RIDIN' THE RANGE
WITH
Frank Stallone
by: Ed G. Lousararian and Joe Wallison
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Three gamblers look over their cards
as a thick cloud of cigar smoke hovers over the table. Conning a
stiff-upper lip that's accompanied by a thick, bushy moustache, Ed
Bailey -- the impatient cowboy of the trio -- awaits with expressed
frustration the arrogant, consumption-ridden player who deliberately
takes his sweet time to make his play. The clock keeps ticking away.
Still, Doc Holliday continues to give his cards a blank stare while
Bailey remains on hold. Finally, and despite knowing that Bailey's
intolerance for annoying poker players is about to peak, Holliday
gleefully displays the winning hand. "Isn't that a daisy?" the coughing
dentist-turned-famed gunfighter taunts with a grimace. Bailey kicks his
own chair out from under him, jumps to his feet, and spouts with
disgust, "Without them guns, you ain't nothing but a skinny lunger!"
Remaining in his seat with cool composure, the passive-aggressive
Holliday attempts to get the hothead's goad with a sarcastic, "Does this
mean we're not friends anymore?" Suddenly the vicious tempers between
the two erupt and an ugly showdown ensues from there. Val Kilmer and Frank Stallone magnificently portrayed Doc Holliday and Ed Bailey respectively -- two real life adversaries on the Old West at the time of Wyatt Earp's short-lived retirement from a lengthy career as a peace officer. The film depicting the historical events surrounding the Earps, Clantons and Doc Holliday (including the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral) was the 1993 instant megahit, Tombstone; and the exchange between Kilmer and Stallone' characters helped set the pace for the onslaught of Western action that was to follow all the way to the ending credits. Frank Stallone -- singer, songwriter/composer, actor, boxing amateur/historian, and Western aficionado -- has been go8ing strong as an entertainer since he was 15 years old, forming his own high school bands and performing in clubs with such acts as Bonnie Raitt and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. In fact, his longest lasting band, Valentine, at on time included lead guitarist John Oates of Hall and Oates. Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stallone (along with older brother, Sylvester) made tracks for New York City where he showcased his talents on numerous street corners and at coffee shops in............................................. |