aerobson

So, there's Buford T. Pusser of DVD Talk fame, but I want to know who the real Buford Pusser was. I'm not exactly sure if this is in the right forum, 'cause I don't know who he is. I've heard his name associated with the new movie "Walking Tall" with the Rock, thus I've put this discussion in the Movie Forum. From the very limited info I get from trailers and commercials, I take BP was some sort of lawman somewhere. So what's the story? Should I know this name already? Where can I get more info? Thanks.

Giles

http://www.sheriffbufordpusser.com/

jpolce

buford t pusser is the protagonist in the original version of walking tall. since he is a backwoods white guy in the original story, the rock, who plays this character in the new walking tall, had his on screen name changed to something else.

devilshalo

The original Pusser got a cute granddaughter.

RocShemp

Giles,
That link doesn't work for me.

j123vt_99

i think you mean the daughters... i think all the granddaughters in the pics are the babies... unless you like that kind of thing

Giles

really? I tried it again and it works

Pointyskull

That's what I thought at first - but the site is put together by Buford's daughter Dwana. It's her that refers to the girl as her daughter.

So, the hottie is Buford's granddaughter

RocShemp

All I get is a "The page cannot be displayed" message.

aerobson

Interesting stuff. The link works for me. I'll repost it just in case, though.

http://www.sheriffbufordpusser.com

aerobson

Is there a difference between Buford T. and Buford H.? Looks like BHP is the real deal and BTP is our DVDTalker. Right?

Jackskeleton

Buford T is a member of ours.

RocShemp

Thanks for trying, aerobson, but it didn't work. I dunno why. I google searched the name and every link about the man I tried worked except for the one posted in this thread.

Anyhoo, his story was very interesting. It's a shame I never saw the original movie. I'm gonna have to rent it and see the remake (which looks sweet).

Jack Straw

Not to be confused with the redneck sherriff Buford T. Justice of Smokey and the Bandit fame, played by 'The Great One' Jackie Gleason.

j123vt_99

My bad

Buford T Pusser

There were three movies about him. The trilogy can be bought at DeepDiscountDVD for under $20. I picked it up and recently watched the first movie. I had only seen them once and that was on TV (WTBS) about 25 years ago. The original holds up as a slice of low budget 70's filmdom in the vein of Billy Jack.











BUFORD HAYSE PUSSER

Legendary Sheriff of McNairy

County from 1964-1970

Born on December 12, 1937, between Finger and Leapwood, Tennessee, Buford Hayse Pusser met each challenge of life head on and established himself as a man among men with a reputation that spread around the world. The second son and third child of Carl and Helen Pusser lived the first fourteen years of his life on a farm in rural northwest McNairy County. Buford attended grade school at Leapwood until his family moved to Adamsville, Tennessee when he was fourteen years old. While attending Adamsville High school he demonstrated his physical skills on the football field and in the gymnasium. Those who knew Buford remember his politeness and neatness.

Buford entered the service and was given a medical discharge because of his asthma. He then moved to Chicago where his physical strength and courage served him well in the wrestling ring. His wrestling prowess earned him the moniker "Buford The Bull" in the ring. It was during this time in Chicago that he met and married Pauline Mullins who was from West Virginia.

Chicago was a long way from McNairy County and in early 1961 Buford and his family moved to Adamsville where he took his first job as a law enforcement officer working with his father Carl. After serving three years as Adamsville’s Chief of Police, Buford entered the race for Sheriff of McNairy County in 1964 and was elected. This was the beginning of a road that would lead to tragedy and also make him a famous law officer. The illegal operations on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line which included gambling, prostitution and moonshine whisky had generated a reputation that invoked fear and caused others to take a hands-off approach when it came to making arrests and cleaning the state line of these lawbreakers. Buford took this in stride as the Sheriff of McNairy County and drew on his physical strength and courage. He began to clean up the State Line’s illegal operations. Because of his many encounters with violence, his reputation grew and spread throughout the country when the production of three "Walking Tall" movies and a television series were produced about the "Legend of Buford Pusser", an easy going, but take-no-lip Sheriff who did his job in spite of the threats and mean-spirited law-breakers he came in contact with. Buford’s reputation was one, which in the weekly newspaper reports, showed him to be a very present threat to anyone who broke the law in McNairy County. The paper ran stories very regularly showing Buford hauling in moonshine stills and the "Tennessee White Lightening" whiskey they produced, along with the whiskey makers who resided in the county jail. Buford’s reputation as depicted by the movies and TV show were embellished somewhat from reality, but most people who knew Buford will tell you that he was a powerful deterrent to crime and mayhem in McNairy County.

Buford is indeed a legend in law enforcement, but his many encounters with violence caused him and his family many heartaches. On August 12, 1967, on his way to the State Line, traveling New Hope Road in McNairy County, Buford and his wife Pauline, were ambushed near New Hope Church, leaving Pauline dead and Buford seriously wounded. Much of his physical endurance and idealism were compromised by this tragedy and Buford began touring the country promoting the movies and making guest appearances at special functions. His reputation as a person who cared grew through the many functions he supported dealing with children and other charitable organizations.

On August 21, 1974, Buford returned from a press conference in Memphis and stopped by the McNairy County Fair and Livestock Show before going home. On his way home from the fair, approximately six miles on Highway 64 West of his home in Adamsville, Buford’s Corvette left the highway and smashed into an embankment, throwing him from the car and leaving him dead. There are many tales and distortions of Buford’s life and rein as Sheriff, but one thing is perfectly clear... Buford Pusser is a Legend, his reputation as a "Law Enforcement Officer who took his job seriously" puts him in the company of many other American Law Legends from yesteryear.

Buford T Pusser

I'm the real deal here.



How did I get the name?

When I was looking for a user name I thought "what's the worst name I can think of?" I always thought the name Buford was pretty bad and that it was even worse when combined with Pusser. Then I added the T, in honor of Jackie Gleason's Buford T. Justice and also to make it slightly different from the original still bustin' Sheriff of McNairy County.

The funny thing is it seems many people have been confused and added a T to his name. A GOOGLE search shows this to be true with 142 references, albeit some of them are for my posts here.

This one is kinda ironic:

Walking Tall (PG-13)
After returning home from a military stint, Chris Vaughn (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) finds his hometown plagued with drugs, gambling and crime. In an effort to clean up the town, Vaughn dubs himself sheriff and enlists childhood friend Ray (Johnny Knoxville) for his crusade. Based on the real-life Tennessee sheriff Buford T. Pusser.
Prediction: Joe Don Baker raised the bar and set a standard for his portrayal of Buford T. Pusser in the 1973 film version that kept the redneck name and the rural Tennessee setting. But now Hollywood’s too good to keep the facts straight? Well, Hollywood, you and The Rock can just kiss our Pusser. And somebody call the East Tennessee Film Commission. We want answers.


I appreciate what they're saying but being so adamant about the name you'd think they would get it right. Maybe they've been visiting DVD Talk.


http://www.metropulse.com/dir_suncit...astfuture.html




When I heard they were doing a remake I was happy to see the name Buford Pusser would once again get some recognition. Sadly the name has been changed.

I sometimes wonder how many people think that it's my real name.

glassdragon

lol Buford, i always thought that was your real name till i saw the movie

edit: well it didn't use the name in the movie... but i saw the credits saying his name and i started thinking about dvdtalk

victant

Consider me educated, too!

If anything, this makes me want to see "Walking Tall" even more!

matome

Same here!

Buford T Pusser

I hope you guys mean "see the original Walking Tall" not this one.

aerobson

Thanks for the explanation Buford. I kinda figured that was the case, but like some of the other guys here, the first thing I thought of when I heard the name in reference to Walking Tall was "Hey, that's a DVDTalk user."

Buford T Pusser

I wonder if any others will see the movie and think of me.