COSTNER
/ SILVERADO / OJALA COLT 45's
$
MILLION $ DOLLAR $ COLTS $
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**
ATTENTION **
THE
COSTNER/SILVERAD0/OJALA COLT 45's ARE BACK AT THE BUFFALO BILL
HISTORICAL CENTER ON DISPLAY IN THE CODY FIREARMS MUSEUM AT CODY,
WYOMING SO YOU CAN SEE AND ENJOY A REAL PIECE OF "TRUE HOLLYWOOD
WILD WEST HISTORY".
*****************************************
THEY
PRVIOUSLY WERE PART OF THE COLT COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION EXHIBIT
"COLT AND ITS COLLECTORS" HISTORIC DISPLAY AT THE CODY
FIREARMS MUSEUM IN THE BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER IN CODY,
WYOMING MAY 16 THROUGH OCTOBER 6, 2003.
SILVERADO
1985, Columbia
Pictures, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, filmed entirely on location
at the J.W.
EAVES MOVIE RANCH
near Sante
Fe, NM
The Costner/Silverado/Ojala
Colt 45's came from
ARVO OJALA, LEGENDARY
GUN COACH FOR HOLLYWOOD,
in 1987 just after SILVERADO
, a classic modern
day
western, had made it's
successful run in the movie theatres throughout North America
and Canada while later enjoying equal success in Europe and Asia.
These guns were carried and used by Kevin Costner who portrayed a fast and fancy shooting
youthful cowboy named Jake. SILVERADO was
Costner's first hit movie. The guns are pictured in Jerry Hemphill's book "GUNS FROM TEXAS AND THE OLD WEST" and most recently "COLT AND ITS COLLECTORS", the exhibition catalog for COLT: THE LEGACY OF A LEGEND at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center
in Cody, Wyoming produced by THE COLT COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION.
Kevin
Costner has kept everything
concerning himself from each of his movies and has quite a number
of his movie treasures on display at the MIDNIGHT STAR SALOON
(from SILVERADO) a casino/sports-bar/restaurant that
he owns in Deadwood, SD. It is right up the street from SALOON #10 where Wild Bill Hickok was murdered by Jack McCall. I have visited the MIDNIGHT STAR SALOON and Kevin
Costner's displays
are impressive but the costume, gun belt and holsters from SILVERADO are
missing the two
nickle
plated
4-3/4"
Colt Single Action Army
revolvers that he carried in the movie. The guns Kevin Costner
displays at his MIDNIGHT STAR SALOON are props.
COSTNER / OJALA / SILVERADO
are displayed
with full documentation of authenticity from ARVO OJALA, his black double gun
belt and holster rig that he used while coaching KEVIN
COSTNER,
along with items from
the MIDNIGHT
STAR SALOON and pictures
from the J.W.
EAVES MOVIE RANCH. There is even a copy
of the SILVERADO movie script.
Let
me answere some questions that I have been recieving via e-mail:
How did you get the Colts?
I obtained them in October
1987. Arvo was raising money to buy a machine to make the gun
display mounts for a commemorative that was being produced by
one of the "historical
societies"
and he had been awarded the contract to produce the display mounts.
Like many of us, he started selling stuff to raise money for
a business venture. He called me and I bought the Silverado Colts
essentially because he needed the money. Arvo not only made the
mounts for many commemmoratives, he also marketed the mounts
himself. From time to time, you will find them available on ebay.
Arvo also made key rings. He made Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Paladin
and of course Arvo Ojala key rings. Since Arvo's death, I don't
believe anyone is making either the mounts or the key rings.
I have a few of each that I like to show off myself.
Why are they called MILLION
DOLLAR COLTS? Years ago, at one of the gunshows,
two little boys were with their dad looking at the guns. He picked
each one of the awe struck little boys up so they could get a
good look at "Kevin Costner's Colt 45's" and one of
them said to the other "....man, I bet their worth a million
.....". This amusing exchange by two little boys was heard
by several people also looking at the Colts and spread through-out
the gunshow. It was very funny. Many times over the years since,
I would hear ".....Hey, Mike.... I see you still got those
million dollar Colts....." as a greeting instead of just
a hello. So the term "MILLION DOLLAR COLTS" kinda'
stuck like a title or a nick-name or something. I wonder if those
two little boys ever knew that they were responsible for the
many years of good-natured ribbing that I have had to endure.
How much are the COSTNER/SILVERADO/OJALA
COLTS worth? I do not
know, certainly NOT A MILLION but they were priceless as an advertising
tool and our trademark display. Many people looked forward to
seeing them each time they came to the show. A few years ago,
we moved them from the location at the center of the show resulting
in MANY complaints on Saturday when the Colt 45's were not in
the center of the show where people were used to seeing them.
That Saturday night, we put them back in the center and the only
other time they were moved was when they were on loan to the
Colt
Collectors Association
for display at the Buffalo
Bill Firearms Museum
in Cody, Wyoming. THAT
IS HOW IMPORTANT THEY WERE TO OUR EVENT!!!! We announced for
about six-months that the guns would be on loan to the Colt Collectors
Association display just so people would know in advance that
the Colts would NOT be at our shows. Several people attending
our shows stopped to let us know that they saw the display while
traveling out west and visited the museum.
What are you going to do with
them, now that you have sold the gunshow? THE
COSTNER/SILVERAD0/OJALA COLT 45's ARE BACK AT THE BUFFALO BILL
HISTORICAL CENTER ON DISPLAY IN THE CODY FIREARMS MUSEUM AT CODY,
WYOMING SO YOU CAN SEE AND ENJOY A REAL PIECE OF "TRUE HOLLYWOOD
WILD WEST HISTORY". That's
like a gunshow each day getting to see and enjoy the guns. It
would be a shame to keep them locked away in a bank vault where
no one could see and enjoy them.
Are they for sale? No!!
At what price? Not at any price. You can't put a
price on sentiment.
Why are people so interested
in them? Besides being
pleasing to the eye, I believe it is a three-fold reason. First, the Kevin Costner connection. His popularity, the Academy Award and the string
of movie hits and recently, another western classic titled OPEN
RANGE, plus the fact that all of his personal movie possessions
are on public display in the MIDNIGHT STAR with the one exception, these COLT's.
Second, the movie itself. SILVERADO is considered one of the
classic modern day westerns. It made westerns popular again when
it was released in 1985.
Third, the Arvo Ojala connection. Arvo is the LEGENDARY GUN COACH FOR HOLLYWOOD. He
was born February 21, 1920 and raised on a farm where he practiced
shooting rattle snakes in the head. He designed and patented
(US Patent number 2832519) the revolutionary fast draw rig that
ALL are patterned after today. He brought modern day fast and
fancy shooting to Hollywood in the 1950's by coaching almost
all the big name movie and TV stars like FRANK SINATRA, DEAN
MARTIN, JERRY LEWIS, SAMMY DAVIS JR, MARILYN MONROE, JAMES GARNER,
WAYDE PRESTON (COLT 45 - remember him), JAMES ARNESS (Arvo even
managed to get gunned down in the street of Dodge City each week
on GUNSMOKE). HE
EVEN MANAGED TO GET ON THE COVER OF GUNS MAGAZINE WITH MARILYN
MONROE IN JULY 1956, the
list can go on. He
is credited with SINGLE-HANDEDLY
STARTING the sport of
FAST DRAW. If not for the influence of the TV westerns of the
1950's, there would have been no interest in FAST DRAW. Arvo
Ojala revolutionized six-gun totin' technology with his patented
holster design and brought common sense gun handling to Hollywood
feature films and television. He even wrote pamphlets and booklets
on the art of FAST DRAW that are collectors items themselves
today. Sadly, Arvo passed away at his home in Gresham, OR on
July 1, 2005.
There, you have it. They have
a triple-collectability. I hope this satifies your curiosity.
Click here for
more information on "SILVERADO"
Click here for more
information on Kevin Costner
Click
here for more information on THE MIDNIGHT STAR
Click
here for schedule information
