‘The Big Valley’: Peter Breck’s Nick Barkley Had 1 of the Fastest Gun Draws in TV History
For as long as American media has existed, so too has the allure of a Western. Stories set in the Wild West play an outsized role in the country’s self-mythology, and one of the genre’s favorite tropes is the duel between two opposing gunfighters. These duels often came down to one simple question: who was the fastest in the West? It turns out that few had the reflexes or mental sharpness of Nick Barkley, a character on the show The Big Valley played by Peter Breck.
Breck was one of many actors who learned to fire their weapons accurately in no time. But who was the quickest? It’s a question without a definitive answer.
Peter Breck played the young hothead in ‘The Big Valley’
The Big Valley took place in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The show followed the lives of the Barkley family. They were wealthy owners of a ranch led by their matriarch Victoria (Barbara Stanwyck), her sons Jarrod (Richard Long) and Nick (Peter Breck), daughter Audra (Linda Evans), and their half-brother Heath (Lee Majors).
The rest of the Stockton residents are painted as corrupt villains compared to the Barkleys. The Barkleys are morally upstanding citizens on the right side of justice — at least by the standards of the late ’60s when The Big Valley was made.
No one in the family was a shrinking violet, but Nick was quicker to temper than any other Barkley. The former Union Army soldier was ready to fight with anyone (including his own brothers) at a moment’s notice. Still, he was also a personable and caring person under his tough exterior.
Nick was never caught slipping when it did come time to settle an argument with violence. MSN found a report in Wildest Westerns Magazine that claimed that Breck could draw his fun in 1/16th of a second, making his character the fastest draw in TV history.
Peter Breck as Nick appeared in 98 of The Big Valley’s 112 episodes. (He previously starred in his own series Black Saddle on NBC.) Despite critical acclaim and decent ratings, the show was canceled after four seasons in 1969 as the Western began to wane in popularity.
The quickest draw in Hollywood is a matter of debate
Breck had plenty of competition for the title of Hollywood’s quickest draw.
James Arness (Gunsmoke, How The West Was Won) and John Wayne are two of the most iconic Western actors. But according to The Virginian-Pilot, Glenn Ford was once known as the “fastest gun in Hollywood” for his ability to draw and fire in 0.4 seconds. Ford starred in two critically acclaimed Westerns, Jubal and 3:10 To Yuma, and was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1978.
Whether these men were the quickest shooters in Tinseltown is not truly known. This was not a commonly tracked talent at the time. Most of the records came from the famous and prideful actors themselves, who knew that being faster than the other guys would be good for their reputation.
Per True West Magazine, the first fast draw competition took place at Knott’s Berry Farm in 1954 between Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Hugh O’Brian, and Audie Murphy.
O’Brian claimed he could fire in .25 of a second, but Davis Jr. and Lewis both allegedly posted faster times. O’Brian challenged Murphy to a second contest. But when the latter asked to use live ammunition (before his acting career, Murphy recovered every military combat award for valor during his time in the US Army), O’Brian changed his mind.
Learning from a stuntman
Many entertainers honed their pistol-wielding talents under the tutelage of Arvo Ojala, a gun coach who could reportedly cock his sidearm, aim, and fire in 1/6th of a second. Ojala worked as a stuntman and a workaday actor before transitioning into teaching bigger names how to handle weaponry. He also patented and manufactured his own line of metal-lined holsters that were commonly used throughout the late ’50s and ’60s.
Ojala taught many actors over the years but considered Wayde Preston, Arness, and James Garner, his finest pupils. He died in 2005 at the age of 85. Go to The Los Angeles Times for a more thorough obituary about his life.
The real ‘fastest gunslinger in the world’ is also a controversial figure
The distinction of the fastest gunman in the land doesn’t get any less contentious outside of the confines of Hollywood.
As recalled on Inverse, Bob Munden holds 18 worldwide Fast Draw records. He earned the title of “Fastest Man with a Gun Who Ever Lived” in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Munden claimed he could draw and fire a gun in .02 seconds. But like many Westerns, it’s unclear where reality ends, and the legend begins. Most of his records were not documented well enough to be considered accurate. His assertion that he won 3,500 fast-draw trophies in his life was also uncorroborated. Guinness eventually stopped placing Munden’s records in new editions of their books as a result. He died in 2012 at the age of 70.
Modern Westerns like Yellowstone don’t lean on this form of action in the same way. But the power of a quick-draw shooter is still apparent in modern pop culture.
