Arvo Ojala

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Arvo Ojala (born January 21, 1920 in Seattle, Washington; died July 1, 2005 in Gresham, Oregon) was a Hollywood advisor and expert quickdraw artist, frequently credited as a "technical director" but also working as an actor. He appeared in the weekly opening sequences of Gunsmoke for over 18 years being gunned down by Marshall Dillon.

Ojala taught himself marksmanship and how to quick-draw a handgun while living on his father's ranch near Yakima, Washington, during the 1930s. He designed a special holster that allowed him to draw a gun faster than the standard holster.

With an ability to cock his pistol, fire and reportedly hit his target in one-sixth of a second, he was the go-to guy for learning the art of the fast-draw during the heyday of television westerns in the 1950s and '60s.^{[citation needed]}

One of Ojalas' major acting parts was the film "The Oregon Trail" as "Ellis" His speaking role and expertise as a gunhandler, fastdraw artist, and instructor are shown. Ojala is the originator of "The Metal lined fastdraw Holster", in which he holds the United States Patent in 1954.^{[citation needed]}

On his website Thomas F. Wilson credits Ojala with teaching him, as "Mad Dog Tannen," how to quickly draw a gun for Back to the Future III.