Slim came home

(Last of 4 articles about Lloyd (Arkansas Slim) Andrews

"Arkansas Slim" Andrews is pictured with Tex Ritter in this promotional photograph.
"Arkansas Slim" Andrews is pictured with Tex Ritter in this promotional photograph.

"Slim" Andrews, that funny, talented Arkansawyer who grew up just south of Gravette on the banks of Spavinaw Creek with his wife, Lucille, and son, John, settled in California. He played those funny "sidekick" roles in 15 movies with Tex Ritter, the movie cowboy who "discovered Slim."

Writing a story about Lloyd Andrews (his real name) was easy and yet quite a challenge. I discovered that during our visits during the late 1980s. Much information in this 'cuff is gleaned from that story. Slim, who had many friends in the Gravette area, enjoyed talking about his experiences and the old times. And, like many of us, he had a habit of embellishing the stories "just a bit, sometimes." He would chuckle when I would ask him to verify a date or event. That was just his make-up, which endeared him to so many. He was a simple, yet extremely complex Arkansawyer who always had an honest and encouraging word for everyone.

Slim's talent served him well for more than a decade with roles in western movies. As the B-western era became passé, he had minor roles in some 20 other movies as well as other "singing cowboys" movies, including one with Gene Autry. I forgot that important role in the last 'cuff.

It was probably only natural that he and Lucille would return to their roots: Gravette. However, before that move, he became the old-time "Forty-Niner" on a TV station in Fresno, Calif. It was there he tweaked his program for children. He was a big hit with them as he tailored his jokes and comedy routine to their level, all the while playing those indescribably "musical" instruments including his trusty tire pump and musical saw and, yes, even the washboard. It was on a trip back to Arkansas he heard about an opening on "The Fun Club," a children's program on station KOAM, in Pittsburg, Kan.

The Andrews' packed up their belongings and "headed home." He didn't describe the trip east like he did their trip west to California in 1939. They settled in, and eventually moved back to Gravette about 1969, where they spent the last 23 years of their lives together.

Slim entertained at many local and area functions, including the annual Gravette Day celebration and the Benton County Fair. He also traveled to Kansas every Saturday, where he mingled, visited and entertained children who gathered at the station for "The Fun Club."

How he related to children and was able to entertain them for some 20 years attests to his talent with his music and jokes; and the weekly arrival of his lovable puppet, "Josephine," always brought squeals of delight from the children.

Eventually, he retired but that isn't completely true. He and Lucille traveled to festivals in many states -- including Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina -- where he would meet "old friends" from movie days. On those trips, he would entertain at amusement parks and restaurants, where he would enjoy signing autographs. He even made a tape, which he offered for sale, with many of his songs and film clips that had been a part of his career. (Does any reader have a copy of that tape? I was never able to hear it.)

It was in 1982 when Slim had his final acting role. He played the part of a ferry boatman in the TV mini-series, "The Blue and the Gray," which was filmed in northwest Arkansas.

Slim liked to recall he made $750 for just about three hours of work.

"I tole them when I got my check I thought it was supposed to be $250," Slim said; to which the man replied, "You did such a good job we gave you a $500 bonus."

Slim's eyes twinkled as he recounted that story.

Besides traveling, Slim admitted, "I have a hankering for fishing."

He would grin as he told tales about good catches from area farm ponds. He would never reveal where those ponds were located. I took pictures of Slim with two of his good bass catches for the paper. We also published pictures of Slim and Lucille on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1979 and again 10 years later in 1989 when they celebrated 60 years together.

It was on Aug. 3, 1991, when the Andrews' received word that John, their only child, who was 50 and was also in the movie business, had been killed in a bus accident in Hollywood.

Eight months later, at the age of 85, Lloyd "Slim" Andrews died, on April 3, 1992. Just two months later, Lucille, 84, died on June 2, 1992. Both are buried in Bethel Cemetery south of Gravette, barely a stone's throw from where the lean and lanky 17-year-old Slim earned $600 for the crop of strawberries planted on an acre of ground his father gave him.

That $600 financed his first car, a Model "T" which he turned into a racer -- and that long, winding trip to Hollywood as related in the past three 'cuffs.

Slim's story, how he couldn't read a musical note but could play an accordion or piano and almost any musical "instrument" he invented, tell funny jokes and bring laughter to young and old for so many years ... from tent shows to movies, radio and television that is his legacy: "That behind every cloud the sun is always shining."

Epilogue

What happened to Slim's tire pump, his musical saw, that washboard? And those other musical props he invented? And what happened to Josephine?

A collection of items was recently purchased from a dealer in Kentucky by the stars of the TV show, "The Pickers." Where they are now is an unknown. And Josephine? "The Fun Club" is still broadcast on the Pittsburg station and Josephine makes an appearance. Is she the original?

The Gravette historical museum has a small collection of pictures about Slim that can be seen in a special display. But items that were a part of Slim's life have not been discovered and would be welcomed as a donation or on loan to the museum.

Lloyd “Arkansas Slim” Andrews during his pre-Hollywood, one-man-band days; circa 1930s.
Courtesy of Bill Williams
Lloyd “Arkansas Slim” Andrews during his pre-Hollywood, one-man-band days; circa 1930s. Courtesy of Bill Williams

If any reader has such items, or copies of films he was in, or the collection he taped, and could share them, at least for a little while, please contact the museum when you visit it (no admission) or contact John Lee Mitchael, 787-6590.

Slim deserves special recognition in the museum of his hometown. His is a positive legacy that must not be forgotten.

Dodie Evans is the former owner and long-time editor of the Gravette News Herald. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 08/10/2016