The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame is an institution that dates back to 1997. With a physical location and museum in Fort Worth, Texas as well as a substantial online presence, the organization seeks to “honor those men and women who have shown excellence in the business and support of rodeo and the western lifestyle in Texas.” Upon its inception, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame was intended to recognize only horsemen and women but has since been expanded to include a range of musicians, professionals, and staples of western film and television.
The latest mainstream entertainment-related addition was television’s cowboy phenomenon, Taylor Sheridan. As creator of mega-hit shows like Yellowstone, it was only a matter of time before The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame saw Sheridan’s induction. There are truly only a handful of non-rodeo people that have been invited to join the museum’s historical halls. What other western film icons managed to make the cut, and what about Sheridan’s body of work made him qualified?

Not Taylor Sheridan’s First Rodeo

In fact, Sheridan himself was raised in Fort Worth. He self-identifies as a cowboy due to his childhood roots, visiting a family ranch in Waco, Texas. There, he properly learned how to be a ranch hand and developed a love for nature. Still, he was the “rare weekend wrangler who was also a theater kid.” Later, Sheridan attended Texas State University for a time before dropping out. He was then discovered by a talent scout and convinced to move to Chicago to pursue acting.

After a substantial acting career that included roles in hits like Veronica Mars, Walker, Texas Ranger, and perhaps most recognizably, Sons of Anarchy, Sheridan decided to shift primarily

to acting/directing after the age of 40
. His first major screenplay was Sicario, directed by Denis Villeneuve. Sheridan also wrote the Best Picture nominated Western Hell or High Water, released the next year.
In 2017, Sheridan created Yellowstone, a smash hit, which ran for five seasons on Paramount+ and has spawned seemily endless spinoffs. Considering the unmatched popularity of the Yellowstone franchise and how much it has revitalized the popularity of western television, it is no wonder he is one of a very select group of writer/actor/directors to be selected for the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. To this day, Sheridan lives in Weatherfod, Texas and owns a 350,000 acre ranch.
George Straight Was Bit by the Acting Bug

Warner Bros.

George Straight, of course, is most lauded as a country musician. It is certainly his status as the “King of Country Music” that likely earned him his place among the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees. He has always been synonymous with cowboy culture, and his farewell tour was even called “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour.”

However, many do not know that

Straight had a stint as an actor as well.
His film debut was playing himself in the 1982 action-thriller The Soldier. A decade later, Straight embarked into leading man territory as Wyatt “Dusty” Chandler in Pure Country, a dramatic film about the plight of a country singer. Pure Country would go on to become a trilogy of movies, of which Straight would also feature in the sequel as himself.
Additionally, Straight voiced a character named Cornell in a 2003 episode of King of the Hill, and has made other regular appearances in various western-themed films and television. Straight was also added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025. Like Sheridan, Straight was born in Texas (Poteet) and attended college in-state (Southwest Texas State University).

Related

After ‘Yellowstone,’ Netflix’s New Dark and Ultra-Violent Western Thriller Is a Must-Watch

Those missing the Dutton family from ‘Yellowstone’ won’t want to pass up Netflix’s newest series, ‘American Primeval.’

Tommy Lee Jones: Texas Legend

Also hailing from Texas (perhaps this is some sort of unspoken requirement),

Tommy Lee Jones is probably the most recognizable actor on the list
of Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees. His father was a cowboy and Jones owns two ranches to this day. Jones has a rather impressive background, having attended Harvard on a scholarship where he befriended future vice president Al Gore and played on the Harvard Football team, even helping to beat Yale in the “most famous Ivy League football game in history.”
Jones moved to New York to become an actor after college. He starred in a variety of projects over the course of his illustrious career, which saw him earn an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and several SAG awards. As far as his on-screen cowboy contributions go, significant examples include the Coen Brothers’ Best Picture winning No Country for Old Men and The Coal Miner’s Daughter, a biopic about country music legend Loretta Lynn. Jones is also a member of both the Texas Film Hall of Fame and the Hall of Great Western Performers.
Lonesome Cowboys

There are other performers that have become Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame members over time, but again, not many. Sheridan’s addition was in 2021. Prior to Sheridan, Jones was inducted in 2009. Not many actors, directors, or creatives outside the rodeo space have been added since. Barry Corbin, an actor whose notable credits include a starring role on the television show Northern Exposure as well as roles in Yellowstone, The Ranch,

and in films like Urban Cowboy
, was added in 2009. Buck Taylor (Gunsmoke), Pam Minick (Cowboy Up), and Red Steagall (Benji the Hunted) are the only other actors on the list. Neither the 2024 or 2025 batch of inductees saw any entertainment-based cowboys make the list, but looking forward, western movie fans can hold out hope that more than just wranglers will hold the reins.