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On This Day: Willie Nelson Makes His Film Debut in ‘The Electric Horseman’ in 1979

On this day forty-one years ago, country music legend Willie Nelson made his movie debut in The Electric Horseman, opposite Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

Nelson starred in the 1979 comedy-drama romance western film alongside Redford and Fonda. The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year and also received a nomination for an Academy Award. The Electric Horseman was directed by Sydney Pollack.

Meanwhile, Nelson wasn’t just a star in the movie. The country legend also contributed several songs to the masterpiece, including “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” “Midnight Rider,” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

The film is about a former rodeo champion who is hired by a cereal company to become its spokesperson. He then runs away on a $12 million electric-lit horse and costume he is given to promote it in Las Vegas. Watch the trailer for the movie below:

After accepting his role in The Electric Horseman, Willie Nelson began the start of an unquestionably great acting career. The country music icon has gone on to appear in more than a dozen films. Some of those include Red Headed StrangerAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Blonde Ambition.

However, despite all of his success as an actor, the famous Texan remains humble about his accomplishments. When asked during an interview earlier this year to rank his many accomplishments, he placed acting “probably at the bottom.”

“I’m the worst actor ever,” Nelson says. “I usually pretty much play myself, whoever I’m supposed to be. And that doesn’t require a lot of acting.”

The Electric Horseman soundtrack is available for purchase on Amazon.

Willie Nelson is a Part of Dolly Parton’s Christmas Card

Country superstar Dolly Parton recently shared a Christmas card featuring herself and Willie Nelson on social media. She has been promoting her new customized Christmas card website, MyDollycard.com.

“I love @WillieNelson from here to the moon and back,” Parton tweeted on Sunday. “Make a customized Christmas card for someone you love right now.”

In addition, Parton recently announced that she and Nelson are making a music video for their duet “Pretty Paper” from Parton’s 2020 Christmas album.

The Christmas song is about a man who sold pencils and paper on the street during the holiday season. Willie Nelson got the inspiration to write the song when he saw a man with amputated legs in Fort Worth, Texas, selling paper and pencils. The man yelled, “Pretty paper! Pretty paper!” to get people’s attention as they passed by.

“Sometimes a wonderful friendship can turn into some especially wonderful music!” Parton wrote on Instagram.

Further, the holiday music video will drop via Facebook on Tuesday at 9 a.m. CST according to the country star’s Instagram post.

H/T: Theboot.com