Riding History

KCEN hasn’t hired Sam Houston to forecast the weather. That’s Andy Andersen getting ready for an upcoming role.

Meteorologist Andy Andersen portrays Texas hero Juan Seguin battling a Mexican soldier during a re-enactment. Anderson has played the role of Seguin off and on for 10 years. Seguin survived the Alamo massacre by serving as a courier and later led a unit in Texas’ victory at San Jacinto. Courtesy photo

Andy Andersen, KCEN’s chief meteorologist, surveys the sky after a recent 6 p.m. newscast. Check out Andy’s mutton-chop sideburns — he will be portraying General Sam Houston during an upcoming re-enactment of the Battle of San Jacinto. David Stone photo

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

Most people know Andy Andersen as the confident meteorologist on KCEN-TV. But others know Andy in some very different roles.

In addition to forecasting storms and cold fronts, Andy is the swashbuckling, hard-charging mascot of the San Antonio Gunslingers football team. He’s also the horse-riding star of dozens of low-budget Western movies. And in April, Andy will rise to Texas royalty.

A longtime student of Texas history, Andy is a regular on the Lone Star re-enactment circuit, reliving the state’s historic battles and events that led to independence back in the 1830s. He has portrayed countless heroes of the Alamo, Gonzales and Goliad, but next month he heads to the granddaddy of Texas battlefields in the leading role.

“This will be the third time that I’ve played Gen. Sam Houston,” he said. “I started as a cavalryman at San Jacinto, and I’ve graduated to general.”

During this week’s interview, Andy very much looked the part of the famous Texas military leader and president. He had grown Houston’s trademark mutton chops in preparation for his role.

“The San Jacinto Celebration is two days this year — April 21 and 22,” he said. “The first day we will talk to hundreds of school kids on field trips. We tell them about what happened at San Jacinto and put on some exhibitions. There’s a city set up portraying life in 1830’s Texas with cooking demonstrations, blacksmiths, storytellers — it’s very educational.”

“Then on Saturday, we re-enact the famous battle that gave Texas its Independence from Mexico,” Andy said. “As the general, I spend most of the day riding around on horseback while visitors snap photos.”

Given its historic significance, it’s only fitting that San Jacinto Celebration serves as the climax to Texas’ re-enactment season.

“The first re-enactment this year commemorated William Travis’ Victory or Death letter,” Andy said. “That was on Feb. 24, and I played one of the couriers. I rode a horse through the Alamo distributing the letters.”

A week later, Andy was back in San Antonio for An Evening of Heroes.

“At one time, this was a re-enactment of the famous battle of the Alamo,” he said. “But a few years back the state took over the Alamo and put it in the hands of the state Historic Commission. The battle re-enactment was replaced by a series of six vignettes from the siege. I did a scene with Jim Bowie and his men.”

“Another of the vignettes told the story of Gregorio Esparza, a man who had his family with him during the Alamo conflict,” Andy said. “Gregorio had a brother at the Alamo who was part of the Mexican army.”

“This was my seventh year to do An Evening of Heroes.”

This Thursday, Andy and his horses — Sonny and Clovis — head to Goliad for re-enactments of the historic battle and the executions of James Fannin and his men.

“The battle re-enactments are Saturday and the executions are on Sunday,” he said. “This time I’ll be playing the role of a Mexican soldier. I take both horses because sometimes we have more soldiers than horses, so I’ll provide an extra.”

“Fannin and his troops were going to reinforce the Alamo, but they ran into some problems with their oxen and progress was slow. The Mexican army caught up with them about 10 miles outside of Goliad and told them that if they surrendered, they would be marched to the coast where they would board ships to New Orleans. Instead, the Texans were marched in three directions from Goliad and massacred on Palm Sunday.”

Andy’s second career as a historical re-enactor started in 2005. He has long been fascinated with Texas history, the West and horses. A phone call from a friend put those passions together.

“I got a call that calvary actors were needed in San Jacinto,” he recalled. “I had really not done any acting at the time, but I was used to being in front of a camera doing weather reports. I decided to do it. The year before, a group of friends had been extras in the remake of The Alamo, so I think that gave me a push.”

Over the years, Andy has played many roles in re-enactments across the state. He has played Texas hero Juan Sequin from time to time for about 10 years. Sequin was an Alamo survivor who later fought at San Jacinto.

At the Alamo, Seguin was sent out as a courier, which allowed him to escape the fate of other defenders. He organized a new military company in Gonzales and his unit was the only Tejano unit to fight at San Jacinto.

The day after this year’s San Jacinto Celebration, Andy will head to Manor to take part in a new movie being filmed in the city east of Austin.

Andersen’s ability to ride and act has caught the attention of Hollywood filmmakers. He has performed in about three Westerns a year for the past five years.

“These aren’t big blockbusters,” he said. “They pretty much go straight to DVD and onto the shelves at Walmart.”

Movie makers aren’t the only ones to admire Andersen’s horsemanship and role-playing abilities. He has donned the appropriate attire as a horse-riding mascot for two San Antonio professional football teams.

He started as the mascot for the Commanders of the now defunct Alliance Football League. Now, he rides for the Gunslingers of the National Arena League.

“With the Alamo and the city’s connection to the military, they picked the Commanders as their identity,” Andersen said of the AFL team. “I would lead the players onto the field while riding a horse and waving a big sword. With the Gunslingers, I lead the team out of the tunnel — again on horseback — and fire six shooters into the air. I use blanks, of course.”

Andersen has been an on-air personality for more than 50 years and has been predicting the Central Texas weather since 1998.

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