Big Tex Fire Dispatch Audio

Big Tex, the 52-foot talking cowboy that has welcomed visitors to the Texas State Fair for 60 years, was destroyed today by a fire, The Dallas Morning News reports. The newspaper quotes fair spokeswoman Sue Gooding as saying the fire began with smoke pouring from Big Tex's neck, indicating that the fire was electrical in nature. "It's a very sad day for all fairgoers," she says. "It's a sad way to end the fair." Only Big Tex's hands, Dickies belt buckle and skeletal structure were left of the iconic figure.The man who provides the voice for Big Tex, the giant cowboy at the State Fair of Texas, was greeting people with his usual "Howdy, folks!" in a slow drawl Friday when someone rushed into his trailer to tell him the towering fair icon was on fire. "It moved quickly," Bill Bragg said of the fire that engulfed the 52-foot-tall structure, leaving not much more than its charred metal frame behind. "It was a quick end."Here are some of the arts and entertainment stories making headlines Friday afternoon: Tom Hanks oopsie's an F-bomb on "Good Morning America." (LA Times) Giant "Big Tex" icon goes up in flames at State Fair of Texas. (Dallas Morning News) Heidi Montag regrets her G-cup implants. (Fox News) Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel: Following all the rumors about the rumored impending wedding ... or so rumor has it. (CNN)