NAT LOVE AKA DEADWOOD DICK to Play Morrison PAC, 11/28-29

Grady L. Mackey's play "Nat Love aka Deadwood Dick," a black man who was born into slavery and became considered the best cowboy in the West, will have performances Friday and Saturday (Nov. 28-29) at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park. The show begins at 6 p.m.

Mackey wrote the play, an adaptation of Love's autobiography published in Los Angeles in 1907, and also is the producer and director. Andre P. Henry plays the title role.

Deadwood Dick was born in Tennessee in 1854 and grew up on a farm. As a young man, he decided to travel to the West and found work at the Duval Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. In 1876, he was a drover on a cattle drive of 3,000 to Deadwood, S.D. The town put on a contest of cowboy skills-roping, bridling, saddling and shooting-that Love won. In addition to a $200 prize, he also became Deadwood Dick, the best cowboy in the West.

"He had the skills, that's for sure," Mackey said.

Love continued to work on ranches in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in the latter part of the 19th Century before becoming a Pullman porter in the final stage of his life. He died in Los Angeles in 1921.

Mackey remembered seeing the character of Deadwood Dick in cartoons on television from an early age.

"I had heard about Deadwood Dick since I was about eight, but every time I would see him, it would be like a desperado, some kind of a cartoon character who was doing something wrong," Mackey said. "When I finally read about the real Deadwood Dick, I thought people needed to know he wasn't the person portrayed in cartoons. Every time he was mentioned, he was always a bad guy. I wanted to set the record straight."

This is the second play written and produced by Mackey. He brought "Just Old Men Talking" to the stage in 2009. It was a comedy-drama set in Mackey's native Alabama that looked into the tradition of the traditional use of oral histories by African-Americans.

The 63-year-old Mackey, a Los Angeles resident for the past 29 years, believes Henry is an emerging star. Henry has had small parts and movies and played on skits on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

"He's an excellent actor," Mackey said. "We're fortunate to have him as Deadwood Dick. The show is good."

The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center is located at 4305 Degnan Blvd. Suite 101 in Los Angeles. For tickets, call 310-462-1439.

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