OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Returning in-person for it is 60th year, The Cowboy will honor individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage through their life and career during the Western Heritage Awards, September 17-18.
Often called the “Oscars of the West,” this black-tie, celebrity-hosted event held at The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum attracts the biggest names in Western literature, music, television and film every year. This year’s ceremony will recognize honorees and inductees from both 2020 and 2021. Inductees include Academy Award winner Robert Duvall and Emmy-nominated Kurt Russell, as well as American country music singer George Strait.
“The West is more than a geographical location; it is a story we tell,” said Natalie Shirley, Museum President and CEO. “For more than a century, writers, musicians and film producers have interpreted the trials and triumphs of the people who built the American West. At The Cowboy, we are pleased to honor the work these men and women have done in telling the great stories of the American West.”
Each award winner and inductee receives a Wrangler, an impressive bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback created by Oklahoma artist Harold T. Holden, a 2017 Hall of Great Westerners inductee.
This year, Woodrow Wilson Woolwine “Woody” Strode (1914-1994), will be the 2021 inductee into the Hall of Great Western Performers along with 2020 inductees Kurt Russell and Neil Oliver “Bing” Russell (1926 – 2003). Inductees into the Hall of Great Westerners for 2020 are Montford T. Johnson (1843 – 1896) and Bennett Richard “Ben” Houston (1929 – 2016). Inductees into the Hall of Great Westerners for 2021 are Matthew “Bones” Hooks (1867 – 1951) and Mel O. Potter.
The 2021 Western Heritage Awards will also recognize R. W. Hampton and the 2020 awardee John Scott with the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award. Named in honor of the Museum’s founder, this award is bestowed on a living honoree who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Western values and ideals.
Singer and songwriter George Strait will receive the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award and actor Robert Duvall will receive the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. Both honorees will also receive a commemorative three-piece Western buckle set created by Traditional Cowboy Arts Association silversmiths Scott Hardy and Beau Compton.
“Our institution began as The National Cowboy Hall of Fame over 60 years ago and we are happy to carry on that legacy through the Western Heritage Awards and through our Museum’s Hall of Great Westerners and Hall of Great Western Performers,” said Shirley. “We look forward to honoring great men and women of the West for years to come as we continue to provide space for people to remember and interact with the stories so many of us have come to cherish.”
Due to the overwhelming support of our Inductees, Honorees, their families and sponsors, tickets to the 2021 Western Heritage Awards Induction Ceremony are sold out, but tickets for a special livestream remote dinner held in the Museum’s Annie Oakley Center will be available for purchase and includes access to the cocktail reception preceding the induction ceremony, Saturday, September 18.
The full list of Western Heritage Honorees and Inductees for 2020 and 2021 are listed below. For more information about the 2021 Western Heritage Awards, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/western-heritage-awards.