1. Wayde Preston
   John Wayne
2. Clint Eastwood
   Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen spent the late '50s starring as bounty hunter Josh Randall in the TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive." While the show was a hit, McQueen really wanted to get out of the show so he could take part in "The Magnificent Seven." A "fortunately-timed" car accident left McQueen just injured enough to leave the TV studio, but well enough to star in the smash 1960 cowboy flick. What are the odds?

1. John Russell
   Joel McCrea
2. Glenn Ford
   Clint Walker

Glenn Ford performed in more than two dozen westerns throughout his career, beginning with "Texas," in 1941. He played bad guy Ben Wade in the 1957 classic "3:10 to Yuma," then starred as a cattle hand who brings a hotel clerk out on the range in "Cowboy" in 1958.

1. Michael Landon
   Lee Van Cleef
2. Walter Brennan
   Paul Newman

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "The Long, Hot Summer" made him a star, but it was "Bruce Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" that made Paul Newman a western icon. Playing the legendary outlaw alongside Robert Redford as Sundance, Newman robbed trains and ran from the law all the way to Bolivia in South America.

1. Ty Hardin
   Walter Brennan
2. Dan Sheridan
   Jack Kelly

After a stunt gone wrong, actor Walter Brennan lost most of his teeth in 1935. Fortunately for Brennan, wearing false teeth made him much more versatile as an actor. He went on to win three Best Supporting Actor Oscars between 1936 and 1940. The final award came for his portrayal of the villainous Judge Roy Bean in "The Westerner."

1. Henry Fonda
   Richard Boone
2. Kevin Costner
   Kurt Russell

After a friend wrote a script for the movie, Kevin Costner got frustrated trying to get "Dances with Wolves" made, so he took a chance and made it himself. He not only won fans as Army Lieutenant John Dunbar but also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.

1. Lorne Greene
   Robert Horton
2. Charlton Heston
   Gene Autry

As family patriarch Ben "Pa" Cartwright on "Bonanza," Lorne Greene had his hands full caring for three sons at the Ponderosa ranch. Greene capitalized on his cowboy image with a series of popular country-western albums in the '60s.

1. Jack Elam
   Randolph Scott
2. Robert Duvall
   James Coburn

After "To Kill a Mockingbird," Robert Duvall got into an intense shootout with John Wayne in "True Grit" in 1969. He later starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones as Texas Ranger Gus McCrae in the 1989 hit "Lonesome Dove."

1. Dan Blocker
   Charles Bronson
2. Robert Duvall
   Chuck Connors

Chuck Connors was an overachiever from the start, playing basketball for the Celtics before playing pro baseball with the Cubs. Later, he went to Hollywood, where he found fame as widowed father Lucas McCain on the long-running series "The Rifleman."

1. Dan Blocker
   Robert Redford
2. Sam Elliott
   James Garner

Robert Redford became a cowboy icon playing Bruce Cassidy's famous sidekick in the classic 1969 film, which co-starred Paul Newman. Though he is perhaps best known for the 1973 movie "The Sting," he returned to western drama with "The Horse Whisperer" in 1998.

1. Sam Elliott
   Lee Marvin
2. James Stewart
   Robert Fuller

Despite hair that turned white at an early age, Lee Marvin found plenty of Hollywood success. He can be seen opposite John Wayne in "The Comancheros" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." He also played duel roles in the comedy western "Cat Ballou," which also starred Jane Fonda.

1. Lee Marvin
   Doug McClure
2. Charles Bronson
   Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer may have played a rock star in "The Doors" and a pilot named Iceman in "Top Gun," but he was also able to pull off the part of a cowboy. He proved his western mettle with his role as the title character in the TV movie "Billy the Kid," and again playing the legendary Doc Holliday in the 1993 hit movie "Tombstone."

1. Gene Autry
   James Arness
2. Roy Rogers
   Gene Hackman

As Marshall Matt Dillon, James Arness protected the people of Dodge City from mayhem. After 20 seasons on the show, Arness swapped his clean-shaven look for a rugged beard to play mountain man Zeb Macahan in "How the West Was Won."

1. Kevin Costner
   Gary Cooper
2. James Arness
   Kirk Douglas

Many film fans today recognize Kirk Douglas for his starring role in the 1960 film "Spartacus," but this actor also tried his hand at westerns. He played in the 1957 flick "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," which is one of seven movies Douglas appeared in with Burt Lancaster. You may also remember him as Marshal Howard Nightingale in the 1975 film "Posse."

1. Milburn Stone
   Burt Lancaster
2. Robert Mitchum
   John Wayne

Robert Mitchum's western career stretched over several decades. He appeared in both "Blood on the Moon" and "Rachel and the Stranger" in 1948, and also showed up as a Sheriff in the 1967 flick "El Dorado," which co-starred John Wayne.

1. Clayton Moore
   Kirk Douglas
2. Tom Mix
   Lorne Greene

Clayton Moore starred in "The Lone Ranger" from 1949 through 1957, and kept up the part through live appearances for many years after that. His cowboy career actually started much earlier, with bit parts in '30s movies and a turn as the infamous outlaw in the 1947 movie "Jesse James Rides Again."

1. Walter Brennan
   Gene Hackman
2. Charlton Heston
   Robert Duvall

Charlton Heston won an Oscar for his work in the 1959 classic "Ben-Hur" and pulled off a great twist ending in 1968 with "Planet of the Apes." This movie industry icon also donned a cowboy hat more than once, appearing in "The Savage" and "Arrowhead" in the '50s, then starring in the 1980 flick "The Mountain Man," which was written by his son Fraser.

1. Lee Marvin
   Charles Bronson
2. Gene Hackman
   James Stewart

Gene Hackman has had a storied film career that has included numerous movies set in the west. He won wave reviews and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work as Little Bill Daggett in the 1992 Clint Eastwood blockbuster "Unforgiven." The nest year Hackman played the lead in "Geronimo: An American Legend," then took of the role of Mayor John Herod in "The Quick and the Dead."

1. Clint Walker
   Pernell Roberts
2. James Garner
   Steve McQueen

"Bonanza" offered plenty of western action and cowboys of all ages, including Pernell Roberts, who played the eldest son Adam. Roberts went on to play a U.S. Marshal on the big screen in "Four Rode Out," and famously starred as Dr. John McIntyre in the "M.A.S.H." spin-off "Trapper John M.D." in the '80s.

1. Gene Autry
   John Wayne
2. Clayton Moore
   Lorne Greene

Gene Autry appeared in a whopping 100 cowboy films in the '30s and '40s, then starred in "The Gene Autry Show" alongside his horse Champion from 1950 through 1956. Even those who've never seen a western film may know Autry from his recordings of classic Christmas songs like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Here Comes Santa Claus."

1. Lee Van Cleef
   Chuck Connors
2. Kirk Douglas
   Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers had plenty of movie credits under his belt, including "Don't Fence Me In" and "My Pal Trigger" by the time he starred on "The Roy Rogers Show" in the '50s. And yes, the chain of fast-food burger restaurants is named for this iconic cowboy.

1. Alan Ladd
   James Stewart
2. Burt Lancaster
   Robert Mitchum

Alan Ladd starred as Confederate Army Captain Brett Sherwood in the 1951 western "Red Mountain." His next cowboy role is the one he is best remembered for today ... the starring role of a mysterious gunslinger who settles down in Wyoming in the 1953 flick "Shane."

1. Hugh O'Brian
   Kurt Russell
2. Clint Eastwood
   James Coburn

Believe it or not, Kurt Russell got his big break in 1963 when he appeared in the title role on western family series "The Travels of Jamie McPheeters." While he had plenty of memorable roles in the years after, one of his most iconic cowboy parts was playing Wyatt Earp in the 1993 movie "Tombstone," which co-starred Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.

1. Robert Mitchum
   James Coburn
2. Henry Fonda
   Randolph Scott

James Coburn had roles in a series of forgettable '50s westerns before hitting it big with the part of Britt in "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960. He later found great success with spaghetti westerns, notably Sergio Leone's "Duck, You Sucker!" that was also known as "A Fistful of Dynamite."

1. Kurt Russell
   Glen Ford
2. Richard Boone
   Sam Elliott

Richard Boone played a roaming Wild West mercenary on "Have Gun, Will Travel," from 1957 through 1963. He later went on to star on "Hec Ramsey" in the '70s. This series, set in the 1910s, combined a western theme with a brand new concept ... forensic science.

1. Roy Rogers
   Joel McCrea
2. Steve McQueen
   Glenn Ford

Joel McCrea was the unnamed cowboy at the heart of "The Virginian." After the release of this 1946 movie, he acted only in westerns for the next three decades, including playing former Sheriff Steve Judd in "Ride the High Country" in 1962, which co-starred Randolph Scott.

1. Paul Newman
   James Arness
2. Clint Walker
   Pernell Roberts

As Cheyenne Bodie, Clint Walker played a white man who was raised by Native Americans and grew up to become a cowboy. The series ran from 1955 to 1963, after which Walker found roles in westerns like "More Dead Than Alive" and "The Great Bank Robbery."

1. James Stewart
   James Coburn
2. Kevin Costner
   Charlton Heston

James Stewart got his start sporting a cowboy hit in "Destry Rides Again," where he co-starred with Marlene Dietrich. After a stint in the Army, Stewart returned to Hollywood to make "Winchester '73" and to play the title role in the 1962 classic "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

1. Kurt Russell
   Val Kilmer
2. Pernell Roberts
   Lee Van Cleef

You may have missed Lee Van Cleef's silent role in "High Noon," but you can't miss him as the villain Angel Eyes in Sergio Leone's classic "For a Few Dollars More" or "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Van Cleef also played the role of Sabata the gunman in a pair of spaghetti westerns in the late '60s and early '70s.

1. Steve McQueen
   Chuck Connors
2. Clint Eastwood
   Henry Fonda

He was cowboy Rowdy Yates in the '60s TV series "Rawhide," but it was his role as a mysterious man with no name in "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" that launched Clint Eastwood into stardom. Almost 30 years later, he won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for his western flick "Unforgiven."

1. John Wayne
   Lee Van Cleef
2. Robert Duvall
   James Arness

Born Marion Morrison, John Wayne made well over 100 movies, almost all of them westerns. After dozens of roles, he got his big break in the 1939 John Ford classic "Stagecoach," and later played rancher Tom Doniphon in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence." It was Wayne's turn as Marshall Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 movie "True Grit" that won him his first Oscar for Best Actor. Maybe it was the eye patch.

1. Michael Landon
   Henry Fonda
2. Tom Mix
   Alan Ladd

Henry Fonda was one of the most famous actors of the 20th century, and his role as Tom Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1940 is among his most celebrated performances. While Fonda appeared opposite John Wayne in "Fort Apache" and starred on the TV series "The Deputy," one of his cowboy roles was designed to shock the audience. The murderous Frank who appears at the start of the film and murders kids in cold blood? That was Fonda, and Sergio Leone was fully aware of how fans would react to seeing their beloved hero play a villain.

1. Paul Newman
   Chuck Connors
2. Lee Van Cleef
   Tom Mix

Tom Mix was the original big-screen cowboy, starring in 300 films between 1909 and 1935. His ties to the west didn't end there, however; Mix helped John Wayne get his first studio job in Hollywood, and even served as a pallbearer at the 1929 funeral of Wyatt Earp.

1. Doug McClure
   Kevin Costner
2. Gary Cooper
   Walter Brennan

Doug McClure starred as Trampas on the 90-minute TV show "The Virginian" from 1962 through 1971. By transforming the classic villain into more of a comedic role, McClure made the part feel fresh while winning new fans for the western genre. You may also remember this actor from the 1965 film "Shenandoah" with James Stewart.

1. Randolph Scott
   Sam Elliott
2. Walter Brennan
   Kirk Douglas

Though his face looks like it was created for the western genre, Sam Elliott actually got his big break playing a muscled hunk in the 1976 flick "Lifeguard." In addition to plenty of TV and film roles, Elliot showed off his cowboy mettle as Virgil Earp alongside Kurt Russell in the 1993 film "Tombstone."

1. Val Kilmer
   Doug McClure
2. Jack Elam
   Rory Calhoun

In addition to dozens of small parts in cowboy TV series, Jack Elam also showed up on the big screen. He was a gunslinger in "Once Upon a Time in the West" and was seen sitting in a jail cell in "High Noon." Later, Elam found great success with comedy cowboy roles in "Support Your Local Sheriff!" and "Support Your Local Gunfighter!"

1. Lorne Greene
   Robert Redford
2. Burt Lancaster
   Doug McClure

It looks like Burt Lancaster is versatile enough to play any role; after a roll in the sand in "From Here to Eternity," he spent the next few years playing rough and rugged cowboys. Lancaster starred as the legendary Wyatt Earp in "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," and also starred as a gun-slinging bad guy opposite Gary Cooper in "Verz Cruz."

1. Randolph Scott
   Clayton Moore
2. Robert Redford
   Pernell Roberts

Randolph Scott had a series of small roles in early westerns, including "The Virginian" in 1929. His first leading role came with "The Last of the Mohicans" in 1936, but it was starting his own production company in the '40s that gave the strong, silent cowboy persona Scott portrayed to really shine.

1. James Garner
   Charlton Heston
2. Joel McCrea
   Alan Ladd

James Garner played traveling poker player Bret Maverick on the small screen from 1957 through the early '60s. At the start of the new millennium, he joined fellow western icons Tommy Lee Jones and Clint Eastwood on "Space Cowboys," a film that took on a whole new frontier and left the Wild West far behind.

1. Gary Cooper
   Paul Newman
2. Russ McCubbin
   Tom Mix

Gary Cooper left silent films behind with his starring role in "The Virginian." He later won an Oscar playing Marshall Will Kane in "High Noon." Because Cooper couldn't be there to accept the Best Actor statue, he asked John Wayne to receive the prize in his absence.

1. Robert Mitchum
   Charles Bronson
2. Jack Elam
   Richard Boone

The 11th of 15 kids, Charles Bronson went to work in a coal mine to support his family starting at the age of 10. This tough childhood prepared him well to play a cowboy, which he did in dozens of small roles throughout the '50s. He got a big break with "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960, then had his most memorable role as Harmonica in "Once Upon a Time in the West" in 1968.