributions, and accomplishments; October 22, 2024, is recognized as Leon Metz Travel The Pass Day.

Awards

He was the 2010 Winner of the Ruth Lester Lifetime Achievement Award from th
Texas Historical Commission
This award recognizes an individual who has made a significant, long-term contribution to historic preservation in Texas. In 1985, he was awarded the Saddleman Award.

Personal life and death

Metz, who lived in El Paso, Texas, since the days after his graduation from high school, was married to the former Cheryl Schilling, a speech therapist for

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

children. They have four adult children. Leon Metz died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in El Paso, on November 15, 2020. He had

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metz, Leon Claire 1930 births 2020 deaths United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War American columnists 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Cultural historians Historians of the American West Historical preservationists Parkersburg High School alumni Mass media people from El Paso, Texas Military personnel from Parkersburg, West Virginia Television personalities from West Virginia United States Air Force airmen University of Texas at El Paso people Writers from West Virginia Journalists from Texas Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas Historians from Texas American male non-fiction writers