Schyler? With the shotgun?

My wife recently pondered what kind of career the actor who played Schyler has had, which led to some internet searching.

In the movie, we hear a lot about Schyler. He's in the trailer, so Philo can't go all the way with Lynn the first time the meet, but not because Schyler will mind; he just might want to join in, that's all. The thought of a threeway with another man weirds out Philo so he just suggests that they get back together when Schyler's not around.

Then another time, Schyler, seemingly in a fit of jealously, fires a shotgun at Philo while he and Lynn are driving around in the old pickup. Philo wants to beat the hell out of Schyler, but Lynn tells him that he's probably scared half out of wits. He didn't even know how to use that shotgun. "Well I don't like the way he's trying to learn," replies a frustrated Philo.

When we finally meet Schyler the build up has been perfect. And Schyler appears out of the darkness behind the bar, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, wide collar flared out to the sides, gold chain around his neck, and a surprised look of fear in his eyes. He takes a couple of backwards steps at the sight of Philo. He's only on screen for a couple of seconds, but he plays it perfectly.

My wife wondered if the actor heard about the sequal and hoped there was a role for him. Indeed, there should have been. Any Which Way You Can was a bit more commercial and some of the subtlety of EWWBL was dropped by the way side. But, as we all remember, they retooled Lynn's character and there was no room for a frightened wimpy pimp.

Nevertheless, I looked to see who played Schyler, and his name is Bruce Scott. He didn't have too many credits to his name. He made some appearances on the Merv Griffin Show in 1965 and played Billy Joe in "Hang 'Em High" in 1968. In 1970, he had a small role in "The People Next Door," a movie about a couple played by Eli Wallach and Julie Harris who discover that their daughter has secretly been tripping on LSD, and it shatters their seemingly perfect suburban dream.

Scott also dabbled in cinematography. First as director of photography on "The Sadistic Hypnotist" in 1969 and then on "Cry Blood, Apache" in 1970.

Then in 1978, Scott played a disc jockey on Starskey & Hutch, the same year that EWWBL came out. It's not clear which role he played first. We can speculate that Clint and crew knew him from Hang 'Em High and thought he had the perfect look for Schyler, and he did.

After EWWBL, Scott's acting career slowed down. According to artistdirect.com, he was a songwriter for the movie "Hot Chili," a 1985 teen sex romp.

HOT CHILI Trailer - ARTISTdirect Music

Described as a softcore porn, Hot Chili was the story of four teenage guys who go to work at a sleepy (and rundown) Mexican resort. It is easy to imagine the filmmakers trying to capitalize on the success of "Porky's" and other similar teen sex romps. The result looks to have suffered from a lower budget and perhaps some script problems.

Whatever the case, artistdirect.com lists Scott's next outing as Flesh Gordon 2: Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders. Scott plays the character "Master Bates." One suspects that FG2 lacked the comic subtlety of EWWBL as well.

After that, Scott vanishes from the record. Looking over his showbiz career, it's possible that that scene -- coming out of the darkness behind the honky tonk and then retreating at the sight of Philo -- may have been his most glorious moment on the silver screen. If so, it was certainly a perfect moment. Beers to you, Mr. Scott.

Weird Thing With Comments

Philo Allen Beddoe left a couple of comments, probably some time in 2011 during which time "Them's Black Widows" was on hiatus. But I am unable to open the comments and view them. I put a preview of the blog comments on the side, but I can't click on them without locking up the blog. I believe that Philo Allen has cast some curse on us to prevent us from enjoying those blog comments.

The Latest in Philo Beddoe Bands News

A fourth band joins the ranks of the music groups that take on the name and legacy of Philo Beddoe. This Milwaukee, Wisconsin, modern punk band adds a bit of flair and mystery by occasionally putting an E at the end of Philoe, as they do on their facebook page, but other times, as in their logo below, they drop the E and one of the D's from Beddoe.

While frontman Mat and drummer Jarod have been playing together since they were in elementary school, Wes the bassist recently helped form their latest group after meeting Jarod in paramedic school. Their single "Dick Bacon" has a sound reminiscent of Green Day. Other songs include "Black Bear Swamp" and "Digging Up Worms." Apparently the band had a gig at Liquor Sweets back in July when they opened for Beatallica, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Beatles and Metallica. No word on how the gig went at this point.

Wanna Eat? Take a Seat at This Old Diner

Robby Cress, author of the blog "Dear Old Hollywood," has done us a service by scouting out the locations of some of the most memorable scenes of EWWBL.

Cress informs us that the Corner Cottage is located at 310 South Victory Boulevard in Burbank, California. Philo and Clyde sit at this red light when a couple of the Black Widows pull up and start making fun of Clyde. Things get out of control when one of the bikers throws a lit cigar and hits Clyde. Then Philo chases them to what appears to be an improvised loading dock where immigrant workers load produce onto a train.

Philo Beddoe (The Band, Not the Man)

It's hard to keep up with a lot of the developments that surround Every Which Way But Loose and the Black Widows, and this one almost slipped by us. Almost.

A band in Seattle has taken on the moniker of our favorite bare-knuckle boxer west of the Rocky Mountains. On their myspace page, they've got a single titled "Hooker." I'll have to listen to it again, but there weren't any overt references to our least favorite quasi-hooker, Lynn Halsey Taylor. I would describe this metal band as a mix between Guns N Roses and .38 Special.

Having said all this, the band may have broken up as it doesn't seem like their page has been updated since a November 2009 post when "Double J" left the comment: "oh sure..my new favorite band breaks up..before i even get to see a show."

But hold on just a minute. It looks like another band has taken up the gauntlet. San Antonio sensation "Philo Beddoe" features Raymond on bass, Dee on vocals, Joseph on guitar and vocals, CJ on vocals, and Mario on drums...and sarcasm, according to the band's myspace page. They describe themselves as Nirvana playing New Wave and have a cover of "One Way or Another" on their page. They appear to have more staying power than the Seattle band, but while they've got the man on their posters, I can't detect any of the influence of country-western redneck subculture on these folks.

Just when you think that there can only be two bands named Philo Beddoe, this UK guitar rock band finds you with a cowboy named Harlan behind a seedy bar. They have about 8 originals on their web page, and they explain that they named themselves after this regular at the Palomino "COS WE'RE ALL MONKEYS."

If that's not enough musical Philo content for you, try out this single titled "Philo Beddoe" by laid back Alaskan rock band BOXX OF ROXX. They ask the questions, "What ever happened to Philo Beddoe? What ever happened to Clyde?" I suspect they are wondering what ever happened to the Seattle band Philo Beddoe. I have not found the band named Clyde yet.

William O'Connell

One of the standout Black Widows is Elmo, played by William O'Connell. He utters the immortal line "Them's Black Widows" in the restaurant where Lynn is telling Philo and Orville a classic Tank Murdoch story.

There are a few reasons that Elmo stands out. First off, his face shows in a subtle way that he's about ten years past his prime. His hair is thinning and his face is fairly wrinkled.

He's also over-confident. He is extremely anxious to get into fights but never even comes close to winning one of them. In the restaurant, after he's lured Philo into a fight by buying a beer for his girlfriend and trying to intimidate him, he immediately regrets it.

He wears the fanciest pants of any Black Widow. They are very tight with a line going down the outside of the thigh. They highlight his slender frame, making his bravado even more comical.

O'Connell got a tremendous amount of TV work during the 1960s, appearing in episodes of the Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Petticoat Junction, and Rawhide where it's possible he met Eastwood. If he didn't meet him then, they surely met during the filming of Paint Your Wagon, for which O'Connell played Horace Tabor.

He also appeared in one episode of Star Trek as Thelev (pictured above in chainmail). In the episode, Spock's father is implicated in the murder of a diplomat, but Thelev turns out to be the sabateur secretly communicated to an enemy vessel and wreaking havoc until Kirk outsmarts the enemies and Thelev commits suicide.

During the 1970s, O'Connell worked with Eastwood on more than one project. In High Plains Drifter, he played a barber, and in Outlaw Josey Wales, he played Sim Carstairs, a ferryman who could sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic and Dixie with equal enthusiasm. In this role, he perfected the confident and terrified snake whose greed outweighs any misgivings he might have for putting himself in harm's way.

In Every Which Way But Loose, one of Elmo's strangest choices is to run after Philo's truck after the rest of the Widows have been beaten down and are fleeing. Elmo catches up with the truck and tries to enter the camper on the back only to be kissed on the mouth on the Clyde. I wonder what Elmo's plan was in that moment. Perhaps he planned on stowing away in the back until he had the element of surprise on his side. Or maybe he planned on trying to take over the truck and run it off the road. Whatever his plan, his audaciousness was true to his character, and once again he discovered that he was in over his head.

Pacoima Black Widows Gear On Sale

Now that demand for Black Widows gear has reached a fever pitch, an enterprising website has finally made Black Widows bags, shirts, stickers, and organic baby clothing.

Mike, co-contributor to this blog, gave me the messenger bag for Christmas. One off-label usage I've discovered: filling it with ice and a six-pack of Olympia. It's perfect for when Philo and one of his opponents leave the ring and start throwing each other threw windows and the like. You can follow the action and never be more than an arm's length from a cold beer.