Louis L'Amour [author]

Calvin

Welcome to Headstones and Microphones where we use AI to step into the past through a researched, first-person simulation of history's most interesting people. I am your host, Calvin. While we’ve added some creative storytelling, our goal is to inspire your own study of these fascinating lives. Now, let’s meet our guest.

Calvin

I am so incredibly excited for today’s show. Our guest is a legend of the American West, a man who wrote over a hundred books and probably lived enough life for ten men. For those who may somehow not know who you are... who are you?

White Male Guest

I’m Louis L'Amour. Most folks know me as a writer of Westerns, but I like to think of myself as a storyteller who just happened to find his best tales in the dust and the sagebrush.

Calvin

We are honored to have you, Looey! Let’s start at the very beginning. When and where were you born?

White Male Guest

I came into this world on March 22, 1908, right in the heart of Jamestown, North Dakota. It was a fine place to start a life.

Calvin

And what was your given name at birth?

White Male Guest

My folks named me Looey Dearborn LaMoore. Note the spelling—L-a-M-o-o-r-e.

Calvin

Is there a story behind your birth name or how it became the famous "L'Amour" we see on book covers?

White Male Guest

You know, my father actually changed the spelling to LaMoore when he came to the Dakota Territory. But later on, when I settled in Oklahoma in the early 1930s to really make a go at writing, I decided to change it back to the original French spelling: L'Amour. It felt right for the career I was building.

Calvin

Jamestown sounds like a classic setting. What was your hometown like growing up?

White Male Guest

It was a medium-sized farming community, tucked in the valley where Pipestem Creek meets the James River. Even though it was farm country, the Northern Pacific Railroad ran right through it. I used to watch the cattle cars go by and see real-life cowboys headed to market. It was a gateway to the world for a curious boy.

Calvin

What was your family life like?

White Male Guest

I was the last of seven children! My father, Dr. Looey Charles LaMoore, was a large animal veterinarian and a local politician. My mother, Emily, was a former schoolteacher. We didn't have a lot of money, but we were rich in stories. My grandfather lived in a little house right behind ours, and he’d tell me tales of the Civil War and the Indian Wars. It was a house full of readers and thinkers.

Calvin

With all those stories, what kind of kid were you?

White Male Guest

I was a sponge, Calvin! I spent every spare second at the Alfred Dickey Free Library. My sister Edna was a librarian there, so I had an "in." While other kids were just playing, I was deep into the works of G.A. Henty and Jack London. I played "Cowboys and Indians" in the barn, sure, but in my head, I was already traveling the globe.

Calvin

What were your biggest fears growing up?

White Male Guest

Growing up on the tail end of the frontier, you learn that nature is indifferent. I suppose my biggest fear was stagnation—the idea of staying in one place and never seeing what was over the next horizon.

Calvin

What did you dream of becoming as a child?

White Male Guest

I always knew I was going to be a storyteller. I didn't know quite how yet, but I knew my life was going to be an adventure I could write down later.

Calvin

What was your first job?

White Male Guest

Oh, I had plenty! But after the bank failures in the early 20s forced my family onto the road, my first "real" rugged jobs involved skinning dead cattle in Texas and baling hay. I even had a short stint as an elephant handler for a circus in Phoenix!

Calvin

An elephant handler! That’s a twist. Was there a moment where you realized you were different from everyone else?

White Male Guest

It was likely during those years on the road. I realized that while many men lived their lives in one town, I was seeing the world through the eyes of a miner, a merchant seaman, and a professional boxer. I was collecting pieces of people to put into books later.

Calvin

What’s a decision that changed everything for you, but felt small at the time?

White Male Guest

Dropping out of school at fifteen. At the time, it felt like a necessity because of my family’s finances, but it turned out to be my true education. I traded a classroom for the "University of the World."

Calvin

What was your biggest break?

White Male Guest

1952 was the year. John Wayne bought the screen rights to my short story, The Gift of Cochise, and turned it into the movie Hondo. That changed the wind for me entirely.

Calvin

What were your biggest struggles before success?

White Male Guest

The 1930s were lean, Calvin. I was living in Oklahoma, trying to sell stories for pennies. I was working as a merchant seaman just to keep food on the plate. Rejection slips were more common than paychecks for a long time.

Calvin

Did you ever consider quitting?

White Male Guest

Never. A man who quits on his dream is just waiting for the end. I knew the stories were in me; I just had to find the right way to tell them.

Calvin

Were there any specific daily habits or routines that you feel are essential to your success?

White Male Guest

I wrote every single day. I kept thousands of notes on everything—from how the Navajo wove their blankets to the record for buffalo hunting. I buried myself in research. If you want to be a writer, you have to be a reader first, and a worker second.

Calvin

What job would you have had if fame never happened?

White Male Guest

I likely would have stayed at sea as a merchant seaman or perhaps stayed in the ring as a boxing trainer. I loved the physical nature of those jobs.

Calvin

What was your life like before fame?

White Male Guest

It was a life of motion. I saw England, Japan, China, and Egypt. I slept under the stars and in the hulls of ships. It was rough, but it was honest.

Calvin

How did relationships change after success?

White Male Guest

You find out who your real friends are—the ones who "ride the river" with you. I was lucky to marry my wife, Kathy, in 1956. She was my partner in everything.

Calvin

What misconceptions did people have about you?

White Male Guest

Some folks thought because I wrote Westerns, I was just a "pulp" writer. They didn't see the thousands of books in my library or the deep historical research that went into every page.

Calvin

Tell me about a time when everything went wrong and how did you handle it?

White Male Guest

When the "pulp" magazine market started to dry up in the 50s, I had to pivot. I didn't panic; I just started writing for the "slicks" and then moved into novels. You have to be like a river—if you hit a rock, you just go around it.

Who had the biggest influence on your life?

My family, without a doubt. My father taught me how to solve problems, and my mother and sisters gave me the gift of literacy. And of course, the old-timers I met on the road who gave me their stories.

Calvin

What were you working on in your career before you passed away?

White Male Guest

I was always working! I had dozens of story fragments and manuscripts in my office. I was working on my memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, which I really wanted to use to encourage others to never stop learning.

Calvin

When and where and how did you pass away and how old were you?

White Male Guest

I was 80 years old when I passed away on June 10, 1988, in Los Angeles, California.

Calvin

What’s a random fact about you most people have never heard?

White Male Guest

I once claimed to have won 51 out of 59 professional boxing matches! I wasn't just a man of letters; I was a man of my fists, too.

Calvin

What was your most unique habit?

White Male Guest

I was a note-taker. I had scraps of paper everywhere with facts about stagefright, the history of crackers, or how the Sioux camped. My desk was usually buried in them!

Calvin

What was your favorite food?

White Male Guest

After years of eating whatever was available on a ship or in a mining camp, I developed a simple palate. But I always had a soft spot for the traditional contributions of Native Americans—corn, peanuts, and popcorn.

Calvin

Did you have any known rivalries?

White Male Guest

Not in the way you might think. My only real rivalry was with the clock—trying to get all the stories out of my head and onto paper before time ran out.

Calvin

What advice would you give people chasing success?

White Male Guest

Don't wait for inspiration; go after it with a club! Read everything you can get your hands on, work harder than the man next to you, and remember that the destination is never as important as the journey itself.

Calvin

Looey, this has been an absolute pleasure. Before we sign off, do you have any closing remarks for our listeners?

White Male Guest

Just this: the frontier isn't a place on a map; it's a state of mind. Keep exploring, keep reading, and never let your curiosity grow cold. Thank you for letting me share a few more tales, Calvin. It’s been a grand time.

Calvin

Thank you, Looey! What a journey—from skinning cattle to winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We’ve learned so much about the man behind the Western legend today. Thank you for coming on the show. And that wraps up another conversation from beyond the grave. Thanks for joining us on The Headstones and Microphones Podcast. Remember—legends may die, but their stories never do. Please help spread the word by sharing and following the pod.