Latest news with #WalkingTall
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sheriff Buford Pusser — the other story
MCNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — For many Tennesseans growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, and especially those in McNairy County, Sheriff Bufford Pusser was a hero. Hollywood made the big hit movie 'Walking Tall' about the lawman, but a shadow of controversy has also loomed over the McNairy County sheriff. His wife's murder remains a cold case to this day — and some say Pusser is responsible. Pusser's image of a big stick-carrying sheriff who cracked down on crime continues to this day. However, not everyone believes Pusser was a saint. 'You look into these things and you find it didn't happen that way at all,' said Mike Elam, author and podcaster of 'Buford Pusser: The Other Story.' 'He walked on both sides of the law.' Who was legendary lawman Buford Pusser? Elam is an outsider. He's from Arkansas, where he spent years in law enforcement. He started digging into Pusser's past. For him, the hero story wasn't adding up — especially that Pusser's wife Pauline was mistakenly murdered in an ambush that was intended to take him out. Elam believes Pusser killed his wife and covered it up. 'I believe it was staged to fit Buford's narrative,' Elam told News 2. 'But when you look at the evidence, it's so convincing that he didn't tell the entire truth.' Elam launched a podcast called 'Buford Pusser: The Other Story.' He also operates the a tour called 'The Truth has no Agenda' where he takes his guests — including many law enforcement officers — on a guided tour of the different crime scenes from the night of the murder. Dennis Hathcock is one of the locals on the tour. Pusser cracked down on his family's business, The Plantation Club, on the state line. Annual Buford Pusser Festival celebrates legendary sheriff 'He was evil. That's the only thing I can say … Because he could put out that persona that he's a good man fighting crime and corruption when, if you really knew what was going on,' Hancock told News 2. 'That's the importance of the tour and taking the route Buford took that morning — because that alone convinces a lot of people that it did not happen the way that Buford claimed,' said Elam. Elam said that other red flags at the crime scene included the location of blood splatters, and bullet holes. In fact, a tip last year led the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to re-examine the cold case and exhume Pauline's body. However, this revision of the Sheriff Pusser hero legend has ruffled some feathers in McNairy County. 'It's very frustrating — these people coming from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arksansas trying to be the Bufford Pusser expert,' Steve Sweat said. 'They don't have a clue.' Why were Pauline Pusser's remains exhumed? Sweat is the honorary Pusser expert for the state of Tennessee. He's not happy with tours like Elam's that tell a different story about Pusser. 'As far as I'm concerned, it happened the way the sheriff said it did because he was there and we weren't,' Sweat told News 2. 'As far as I know, that's the way that ambush went, the way the sheriff said it did.' 'I just think the truth is important,' Elam said. 'On my podcast, I always end it saying, 'The truth has no agenda.'' Elam said a tip to his podcast is what led the TBI to re-examine the cold case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Buford Pusser's granddaughter says grandfather represented ‘respect and integrity'
McNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – Famed Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser died more than 50 years ago, but his daughter carried on the legacy before she died in 2018. Now the torch has been passed to the next generation. Buford's granddaughter shared what she wants people to know about her famous family. News 2 asked Madison Garrison Bush when she first started hearing stories about her grandfather. 'Honestly, before I came out of the womb,' said Garrison Bush. 'A lot of people have told me he was a gentle giant until you crossed that line.' Who was legendary lawman Buford Pusser? Garrison Bush never met her grandfather, but she knows him well through the stories passed down to her. 'He gave a lot of second chances. He would say what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong.' She said the first time her grandfather's legacy really hit her, she was on a first-grade field trip with her classmates to the Buford Pusser Museum in Adamsville. 'That first grade field trip to the museum, and the kids were like, 'Will you sign our souvenirs?' And they were my peers. And I was like, 'I guess. sure.'' For Garrison Bush, her grandfather was ahead of his time. She's proud to say that he was the first in Tennessee to hire a Black deputy. And she admits his way of serving justice would not work in today's day and age, but when need be, he showed compassion as well. She said he would allow inmates to work and earn some money. 'He would release them during the day so that they could go to work. So that they can provide for their family and then return back to the jail when the workday is done…To me, he represents respect, integrity.' When Garrison Bush was older, her parents allowed her to watch the 1973 film Walking Tall about her grandfather. The film chronicles both Buford's crime-fighting actions, but also his wife's, Pauline, tragic murder. Questions remain decades after death of Pauline Pusser She remembers watching the film with her mother. 'It hurt my mom, just like it hurt my grandad, to have to walk out during the really hard scenes when we lost part of our family during all of this.' Garrison Bush left McNairy County, but she's never left behind the Pusser family legacy. Over the years, she's come back home to the festival, just like her mother, Dwana, did, in order to award the Buford Pusser Festival Law Enforcement Award to an exemplary officer of the law. 'To me, it is a way and such an honor to keep his legacy alive in doing what I saw my mother do my whole life.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sheriff Buford Pusser's lasting impact on Tennessee law enforcement
McNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – One sheriff has had a massive influence on law enforcement decades after his death. Buford Pusser is a Tennessee legend, even Hollywood took notice. News 2 spoke with the current McNairy County sheriff about Pusser's impact on crime fighting. Sheriff Buford Pusser kept law and order in McNairy County back in the 1960s. When Hollywood portrayed him in the 1970s film Walking Tall, he carried a big stick to fend off criminals. However, that stick, historians say, is somewhat of a myth. What's not a myth is how Pusser left a permanent mark on law enforcement. 'Whatever you think of him – good, bad – he did motivate people to get into law enforcement for the right reason. I think my whole generation of law enforcement officers, not just in Tennessee, but across the country and all across the world, who were motivated by those movies,' said Sheriff Guy Buck. Who was legendary lawman Buford Pusser? Buck currently occupies the sheriff seat in McNairy County that Pusser once sat in. Even though more than 50 years have passed, Buck still gets asked about his famous predecessor. Pusser was well-known for serving justice with his own style. According to one story, instead of hauling a car theft suspect off to jail, he tied the man to a pole to publicly humiliate him. Sheriff Buck admits that law enforcement today is not what it was when Pusser served this small county from 1964 to 1970. 'Law enforcement is very different. We would all go to jail for the things that we did in 1984, much less the things they did in 1964. It's a different world. It's a completely different world,' said Buck. 'Good guy, bad guy, something in between?' we asked Buck. Buford Pusser's granddaughter says grandfather represented 'respect and integrity' 'I think he was a human being. And he was a sheriff in the '60s. And, I think, if you were to ask anybody about any sheriff in the '60s, they would have different opinions. Some would think they were good, some would think they were bad. Obviously, Buford is no different,' said Buck. Buford Pusser is no longer top cop in McNairy County, but his name is truly synonymous with law enforcement. And, also creating an opportunity for this county to become a place where visitors can come from all over and pay their respects to law enforcement. In fact, they recently unveiled this memorial to do just that. 'It is a granite wall that contains 796 names of every police officer who has died in the line of duty since Tennessee became a state,' said Buck. 'So many of those stories have never had a voice, and they do out here now.' The county also hosts an annual law enforcement appreciation ceremony at the Buford Pusser Festival. Leaders here envision a future McNairy County where people from Memphis to Johnson City can gather to pay their respects to law enforcement, and it all started with one man, Sheriff Buford Pusser. 'You can't say sheriff without thinking of Buford Pusser,' said Buck. Sheriff Pusser was known for professionalizing the department by hiring paid deputies and purchasing squad cars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tour the memorabilia of Sheriff Buford Pusser in McNairy County
MCNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Sheriff Buford Pusser's fame reached beyond McNairy County in the 1960s and 70s. In fact, he ran in the same circles as Elvis, Billy Graham and big politicians at the time. Want to know more about Pusser? Well, Steve Sweat is your man. 'This is one of Buford's guns,' said Sweat, as he showed News 2 the Pusser memorabilia he has accumulated over the decades. Who was legendary lawman Buford Pusser? Lawmakers recently designated Sweat the honorary state historian of Sheriff Pusser. His home is practically a museum of the late sheriff's belongings, including the burned up license plate from Pusser's car crash that resulted in his death. 'When this tag became available, I told my wife, Sherry, 'I want that tag.' Because that was the last time I'd seen Buford. That was Friday night. And his tag was burned and he died Tuesday night,' said Sweat, recalling the day back in 1974 when Pusser died. Sweat is also a big fan of the sheriff, who was famous for carrying a big stick and cleaning up bootlegging, prostitution and gambling. 'I think his story is more powerful today than it's been since the beginning,' expressed Sweat. Sweat even owns a replica of the Dodge Polara that Pusser drives in the 1973 'Walking Tall' film. 'This is a recreation of the first 'Walking Tall' movie car that Joe Don Baker was in,' said Sweat, leaning against his replica car parked outside his home. 'I don't drive it as much as I used to, but I've driven it in different states even to different functions, but it's pretty cool,' he added. 'Walking Tall' star Joe Don Baker dies at 89 McNairy County has an actual museum, where Pusser's old home was located, and the curator gave News 2 a tour. 'This house looks like he just left it this morning,' said Tina Mullis-Jarrell. Mullis-Jarrell is the curator at the Buford Pusser Museum. At least 177,000 people have toured the museum since it first opened 37 years ago. Mullis-Jarrell was quick to clear up any myths, including that Pusser carried a big stick to fend off criminals. Pusser fans might be disappointed to find out Hollywood exaggerated that a bit. 'You'll see several sticks, but he didn't walk around all the time with a stick like they showed in the movie,' she explained. However, it is true that he was as physically large as the movies portray. The curator said extra long bedding was even marketed in his name. He was 6-foot-6 inches tall, 250 pounds and wore a size 15 shoe. Pusser wasn't just large in stature, he also created a larger than life persona. Some credit his former career as a pro-wrestler for teaching him how to market himself as sheriff. Whatever the secret, it worked. Pusser's reputation made him a household name and allowed him to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. 'Supposedly Elvis slept in this room… We were told that Elvis and Buford were friends and Graceland said the same thing,' added Mullis-Jarrell. ⏩ According to the museum, during a gathering for the state Republican party at Johnny Cash's home, leaders tried convincing Pusser to run for governor of Tennessee. However, Pusser remained in law enforcement, serving three consecutive terms —the max at the time —before his tragic death in 1974. 'He had been in Memphis, came home, mowed the yard, got in his corvette, went to the fair, and died that night,' said Mullis Jarrell. Investigators reported the deadly crash was an accident. Immediately before his death, Pusser had announced that Hollywood was creating a second 'Walking Tall' film after the success of the first. But in the sequel, Pusser was going to try out his acting chops and play himself. Tragically, that never happened. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time Business News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Business News
Amanda Cryer Reflects on the Legacy of Actor Bruce Glover
Irish-Canadian filmmaker and impact advisor Amanda Kasmira Cryer shared her thoughts on the life and career of actor and mentor Bruce Glover. Glover, a skilled character actor known for his roles in films such as 'Diamonds Are Forever', 'Chinatown', and 'Walking Tall', was a significant influence on Cryer's career and life during the early stages of her time in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. Cryer first met Glover when she was 21 and took acting lessons from him. Over time, he became her close friend and her talent manager. She described Glover's passion for discovering talent and his ability to inspire those around him. They often discussed the entertainment industry during lunch breaks from class, and their conversations provided Cryer with a sense of security in Los Angeles, then a new city for her. Glover helped her find her first Los Angeles agent, an important step in her career. His teaching emphasized storytelling and created an open environment that encouraged her to explore her individuality and develop her voice as an actress. Beyond his acting career, Glover's personality was one of a kind. Cryer remembered him as a kind man who provided a welcoming environment that supported artistic growth. She also mentioned the warmth of his wife, Betty, which left a lasting impression on her. Bruce Glover's legacy was that of friendship, mentorship, and imagination for Cryer. She continues to remember him fondly, expressing her appreciation for his continued influence in her life and sending love to his sons, Crispin and Michael, as he joined Betty in heaven. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
