This past Thursday was the season premiere of the latest season of “Survivor” and I caught a bit of it while my spouse was watching. One of the characters was trying to make a decision, then explain it, and uttered these immortal words.
It made me think of a song, the movie it spawned and the artist who both sang and acted in “The Gambler”.
The song
“The Gambler” was my introduction to Kenny Rogers long before I ever got interested in music. My parents used to listen to 1220 CJOC on the radio every morning before I went to school and waited for the school bus.
“The Gambler” was my introduction to Kenny Rogers long before I ever got interested in music. My parents used to listen to 1220 CJOC on the radio every morning before I went to school and waited for the school bus.
“The Gambler” always seemed to be playing. It was a great song that told a really good story
I did not realize it came out in 1978, but that makes sense because I recall being really young when it was popular. “The Gambler” had been released previously, but it was Rogers’ version that made it a success. “The Gambler” went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, number three on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The song also earned Kenny Rogers the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980.
But that was not the last we heard of “The Gambler”.
The movie
The song told a story, so it was just right to make into a movie.
The song told a story, so it was just right to make into a movie.
In 1980, a movie came out called “Kenny Rogers as The Gambler” based on the song. Kenny Rogers played Brady Hawkes, the title character, who is a poker player. He discovers he has a son and goes to meet him. Along the way he meets Billy Montana, played by Bruce Boxleitner, who is also a poker player.
It was a great movie. I particularly remember Bruce Boxleitner as Billy Montana, who was funny, supportive, and became Brady’s best friend.
The movie was a ratings hit.
A sequel, “Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues”, came out in 1983. Rogers and Boxleitner were back. Reunited with Brady’s son, they were travelling to a gambling event when Brady’s son is taken hostage. Brady and Billy work to rescue the boy, with the help of a bounty hunter played by Linda Evans.
There were three more movies but, by then, I had moved away from home and didn’t see any of them.
They started in 1987 with “Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues”; “The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw” in 1991; and “Gambler V: playing for Keeps”.
Parting thoughts
“The Gambler” was such an interesting part of the 1980s. It was not often, it still isn’t, that a song spawns a movie. In this case, it ended up spawning five movies.
“The Gambler” was such an interesting part of the 1980s. It was not often, it still isn’t, that a song spawns a movie. In this case, it ended up spawning five movies.
However, it was a song with vivid details that told a story, so it was perfect source material.
One of my best memories of the two “The Gambler” movies I saw was watching them with my Mom, who loved Kenny Rogers.
I noticed the movies are on one of my streaming services, so maybe it’s time to give them another look and remember “The Gambler”.
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