May 11th --

We are pleased to announce that a new guest has been added to the festival!  Bob Hoy will be joining us in just a few weeks.

Bob Hoy is equally at home being an actor and a stuntman.  He also brings an unique look at the history of the Lone Ranger - having been a part of two chapters of the Masked Man's legacy!

Bob was a stuntman who doubled forJay Silverheels on some of the episodes of the classic TV series as well as being part of the evil Butch Cavendish gang in the 1980's feature film adventure of the Lone Ranger.

You may also recognize Bob from his regular role appearing as Joe Butler on the TV western, "The High Chapparal".

Bob is looking forward to meeting the fans and guest at this June's festival!

May 10th --

We have unfortunately had another guest cancellation which sometimes occurs as festival time approaches and guests re-evaluate their opportunity to appear.

Fred Foy regrets that he will be unable to attend due to health reasons.  He sends his apologies to his legion of Lone Ranger fans.

April 23rd --

We are saddened to report the recent passing of a previous Memphis guest.  Kay Linaker left us on April 18th at the age of 95.

Ms. Linaker was a guest of the Memphis Film Festival in 2002 - the year we welcomed several co-stars who have worked with Buck Jones.  Her visit and participation in the festival's panel discussions will always be fondly remembered by the fans.

As a character actor, Kay also made numerous appearances in films including being honored for her several appearances in the Charlie Chan series.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to her family and friends. 

Kay Linaker

(1913 - 2008)

April 22nd --

We are pleased to announce another new guest has been added to this year's Festival.  Michael Chapin will be joining us in June to celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Lone Ranger!

Michael Chapin will be sharing his experiences working with Clayton Moore on the classic series in an episode entitled "The Star Witness".

Michael Chapin has also had a lot of experience working with other western film stars as well.  Please check out more information about Michael on the GUESTS PAGE for the latest information !

April 21st --

A very special guest has been added to this year's festival - a guest who brings some unique contributions to the history of the Lone Ranger!

Claudia Barrett, a popular guest who has joined us at Memphis a few years ago, will be joining us again.  

Claudia will have an unique insight into the television exploits of the Masked Man because she had the pleasure of working with both actors who portrayed the Lone Ranger - Clayton Moore in "Colorado Gold" and John Hart in "The Sheriff's Son".

Plan to visit with Claudia this summer!

April 20th --

Unfortunately, we have recently seen a few of our scheduled guests cancel their appearance at this June's festival.  Guest cancellations are a normal situation every film festival must deal with and the Memphis event is no exception.

Dick Beals has announced his cancellation due to a personal conflict.

Delores Fuller has had to cancel her appearance due to a recent health problem.

Lisa Montell has had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict.

Please check back to this site as the festival will soon announce replacements for these guests.

April 16th --

We are really excited to announce that Jack Larson will be joining us at one of the panel discussions during this summer's festival.  He will be appearing via a live phone hook-up in our special Superman panel discussion which will also include his series co-star, Noel Neill in person!

Jack, as everyone knows, played "Jimmy Olsen" in the 50s television series.  In fact, he is the hands-down favorite of every actor who has ever put on the bowtie to play that famous role.

Besides being a regular on the George Reeves series, he appeared in other film projects centered upon the Man of Steel including an episode of "Superboy", "Lois and Clark" and a pivotal appearance in the recent blockbuster film, "Superman Returns".

April 11th --

Another tribute to our departed friend, Mitch Schaperkotter, has been written.

Mitch was a special friend. I actually met him and his wife, Wanda, in the early 1970s before the first film festival was held in Memphis in 1972. He was working with the Post Office but was also showing B western movies and old movie serials at the old Bristol Theater on Summer Ave. in Memphis. In more recent years, we often rode together on the two-hour trip over to Dewey Derrick’s house in North Little Rock on the first Saturday of each month to watch westerns and serials. On those trips we had good conversations about the movies, series and TV shows, Memphis and life in general. As everyone who knew him knows, he was a great fellow to be around and will be greatly missed.
Jimmie Covington, Memphis, TN

April 7th --

The tributes continue to pour in honoring the memory of our dear friend and film festival pioneer, Mitch Schaperkotter.

Here are some of the latest words of tribute we have heard:

Thanks for the info on Mitch.  I spent a good bit of time talking with him when he was at the festivals.  In fact he gave me a tape of some Statler stuff I didn't have and wouldn't charge me a dime.  He was a great loss to the old gang of film collectors.
Jim McNeil, Wilkesboro, N.C

Thanks for the sad news about Mitch Schaperkotter. have lost so many old friends in recent years it seems like I'm living on memories.
Colin Momber, Editor-Publisher, Wrangler's Roost

In addition, we find special tributes being written in the press and on the Internet.  Please feel free to read these obituaries:

John Beifuss Blogsite    (including additional photos of Mitch)

The Memphis Commercial Appeal      (4/5/2008)

April 3rd --

Mitchell Schaperkotter, along with Packy Smith and Wayne Lackey, organized the first Western Film Festival held in Memphis, TN in 1972. He continued to be involved heavily with the festival, through its various incarnations, until as recently as last year. He died after a long illness on April 2nd. He will be buried on Saturday, April 5th.

Mitch and his wife, Wanda, were an integral part of the Memphis Film Festival, as it came to be known in 1980, for a very long time. They were also well-known to western film fans around the country. Mitch has been collecting B western movies since the late 1960s and once managed the Bristol Theatre in Memphis where he would screen them on 35mm. His favorite cowboy was Eddie Dean. Mitch and Wanda got to meet and know Eddie and Dearest Dean very well, and both were frequent visitors to the Memphis festivals.

Mitch had battled many health problems in recent years, but had always come back fighting. He had an endurance and determination that few possessed. His contributions to our festival and to western film collecting generally cannot be measured. He will be greatly missed, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his grieving wife.

Here is what one of his many friends has said about "Big Mitch"..

More about Mitch: He, of course, was a major cog in the operation of the Memphis Film Festival, helping it to run on all cylinders. But, beyond that, however, Mitch often was a conspicious force at Charlotte, Knoxville, and other film conventions. He loved to refer to himself as "The No. 1 Eddie Dean Fan". Along those lines, I'll forever treasure a little gem of a tape I got from him. It is an account of a singing Eddie Dean in great voice as he performed at a California concert with many of his close friends in attendance, including Roy and Dale, Jock Mahoney and the spirit of such greats as Roy Acuff and Jerry Lee Lewis (via the words and music of Eddie Dean). Furthermore, I'll always have images (literally) of Mitch as he mixed it up through the years with his friends and associates for the benefit of my out-dated still camera before digital images came along........................Grady Franklin

March 25th --

2008 - This year will mark the 60th anniversary of the first time MFF guest Noel Neill portrayed her most famous character, girl reporter Lois Lane!

Noel first appeared as Lois in "Superman", the 1948 Columbia serial. Since then, she has gone on to appear in more different film and TV versions of Superman than any other performer!

One of her lesser known associations with this popular character was an appearance she made with Jack "Jimmy Olsen" Larson on a 1991 episode of "Superboy".

One of her co-stars from that episode, Jeffrey Breslauer, will be joining us at this summer's festival to help commemorate Noel's remarkable achievement!

Jeffrey has established a successful career as an actor, a puppeteer, voice actor and many other roles.  We know you will enjoy meeting this remarkable gentleman.

January 20th --

In addition to the exciting guests that will be appearing at this summer's Super-Celebration, many special events are now in the making as well.

Among these events is an exciting opportunity drawing for an authenic craftsman-made replica of the holster set worn by Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger!

Check out the 2008 Events Page for more details!

The flyer for the 2008 Super-Celebration is now available!

Feel free to download copies and print them out!

Help support the show by giving flyers to friends and family you believe will be interested in attending this exciting, fun-filled festival next summer!

MEMPHIS FILM FESTIVAL FLYER (JPG Format)

(Please note that one of these flyers is in PDF format. If you are unable to read it, it may be because your computer is not equipped with a PDF reader program. To download Adobe PDF readerfree, please take the following link.)

Download Adobe Reader

September 3rd --

Highlights of the 2007 show are now available for your enjoyment!

Re-live some of the fun times our attendees had as they celebrated the 100th birthdays of John Wayne and Gene Autry!

In order to relive those memories of this show (or other past shows), click on the Festival Highlights link on the left side menu or simply click here !

August 7th --

Plans are well on the way for the the 2008 show!

It promises to be a fantastic festival as we gather to celebrate the anniversaries of two of America's greatest heroes - the Lone Ranger and Superman!

Superman will be celebrating his 70th anniversary since his first appearance in Action Comics #1 in June, 1938!

The Lone Ranger will be celebrating his 75th anniversary after he made his debut over the radio airwaves on station WYXZ in Detroit on January 2nd, 1933!

Special guests and events are being planned to make this a really SUPER-Celebration!

More details will be available soon so check back often!

Hi-Yo Silver Away!                                                                                     Up, Up and Away!

August 7th --

The latest and most complete book on the movie and television career of Gene Autry is now available to all his fans!

Authored by noted western film historian Boyd Magers, this book has been exhaustively researched using resources at Gene Autry Enterprises.  Much of this material has never been previously published.

For more information about this book including how to order an autographed copy at a discounted rate, please click here!

This is a must for every western film fan's library!

May 27th --

There have been many, many guests who have appeared at the Memphis festival over the past 35 years.  In fact, there have been over 300 guests making over 450 appearances.

Want to relive some memories of those shows?

Or, if you haven't been attending these shows for long, you may want to be surprised by the very impressive list of guests the festival has hosted over the years?

You can do that now - by checking out our new "Past Guests" page.  You can review the list of past guests by festival date or by an alphabetic last name.

Check out this page here - you will be impressed!