2023 Exhibit

 

 

Thanks for joining us July 8-Aug. 19 at Town Hall for the Southlake Historical Society’s ninth annual exhibit: “Lonesome Dove, the miniseries: Dramatic photographs by Bill Wittliff.”

The 55 framed photographs in the exhibit were shot on location by Texas legendary screenwriter and the miniseries’ executive producer, Bill Wittliff. In the library downstairs were rare and authentic western saddlebags, spurs, lariats and more.

The traveling exhibit — part of the permanent Wittliff Collections at Texas State in San Marcos — was sponsored by Humanities Texas, a nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

See below to read and hear fascinating stories about the miniseries and Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer-prize winning novel, Lonesome Dove.

Crossing the Rio Grande, copyright 1988, Bill Witliff
On the Mesa, copyright 1988, Bill Wittliff

There’s So Much to Lonesome Dove

Readers and viewers alike continue to be captivated by the Lonesome Dove saga and its characters, be it the book or the miniseries. Some consider the miniseries to be the best western of all time.

There are a number of audio and video interviews with the author about his book, such as this 1995 NPR of Larry McMurtry with Terry Gross on Fresh Air and this brief question-and-answer session.

There are articles about how Bill Wittliff came to create the miniseries, such as this August 2019 Texas Monthly article by writer John Spong, who wrote: “Wittliff read McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning trail-driving saga when it was published in 1985, and a year later was hired to translate it to the screen.” 

You can find on YouTube interviews with miniseries actors, including this 1996 interview with Robert Duvall, who admits that of all his acting roles, his favorite was Augustus McCrae. 

In March 2016, a Lonesome Dove reunion was held in the Fort Worth Stockyards, bringing together Bill Wittliff and many of the actors including Robert Duvall (Augustus McCrae), Diane Lane (Lorena Wood), Danny Glover (Joshua Deets) and Ricky Schroder (Newt Dobbs). Fort Worth Magazine wrote several articles about the reunion and a few clips can be found on YouTube as well. 

Did You Know?

Larry McMurtry was a graduate of what became the University of North Texas. He chose the title for his novel after seeing a church bus with Lonesome Dove Baptist Church (located in Southlake) on its side. He explains in this undated interview.

Author and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, photographed by Bill Wittliff in this undated photo. Courtesy of The Wittliff Collections, Texas State University
Bill Wittliff, left, had a cameo appearance with Texas writer Bud Shrake as sod busters in the miniseries. Courtesy of The Wittliff Collections
Tommy Lee Jones and Wittliff shared a love for fly-fishing. Courtesy of University Archives, Texas State University

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan said the following about Lonesome Dove in a Fort Worth Magazine article by Brian Kendall: “I had read Lonesome Dove probably five times before I saw the miniseries. But I remember being home before I went off to college and watching it and thinking, ‘I want to make that.’ I didn’t know what form at the time; I just knew I wanted to make that.”

Taylor Sheridan, Courtesy of Crystal Wise