The rich and famous don't come by Al Shelton's place in Studio City as often as they once did. For one thing, the barrel-bellied ex-bronco buster has outlived Gene Autry, Steve McQueen, Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable, Jack Lemmon and other celebrity patrons who once clamored for the custom-crafted leatherwork embossed with Shelton's iconic cowpoke imagery.
Then too, westerns aren't what they used to be.
And that's OK by him. These days, Shelton, 84, onetime cowboy artist to the stars, would be just as pleased with the company of a stray cat. "I don't have a cat now, but I am open to another one coming around," says Shelton, dressed in his customary pearl-buttoned cowboy shirt, flared brown pants and boots on a recent weekday.
In the dinky backroom of his curio-crammed storefront, Shelton polishes off lunch -- one slice of white bread, bologna, catsup -- then ambles toward his workbench to scrutinize the intricately tooled leather covering he's making for the Martin Guitar Co.'s new museum in Nazareth, Pa.
Martin commissioned the piece on the strength of a leather-tooled cover for a guitar Shelton carved for Ricky Nelson in 1957. The yellowing tracing paper for that rosette and scroll design lies in a pile of old notebooks, photographs and articles.
"I don't have much of a filing system," rumbles Shelton, his raspy twang sounding like it's been filtered through a slurry of gravel, whiskey, barbed wire and tumbleweed.
"I'll tell you how that worked out: Ricky wasn't old enough to drive, so his brother, Dave, brought him here and told me they saw Elvis Presley and wanted a guitar like his. I sort of put a little act on 'em. I said, 'No way would I try to duplicate Elvis.... But I'll be glad to do a better job than that!' Heh heh heh."
Shelton befriended the young teen idol and even taught Nelson a few chords on the guitar. "Three months go by and Rick comes back here to show me how he was doing, playing all these fancy runs. Boy, he just passed me up like a dirty shirt, and I started learning from him."
Offers for his collection
Flanked by an Indian restaurant, dry cleaner and adult video store on a stretch of Ventura Boulevard marked with a "Gilligan's Island" plaque, the Al Shelton Western Artist store comes across as a Wild West diorama, stuffed with midcentury treasures. Because of the time-consuming Martin Guitar project, Shelton is not taking orders for new work. In the past, he's charged from $400 to $1,500 for belts and up to $5,000 for unusually elaborate chair backs or guitar covers. However, he says, people are welcome to drop by.
