Hendricks, Byron
Contract Personnel • Inducted 2015
*Inducted as a pair with Lee Hendricks.
The Hendricks Brothers – identical twins Byron and Lee – entertained rodeo audiences from 1940 into the mid-1960s, with a variety of acts that included daredevil Roman riding, bridle-less jumps, dancing horses and dogs.
The Flying Twins Act, with Byron and Lee riding Roman style, had each of them jumping their horses without bridles over an automobile in opposite directions. It became their most famous and dangerous stunt, but no doubt rated as mere child’s play to the brothers, who were both Army paratroopers during World War II.
The Hendricks Brothers were respected throughout the rodeo industry for their skills as animal trainers and performers. They delighted rodeo crowds at many of the major rodeo venues, including Madison Square Garden in New York City and the San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo.
Rodeo promoter, singer and actor Gene Autry called a dog act of the Hendricks family the “greatest thing I have ever seen.” Byron had a dog act that included them jumping rope, and it was featured on television’s Ed Sullivan Show.
Biography
Born: January 26, 1924 in Springfield, Missouri
Died: in 1996
