Slim Pickens was a cowboy and actor. He was an excellent rider from age four and quit school to join the rodeo at age twelve. He was told that working in the rodeo would be "slim pickings", giving him his name, but he did very well, eventually rising to become a well known rodeo clown - one of the most dangerous jobs in show business. His most famous role was as B-52 pilot Major T. J. "King" Kong in Dr. Strangelove.