Thell Reed

Confidential (1997) and now for over 30 years he has been at the very top of his profession.

Not just fastest with a six-gun... fast, accurate and deadly. In the early 1960s he led a very nervous writer and photographer from a California gun magazine through an active rattlesnake denning area occupied by hundreds of rattlers. Each time a snake threatened them he quick-drew and fired. He never missed. The party eventually emerged at the other side unbitten.

Thell Reed was born and raised in Downey, California. His father worked hard at maintaining a small chain of BB-Q restaurants to afford him the luxury of spoiling his only son. Being a gun enthusiast, he bestowed on him a pair of match Colt. 45s and told him to "Make a living with them!" Thell did just that. He began winning fast draw tournaments before he was legally allowed to enter them. But, Thell was always more than just an exhibition shooter. When he was just 13, his Father took him on a hunting trip to Alaska. An attacking Kodiak took the young gunman by surprise, but Thell's dexterity with a bolt action was too much for the bear and he dropped him at his feet. Gene Autry became aware of the reputation Thell was building and took the young lad under his wing on his Wild West tour. Soon, he was performing for not only Hollywood royalty, but the British crown as well. Before long, Hollywood came looking for Thell to share his skills and coach the biggest names in the business. It began with Gunsmoke (1955), continued into movies the caliber of L. A.