I came upon this movie totally by accident while reading an old interview with the Texas screenwriter William D. Witliff, who wrote a majority of the screenplay for the Lonesome Dove TV series in 1989.
In that interview Witliff talks about how back in 1982 his long time friend and actor, Timothy Scott told him about the role he was offered in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. Typically Scott would not accept such a small role but he fell in love with the script and story. At Witliff’s urging to the studio, Scott would later go on to play ‘Pea Eye’ in Lonesome Dove, a role that would firmly cement his name in western movies forever.
Timothy Scott passed away from cancer in 1995 and his ashes were scattered on Bill Witliff’s ranch at Plum Creek near Gonzales, Texas (where a majority of the film The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez and parts of Lonesome Dove were filmed!)
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez colors outside the lines of your typical western and is a really amazing yet sad story of Texas at the turn of the century. It has a stellar cast including Edward James Olmos, James Gammon, Bruce McGill, Timothy Scott and Barry Corbin.
