Robert Duvall's character Gus McCrea did indeed die in the Lonesome Dove epic.

That's right Leslie.
Gus was injured in a fight. A drifer found him and took him to Miles City Montana where the doctor removed one leg before Gus regained conciousness The doctor wanted to remove the other leg to save Gus' life and Gus threatened to shoot him if he did. He said a man needed at least one leg to kick a pig if he wanted.
Then he made McCall promise to take his body back to Lonesome Dove and buy him by the river where he and Clara picnic'd when they were sweethearts.

Everyone but McCall thought he was crazy for keeping a promise to a dead man.
Lori

Well, is Commanche Moon taking place before Lonesome Dove?
Leslie

Yes.
This is the first book of the series; where the Texas Rangers are young men, just starting out.

At sometime during Comanche Moon, they move to Lonesome Dove and make it their Ranger headquarters.

It's hard to keep up when moves are released out of order, isn't it?

Signed,

Lori Darlin'

LOL

Well thanks Lori Darlin. Yes, I was confused. It'll make more sense now.
Leslie

Here's a link to who is playing Gus as a young guy

Here is a link that might be useful: Steve Zahn

NOW I remember where I've seen him...in the Dirk Pitt movie 'Sahara'. He was hysterical in that film.

It's hard to watch anyone else play the roles of Gus and Captain Call except Duvall and Jones. They were the ultimate.
Any actor following their act has their hands full.
I am super critical when I see the 'new' actors but then accept them as the movie progresses.

Lori

Hey, folks.... I thought it was Gus' leg that his friend was taking back for burial..... where did I get that notion? (I do come up with some doozies.)

From Wiki:
Note: The Lonesome Dove series was not written in the chonological order of the saga. The saga runs as follows: Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon, Lonesome Dove, and Streets of Laredo. The series was written in this order: Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo, Dead Man's Walk, Comanche Moon.

Greenthumbfish is right.

Larry McMurtry wrote Lonesome Dove first which is why, in my opinion, it is the best in the series. McMurtry then sold the rights for the mini series, Lonesome Dove and the tv series, Return to Lonesome Dove. I don't remember the details but McMurtry was unhappy with the TV series so then wrote the other books, chronicling the lives of Gus and Woodrow. He did not sell the rights to these books and had total control of the mini series. I think this is why Lonesome Dove is the most powerful story of the sage. In my opinion, the other books were afterthoughts; good reading but not nearly the quality of Lonesome Dove.

Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones are hard acts to follow. Lonesome Dove casting, in my opinion, was dead on. I have struggled in each sequel to identify with the actors casted. It took awhile, but I finally came to terms with it...LOL

I can remember when Lonesome was first aired and Gayle Texas started calling me Lori Darlin'. I loved it and the memory makes me smile every time Lonesome Dove is mentioned...

Lori

What do you all think it is about Lonesome Dove that appeals so much to so many of us? Who was your favorite character? I fell in love with Gus and to this day am still in love with him. My dh knows and he's okay with it. LOL!!! I have actually gone to the Olive Hotel in Miles City Montana looking for Gus! Really cool old Victorian hotel. We had a few beers in the bar on a few different occasions.
~Betsy

Maybe cuz the book (originally a screenplay) became a bestseller and won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and then was brought to life on the small screen by Duvall and Jones - their acting along with many others in the film was superb. It also won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, The Peabody and many more.

Prior to Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry also wrote:
1966 - The Last Picture Show
1975 - Terms of Endearment

So, he had a good following already for being able to tell a good tale.

Besides, er'body loves a good ole Texas tale ;-)

Ooops, forgot to say, yep, Gus was my fave too. He was an endearing character who ended up dead, so he will be the fave for many.

I love Lonesome Dove because of the portrayal that the settling of the west was rarely (never) romantic or beautiful but harsh and cruel. I happen to be married to a cross between Gus and Woodrow which may or may not have something to do with it. LOL
I had read McMurtry for many years. When I got married early 1986 I tried to introduce McMurtry to my avid-reader-hubby with Terms of Endearment. BIG mistake. Too girly. Too foolish for his taste. None of McMurtry other books held his interest and he became rather skeptical of my taste in books...in other words, if I liked the book he wouldn't like the book.

Then I bought a paperback copy of Lonesome Dove.
It was early 1986. (I remember the year. It was BK (Before Kids) and I had time to read in the bathtub.)

I was in the tub, reading and I giggled at a passage.
Hubby was interested so I read it to him.
"Who wrote that?" he asked and immediately withdrew when he heard the name 'McMurtry'.

For about a week I'd read a passage to him. It took awhile but I finally convinced him that THIS McMurtry book was worth his time. I've since bought three or four more copies as we have read and re-read the book many times.

My family and my husband's family homesteaded in the west. Maybe this is why we identify with the Rangers and what dealing with the elements is like. No. We've never driven a herd of horses across the Rio Grande with a patron shooting at us but we've run horses in off the hill. We've never driven cattle across the country to Montana in all sorts of weather; our drives are much shorter but the weather can be just severe.

We have owned a couple of HellB!tchs too.
(not the past tense of that sentence...LOL)

That's why we are drawn to McMurtry and his Lonesome Dove Saga. None of the books are as good as the first but the story is wonderful for us interested in the history of the old west.

Lori

I'm sitting here in stunned silence...I purchased an old steamer trunk at a garage sale for $5 about ten years ago, and it has sat in my storage all this time...there was just something about it I couldn't put my finger on. Well, this evening I dragged it out to decide whether or not to get rid of it and was looking at the old shipping label affixed to the trunk - from the OLIVE HOTEL, Miles City, MT...it's very worn, very old...so I decided to google and find out what I could. Who could have known that my favorite character in the best western ever made died in that very hotel? I am KEEPING THIS TRUNK!!! :-)