OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Returning in-person for it is 60th year, The Cowboy will honor individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage through their life and career during the Western Heritage Awards, September 17-18.

Often called the “Oscars of the West,” this black-tie, celebrity-hosted event held at The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum attracts the biggest names in Western literature, music, television and film every year. This year’s ceremony will recognize honorees and inductees from both 2020 and 2021.

Inductees include Academy Award winner Robert Duvall and Emmy-nominated Kurt Russell, as well as American country music singer George Strait.

“The West is more than a geographical location; it is a story we tell,” said Natalie Shirley, Museum President and CEO.

Each award winner and inductee receives a Wrangler, an impressive bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback created by Oklahoma artist Harold T. Holden, a 2017 Hall of Great Westerners inductee.

This year, Woodrow Wilson Woolwine “Woody” Strode (1914-1994), will be the 2021 inductee into the Hall of Great Western Performers along with 2020 inductees Kurt Russell and Neil Oliver “Bing” Russell (1926 – 2003). Inductees into the Hall of Great Westerners for 2020 are Montford T. Johnson (1843 – 1896) and Bennett Richard “Ben” Houston (1929 – 2016). Inductees into the Hall of Great Westerners for 2021 are Matthew “Bones” Hooks (1867 – 1951) and Mel O. Potter.

The 2021 Western Heritage Awards will also recognize R. W. Hampton and the 2020 awardee John Scott with the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award.

Singer and songwriter George Strait will receive the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award and actor Robert Duvall will receive the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. Both honorees will also receive a commemorative three-piece Western buckle set.

“Our institution began as The National Cowboy Hall of Fame over 60 years ago and we are happy to carry on that legacy through the Western Heritage Awards and through our Museum’s Hall of Great Westerners and Hall of Great Western Performers,” said Shirley.

The 2021 Western Heritage Awards Induction Ceremony is sold out, but tickets for a livestream remote dinner held in the Museum’s Annie Oakley Center will be available and includes access to a reception preceding the induction ceremony, September 18.