What is the true story of Sheriff Pusser when he was carved up?
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quinnum — 21 years ago(January 08, 2005 12:43 PM)
There are two books you might be able to find by W.R. Morris. Although Morris and singer Eddie Bond later had a falling out with the Pusser family, the books tell a lot of the actual events in Pusser's life. The first is called "Twelfth of August", the day Pauline Pusser was murdered. I believe the second is called "State Line Mob".
I believe the beating/theft happened when Buford was just back from the Marines. He may have benn living in Chicago at the time (don't remember exactly), but was visiting the "State Line" area (Tennessee/Mississippi area) when he was attacked and robbed of his "mustering out" pay from the Marine Corps. -
stevenvllrc — 20 years ago(April 22, 2005 08:30 PM)
I HAVE A COPY OF "THE TWELFTH OF AUGUST" AND IT'S IN STORAGE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT STATES THAT HE WAS BEATEN AND ROBBED AND WAS THROWN OUT INTO A WOODED AREA. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE TWO MORE GUYS WITH HIM AT THE TIME, HE RETURNED AND FOUGHT SIX MEN WITH A FENCE POST AND REGAINED HIS MONEY. THIS IS WHERE HOLLYWOOD PICKED UP ON THE BIG STICK. HE REALLY WAS CHARGED WITH ASSAULT AND ROBBERY AND HIS ACCUSERS WERE LAUGHED OUT OF COURT. AS FOR BEING CARVED, HE WAS STABBED OR CUT SEVEN TIMES i BELIEVE WHILE HE WAS SHERIFF. I CAN TELL YOU THAT AS GOOD AS THE MOVIE IS IT DOESN'T DO THE REAL FACTS JUSTICE. FROM BUFORD PUSSER'S BIGGEST
FAN. -
kparham — 20 years ago(June 26, 2005 07:29 AM)
You should come here to McNairy County, TN, go through the museum dedicated to Buford and talk to his daughter. You'll learn a lot. If you talk to anyone over the age of 50 around here - they knew him. You'll hear a lot of stories that didn't make it to the "big screen".
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ChrisVaughn — 20 years ago(July 03, 2005 06:33 PM)
"You should come here to McNairy County, TN, go through the museum dedicated to Buford and talk to his daughter. You'll learn a lot. If you talk to anyone over the age of 50 around here - they knew him. You'll hear a lot of stories that didn't make it to the "big screen". "
That would be awesome.Not to sound strange or anything,but I look up to the Buford Pusser that Ive read about,quite a bit.Im still pretty young,and its hard to find someone to look up to,so I think it would be a great opportunity to make it down there someday and check everything out,and hear what all really happened -
GraeShadowe — 19 years ago(August 16, 2006 03:03 AM)
Nowadays, the only role model we have like that is Pat Tillman.
But anyway, you will hear that about 50% of the old timers didn't like him at all, and say he was just as big a crook as the ones he put out of business.
I don't know about that, just some of the stories you hear.
Personally, I admire at least the legend, if not the man; and feel that he had the right approach to "problem solving".
But if you come to the South and want to speak to some of the old-timers, be sure you have a day to spend. We Southerners love to educate ya'll, and we love to talk even more! But seriously, the older generation should be listened to more, and not just discounted as "senile" or "outdated".
Refusal to believe does not negate the truth. -
JamieWJackson — 12 years ago(September 05, 2013 12:35 PM)
We Southerners love to educate ya'll
Speaking of edumacatin' that's "y'all". The apostrophe replaces the "ou" in "you" (or, if you like, the "a" in "ya").
I think the reason so many people get this confused is that we have tons of words ending in
'll
but only one ending in
'all
, so we're very accustomed to the former. Also, the slang word "ya" throws people off, but if the word were "ya'll" with the "a" from "all" removed, the pronunciation would be "yull" rather than "yall" since "ya" is pronounced "yuh" and not "yah" (unless perhaps we're affirming something in German).
Interesting to hear that there is such a divided opinion about the real Pusser. Maybe I'll read one of those books about him someday. -
theoriginalskinnyrinny — 12 years ago(October 03, 2013 11:36 AM)
I'm surprised there was never a true story movie put out in the theaters or on cable. We had the sequels and a short-lived TV series and remakes, but it seems people want to have the truth vs. Hollywood version of his life. A similar idea was done on TV with Goodfellas and Billy Hayes of Midnight Express. I know the daughter put out a book on him recently, so maybe that sheds some light on truth over fiction.
Personally, Buford was a childhood hero to me - I even fashioned a Walking Tall stick in woodshop to keep potential bullies away from whatever project I was working on. I've also paraphrased a line from the movie whenever I'm asking to do any public speaking. He just seemed like such an icon: the ex-marine, former pro wrestler returning to him hometown only to take on the thugs that have taken it over. Timeless. -
woods343 — 19 years ago(August 26, 2006 02:47 PM)
The Morris books tell a lot. Back then, Pusser was the only officer, with a few Constables and some Adamsville Police . It wasnt till later that he was able to hire two deputies. In the 60's in Tennesee, most Sheriffs departments were no where as big as today, and usually the sheriff had part-time deputies.
Pusser was robbed in one of the state line clubs. -
JMagnumcook — 18 years ago(June 18, 2007 02:05 AM)
Read the book by W.R. Morris The 12th of August as it tells the true story and the Hollywood version of the event is just that. They never cut him up on a table in the club like that movie version claims. He was robbed and beaten, but beyond that the studio took a lot of liberties with the true version. Also, anyone who has been to the Museum or met Dwana Pusser his daughter can learn a lot more of what is true and what is fiction. In reality Pusser was actually kind of a shy person compared to the screen version of himself.
James (Magnum) Cook