Here’s a blast for your Black Stallion history, an interview with Kelly Reno about working on the classic movie!
He and his wife, Dawn post on the forum so if you have any questions you may find the answers there already. You can always leave a special note to them – BlackStalGal.
Our friends at Horse Illustrated published this last fall but if you didn’t get a chance to read it then you can now. Stop by their site at www.HorseChannel.com and see all the latest stories.
For a bit of Alec’s magic pick up your own Bucephalus at the Gift store!
Thanks for reading … and writing! – tim
It was 35 years ago when a young boy from Colorado named Kelly Reno thundered down a pristine beach against an aquamarine sea with outstretched arms, riding bareback
on a black Arabian stallion named Cass Ole. Together, they became the embodiment of the boy and horse in Walter Farley’s classic tale, The Black Stallion, giving life to Alec Ramsay and the wild stallion The Black in ways that only the extraordinary visual storytelling of Hollywood conveys.
As timeless today as when the Academy Award winning movie was released in 1979, Reno was only 11 years old with no acting experience when filming began. In contrast, riding was totally ingrained from growing up on his parents’ 10,000-acre cattle ranch.
“Basically, my whole childhood from birth was sitting on horseback somewhere,” says Reno, now 47. A family friend spotted an advertisement in The Denver Post for the lead role in a new movie based on Walter Farley’s book, The Black Stallion, and told Reno’s mother. The idea of getting out of school to go to Denver for auditions held immediate appeal to the young boy. “One thing led to another and I happened to be what they were looking for, and I wound up getting the part,” says Reno. “I had never done any acting, but I was always kind of a ham.” The actor who played Alec Ramsay recalls his classic role.
By Elizabeth Kaye McCall
This is the link to the full story with photos;
HI Kelly and the BlackStallion
Ride on!!!