BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Vietnam War had been over for 10 years by the time Pierce Wallace was born in Atlanta, Ga., in 1985.

But the University of Georgia actor and history buff became fascinated with the war. And, as he read about it, he became increasingly fascinated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, whom he notes “did enormously great things to make the world a better place” but became a fallen figure because of his involvement in escalating the Vietnam War.

“The more I came to know him, I realized that he was this extraordinarily tragic Shakespearean hero who got trapped in that war,” Wallace said. “He and I are both 6-foot-4. He’s from the South; I’m from the South. He obviously knew southern politics and I know southern politics.

Pierce Wallace debuted his play at the Santa Monica playhouse and has performed it at other venues in the Los Angeles area since.

“He was an overbearing man but he was very kind. He wasn’t just linear. You look for characters that have arcs. This man had a massive arc. He was loud, he was proud and he was big--a formidable giant who was beaten down by this war.”

In response, Wallace wrote a one-man play he titled “Reflections of a Tough Texan: The Legacy of Lyndon Johnson.” He will perform it at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, at The Spot at 220 Lewis St. in Ketchum. Tickets are $25, available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35975/production/1253006.

“Reflections of a Tough Texan” debuted at the Santa Monica Playhouse, with Casey Affleck and Arnold Schwarzenegger catching subsequent performances. Wallace decided to bring it to Sun Valley because a longtime Sun Valley resident Kimberly Selby is a friend of his, and he has visited the community several times.

“Sun Valley felt like the right community—it’s an artistic community, it’s a community of people who are very engaged.”

Pierce Wallace even found a hat that resembled LBJ’s.

Lyndon Johnson, Wallace said, was a visionary who did much to make the world a better place. He changed the world for the better through the Civil Rights Act, the War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid.

“He was so good at seeing what people needed and turning it into legislative action. He could stand over you and twist your arm and say, ‘How’s your wife?’ and ‘How’s your kids?’ He had great persuasive power—he was able to persuade Gov. George Wallace of Alabama. He was able to persuade Dick Russell, a senator from Georgia.

“Lyndon Johnson stuck it to Russell. He said, ‘You’re going to get behind me on civil rights. You’re not going to bend to the status quo. The world is changing and for the better, not the worse.’ ”

Johnson was misled on Vietnam by his advisors and he couldn’t escape its entrapment, Wallace said.

“He couldn’t deal with Ho Chi Minh the way he could deal with Russell or Wallace. He was a winner and he couldn’t find that winning edge with the Vietnam War.”

Wallace, who grew up next door to Sonny Shroyer, who played Deputy Sheriff Enos on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” said he hopes viewers leave understanding that we can do the right thing to get to a Great Society—the name of Johnson’s domestic programs.

“As we’ve gotten into the 2020s, which are as turbulent as the 1960s, I want to say, ‘Look, we’ve been through struggles before but we’re going to get through it.’ Johnson knew a true unified vision of a Great Society was not about right versus left or left versus right, but a vision of something that would outlive him--something that was bigger than a person.”