Johnny Ace Auditorium in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Day 1954. During a break between sets, he was playing with a .32-caliber revolver. Members of his band said he did this often, sometimes shooting at roadside signs from their car. It was widely reported that Ace killed himself playing Russian roulette. However, Big Mama Thornton's bass player, Curtis Tillman, who witnessed the event, said, "I will tell you exactly what happened! Johnny Ace had been drinking and he had this little pistol he was waving around the table and someone said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not
Johnny Guitar Johnny Guitar Johnny Guitar is a 1954 American Trucolor western drama film directed by Nicholas Ray starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady. The screenplay was adapted from a novel by Roy Chanslor. Ben Maddow claimed he wrote the script and most film critique wouldn't believe Philip Yordan to be the real author until Maddow himself, after seeing the film, claimed he did not write the script. Philip Yordan rewrote the script on location. In 2008, "Johnny Guitar" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally,