Johnny Mack Brown Historical Marker and Mural

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This historical marker was erected in memory of Johnny Mack Brown, a Dothan native, college athlete, and a cowboy western movie star. Brown was born in Dothan on September 1st, 1904, to John Henry and Hattie McGillivray Brown and was one of their nine children. In high school Brown excelled as an athlete, gaining a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. During his time at the university, he helped push the team to win over the University of Washington in the 1926 Rose Bowl, thrusting him into the football spotlight. Resulting from this, the media attention that he had garnered gained the attention of Hollywood director and producer King Vidor. Brown participated in and won a Hollywood screen test, scoring him a contract with MGM Studios. The following year in 1927 Johnny Mack Brown debuted in his first film “Slide Kelly, Slide” followed by the film “Bugle Call.” Brown would play parts in light comedies and romantic films at first, eventually moving into westerns in the mid-1930s. Between 1933 and 1943 Brown would change studios multiple times, eventually finding his way to Monogram Pictures. From 1943 to 1953 Brown was a top cowboy star and one of the top ten biggest money-makers in B westerns of the era. Johnny Mack Brown’s career would end along with the B Western Film bubble in 1953, having acted in a total of 165 movie productions. Brown died in his California home at the age of 70 due to heart failure on November 14th, 1974. This marker was erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission, Dothan Landmark Foundation, and the City of Dothan in 2005. Today the city honors Brown’s memory with the Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival, held in May in Landmark Park.

Images

A photo of the Johnny Mack Brown marker and mural.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Born in Dothan on September 1st, 1904, Johnny Mack Brown was an actor and athlete who starred in 165 film productions. Born to John Henry and Hattie McGillivray Brown, Johnny Mack Brown was one of nine children in his family. Their original family home is located not far from this marker. In high school, Brown excelled as an athlete and was the halfback of the team. Nicknamed “The Dothan Antelope,” Brown earned a football scholarship to the University of Alabama alongside four of his brothers and helped the university rise to fame.

During the 1926 Rose Bowl, his performance pushed the Alabama team to a victory over the University of Washington and put the school in the football spotlight. The resulting media attention caught the eye of Hollywood director and producer King Vidor. Vidor gave brown the opportunity to participate in a Hollywood screen test. Brown participated and won the test, signing a contract with MGM Studios that year.

Johnny Mack Brown was in his first film “Slide Kelly, Slide” in 1927, followed by “Bugle Call” shortly after. He started in light comedies and romances before eventually finding his way into westerns in the mid-1930s. Brown would appear in thirty films at MGM and leave in 1933, signing on with Supreme Pictures for a time before eventually joining Universal Pictures.

In 1940 Brown began a decade-long run as a cast member in the radio show Under Western Skies. Later in 1943 Brown left Universal and joined Monogram Pictures where he would stay the rest of his career. From 1943 to 1953 he was a cowboy star to millions of children and was among the top ten money-makers in B westerns of the era. Eventually, his career ended along with the end of the B Western bubble in 1953.

After ending his career Brown resided in a home in Beverly Hills for a time before moving into the less costly Park La Brea Apartments. Once his career was over, however, awards in recognition of his acting came his way. Johnny Mack Brown would gain recognition from the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame in 1957, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2000, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1969, the Alabama Stage and Screenwriters Hall of Fame in 2004, the World Cowboy Gun Spinners Hall of Fame in 2003, the Golden Boot Award in 2004, and gained recognition in the Oklahoma Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s hall of fame in 2008.

Johnny Mack Brown died in his home in California at the age of 70 on November 14th, 1974. In 2005 this marker was erected in honor of his memory by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission, the Dothan Landmark Foundation, and the City of Dothan. This marker stands in front of one of Dothan’s many murals, this particular one depicting Johnny Mack Brown and featuring him riding a horse as well as a portrait of him. Today the city of Dothan celebrates Johnny Mack Brown and the Western genre with the Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival, held each May in Landmark Park.

Sources

Beidler, Philip. Johnny Mack Brown, Encyclopedia of Alabama. September 18th 2018. Accessed November 25th 2020. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1785.

Brackin, Elaine. Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival brings Old West to Landmark Park, Dothan Eagle. April 20th 2009. Accessed November 25th 2020. https://dothaneagle.com/news/local/johnny-mack-brown-western-festival-brings-old-west-to-landmark-park/article_e286bf0f-a069-5163-8d06-18016e46a8e4.html.

Brackin, Elaine. Wild West takes center stage at Landmark Park's Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival, Dothan Eagle. May 11th 2011. Accessed November 25th 2020. https://dothaneagle.com/news/local/wild-west-takes-center-stage-at-landmark-parks-johnny-mack-brown-western-festival/article_ec4b2c92-9af7-5881-b0fe-a25bd599d31a.html.

Fontana, Tony. Johnny Mack Brown Biography, IMDB. Accessed November 25th 2020. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0113902/bio.

Gaines, David J. Johnny Mack Brown, Historical Marker Database. November 1st 2019. Accessed November 25th 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=83783.

Griffith, John. Johnny Mack Brown, Find A Grave. January 11th 1999. Accessed November 25th 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4343/johnny-mack-brown.

Johnny Mack Brown, National Football Foundation. Accessed November 25th 2020. https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1399.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Photo taken by David J Gaines. Image sourced from HMDB.org: https://www.hmdb.org/PhotoFullSize.asp?PhotoID=148029