Died On This Date (August 13, 2009) Sherwood Cryer / Owned Gilley’s Honky Tonk

Charley Sherwood Cryer
September 2, 1926 – August 13, 2009

Along with partner Mickey Gilley, Sherwood Cryer owned the Pasadena, Texas honky-tonk, Gilley’s which became world-renowned thanks to the hit 1980 film Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.  Cryer discovered Gilley performing in a local club and convinced him to open up the club in 1971.  With Gilley on stage, cold Lone Star beer, and several mechanical bulls, the club helped launch a pop-culture phenomenon that was second only to disco less than a decade earlier.  During its heyday, the bar’s stage featured some of the biggest names in country music.  Gilley, himself becoming one of those stars, thanks in part to Cryer’s business savvy.  When the Urban Cowboy filmmakers wanted to recreate the bar on a sound stage, it was Cryer who convinced them to film the now-famous scenes right there in the club.   After the movie’s release, Gilley’s became one of the biggest tourist attractions in Texas.  Unfortunately, the club’s new popularity drove away the regulars, and eventually caused the break-up of Cryer and Gilley’s partnership and the closure of the bar.   The building burned down in 1989 in what was ruled arson.  Sherwood Cryer passed away at the age of 81.  Cause of death was not immediately released.