Ben Johnson, 1953: “At the end of the year, I didn’t have $3, All I had was a wore-out automobile and a mad wife.” So, the 6-foot-2 Johnson returned to the movies, where he had worked as a stunt double for Gary Cooper, Joel McCrea, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. He was working as a 21-year-old Oklahoma ranch hand when his big break occurred. Johnson delivered 16 horses to a movie set – earning the unheard of sum of $300 – and was hired by producer Howard Hughes as a stuntman and wrangler. He also met his wife, Carol, on that trip to Flagstaff, Ariz. His next big break came in 1947, when he was working as a stunt double for Henry Fonda in “Fort Apache” and saved three stuntmen’s lives when he courageously stopped a runaway wagon in a scene-gone-wrong. Director John Ford rewarded him with a seven-year contract at $5,000 a week. Johnson would go on to feature in films such as “The Wild Bunch,” “Shane,” “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” “Rio Grande,” “Chisum,” “The Sugarland Express” and “Ange...