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Hats on TV

Messages
12,009
Location
East of Los Angeles
New Orleans is really hard to get right, not really Southern, almost Brooklynese in a way.
Several years ago a former co-worker had signed up for the Navy's "One weekend a month, two weeks a year" tour of duty (I can't remember what the specific program was actually called). He came in one Monday and told us he'd been "stationed" in New Orleans, and commented that he could barely understand what most of the people who lived there said because their accents were so thick. "First of all, it's not 'Noo Orleenz', it's 'Nyawlins', pronounced as one word." :D
 

TPD166

One Too Many
Messages
1,295
Location
Lone Star State
Getting reacquainted with the great TV western “Maverick” over the past few months, I have paid attention to their headwear, which for most part, are excellent hats.

Bret Maverick had two hats (not sure where he kept the other one?) – a black one woen for gambling, and a silverbelly(?) when wore less “formal” clothes. Both appear to be of the same style – teardrop crown and curved brim. Both were great-looking and well-suited to Bret.



Bart also had a great hat – he while seemed to only have one, but you can see costuming differences from scene-to-scene, or episode-to-episode. The hat was silverbelly with a cavalry cord used as a hat band. In some episodes it seems to have a very tightly-creased teardrop (it really looked like a telescope crown, until you got a look at the top - can’t find a photo of the crown), in others, a more natural teardrop (as shown here).



And, after Bret left the series and was replaced by Cousin Beau, it appears the costumer just went by the local western wear shop and bought a western hat in Roger Moore’s size off the rack. To me, Beau’s hat never looked like it suited him.


I know there was fourth Maverick, but I haven’t gotten that far in the series yet.
 

TPD166

One Too Many
Messages
1,295
Location
Lone Star State
Last edited:
Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Getting reacquainted with the great TV western “Maverick” over the past few months, I have paid attention to their headwear, which for most part, are excellent hats.

Bret Maverick had two hats (not sure where he kept the other one?) – a black one woen for gambling, and a silverbelly(?) when wore less “formal” clothes. Both appear to be of the same style – teardrop crown and curved brim. Both were great-looking and well-suited to Bret.



Bart also had a great hat – he while seemed to only have one, but you can see costuming differences from scene-to-scene, or episode-to-episode. The hat was silverbelly with a cavalry cord used as a hat band. In some episodes it seems to have a very tightly-creased teardrop (it really looked like a telescope crown, until you got a look at the top - can’t find a photo of the crown), in others, a more natural teardrop (as shown here).



And, after Bret left the series and was replaced by Cousin Beau, it appears the costumer just went by the local western wear shop and bought a western hat in Roger Moore’s size off the rack. To me, Beau’s hat never looked like it suited him.


I know there was fourth Maverick, but I haven’t gotten that far in the series yet.

One of my favorites, Robert. Both because I love westerns and the hats. Brett also occasionally wore a Panama, usually when the episode was set in New Orleans or he was on a riverboat.
image.jpeg
 
Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Brosnan's hats for the show were made by David at Texas Hatters in Lockhart, TX. I have a couple of episodes recorded and plan to watch them before I pick my hat from TX Hatter this weekend.

Robert I've been watching the show and I'll be anxious to hear what you think. I'm a fan of Brosnan's hat. Knowing some of Texas Hatters prices, don't know that I'll ever own one.
 

TPD166

One Too Many
Messages
1,295
Location
Lone Star State
David wasn't allowed to advertise his involvement until the show aired, but told me he made Brosnan's hats for show, plus a couple of extras the production company ordered. He also advised Brosnan spent time at the shop watching hats being made and was fascinated by the process. He ended up ordering several personal hats for himself. The folks at TH were invited to set and said Pierce spent his time not on camera visiting with them. I saw photos of Brosnan in other businesses last time I was in Lockhart - apparently he left a very favorable impression in that town.

Robert I've been watching the show and I'll be anxious to hear what you think. I'm a fan of Brosnan's hat. Knowing some of Texas Hatters prices, don't know that I'll ever own one.
 

Benzadmiral

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,815
Location
The Swamp
Several years ago a former co-worker had signed up for the Navy's "One weekend a month, two weeks a year" tour of duty (I can't remember what the specific program was actually called). He came in one Monday and told us he'd been "stationed" in New Orleans, and commented that he could barely understand what most of the people who lived there said because their accents were so thick. "First of all, it's not 'Noo Orleenz', it's 'Nyawlins', pronounced as one word." :D
A lot of the people here in Da Swamp talk as if they have a thumb positioned in their mouths, yes. The lower-middle to middle-class accent known as "Yat" (short for the infamous greeting, "Where y'at?", meaning "How are you?") does sound a lot like Brooklynese, the kind of dialect spoken by cabdrivers and pugs in Golden Era movies. The reason is the same for both: NYC and NO were both major seaports, and saw mixing of German immigrants and many others over the decades.

Nowadays you hear Yat spoken mostly in the suburb to the west, Metairie, and other places where upwardly-mobile New Orleanians headed once the suburbs began to grow.

If you hear a native refer to "yo'mominem's house," this means "the house where your mother and her relatives reside." No wonder visitors can't understand the denizens here. I've lived here most of my life, and I observe the locals as a sort of alien life form, never to be taken seriously.
 

suitedcboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,348
Location
Fort Worth Texas or thereabouts
"Texas accent" is pretty elusive. It is FAR more than one sound since it can vary so much place to place. With time so much of the regional dialect gets diluted. East Texans from piney woods sound like Mississippi and Louisiana neighbors but there are a few words that get pronounced different. If you go to some of the little towns originally settled by Europeans you can hear some weird stuff. Brosnan's sound may be way more authentic for the era of that show than we might think.
 

TPD166

One Too Many
Messages
1,295
Location
Lone Star State
Well, I am finally caught up on the show and really enjoying it! When I was at Texas Hatters last Friday picking up my hat, just by chance, the man who owns the ranch where "The Son" was filmed came in with one of his [Texas Hatters-made] hats for a quick touch-up. The house in the show is not a set (exteriors anyway) and was built by this gentleman's grandfather.

Robert I've been watching the show and I'll be anxious to hear what you think. I'm a fan of Brosnan's hat. Knowing some of Texas Hatters prices, don't know that I'll ever own one.
 
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Messages
11,369
Location
Alabama
Well, I am finally caught up on the show and really enjoying it! When I was at Texas Hatters last Friday picking up my hat, just by chance, the man who owns the ranch where "The Son" was filmed came in with one of his [Texas Hatters-made] hats for a quick touch-up. The house in the show is not a set (exteriors anyway) and was built by this gentleman's grandfather.

Robert, I've been watching it as well and there are a few things I could nit-pick but I don't tend to do that as I usually fall into the either I like it or I don't camp. This one I like. The acting is solid with some great Texas scenery. Very cool about the house. You didn't happen to ask about the price for one of Brosnan's hats, did you?
 

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