Customer Reviews

Charlie King: We Called Him "Blackie"

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When you think of great badman in films during the '30s and '40s, hands down the name is "Blackie" alias Charlie King. In fact author Bobby J. Copeland's latest book is titled "Charlie King - We called him "Blackie", comprehensive in depth behind the scenes of the baddest of the badmen. We saw him through the eyes of such heroes as Buster Crabbe, Johnny Mack Brown, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Dave O'Brien, Tex Ritter and Bob Steele. Bob Steele and Blackies fight scenes were a joy to watch, classic moves that actually looked so real ~ you could feel the punch in the fifth row where I was sitting.

Copeland takes the reader into the life and times of King through sections ~ Where Are The Ashes?, How Many Times Did Charlie Play "Blackie"?, Some of Charlie's Classic Moments, They Worked with Charlie King, They're Writing About Charlie King, The Fans Speak Up for Charlie, Conclusion, Charles King's Sound Filmography, King's Silent Features, Index of Film Companies, Photo Gallery, About the Author as we salute one of the premiere B-Western badmen.

This book includes so many great photos. Also the truth about Charlie's death...including his death certificate...comments by noted Western Film Historians...remarks by co-workers...writers' opinions of Charlie's acting and his career...Cowboys with whom he worked...studios that employed him...filmography. King also worked in silent films, may have also appeared as an extra in the 1915 film "The Birth of a Nation"...if you have a copy look for Charlie. Charlie King certainly left us with many wonderful memories up there on the big screen. One of the great scene stealers, as he got heavier he looked tougher and more menacing. I would put Charlie King up there with Roy Barcroft and Harry Woods...who is number one, is a toss up. Oh, I'm one of the lucky fans who had my book autographed by the author Bobby J. Copeland, gotta love it!

Total Pages: 112 ~ Empire Publishing Inc #0-944019-40-4 ~ (1/31/2003)

Unquestionably, author Bobby J. Copeland has filled in a gap in B-Movie western film scholarship with this sketchy but insightful look at the life of a veteran badman who mixed it up with some of the greats in B-Movie western circles. The biggest problem with Copeland's book is simply the dearth of information about Charlie King. I wasn't around when B-Movie westerns galloped across the silver screen like the shaggy buffalo that once roamed the western plains. Nevertheless, I have been watching these art-ifacts with great interest and Charlie King is one of the unsung cowboy bad guys. If you get around to watching these novelty items from the past, Charlie King throws a long shadow over the B-movie westerns. Copeland's book isn't so much the work of an objective cinematic scholar, but he does answer many questions about the little known life of King. Deplorably, Charlie King emerges as a pathetic figure behind-the-scenes. According to Copeland's research, King was an alcoholic who borrowed money from his friends but rarely repaid them; his wife would accompany him to the studio to pick up his paycheck before he drank it away. As sad as these revelations are to learn about this fabulous character actor, "Charlie King: We Called Him 'Blackie'" stands as a tribute to one of the top heavies in the B-Western business. Copeland's filmography of King is useful; this actor appeared in 300 B-movie westerns. Wherever Charlie King is now, he would be grateful to know that this nifty little tome qualifies as a tribute to a badman. Mind you, this isn't an exercise in scholarship with footnotes galore, but it's the nuggets of information that make it a useful contribution to field of criticism that sorely lacks substance. I doubt that this brief biography can be surpassed and I know that it cannot be overlooked by serious B-Movie western history. Anybody that wants to catch up on the life and times of B-Movie cowboys will get their money's worth out of this unique text.

Book's too small for the money; unfortunately the only one written about him on the market.

Actually, we called him "Fatty". When I was a kid in the 1950's our small town theater still showed the old westerns on Sat. When we played cowboys one of us would have to be "Fatty". It was usually a neighbor boy named Teddy ,who could have whupped us in real life but didn't mind playing the bad guy and getting beat up in our pretend fist fights. The book is great and well researched. God bless Mr. Copeland for his good work.

I wasnt old enough to have seen these western B's in the saturday morning theatre shows, but I saw them on tv in the 50's on Sheriff Scotty's and Capt. Ozie Waters afternoon shows. Loved Buster, Lash, Tex et al., and loved to hate Charlie King. I recently recieved Buster Crabbe and Bob Steele's compilation of Billy the Kid videos, a pure pleasure, and up pops Charlie in almost all of them. Ive never forgot him over the years, he wuz baaaaaaaad. I got curious about him and hopped on the net when I found this book.
I really enjoyed the pictures and comments from people that worked with him. I never realized what a great athelete he was in those fights, but looking at them again, he was really graceful. I didnt know that he was the coreographer in these fisticuffs.
I was a little dissapointed in the lack of biographical material, life growing up, after his career terminated. So sad to see that things turned out bad for old Charlie. But as Mr. Copeland explained, there just wasnt much available and his drinking buddies didnt want to talk, a shame. But Im glad I have this book and I hope it will keep Blackies legacy alive.