At the height of his pro-rodeo career, about 1955, Gerald became a stunt man in Hollywood in the old television and motion picture westerns. In those days, there weren't stunt men who could ride bulls and bucking horses so Hollywood turned to the best Pro Rodeo Cowboys of the day.
Gerald's first movie role was doubling for Arthur Kennedy in the movie
The Lusty Men.
Gerald also worked with such actors as Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon, doubling for Lemmon in the movie, Cowboy.
Gerald's trained "falling horse" was also in the movie.
Gerald played two parts in Cowboy:
a Cowboy (as Lemmon's stunt double) and the Indian who chases him. The Indian is shot by Gerald playing Lemmon's character. You could say, Gerald shot himself in the movie!
Despite the glamour of Hollywood, Gerald feels that becoming a stunt man might have hampered his rodeo career. Had he not been tied up in Hollywood, he could have entered more rodeos and potentially won more championships.
Television
He also worked on television westerns such as Gunsmoke, Maverick, Have Gun Will Traveland Rin Tin Tin, in which Gerald played both the Cowboy and the Indian again. He had a speaking role in the television mystery series, Boston Blackie, in which Gerald, who played a farm kid with two blood hounds, is hired to help track down the bad guy. When they find the "bad guy," Gerald's character is surprised at who he turns out to be and exclaims, "Him?," in amazement. Gerald laughs at this one-liner as he ponders over how many ways there are to say that one word! "There's a thousand ways to say, 'Him?,'" Gerald says with a chuckle.
In 1958, Gerald was offered a role in the pilot series of Rawhide
but turned it down to go to Brussels with Casey Tibbs to help develop a wild west show.
Books
Anything on the history of Rodeo
Heroes
My brother, Ken Roberts, 3 time bull riding champion
Gerald Roberts - Twice All-Around World Champion Rodeo Cowboy
Gerald rode in three rodeo events: bull riding, bareback riding and saddlebronc riding, the latter being his favorite. His rodeo career spanned three decades from the mid-1930's to 1966. He won his first title in 1942, at the age of 22, and his second in 1948. He won the North American Calgary All-Around Championship at the Clagary Stampede in Alberta in 1950. He claims the Calgary All-Around as the highlight of his career because every event had to be worked in order to win it.
He donated the huge trophy that he won in Calgary to the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In 1965, Gerald became an original inductee in the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1990, Gerald was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, along with Lane Frost. Gerald
is the first and only cowboy to ever be inducted into the Kansas All-Sports Hall of Fame. On July 31, 2005, Gerald Roberts was inducted into the Kansas Cowboy Hall Of Fame on July 31, 2005 in Dodge City, Kansas.
He is one of only 16 rodeo cowboys in the history of Professional Rodeo to win multiple All-Around World Champion titles. He is the only Professional Rodeo Cowboy to ever win an All-Around title under two associations: he won the first title under the Turtle Association in 1942 and the second under The Rodeo Cowboy Association in 1948. He was recently named #43 of the top 50 athletes of the 20th Century from Kansas by Sports Illustrated.
He's also been featured in numerous books and magazines, including Life Magazine, Pro Rodeo Sports News, Cowboys and Indians and American Cowboy, to name a few. Gerald was the very first Professional Rodeo Cowboy to endorse Wrangler Jeans. Blue Bell, Inc. began making western pants, called Wranglers, in 1947. In 1948, to win the acceptance of rodeo cowboys and spectators, Blue Bell paid Gerald to wear and promote the new brand. Each pair included a small comic book. Wranglers became one of Pro Rodeo's largest corporate sponsors.
Gerald and Casey Tibbs were the first Rodeo Cowboys to start flying between rodeos. In 1947, "we went to renting airplanes and we were making two and three rodeos in a week, sometimes four. But, everybody was cussing us because we'd show up at a rodeo here and a rodeo there. We were actually the ones who started it and it wasn't long until everybody was doing it." Before their airplane mastermind, one or two rodeos a week was about all a cowboy could make.
In a twin engine cessna, Gerald, Casey Tibbs, Bill McMacken, Jack Bushbom and Bill Coffee, the pilot, headed out from Sidney, Iowa on their way to Los Angeles. About twenty-two miles east of Denver, they had flown into a storm. There was no place to land because all the airports were snowed in. They stayed in the air as long as they could but when they started to run out of gas, they had to make a crash landing in a wheat field at 2 o'clock in the morning. It was pitch black and they couldn't see a thing. Right before they hit the ground, the pilot turned on the landing lights and there was a windmill right in front of them! The pilotswerved "that thing just enough to miss the windmill and we hit in one field and bounced into a fence and over a ditch, skidded across the road, and into another wheat field." All five of them walked away without
a scratch. Twenty miles from anywhere, they picked up their saddles and started walking. Casey Tibbs went back to the plane to recover a bottle of whiskey to keep them all warm for their journey. "It was gone before we'd walked a mile," Gerald says, smiling. I guess that's a pretty good story," Gerald proclaims with a grin. I guess those cowboys showed that airplane they could "ride" that too!
Who I'd like to meet:
Gerald Roberts - Pro Rodeo Cowboy's Friend Space (Top 24)
WWW.GREENSBURGTORNADO.COM On May 4th, 2007 Greensburg, Kansas was hit by a EF-5 tornado 1.7 miles wide with a wind speed of 205 MPH. 95% of the beautiful town was wiped out. Many Lives, homes, businesses, vehicles etc..were lost! The people of Greensburg are rebuilding their town one day at a time. They are strong people going through tough times! Please pray for them! For more info on helping the victims of the tornado disaster in Greensburg, Kansas. please Visit: www.unitedwayplains.org. ....The first tornado warning with this cell was issued at 8:35 p.m. CDT for Clark County, Kansas. Several storm chasers captured the formation of a tornado southwest of Greensburg around 9:30 PM CDT. The tornado apparently strengthened as it neared Greensburg, and at 9:38 PM CDT, storm chasers reported that it had grown to over 1/2 mile (0.8 km) in diameter. Several satellite tornadoes were observed as the monstrous wedge approached the town of Greensburg. The tornado plowed through the city shortly after it was intercepted by storm chasers. It was an estimated 1.4 miles in diameter and producing winds reaching an estimated 205 mph (indicative of EF-5 strength). The town mayor would later state that 95% of his community had been damaged or completely demolished; Memorial Hospital sustained heavy damage (as many as 30 people may have initially been trapped inside). A motel on the west edge of town, two schools, a tractor supply company, the Greensburg City Hall and other businesses fell victim to the violent winds. The city's water tower was completely toppled and smashed. The Big Well which is the world's largest hand-dug well was also affected with the visitor's center being completely destroyed. Train cars were also reported to be overturned and hazardous materials teams were called to inspect the wreckage. Visit kansas.com ksn.com & kak
On behalf of all of Gerald's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, I created this MySpace page to honor not just the extraordinary professional rodeo career he lived but also to honor the man whom we adored . . . the best and most loving granddad ever. We love you and miss you greatly.
At the height of his pro-rodeo career, about 1955, Gerald became a stunt man in Hollywood in the old television and motion picture westerns. In those days, there weren't stunt men who could ride bulls and bucking horses so Hollywood turned to the best Pro Rodeo Cowboys of the day. 
Gerald also worked with such actors as Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon, doubling for Lemmon in the movie, Cowboy. 
Gerald and Casey Tibbs were the first Rodeo Cowboys to start flying between rodeos. In 1947, "we went to renting airplanes and we were making two and three rodeos in a week, sometimes four. But, everybody was cussing us because we'd show up at a rodeo here and a rodeo there. We were actually the ones who started it and it wasn't long until everybody was doing it." Before their airplane mastermind, one or two rodeos a week was about all a cowboy could make.
