Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: 7 Real People Rick Dalton & Cliff Booth Were Based On
5. Dalton - Ty Hardin
The closest thing to a real-life Dalton, Tarantino has called Ty Hardin as much, saying he was 'a poor man's Steve McQueen'. Just like our Once Upon A Time hero, Hardin made the leap from TV Western to Spaghetti Westerns.
He made his name as the iconic title character in the TV series Bronco, a role that saw him cross paths with famous figures of the old west like Jesse James and Billy the Kidd. When the classic TV tough guy was phased out for leads with longer hair and sentiments of peace and love, America had little to offer Hardin.
He found plenty of success in countries outside of America, Italy among them. Like Dalton, he fell in love and married a foreign bride during his travels, tying the knot with (1961 Miss Universe) German beauty queen Marlene Schmidt. Hardin worked in Germany and Australia as well as Spain. It was in Spain that he was arrested for drug trafficking in 1974, a charge he spent time in prison for. An interesting case study for Tarantino.
One last fascinating Hardin fact: His real name was Orison Whipple Hungerford Jr.