Buster Shaver, Crittenden County Folks

 

Aubrey "Buster" Shaver, a Crittenden County Folks Transplant.

Footprints of the Past

This article is about Aubrey "Buster" Shaver, another one I like to call Crittenden County folks. Although he wasn’t born here, he grew up in Marion and attended and graduated from Marion High School. Here is how he became a Crittenden County folks.

Shaver’s mother was Willie Melba Cannon, a Crittenden Countian. She was the daughter of W. D. and Elizabeth Stephens Cannan. In 1915 Melba married Stanley M. Shaver, from Canada, who’s home was in Dallas Texas, where he held a responsible position as southwestern manager for a large manufacturing company. They had a large fancy wedding at the Marion Baptist Church. After the ceremony they made their home in Dallas, where Aubrey was born in 1918.

After Stanley and Melba got a divorce, she moved back to Marion with her son, Aubrey. Later she married a local man, Eugene Morrill.

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Returned to Marion for Retirement

In 1986 Buster retired and returned to once again make Marion his home. This interesting article appeared in the Crittenden Press, June 26, 1986, written by Jim Hall, press staff writer at the time.

A ‘dying’ art. Shaver’s film job ended when westerns faded.

"I died in practically everything I did," said Buster Shaver. "I could die beautifully, in an hour or a minute, you just tell me how to died, and I’d do it."

No, Shaver isn’t supernatural. His ability to rise from the dead is limited to the screen. He has been an actor, on television and movies, since the late 1940’s, specializing in "bad guys" who always seem to get their just desserts in the end.

Shaver, 68, a Marion native, has now returned to his childhood home for his retirement. The 1937 graduate of Marion High School lives on South Main Street.

"I decided I’ve just worked about all I want to," Shaver said. "I’m getting too old for that kind of foolishness."

He said he would work again if asked to, but that’s not extremely likely because his type of character isn’t big right now. Shaver’s specialty was cantankerous villains in western movies.

When the westerns went out of style, I went out of business, Shaver said.

His last role was in a movie called "Survival" in the late ‘70’s. In that movie, he played a sheriff. "I died in that one, too," he said.

That was the last role of a career which began in 1947. He got his start while stationed at Chandler, Ariz. in the Army.

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His Start In Films

His first films were Army training films on subjects such as shooting machine guns and firing tanks. His first "real" movie was soon after that. It was "Bugle Sounds," starring Wallace Berry.

He got a part in that while stationed at Ft. Knox, where the movie was filmed. The next movie he made, "The Tanks are Coming," was also made at Ft. Knox.

After that, he moved to Arizona and was in law enforcement at Scottsdale and near Phoenix while he supplemented his income with periodic parts in movies and television until a few years ago.

During that time he worked with and met many of Hollywood’s most famous people."You find that the higher up they are (in notoriety) the nicer they are," Shaver said.

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One fairly famous actor of the period that Shaver knew was Ronald Reagan. Shaver worked on an episode of "Death Valley Days," a western television program that Reagan hosted.

Shaver said Reagan remembered this initial meeting many years later. Shaver called Washington on election night in 1980 while Reagan was in the process of easily beating Jimmy Carter for the presidency. He said he didn’t really expect to get through, but he did finally reach Reagan’s room, where Charleston Heston answered the phone.

Heston, who Shaver had met before, told him that the president-to-be was a little busy at the moment, and couldn’t answer the phone.

Shaver said he than asked "Chuck" as he calls Heston, to deliver a message for him. "Tell him that riding Lady Bird finally paid off," Shaver said to Heston. Heston, probably a little bewildered at the request, told Reagan, who realized what he was talking about.

Shaver’s statement went back to an incident years before, when Reagan was riding a mule in a movie. Shaver had kidded Reagan about a Republican political candidate being seen on a donkey, which is the Democrats’ mascot.

Reagan, in his usual form, had quipped "Yeah, but it’s okay. I call her Lady Bird." So because of that incident, and the fact that Reagan remembered it, Shaver got the chance to personally congratulate the new president-elect over the phone.

Another person who, while not quite as famous as the president, is quite visible on television these days who Shaver worked with, is Bill Cosby.

"He’s one of the best guys you’ll ever meet," Shaver said. "He’s an absolute perfectionist, but when you get through you’ve got a good scene."Shaver met Cosby while working on "Man and Boy" in the mid ‘60’s.

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Cigarette Commercial

Although he worked mainly in movies and television programs, Shaver’s biggest role was in a cigarette commercial.

He did a Lucky Strike commercial in 1962 that was used nationwide. It brought him about $9,000 , plus some gratuities.

His work in movies and television didn’t bring as much money, but he said he still gets residual checks from some of the movies he did.

Although he make dozens of appearances on the screen, Shaver kept living in Arizona, only once working in Hollywood, that in an episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies" TV show.

He had a steady income as a deputy sheriff and then a deputy marshal in the ‘50s and ‘60s in Scottsville, Arizona, and explained that it is difficult to make a living at acting.

Shaver made the move back to Marion because, since his is retired, he can’t afford the high cost of living in Arizona. He has lived here since the end of March.

Shaver was born in Texas, but moved here when he was two years old.

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This article appeared in The Crittenden Press June 28, 1962

Aubery "Buster" Shaver in Post and Life Magazines; Stands Sold Out!

Quite a lot of talk in Marion this past week centered around a color photograph that appeared in at least two nationally circulated magazines showing a former Marion resident endorsing a leading brand of cigarettes.

The picture was of Aubrey "Buster" Shaver, step-son of Eugene "Dick" Morrill, and a half brother to Bill Morrill.

Those who knew "Buster" as a youth and young man here commented on how handsome he was. They reminisced on his likable personality and some even compared him to movie stars past and present. All in all the comments were most complimentary.

"Buster" is now residing in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a U. S. Deputy Marshall. He received this job after being Deputy Sheriff of Phoenix County for some five years.

As a P. S. we might add that two weeks ago Buster" appeared on a TV commercial on the Dick Powell Show and quite a few commented on seeing it.

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Aubrey "Buster" Shaver died May 5, 1988 at Salem Nursing Home. He only got to enjoy a few years back in his hometown of Marion. Greg Morrill, Buster’s half nephew, told me that Buster was cremated and his daughter, Vickie, took his ashes back to Arizona with her. I find it fascinating following some of the past footprints that traveled through our little town.