Larry Mahan obituary

Larry Mahan was an American professional rodeo cowboy who won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships at the National Finals Rodeo on the Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. Mahan was born on November 21, 1943, and passed away on May 7, 2023, at the age of 79.

Mahan, who was born in Salem, Oregon, began competing in professional rodeo at the age of 14.

Beginning in 1963, he competed in the Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA).

From 1966 through 1970, he was World All-Around Champion five years in a row, and a sixth time in 1973.

His 1973 comeback and competition with Phil Lyne was the subject of the documentary The Great American Cowboy, which won the 1974 Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

Following his career, which lasted from 1964 to 1975, Mahan was one of the first inductees into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979.

Among many others, Mahan is a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame, and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Outside of the ring, Mahan achieved success in the western clothing industry with boot and hat collections, as well as recording a country album with Warner Brothers.

Mahan also dabbled with acting, appearing in the 1972 Steve Ihnat picture The Honkers.

He made his film debut in 1975 with Six Pack Annie.

Mahan co-starred in Tommy Lee Jones’s 1995 television film The Good Old Guys, which also starred Sissy Spacek, Matt Damon, and Joaquin Jackson.

During the 2003 season of the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series on the Outdoor Life Network, Mahan briefly served as a color commentator.

Until 2009, Mahan presented RFD-Equestrian TV’s Nation.

Mahan was married three times and had three children.