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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of the |
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television miniseries Lonesome Dove provides a welcome opportunity |
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to celebrate the iconic performances of its two stars, the actors |
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Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones; and |
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WHEREAS, Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by |
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Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove is the saga of an epic cattle drive |
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from South Texas to the mountains of Montana in the late 1870s; |
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originally aired in four episodes between February 5 and February |
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8, 1989, this beautifully written and directed narrative features |
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more than a dozen vividly rendered major characters, but at the |
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center of the story are two legendary cattlemen, Woodrow F. Call and |
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Augustus McCrae; and |
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WHEREAS, These two former captains in the Texas Rangers are |
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partners in the Hat Creek Cattle Company in the small border town of |
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Lonesome Dove; Captain Call is a stern leader with an unflinching |
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code of honor, and in the powerful performance of Tommy Lee Jones, |
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he is a man of few words, immense dignity, and a great deal of |
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repressed emotion; Gus McCrae is a much livelier gentleman, fond of |
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drinking, gambling, and the company of women, and Robert Duvall's |
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portrayal constitutes an actor's master class in homespun wit, |
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physical grace, and effortless charm; and |
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WHEREAS, Lonesome Dove teems with character and incident, |
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ranging from the comic to the violent to the heartbreaking, but the |
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soul of the story is the often contentious but always unbreakable |
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bond between Woodrow and Gus, and thanks to the skill of these two |
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gifted actors, Lonesome Dove represents one of the most moving |
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evocations of lifelong friendship ever committed to film; any |
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viewer who does not weep during their final parting at Gus's |
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deathbed is surely made of stone; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the finest actors of his generation, |
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Mr. Duvall has enjoyed a long career encompassing roles in such |
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classics as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, |
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and Tender Mercies; the equally revered Mr. Jones, a native Texan, |
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has turned in magnificent performances in such films as Coal |
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Miner's Daughter, The Fugitive, No Country for Old Men, and |
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Lincoln; and |
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WHEREAS, Acclaimed by critics and viewers alike at the time |
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of its airing, Lonesome Dove has gone on to become the unofficial |
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"national epic" of the Lone Star State, and its indelible place in |
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the hearts of Texans and audiences around the world is due in large |
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part to the brilliance and charisma of these two great American |
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actors; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first |
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broadcast of Lonesome Dove and commend Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee |
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Jones for their masterful performances; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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for Mr. Duvall and Mr. Jones as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |