During the filming of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 (1956), a prop cannon exploded nearly killing Buttram with a barrage of shrapnel. He suffered a 12-inch long **** in his chest, exposing a punctured lung, a severed artery in his leg, and his chin was nearly blown off. Gene Autry flew in a doctor on his private plane before an ambulance arrived. The doctor, William Ince, was the son of famed silent film director Thomas Ince who pioneered Western movie making. - 𝘗𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘮: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 by Sandra Grabman - 2006 [ISBN 978-1593934262]