Welcome to the ... the only film festival on location!
In 2013, we tip our hats to… Alex Printing Barbara Bahl and the Ticket Office Team Barbie Christenson, Judy Peek and the Mailing Team Ben Sparks Best Western Frontier Motel Beverly and Dean Vander Wall and Hospitality Team Charles Abbott and the Bottled Water Team, C G Roxanne and Crystal Geyser Water California Highway Patrol Carol Freeman and Sharon McBryde Celebrity Autograph Team Charles James Chuck Kilpatrick Community Printing Don Kelsen – L.A. Times Dorothy Bonnefin, Ken Bonnefin and the Campfire Team Eastern Sierra Audio Inyo County Board of Supervisors
Inyo Sheriffs Department The Inyo Register - Darcy Ellis, Olivia Nguyen & Dion Agee Jack Minton and the Classic Cars Team Judy Fowler Jaque & Art Hickman Judyth Greenburgh – Creative design Kal & The Comfort Inn Team Karen Stewart KIBS-FM Bishop Leon Boyer – Belt Buckle Design Green Room Team Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce Lone Pine Lions Club Lone Pine Unified School District Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Lynelle Romero, Dorothy Branson and Arts & Crafts Team Lynne Bunn, Jeanne Willey and the Dow Villa Team
Mary and Scott Kemp and Lubken Ranch Maureen and Chuck Holmes Museum Staff and Volunteers Nan & Dick Gering Our Festival Patrons Packy Smith, Woody Wise, Mike Bifulco, Richard Bann and Mark Heller Kathleen New and the Parade Team Sierra Wave – Bishop Star Wranglers: Ivonne Bunn, Kammi Foote, Maureen McVicker and Michele Hartshorn The Anchor Ranch The Bureau of Land Management Tim Jones and the Rodeo Team Todd Bunn and the Photo Marker Team Tour Guides: Judyth Greenburgh, Donna and Burt Yost, Mike Royer, Richard Bann, Jan and Michael Houle, Larry Maurice,
Page Williams, Dorothy Bonnefin and Melody Holland-Ogburn, Don Kelsen, Jerry Condit, Manuel Ruiz, Chris Langley, Orlyn Fordham, Debbie Kielb, Ross Schnioffsky and Warren Davey, Victor Hopper and the High School Team Special thanks to: The Entire Town of Lone Pine Each and Every Festival Sponsor Kerry Powell – Our Festival Founder Cheryl Rogers-Barnett and Larry Barnett Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History All Museum of Film History Volunteers Chris Langley – Museum Executive Director and Inyo County Film Commissioner Southern Inyo Community Foundation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CREDITS
About Town
Live Entertainment (continued)
Arts & Crafts in the Park Collect Autographs and More at ‘The Building’ Cowboy Up at Festival Rodeo Map of Lone Pine New Exhibits at Film History Museum
Festival Favorites ‘Best Small-Town Parade in America’ Movie Site Tours Panels Schedule of Events Vintage Eastern Sierra Films
In-Depth Location-Hunting in Lone Pine Meet Your 2013 Tour Guide
33 RW Hampton & Belinda Gail 5 Share the Stage Wild West Comes to Life 16 with the Groat Family 30 18 Pieces Of Lone Pine Hot off the Press 8 Memorabilia at the Museum 20-23 31-32 Stars Shine In Lone Pine 6-8 Autograph Pages 14-15 Billy King: A Child Star Returns Film History Museum Honors Stars Who’s Here in 2014 3 24
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11 33
35 36 28-29 30 17 26-27 16 11 31
Four-Legged Legends Movie Mania Name That Actor
SPECIAL THANKS To Larry Maurice, for being there from day one of the Lone Pine Film Festival in 1990, and offering his support, guidance, talents and friendship to every Festival since then. Both the Lone Pine Film Festival and Lone Pine Film History are grateful and proud to have his ongoing encouragement and participation.
Become a Member of the Lone Pine Film History Museum JOIN NOW
www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org
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• Unlimited Free Admission to Museum & Movie Nights • 10% Discount on All Gift Shop & Online Store Purchases • Invitation to all Museum Events, Concerts, Exhibit Openings, Art Show Receptions, Book-Signings • Opportunity to Become a Museum Volunteer • Four BONUS “One Time” Visitor Tickets • Admission to the Museum Member’s Reception for the June Concert • 20% discount on Annual Film Festival Tickets • 50% Discount on Annual museum Festival Reception • Monthly Newsletter
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Advisor Kerry Powell Budget Judy Fowler
Trivia
Live Entertainment A One-Man Tribute to The Duke Music in the Park
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The 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival Executive Committee:
Save the Dates
Concert in the Rocks June 7, 2014
25th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival Oct. 10-12, 2014
Festival Director Bob Sigman Sponsorships Jaque Hickman & Bev Vander Wall Star Wrangler Ivonne Bunne Membership Nan Gering Ticket Sales Office Barbara Bahl Contributors of the 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival program publication:
Publisher Dion Agee Editor Darcy Ellis Design Olivia Nguyen Writers Bob Sigman Chris Langley Darcy Ellis Elizabeth Glazner Packy Smith Press Community Printing (Bishop, Calif.) Advertising Jaque Hickman Beverly Vander Wall The 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival Souvenir Program is a collaborative effort between The Inyo Register (Horizon California Publications, 1180 N. Main St., Suite 108. Bishop, CA 93514) and Lone Pine Film History Museum (701 S. Main St., Lone Pine, CA 93545). All contents of this October 2013 publication are the property of the Film Museum and may not be reproduced in any manner without the expressed written consent of the collaborators.
WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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Photos courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark with Mt. Whitney in the background in “Iron Man” (2008); Clint Eastwood behind the lens in the Alabama Hills while shooting “Joe Kidd” (1972); Paradise City set built on the Owens Dry Lake for “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989); and “the rocks” feature prominently in a scene from “Django Unchained” (2012).
Welcome back to Hollywood’s backyard Lone Pine Film Festival celebrates Eastern Sierra’s cinematic legacy for 24th year
“Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West” is the theme for the 24th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival and pays tribute to the film heritage of the entire Eastern Sierra and the Alabama Hills west of Lone Pine. Thursday evening’s Lone Pine Museum of Western Film History reception will bring old friends together to “toast” our 24th year and to introduce our guests to many of the exciting new changes in the Museum. We then take the celebration across the street to enjoy a special kick-off concert, “Celebrate America,” featuring R.W. Hampton and Belinda Gail. A diverse group of actors who graced the silver screen in films shot in our backyard will be joining us over the course of the next three days. Emmy Award-winning actress Mariette Hartley may be best known for her series of Polaroid commercials with James Garner in the 1970s and ’80s, but it is her work with Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea in “Ride the High Country” that brings her to Lone Pine this year. Fellow guest Clu Gulager’s 50-plus-year career in television is highlighted by two NBC Western series in which he co-starred, “The Tall Man” and “The Virginian.” L.Q. Jones worked in Lone Pine with a number of Hollywood legends, including Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy, Joel McCrea and Steve McQueen. As a child actor, Billy King worked in Lone Pine in three Hopalong Cassidy Westerns in the late 1930s. Dean Smith began his stunt career in Lone Pine on “The Law and Jake Wade” in 1958, and ended it in Lone Pine working as a stuntman on “Maverick,” starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster, in 1994. Andrew Prine, still active after more than 55 years making movies, joins us once again after an absence of several years. Lone Pine’s sweetheart, Peggy Stewart, a major leading lady from the heyday of the B-Westerns and serials in the 1940s and still working today, will be with us again this year. Diamond Farnsworth, who has been involved in numerous films and TV series and has been the longtime stunt coordinator
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LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
on the hit TV show “NCIS,” teams with Loren Janes, stuntman and the longtime stand-in/stunt double for Steve McQueen, to round out our confirmed guest lineup. These celebrities will join with noted film critic and TV personality Leonard Maltin and Western historian Ed Hulse, who will be hosting our celebrity panels, as they share first-hand stories and memories of their colorful careers working with legends like John Wayne, Randolph Scott and Hopalong Cassidy. In addition, David Rothel, who has authored more than 20 Western books including “Who Was that Masked Man? The Story of the Lone Ranger” and “Those Great Western Sidekicks,” will present programs discussing his works published by the Lone Pine Museum of Western Film History. And true to our theme “Lone Pine, Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West,” the Festival staff and tour guides will bring you 16 exciting location tours, including four new ones: Arches of the Alabama Hills; Audie Murphy: A Real Reel Hero; Django Unchained as well as Westward Ho! Returning to Lone Pine for the first time in 50 years, Billy King will lead the Billy King Remembers Hopalong Cassidy tour and also provide commentary to Don Kelsen’s Secrets of the Wasteland tour. Add a rodeo competition, vendors, book-signings, breathtaking views, Wild West entertainment and a Lone Pine Film Festival tradition, “the best small town parade in America,” and you’ve got another blockbuster on your hands.
Local movie landscapes call to thousands of film buffs every year
Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Chris Langley points out where a production still and real life overlap on a Lone Pine area locations tour. Such tours, offered through the Film History Museum or available in self-guided varieties, have only grown in popularity over the past several years.
‘Location-hunters’ happily make the pilgrimage to Eastern Sierra to do the Lone Pine shuffle By Chris Langley
In 1990 when Dave Holland and Kerry Powell, with the help of local film enthusiasts, began the Lone Pine Film Festival, few outside of select filmmakers knew which films had used Lone Pine as a setting, and fewer still knew the exact locations used. Now, thousands of film buffs and movie tourists make their way each year to this small Eastern California town to do a self-guided tour, a special tour led by a local guide or to venture out to “the rocks,” photograph in hand, to match the movie still to the fascinating landscape. Climbing over rocks, walking through sand and following paths to the exact locations where John Wayne, Audie Murphy or Susan Hayward filmed is the new outdoor sport. Los Angeles Times feature writer Louis Sahagun recently followed several location-hunters searching for locations from the “lost” John Wayne film “The Oregon Trail.” The adventure became a story that was syndicated across the country. Kent Sperring from Atlanta, Ga. comes several times a e
Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
A photo marker shows exactly where a movie location site once stood in the Alabama Hills. WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Clockwise from top left: A location is pointed out on a Film Festival four-wheel tour; a photograph identifies a spot in the Alabama Hills as a site from “Riders of the Purple Sage”; and Kent Sperring prepares his camera for what he calls “the Lone Pine shuffle.”
year to focus on a particular film or star each time, using “grabs” and stills he has obtained from several sources, including the Lone Pine Film History Museum. He was accompanied by Dan and Carol Gillespie who once lived in nearby Ridgecrest but now must travel from farther away to practice their shared avocation of “location explorer.” Dan is a physicist. Engineer Jim Boyd and Don Kelsen, a photographer/videographer by trade, were also along for the fun. Boyd, also from Atlanta, treks with Sperring whenever possible. There are others who work very hard at finding locations and their successes are often shared as part of a tour at the annual Film Festival. Mike and Jan Houle come most years in the spring and sometimes return to ready their next tour. They started with a “How-to” tour and have developed ones on Randolph Scott and specific movies, including this year’s focus on John Wayne’s “Westward Ho!” Of course, film buffs are always doing location searches in Los Angeles pursuing where Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton or Laurel and Hardy worked and most often the areas are significantly changed. What makes the Lone Pine-Alabama Hills locations so special, but certainly not easier to find, is they have remained unchanged since the movie was filmed. Not every movie tourist comes to hunt locations but to be shown them and stand where John Wayne stood in “The Lawless Range,” or where Robert Downey Jr. said, “I give to you the Jericho,” near what is now lovingly referred to as “Bomb Testing Site” rock. It is thrilling to be so close to where people have been immortalized on film in roles that live on even as the actors age. Each year during the Festival, specialists lead tours featuring varied movie locations, sometimes focused on specific actors. During the year many of these tours can be arranged with proper advanced notice. Many fans have special takes on the locations. Kelsen has a “then and now” section in “Lone Pine in the Movies” and is also leading two tours over Festival weekend. Tron Miller, while working for public television, filmed many clips that started with a photo and morphed into the same location as
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LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
it is today. Jerry Condit, also a tour guide this year, works to exactly duplicate scenes from films, matching light and time of day to create magnificent art photos of the locations. How does one start out to find a location from a favorite film? First you choose a still that shows the location. When Dave Holland began, he traced scenes from VHS films paused on his television screen. Now several computer programs allow you to “grab” the scenes and, working from DVD or even Blu-ray versions, a very good copy of the scene can be printed out. Holland always said to begin with things in the far background, i.e. the rocks of the Alabama Hills that are the farthest away or the mountain peaks beyond. Then orient yourself to the location. Are you looking east or west (Inyo or Sierra) and how high are the mountains on the horizon? Then look to find middle-range rocks to help you begin to zero-in on the site. Do not make up your mind too soon where the location is. Once you assume something, it is hard to un-assume it. Comparing the picture to the locations is a repetitive action. The Times reporter, Sahagun, quoted Sperring as saying, “We’re doing the Lone Pine shuffle – looking down at a photograph, then looking up at the landscape, then looking down on the picture again without tripping. We’ve all taken a tumble or two during these investigations.” Be sure to drink water, maybe eat a sandwich or a snack and be prepared for some physical exertion and undoubtedly some frustration as you narrow down the search. Always bring an enthusiastic friend, relation or spouse in case you slip or to give you some sobering evaluation of your progress. Well, the rocks are there, basically unchanged, so what are you waiting for? Choose a tour during the Festival and go out and enjoy. Or buy a “Selfguided Tour” booklet from the Museum and give it a try. Or, get some stills and see that it is fun but not as easy as you might think. It is not everyone’s chosen outdoor activity but how can you go wrong spending hours in the Alabama Hills on a beautiful fall day? Just bring water, wear sunblock, put on good hiking boots or shoes and join the fun!
MOVIE MANIA TRIVIA Test your knowledge of cinema against these question about films made in Lone Pine and the Eastern Sierra:
Take a piece of the magic home with you Collectibles, memorabilia and event souvenirs available at The Building in downtown Lone Pine What: Movie memorabilia, souvenirs, celebrity guests, DVDs, hard-to-find collectibles, books, authors, film fanatics and movie buffs. Where: The Building, aka the Lone Pine Community Center, at the corner of U.S. 395 and Tim Holt Street. When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12 and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13. Why: If you have to ask, you’re in the wrong place. Indeed, several vendors from all over the West, in addition to the Lone Pine Film History Museum itself, will be selling a variety of cinematic- and televisionthemed keepsakes for film fans of all types to help complete the Film Festival experience. Treasures range from old black and white photos of popular matinee idols to DVD copies of hard-to-find B-Westerns and low-budget sci-fi adventures. Also on display and for sale will be posters and replica lobby cards featuring legendary actors and equally famous films – think John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Roy Rogers, Gregory Peck, Paul Newman and films like “How the West Was Won,” “The Wild Bunch” and “Gunga Din.” The Museum will host a table selling this year’s Festival T-Shirts, belt buckles, books, collectibles, DVDs, CDs and gift items from the Museum Store collection. Of course, several of the stars appearing at the 2013
Lone Pine Film Festival will also be available at The Building to sign autographs, sell their books and autographed photos, and visit with grateful festivalgoers. This is the first year the Festival has been able to utilize the spacious, centrally-located accommodations afforded by The Building, which opened in December 2012. The facility was purchased and refurbished for community use by longtime local resident Dave Haas, who died this past July. He was named Inyo County’s Citizen of the Year – in large part because of his contribution of a community center to Southern Inyo – in June. When Haas purchased the building at the corner of Main and Holt streets, it was in a state of disrepair, or, as he said, it was “an eyesore.” Haas estimated the old building had been vacant and/or under construction for much of the past 20 years, and when he saw it hit the market in 2012, he realized he could eliminate blight from Main Street and provide a service to the community. Haas made sure The Building also included space at the north end that can be rented out to a restaurant, in addition to providing office space and a venue for a community events such as the Lone Pine Film Festival.
1. Who starred in the first feature film in Lone Pine? 2. Who gave Guinn “Big Boy” Williams his nickname? In which picture? 3. What non-Indian actor played the chief in Tim Holt’s “Indian Agent”? 4. What Asian detective had movies with scenes for two films shot in Death Valley? Name the films. 5. How many “Lone Rangers” were there in the serial “The Lone Ranger” (1938)? 6. Who was the King of the Cowboys? 7. Why was Jamie Lee Curtis, star of the “Halloween” franchise, here in Lone Pine one Halloween? 8. What was the name of the remake of “High Sierra” in Lone Pine? Who played the Bogart role of Roy “Mad Dog” Earl? 9. Brad King played a sidekick for what cowboy hero? 10. What is an arastra? 11. What jungle hero battled a giant spider in a Lone Pine film? What was the name of the film? 12. Who was Vera Ralston and what two films did she star in locally? 13. Name two films where a miniature tank is seen. 14. In what film are the words, “So this is Lone Pine” exclaimed? 15. What did Ernest Borgnine do here that ultimately landed him a Best Actor Oscar? 16. Who plays the serial killer in “The Hitch-hiker”? What role on television made him famous? 17. Who starred here in the remake of the first “Hitch-hiker” film? 18. Was “Saga of Death Valley” filmed in Death Valley? If not, where was it filmed? 19. What hotel is featured in Roy Rogers’ first starring role in a feature film made here? 20. What “Lone Ranger” actor from the 1938 serial starred in the serial “Hawk of the Wilderness” made in Mammoth? What were the actor’s two stage names? 21. The gravesite location where Edgar Buchanan is buried in “Rawhide” has another name used by locals. What is it? 22. Where is the specially-shaped rock called “The Titanic” located? 23. Where is the fire ring still found that was used in “Django Unchained”? 24. What John Wayne movie caused the southern part of Lone Ranger Canyon to be covered with Arabian-style tents? 25. Who hitched a ride from Tony Curtis in the Alabama Hills? 26. Silent film director Paul Powell directed two films locally before “The Round Up” in Lone Pine. What were they? 27. What misstep did Loren Janes experience when he doubled Debbie Reynolds in “How the West Was Won”? 28. What cowboy actor made the most silent films in Lone Pine? 29. Whose horse was named Koko? 30. Who played lots of bad men in Lone Pine films and also played the Frankenstein monster? Answers on page 11
WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Thursday, October 10 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Museum Gala Opening Night Reception Lone Pine Museum of Film History. Cost: $10 for museum members, $20 for non-members. 8:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Concert: R.W. Hampton & Belinda Gail High School Auditorium. Ticket prices: $35/$45.
Friday, October 11 7:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 8:15 a.m.-9:15 a.m. 8:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m.
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Screening: “Bad Day at Blackrock” Museum Theater. Button- and tour ticket-holders only. See tour schedule for tour details. Tour: Billy King Screening: “Westward Ho!” Lone Pine High School Auditorium. Button- and tour ticket-holders only. See tour schedule for tour details. Tour: A Good Day at Black Rock Tour: Lone Ranger Tour: Anchor Ranch Tour: Gunga Din Shopping/Autographs: Vendors and Celebrities The Building, corner of U.S. 395 and Tim Holt Street. Shopping/Entertainment: Arts and Crafts Fair (with vendors and music) Spainhower Park, north end of town. Panel: Billy King, Richard Bann and Don Kelsen Discuss Hopalong Cassidy High School Quad. Button-holders only. Tour: Westward Ho Discussion: Wyatt McCrea on new book, “Joel McCrea, A Film History” Museum Theater. Button-holders only. Tour: John Wayne Clu Gulager and Western film historian Ed Hulse discuss Gulager’s 50-plus-year career High School Quad. Button-holders only. Tour: Anchor Ranch Tour: Hopalong Cassidy – Bar 20 Ranch Tour Tour: Hollywood’s Backyard Screening: “Brotherhood of the Popcorn,” A Film by Woody Wise and Inda Reid, featuring Woody Wise & The Cliffhangers High School Auditorium. Button-holders only. Photo courtesy Dimension Films Tour: North-South Clu Gulager stealing the show as a toughtalking, craggy cowboy barman in the Discussion: Author David Rothel postmodern horror film, “Feast,” which movie on The Lone Ranger buffs may remember as the winner from Season Museum Theater. Button-holders only. 3 of HBO’s “Project Greenlight.” Gulager will be reminiscing about his 50-plus years in Hollywood Wild West Show: The Groat Family during an event Friday in the High School Quad. High School Quad. Button-holders and/or a $15 Special Event Ticket. Special Event Screening: “Ride the High Country” followed by a Panel Discussion with Mariette Hartley, L.Q. Jones and Wyatt McCrea Moderated by Leonard Maltin. Button-holders only. Seating limited to 300. Performance: Jake Thorne – The Life and Legend of John Wayne Museum Theater. Ticket-holders only.
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Saturday, October 12 6:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. 7:00 a.m.-8:00-a.m. 7:00 a.m.-8:15 a.m. 7:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 7:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 11:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Tour: Sunrise Screening: “Westward Ho!” Lone Pine Museum Wild West Theater. Button- and tour ticket-holders only. See tour schedule for tour details. Screening: “Secrets of the Wasteland” High School Auditorium. Button- and tour ticketholders only. Breakfast Lone Pine VFW Post 8036, 481 S. Main St. Tour: Westward Ho! Tour: Owens Valley Tour: Arches of the Alabamas Tour: Secrets of the Wasteland Tour: Hollywood’s Backyard Tour: Anchor Ranch Tour: A Good Day at Black Rock Discussion: “Lone Pine Film Festival’s Top 10 Iconic Western Weapons” with author David Photo courtesy imdb.com Matuszak Gabby Hayes is ranked by the Internet Movie Museum Theater. Button-holders only. Database as the number-one cowboy movie Shopping/Autographs: Vendors and Celebrities sidekick of all time, having appeared as the The Building, corner of U.S. 395 and Tim Holt Street. protagonist’s number-two in countless oaters of the 1930s and ’40s. Author David Rothel will Shopping/Entertainment: Arts and Crafts Fair host a discussion about cowboy sidekicks (with vendors and music) Saturday afternoon. Spainhower Park, north end of town. Panel: Leonard Maltin plus others discuss “Relevance of Western Films in Hollywood” High School Quad. Button-holders only. Tour: Gunga Din Tour: North-South Performance: Jake Thorne – The Life and Legend of John Wayne Museum Theater. Ticket-holders only. Tour: Anchor Ranch Tour: Lone Ranger Tour: Hopalong Cassidy – Bar 20 Ranch Tour Panel: Dean Smith and others discuss Hollywood Stunts High School Quad. Button-holders only. Tour: John Wayne Tour: Django Unchained Discussion: Author David Rothel talks about Photo courtesy New Line Cinema Viggo Mortensen packing an 8-gauge double“Cowboy Sidekicks” barreled shotgun in the 2008 film “Appaloosa.” Museum Theater. Button-holders only. The firearm is referred to in the movie’s dialogue Wild West Show: The Groat Family simply as “the eight-gauge.” Festival guests can join author Dave Matuszak in helping to narrow High School Quad. Button-holders and/or a $15 down the top 10 iconic weapons of Westerns. Special Event Ticket. Screening: Movie TBA High School Auditorium. Button-holders only. Seating limited to 300. WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Photos by Charles James
Above: Spectators of all ages line up along Lone Pine Main Street for the annual Film Festival Parade of Stars, a mix of celebrities, impersonators and local youth and organizations. Above right: Roy Rogers and Trigger on the parade route. Below right: Diamond Farnsworth, veteran stunt actor/coordinator and son of the late actor Richard Farnsworth, rides in the rumble seat of a 1931 Ford Model A Coupe as it’s driven down the 2012 parade route by a helpful local resident.
Sunday, October 13 6:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. 7:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 2:30-5:30 p.m. 3:00-5:00 p.m. Dusk
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Tour: Sunrise Breakfast Lone Pine VFW Post 8036, 481 S. Main St. Screening: “Heart of Arizona” with Hopalong Cassidy and Billy King High School Auditorium. Button- and tour ticket-holders only. Bus will leave from front of high school auditorium but return to south parking lot of museum. Tour: Django Unchained Tour: Arches of the Alabamas Screening: “Showdown” with Audie Murphy High School Auditorium. Button- and tour ticket-holders only. Bus will leave from front of high school auditorium but returm to south parking lot of museum. Cowboy Church with Pastor Ben Sparks Spainhower Anchor Ranch. Parking available at Lone Pine Airport. Tour: Hollywood’s Backyard Tour: Westward Ho! Tour: Audie Murphy Shopping/Autographs: Vendors and Celebrities The Building, corner of U.S. 395 and Tim Holt Street. Shopping/Entertainment: Arts and Crafts Fair (with vendors and music) Spainhower Park, north end of town. Parade: Annual Parade of Stars Main Street in the heart of town. Tour: North-South Tour: Anchor Ranch Farewell: Sunday Night Closing Campfire Spainhower Park, north end of town.
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
‘Celebrate America’ Dynamic duo to kick off 24th annual Festival during rare concert
Photos courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Belinda Gail and R.W. Hampton are helping to kick off the 24th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival with their “Celebrate America” concert on Thursday, Oct. 10, a rare occasion that both award-winning Western entertainers will be on the same stage at the same time.
For its 24th annual incarnation, the Lone Pine Film Festival wanted a kick-off event that was both befitting the area’s rich Western heritage and that offered top-notch entertainment. The Festival got both in spades when two of the country’s most honored and well-known Western performers signed on to headline the event’s kickoff concert, which is being held Thursday, Oct. 10 rather than Friday night of the Festival. Beginning at 8 p.m. in the Lone Pine High School Auditorium, R.W. Hampton and Belinda Gail will present “Celebrate America,” a rare opportunity to see these two beloved entertainers share the stage. Hampton’s rich baritone and Gail’s sweet-yetdynamic vocals will combine for a program that highlights our nation and its values – a heritage rooted in the American West and those who bravely toiled and sacrificed to build a legacy from the dirt, sage brush, gold mines and railroads. Of course, it’s a heritage that’s been championed and preserved with the Western film genre, especially the movies made on location in Lone Pine during the days when the good guys wore white hats. Naturally, the Lone Pine Film Festival is excited to not only have entertainers of this caliber kicking off the 24th annual event, but also performers whose values are so in line with what the event stands for. Hampton, for example, has lived what he sings about: the land, family, faith and patriotism. His songs and genuineness resonate with audiences worldwide, from ranch hands to city folks who have never seen a cow up close. Hampton grew up in Richardson, Texas, and following graduation from Pearce High School he attended Tarleton State College in Stephenville, Texas. Summers working at Philmont Scout Ranch in Northeast New Mexico led to full-time work at neighboring ranches and elsewhere across the West. Along the way, his love of Western music and a selftaught guitar style gained him a strong following as a performer of classic Western ballads by artists such as Marty Robbins and The Sons of the Pioneers. Today, however, he is known for his extensive repertoire of self-penned songs inspired by his own life experiences. With 22 years in the entertainment business and more than 15 national awards from his peers, Hampton has focused on his own brand of music. He’s produced 13 independent albums. He tours steadily and keeps fans informed with the largest and most active social network following of any Western recording artist – nearly 37,000 Facebook fans and growing. His most recent release, “Austin to Boston,” shows the range of his voice and his musical tastes with a mix of his own compositions such as “Shortgrass,” timeless classics like Cindy Walker’s “You Don’t Know Me,” and new pop standards like Michael Bublé’s “Home.” The collection has
received great response in the United States – including his third Wrangler Award for music from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum – while chart-topping singles on the United Kingdom’s Hotdisk Top 40 chart prompted a tour in England. “There’s a lot of great music out there that speaks to the values I believe in,” Hampton says. “I don’t want to be known as a singer who just does cowboy songs. I want to be known as a cowboy who sings great songs.” When not on the road performing, Hampton lives with his wife, Lisa, and their youngest children on their Clearview Ranch at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains south of Cimarron, N.M. The digital version of his new single, “My Country’s Not For Sale” was released on iTunes.com on July 23 and quickly garnered the No. 5 position based on sales for iTunes New & Noteworthy Country Releases. Gail is affectionately referred to as “America’s Western Sweetheart.” Along with being a gifted singer/songwriter, her warm and vibrant personality beautifully captures the “Spirit of the West” and easily wraps itself around her audience. Gail is one of the most awarded female performers in Western music, having won Western Music Association Female Performer of the Year seven times and Academy of Western Artists Female Vocalist twice. Gail says she is honored and humbled to be counted among the top female Western Music performers of this era. She has committed her effort full-time to this music for nearly a decade and crisscrosses the country taking her special brand of Western music to the masses. Her numerous awards are evidence of the level to which she has risen not only with Western music fans, but with her peers as well. Gail is one of the most sought-after women performing Western music today. A vibrant and natural entertainer with a dynamic and captivating voice, she stirs the emotions and visions of the West in her listeners. As a professional Western entertainer, Gail continues to capture the attention of national venues. She tours the Midwest and Western United States extensively and has also performed in Iowa, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee and Virginia as well as Canada and Austria. Join these award-winning performers at this year’s Lone Pine Film Festival Kick-Off Concert on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 8-9:30 p.m. at the Lone Pine High School Auditorium. A select grouping of premium seats in the first few front rows are $45 per person; all other seats $35 per person. Tickets at the door are $40 per person. For more information, call the Lone Pine Museum ticket office at (760) 876-9103 or visit www.lonepinefilmfestival.org/concert.
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Photos © Groat Family Productions
All members of the Groat Family Wild West Show are professional actors, if not card-carrying Screen Actors Guild members. The alwaysfamily-friendly stunt-based performances also include bullwhip and trick gun artistry, audience participation, comedy and action.
All in the family Longest-running family Wild West show in U.S. comes to Lone Pine Film Festival The Wild West shows of the late 1800s introduced to a wide audience many contemporary Western performers and personalities such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and Chief Sitting Bull and created a romanticized version of the American Old West. Today, the American West conjures a certain wild image of adventure filled with cowboys, Indians, wild animals, outlaws and ambushes. The dramatic myth of the Wild West as we see it today is really a “puffed-up exaggeration” of the real Western frontier but still one that audiences World Wide have come to enjoy. The Groat Family Wild West Show, to be presented on Saturday and Sunday during the 24th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival, are some of the most well-known purveyors crowd-pleasing displays of oldfashioned skills and frontier heroism that are the hallmark of Wild West shows the world over. Each member of the show is a professional performer, if not a card-carrying Screen Actors Guild member. The Groats’ show in particular celebrates the frontier movement as the most important accomplishment in American history – a winning combination of patriotism and adventure – and captures both the enduring spirit of the unsettled West and the hearts of the audience. According to the Groats, their performances consist of
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reenactments of history combined with displays of showmanship, sharp-shooting, stunts, vaudeville elements and presentations of “historical” scenes in which they take “poetic license” in presenting and embellishing upon the period action of fights, robberies and Wild West shoot-outs. The show includes bullwhip and trick gun artistry, audience participation, comedy and action. They do not use blood effects, or foul language. The family began their show in 1964, providing Western entertainment for events of all kinds and, as the opportunity presented itself, acting in Western films. The matriarch of the family, Gypsy Bell Groat, was a child actor for MGM in the 1940s, and her father, Clifford Groat, was a director for the old silent films and early talkies at Pathé Studios. It was only natural that the family grew into their passion of celebrating and honoring the West and Western culture. As the family grew, so did their mission. The Groat Family performers have presented more than 5,344 shows all over California and the West at grand openings, corporate events, festivals, parades, charities, schools, weddings and birthday parties. They have performed for major venues including Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm and other Hollywood corporations. In addition, family members are actors with credits ranging from background extras to key roles. “I see our Western film history as an important part of our American roots, and one of the foundations of our artistic culture,” says Rick Groat, a SAG member with more 40 film and TV credits under his belt. His latest venture, “Ride the Wanted Trail,” is an independent movie produced solely by the family.
The reel deal
Actor Dan Hornak pays tribute to legendary Western actor through one-man show Film Festival audiences may be need to do a double or maybe even triple take when they catch sight of one of this year’s most anticipated performers. Dan Hornak isn’t just a celebrity impersonator who happens to look a lot like the most celebrated Western actor of all time; he’s a serious actor who so embodies the role, it’s almost impossible to tell him apart from the real John Wayne. Hornak has come to the 24th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival to perform his acclaimed one-man show, “The Life and Legend of John Wayne” on Saturday and Sunday of the Festival. The play was penned by Hornak who takes on the persona of Jake Thorne portraying The Duke. While it may sound a little complicated, it’s really a chance to see a master thespian at work, as well as an opportunity to find out more about a legend of the silver secreen. The performance is given in three acts and reveals Wayne’s life and character in the first person during pivotal points of his career. “Everyone who knows and remembers John Wayne has a personal opinion of him. When people see this play that opinion will change,” Hornak says. “They will understand him better and they will feel closer to him. That is the goal I have set.” Hornak explains that the Jake Thorne persona came from a John Wayne-like character in a 1970s movie script that was never produced. “It works for me, because that way I don’t get a big head or carried away with myself,” he says. The show isn’t just a living reconstruction of Wayne’s personality and image, but the ideals he stood for as well. “What’s great about America is the people!” Hornak stresses. “Young Americans and new Americans need to be reminded of this. The Duke strongly believed people make America great.” His performance isn’t just for the audience. “I’m like everybody else – hungry for The Duke,” Hornak adds. “They come because they want to see John Wayne. Guess what? I’m on the inside looking out and I want to see John Wayne, too.” Hornak was born and raised in the Midwest. Growing up he found a role model in John Wayne. Ever since he was 10, he wanted to “walk the walk and talk the talk” of his hero. Unfortunately,
10-year-olds just don’t sound like The Duke! That would come later when his voice changed and he grew to his 6 feet, 4 inches – which also led to high school football and boxing careers. Hornak caught the acting bug while attending Western Michigan University. On an impulse he tried out for a part in a musical at the New Vic Theatre in Kalamazoo, Mich. He got the part without any acting or singing experience. While rehearsing for his next play the idea came about of playing a comical British army sergeant as John Wayne. The audience loved it. Hornak would hold on to the idea of playing his hero in earnest for many years. After graduating from WMU, he played many roles not on stage, but in the real world, including that of a teacher, sheriff’s deputy, telemarketer and TV cameraman. In the mid-1980s, Hornak moved his family to Washington, D.C., and began a government career at the U.S. House of Representatives Recording Studio. There he spent countless hours running cameras and directing television floor coverage of House proceedings. Twenty
years later he was able to retire and pursue the three things he wanted to do most: paint, write and act. So Hornak painted the walls of his North Carolina vacation home, and started writing and acting in earnest. Bearing an uncanny resemblance in both appearance and voice to The Duke, it was only a matter of time before it would lead him to developing and performing a serious play about the life of John Wayne, a work that nobody else in this country has tried to do. “Now that The Duke has been gone for over 30 years all Americans need to be reminded of what he believed in and stood for,” Hornak says. “I’ll stand up for that any day.” When not on the road, Hornak spends his time on his little spread, Trails End, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, N.C. “The Life and Legend of John Wayne” premiered at the 2010 Lone Pine Film Festival and since then has been performed across the country. Its return this year has been greatly anticipated.
MOVIE MANIA: ANSWERS Let’s see how you did with the trivia quiz on pg. 5: 1. Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle 2. Will Rogers; “Cupid the Cowpuncher,” directed by Clarence Badger 3. Noah Beery, Jr. 4. Charlie Chan; “Behind the Curtain” and “The Chinese Parrot” 5. Five 6. Roy Rogers 7. On Oct. 31 she was filming “Perfect” north of Lone Pine on the highway. John Travolta, her co-star, was also in town and very friendly to locals. 8. “I Died a Thousand Times”; Jack Palance 9. Hopalong Cassidy 10. A circular device made out of rocks used for separating ore from mud 11. Tarzan; “Tarzan’s Desert Mystery” 12. Wife of Republic Pictures head Herbert J. Yates; “The Plainsman and the Lady” and “Gunfire at Indian Gap” 13. “Army Girl” and “Old Oklahoma Plains” 14. “Flaming Guns” 15. Signed his contract in the Dow Hotel Lobby to star in “Marty,” while working here on “Bad Day at Black Rock” 16. William Talman; Hamilton Burger on “Perry Mason” 17. Richard Dix 18. No; entirely filmed in and around Lone Pine. 19. The Winnedumah in Independence 20. Herman Brix; Bruce Bennett 21. The Bowling Alley 22. In what Dave Holland called “The Background Rocks” 23. North end of Lone Ranger Canyon 24. “I Cover the War” 25. Natalie Wood in “The Great Race” 26. “The Weaker Vessel” and “Pollyanna,” both in Independence 27. Stepped on the hem of the dress he was wearing 28. Jack Hoxie 29. Rex Allen’s 30. Glenn Strange
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Coming Attractions …
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he Silver Screen – there is nothing quite like reliving those thrilling days of yesteryear with the sights and sounds of a great Western with great stars, sitting in a movie theater with friends and fans, and watching all the action and adventure on a large theater screen. Add to that the excitement of seeing all this near our beloved landscape of the Alabama Hills. This year’s Lone Pine Film Festival screening schedule includes several new films not shown in past years: “The Blazing Sun,” a Gene Autry film; a Dick Foran film called “Moonlight on the Prairie”; and “Death Falls” with Rip Torn and Beverly Garland. Another new film to the Festival is “Ride Lonesome,” one of Randolph Scott’s best. Also to be screened are “Across the Plains,” starring Jack Randall and filmed in the Alabama Hills, and “A Demon for Trouble,” starring Bob Steele. One of the most popular Lone Pine films, “High Sierra,”
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starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, will be screened on Sunday afternoon. In addition, you’ll see “Heart of Arizona,” a Hopalong Cassidy, feature starring celebrity guest Billy King. These and many other films celebrating Lone Pine’s film heritage will be screened over the weekend of the 24th annual Film Festival. The keynote film this year is “Ride the High Country,” directed by Sam Peckinpah. Filmed in the Eastern Sierra, north of Lone Pine, and starring Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in his last film appearance, “Ride the High Country” is one of the last classics of the Golden Age of Westerns. Following the screening, a Q & A session with Mariette Hartley and L.Q. Jones will be hosted by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin. So saddle up for a weekend full of great stars, great action and great memories.
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Cowboy-up at the Lone Pine Film Festival
Can You Name the Cowboy’s Horse? We’ll give you the name of the actor, you try to name his trusty steed … 1. Rex Allen 2. Gene Autry 3. Bill Cody 4. Dale Evans (movies) 5. Dale Evans (television) 6. Tim Holt 7. Jack Hoxie 8. Ken Maynard 9. Jay “Tonto” Silverheels 10. John Wayne 11. Duncan “Cisco Kid” Renaldo 12. William Boyd 13. Slim Pickens 14. Fuzzy Knight 15. Guy “Wild Bill Hickok” Madison 16. Tex Ritter 17. Clayton Moore 18. Tom Mix 19. Roy Rogers 20. Gail “Annie Oakley” Davis Answers are on page 35
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Tradition comes alive with annual rodeo “Small Town Rodeo – Big Time Fun.” That’s the motto of the Lone Pine Film Festival Rodeo as it brings back the bygone days of the Lone Pine Stampede. Organized in 1941 by local ranchers, the Lone Pine Stampede became an annual event every Memorial Day for more than 25 years, celebrating Southern Inyo County’s cowboy and ranching heritage. Visitors and townspeople joined in the Wild West atmosphere as top riders appeared in the professional arena and local girls vied to be Stampede Queen. It was a grand family event for all and parade, burro races and barbecue rounded out the weekend. This year’s Festival Rodeo takes place Saturday, Oct. 12 and is sponsored by Coso Geothermal and Lone Pine Propane. For the seventh year, the rodeo will feature Team Roping – an event that’s just as thrilling for spectators as it is for competitors. Last year’s Team Roping winner, Bob Brown, went home with a new saddle. In the spirit of the Lone Pine Stampede, Lone Pine’s ranching community invites cowboys and cowgirls from neighboring communities to the Lone Pine Rodeo Grounds for an exciting afternoon of competition. Spectators, of course, are also invited to come watch as teams vie for top honors. The Rodeo Grounds are located just behind the Film History Museum History.
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
Photo courtesy Tim Jones
Participants in the 2012 Team Roping competition included (l-r) Mike Morgan, saddle winner Bob Brown and son, presenter Tim Jones, Chance Johnson, Annie Spur, Allison Grantham and Mike Johns and son.
Known also as heading and heeling, Team Roping is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the “header,” the person who ropes the front of the steer. The second is the “heeler,” who ropes the steer by its hind feet, with a five-second penalty assessed to the end time if only one leg is caught. Team Roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally together in professionally sanctioned competition, in both single-gender or mixed-gender teams. To participate in the Team Roping at the 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival Rodeo, contact Tim Jones at (760) 920-1374.
Photos by Charles James
Stunt actor/coordinator Loren Janes and the “Princess of the Plains,” actress Peggy Stewart, will both receive Lifetime Achievement Awards from the board of the Lone Pine Film History Museum in 2013. Janes and Stewart, each shown here in the 2012 Festival’s Parade of Stars (Janes being interviewed by Larry Maurice), are two of the Festival and Museum’s biggest supporters.
Janes and Stewart in the spotlight Lone Pine Film Festival to honor stars with Lifetime Achievement Awards For the last 24 years, the Eastern Sierra community of Lone Pine, Calif. has celebrated the heritage of the areas Western film production that began nearly 100 years ago, beginning with many early silent films. The rugged Alabama Hills to the west have served as a “back lot” for Fatty Arbuckle, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Randolph Scott, Gene Autry and many, many more. There have been many celebrity guests attending the festival over the years but two in particular have made Lone Pine and the annual festival a second home. Year after year their support as spokespersons, not only for the Festival, but also for fundraising for the Lone Pine Film History Museum, has been unwavering. The Lone Pine Film Festival Board of Directors would like to announce that Peggy Stewart and Loren Janes will be honored at this year’s Festival with The Lone Pine Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of their years of dedication and service. The awards will be presented by Cheryl Rogers, daughter of Dale and Roy Rogers and a member of the Lone Pine Film Festival Board of Directors, at the Museum’s annual opening night reception, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013.
Loren Janes
Westerns have been produced in Lone Pine since the early 1920s bringing some of Hollywood’s best production units and directors to our Eastern Sierra landscape. The action, drama and adventure of these Westerns captured our imagination and we marveled at the death-defying stunts, the fights, the jumps and the great horsemanship as we watched our heroes
risk life and limb for our silver-screen enjoyment. But when we ask, “Who was that masked man?,” we should perhaps also ask: “Who was that stuntman who made our hero look so good on the screen?” Great action movies require great stunt men and women. We are very lucky to have one of those legends in our community. He has supported the Lone Pine Film Festival since its inception in 1989, attending all 24 years. In Lone Pine, he made 11 movies over his career, stunt-doubling for Steve McQueen in “Nevada Smith” and for Debbie Reynolds in “How the West Was Won.” In a career spanning nearly half a century, he contributed his talents to such spectacular films as “The Ten Commandments,” “Spartacus,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Planet of the Apes,” “The Towering Inferno” and “The Sons of Katie Elder.” He has been an actor, director or stunt supervisor on more 500 feature films and TV shows. The Festival Board is pleased to present Mr. Loren Janes, with our Lone Pine Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s festival, for not only his athletic ability and his commitment to the development of modern cinematic stunt design, but also in recognition of his lifelong dedication to furthering the culture and heritage of the Western in America.
Peggy Stewart
Peggy Stewart was born in Florida and grew up in Atlanta where, from the age of 7, she rode horseback competitively in many local contests, developing the skills she would later display in her many Westerns for Republic Pictures. After moving to California, character actor Henry O’Neill, who lived in the same apartment building as
Peggy’s grandmother, recommended Miss Stewart to director Frank Lloyd for the role of Joel McCrea’s daughter in “Wells Fargo” in 1937. Married to actor Don “Red” Barry in 1940, it was he who secured for Miss Stewart a term-player contract at Republic Pictures. Between 1944 and 1951, she made about 35 films, mostly as a leading lady in B-Westerns. Two were especially memorable, namely “Trail to San Antone” starring Gene Autry and “Utah” starring Roy Rogers, both filmed here in Lone Pine. Unable to break her typecasting as a Western heroine, she gave up acting in the early 1950s to become a casting agent. After a few years she returned to acting, appearing in TV shows such as “The Twilight Zone,” “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun Will Travel” and “Daniel Boone.” A great-grandmother now, she still rides on occasion, and – with more than 70 feature film credits behind her plus guest appearances on numerous television series including “Seinfeld,” “The Riches,” “NCIS,” “Weeds,” “Justified,” “The Office” and “Community” and most recently the 2012 Adam Sandler movie, “That’s My Boy” – Peg remains almost as active today as she was in the 1940s. We can look forward to seeing her next as Pearl Ruth Anna “MiMa” Magee in “Dadgum, Texas,” filmed in 2011 and currently in postproduction. It is with great pleasure and gratitude that the Lone Pine Film Festival Board presents Peggy Stewart with our Lifetime Achievement Award, for her contributions to the cinematic canon and her tireless support of Lone Pine, its Film Festival and its Museum.
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From Tex Ritter to Quentin Tarantino: Telling Lone Pine’s film history Museum’s exhibit space undergoing transformation
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hen Bob Sigman, former president and CEO of Republic Pictures, took the helm of the Lone Pine Film History Museum last year, fans and fellow film buffs were excited to see what he had up his sleeve for the facility. After all, the studio he headed until 1995 (when it was bought by Paramount) had been responsible for popularizing the B-Westerns we know and love today, and for catapulting actors like John Wayne, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy and Randolph Scott to stardom during the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. Sigman himself was personally responsible for greenlighting 40 full-length feature films during the ’80s and ’90s. So it comes as both no surprise and with plenty of anticipation that Sigman’s industry and marketing experience have translated into noticeable changes for the Lone Pine Film History Museum visitor in the form of new, exciting exhibits.
The pièce de résistance of the Museum’s new Audie Murphy exhibit: a 1905 Colt .45 Bisley given to Murphy in 1946 by his friend, Gary Cooper, after having it personally customized by Colt for Murphy’s hand and grip.
The Singing Cowboys Of course, a museum chronicling the history of filmmaking in the Lone Pine area and Eastern Sierra wouldn’t be whole without an exhibit devoted to Hollywood’s “Singing Cowboys,” who headed for the Alabama Hills pretty much as soon as sound was introduced to film. According to Sigman, the museum’s existing exhibit has undergone “a complete redo” in order to appeal to a broader audience, since you don’t necessarily have to be a fan of either cowboys or the songs they sing to appreciate the important subgenre of film. Sigman notes that breaking the sound barrier in film “was not celebrated by the ability of audiences to hear the voices of actors – it was the ability to hear their favorite radio and recording stars sing; and to see them on the silver screen. “And remember,” he continues, “before there were singing cowboys, there were cowboys who sang.” The most notable of the “Singing Cowboys” were, perhaps, guys like Warner Baxter, Ken Maynard, Bob Steele, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen and, of course, Gene Autry. But even John
for Leather” in 1960 and returned for “Posse from Hell” in 1961 and “Showdown” in 1963. The new exhibit pays tribute to his extensive career with numerous one-sheets and photographs, but the centerpiece, according to Sigman, is a newlyacquired 1905 Colt .45 Bisley on loan to the Museum. The pistol was given to in 1946 by his friend, Gary Cooper, after having it personally customized by Colt for Murphy’s hand and grip. The Lone Ranger With 2013 marking the 75th anniversary of the Lone Ranger’s appearance on the silver screen, it’s only fitting the Museum pays tribute to the legend’s milestone with a sprawling, comprehensive exhibit. “For three generations of fans throughout the world, the Lone Ranger was pure Western entertainment and escape, with a combination of action, adventure and cowboy values,” Sigman says. “With Disney’s new movie release, a new generation will want to know the background and history of one of America’s greatest fictional heroes.” Situated on the eastern wall, the exhibit documents the history of the Masked Man and his role in cinematic
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Wayne crooned his way through a movie, the 1935 Republic picture “Westward Ho!,” which is being screened at this year’s Festival. The multitude of cowboys who sang, singers who saddled up and actors who tried singing from the back of a horse are now documented for posterity via the Museum’s updated exhibit, which also includes, as a complement, an extensive online chronological history of the period. It all provides a fitting and wider perspective on the musical Western genre. Audie Murphy A brand-new exhibit at the Lone Pine Film History Museum is devoted to the life and work of actor Audie Murphy, who also happened to be one of the most famous and decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. Murphy is the only Western star to garner the distinction of being a hero in real life and on the silver screen, having received the Medal of Honor for his defensive actions against German troops during the war and for his cinematic exploits in 44 films over the course of a 21-year career. Locally, he starred in “Hell Bent
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
history through more than 400 items of the period – from posters and photos to highly prized collectibles displayed against a 20-plus-foot mural of the Lone Ranger Canyon by local artist Jude Greenburgh. The Lone Ranger 75th Anniversary Exhibit will provide a visual journey – beginning with the introduction of the Lone Ranger and Tonto in the 1933 radio program “The Lone Ranger” on WXYZ in Detroit, moving through the two Republic Picture serials in 1938 and 1939, to the 1950s TV show and two Warner Brothers theatrical features, and much more. A full chronology of the story of the Lone Ranger is also available on the Museum’s website. The Eastern Sierra above Lone Pine provided the backdrop for the Republic serial which launched the Masked Man’s film career. The area in the Alabama Hills now called Lone Ranger Canyon and other settings provide the basis of one of the Museum’s many “On Location” Film Tours. The Museum’s exhibit will run through Oct. 30, 2013. A panel discussion featuring Western film historian and author David Rothel,
Photos courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Director Quentin Tarantino’s generosity and affection for the Film Museum and community of Lone Pine has resulted in a brand-new exhibit built around items used in “Django Unchained” and which he donated to the Museum after filming concluded. The centerpiece is the Dentist’s Wagon driven in the film by Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz, as shown below.
whose book “Who Was That Masked Man? The Story of the Lone Ranger” is generally acknowledged as the definitive history of the character, is scheduled for Friday afternoon of the Festival. Django Unchained As many know, Quentin Tarantino spent a number of months in Lone Pine in late 2011 shooting the Academy Award-winning “Django Unchained.” Tarantino loved the community and its support, and became especially enamored of the Lone Pine Film History Museum, where he hosted private screenings in the Wild West Theater and a party for cast and crew. It was also at the Museum where he came across an original clapper board used by his idol, director William Witney, on the set of “The Lone Ranger.” Perhaps it was because Tarantino was allowed to use that same clapper board while filming “Django,” or perhaps it was because he appreciates the mission of the Museum to preserve Western film history – and Tarantino’s a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns in particular – or perhaps it is because he is just a nice
guy, as many residents found out, but Tarantino ended up donating a lot of items from his movie to the Museum when he wrapped up filming. These items include the Dental Wagon that is driven in the movie by Christoph Waltz, as well as Tarantino’s director’s chair, an autographed film script, production stills and other materials, around which a new exhibit has been constructed. According to Sigman, staff has been working on developing this exhibit all year in anticipation of its debut during the Film Festival. In general, Sigman says, museum staff is working hard to “re-orient the Museum into a world-class facility offering exhibits, education and research archive programs that emphasize the development of Western filmmaking, from the birth of Western entertainment in the Wild West shows of the late 1800s through today.” Sigman notes that many of the exhibits are fully documented online and the Museum is starting to incorporate greater interactivity with video and audio and through the use of QR codes in the exhibits and in its advertising.
Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Local artist Jude Greenburgh created a 20-foot-plus mural of the Alabama Hills’ Lone Pine Canyon as the backdrop for the exhibit celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Lone Ranger’s appearance on film. WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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TOURS
The Legendary John Wayne
Westward Ho!
Tour guides: Mike and Jan Houle Friday: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday: 7-11 p.m. Sunday: 9 a.m.-noon Screenings: 8:15 a.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday, both at High School Auditorium Travel to the sites featured in the 1935 Republic film starring John Wayne very early in his career. The film tells the story of a man who was separated from his younger brother at an early age. In his early adult years, Wayne forms a vigilante group to stop a band of marauding outlaws. But, Wayne soon discovers that it is his brother who is leading the gang. BUS: 3 hours
Tour guide: Mike Royer Friday: 12:30-3 p.m. Saturday: 3-5:30 p.m. Thirty-four years after his passing, John Wayne still remains one of the most popular actors in Hollywood, an outstanding achievement for a young man who began his days in the business moving furniture and props. The Lone Pine Film Festival offers this tour as a tribute to “The Duke,” who, from his earliest starring roles in “Poverty Row” Westerns to his final 1978 Great Western Savings TV commercial, had a long history with Lone Pine. In fact, according to his widow, Pilar, he called it one of his “favorite places of all time.” With the help of guide Mike Royer, you’ll visit the rocks and sagebrush of the Alabama Hills and walk where Wayne worked over a 45-year period as parts of 13 feature films were shot here. Royer will tell stories about The Duke and how he got the nickname, his early career and the boosts he got from Raoul Walsh and John Ford; show original production stills from scenes at the many sites; and pepper the tour with reminiscences of Wayne’s 40-plusyear love affair with the Alabama Hills. See locations from B-Westerns such as “Westward Ho!” “Blue Steel,” “King of The Pecos” and “Lawless Range”; adventure films like “I Cover The War” and “The Three Godfathers”; and the big-budget epic “Tycoon.” You will actually tread the dust where outlaw bands were rounded up and where train tunnels were dug in the mighty Andes. You’ll even see some actual artifacts remaining all these years later. BUS: 2.5 hours; short movie presentation on bus
TOURS KEY
Gunga Din
Tour guide: Jude Greenburgh Friday: 9-11:30 a.m. Saturday: noon-2:30 p.m. Filmed here in the summer and fall of 1938, “Gunga Din” remains to this day the largest production ever filmed in the Lone Pine area. The production company created huge sets, hired more than 1,000 extras and built a tent city to house the cast and crew. It is recognized as one of the rare films of its era to stand up well to modern sensitivities. Visit the site of the temple, the village of Tanta Pur, battle scene locations and see the location of the bridge crossed by the elephants. BUS: 2.5 hours
North-South
Tour guide: Melody Holland-Ogburn Friday: 3:30-6 p.m. Saturday: 12:30-3 p.m. Sunday: 2:30-5 p.m. Considered one of the most scenic drives, you’ll see A LOT of the Alabama Hills. The tour travels throughout the length of the Alabama Hills to famous filming locations of such movies as “Gunga Din,” “Westward Ho!” and “Wagons Westward.” You will visit famous locations on this combination of two original festival tours created by Festival Founder Dave Holland and now led by his daughter, Melody. View the Hoppy cabin where the Boyds honeymooned. Stand where Gene Autry, John Wayne and Tom Mix worked. Walk to the Lone Ranger ambush site then through the canyon to our famous Hoppy and Gene Autry rocks. View the “Rawhide” film location where two people played one part. See the actual cement anchors that held the “Gunga Din” bridge; the monuments dedicated by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Roy Rogers. Grab your cameras and join us on this tour for your thorough introductory view or great refresher to all the filmmaking celebrated by our festival. BUS: 2.5 hours
BUS: Buses contain 54 seats and leave from south parking lot of Museum. WALKING: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car. CAR CARAVAN: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car.
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LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
TOURS
Secrets of the Wasteland
Tour guide: Don Kelsen Saturday: 8-11 a.m. Screening: 7 a.m. Saturday at High School Auditorium In “Secrets of the Wasteland,” a Hopalong Cassidy adventure inspired by the Shangri-La of “Lost Horizon,” the Bar 20 trio joins an archeological expedition in search of ancient Indian ruins. Instead they find a mysterious “lost city” populated by Chinese Americans! We will screen the film in the Museum Theater then start out on our own expedition in search of the locations where Paramount Pictures lensed this Western yarn. Our tour travels out to the northern boundary of the beautiful Alabama Hills where we will explore the site of the archeological camp, then move to where the company staged the chases and gun battles, finally winding up where they shot the climactic fight at The Anchor Ranch. BUS: 3 hours
Anchor Ranch Billy King Remembers Hopalong Cassidy – SPECIAL EVENT TOUR ONE DAY ONLY
Tour Guide: Don Kelsen Friday: 8-10 a.m. Festival guest Billy King visits the the Alabama Hills for the first time since his preteen acting career began and ended as a cast member of four “Pop Sherman” Hopalong Cassidy films. This is your chance to join 88-year-old King as he’s reacquainted with several, Alabama Hills Hoppy locations (including “Heart of Arizona” and “Hopalong Rides Again”) where he’ll share his memories and acting anecdotes with those in attendance. Short walks are involved in accessing locations after caravanning to the Alabama Hills. Remember: Friday from 11 a.m.12:30 p.m. is the Hopalong Cassidy discussion panel in the High School Quad with Billy King, Richard Bann and Don Kelsen BUS: 2 Hours
Tour guide: Debbie Kielb Limited to 15 people at a time Friday: 9-11 a.m.; 1-3 p.m. Saturday: 9-11 a.m.; 1-3 p.m. Sunday: 3-5 p.m. Limited to 15 people at a time, this tour lets fans explore the location for many Hopalong Cassidy and Tim Holt films, Anchor Ranch, which is currently a working ranch owned and operated by three generations of Spainhowers. The ranch has been used in Westerns for more than 80 years. First walk where Fatty Arbuckle, Fred Humes, Ken Maynard and many silent range heroes worked in the good old days. Then travel to Anchor Ranch where more than 70 films worked. It played the Bar 20 and many other ranches. The ranch is where the Hacienda, Mission and Anchorville Western streets were located. It is where the Hallmark Channel filmed so many scenes for its made-for-television film, “What I Did For Love.” Now you can see behind the scenes of this very famous film location. Remember: This is a real working ranch so you might just get a glimpse of what ranching is like today. WALKING: 2 Hours
Lone Ranger
Tour guide: Chris Langley Limit 24 people per tour Friday: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday: 1-4 p.m. With the popularity of the Disney reboot of “The Lone Ranger,” our Masked Man has caught a younger generation’s imagination. The Lone Ranger has been in the rocks here in Lone Pine since 1938 when Bill Witney and John English directed “The Lone Ranger” serial. On this tour you will visit sites where this action classic shot, then move on to some of the locations for the Clayton Moore and John Hart Ranger we remember from early television. Finally, we travel out to where Disney shot scenes for the most recent incarnation. It takes a little longer to travel between the locations than to travel back in time, but it is well worth the adventure. CAR CARAVAN: 3 hours
TOURS KEY
BUS: Buses contain 54 seats and leave from south parking lot of Museum. WALKING: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car. CAR CARAVAN: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car. WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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TOURS
Sunrise Photo
Hollywood’s Backyard
Tour guides: Burt & Donna Yost Friday: 1:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday: 9 a.m.-noon Visit locations seldom seen by visitors. A must-tour for movie buffs. Visit the Tim Holt cabin for the first time ever, a ghost town, stagecoach stop, movie lake, old train and gas station, a rare Molly Stevens steamboat stop on Owens Lake and other locations still standing. Steve McQueen, Tim Holt, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and many others worked here. Hidden Lone Pine at its best. CAR CARAVAN: 3 hours
Hopalong Cassidy Bar 20
Tour guide: Richard W. Bann Friday: 1:30-4 p.m. Saturday: 1:30-4 p.m. Lone Pine’s future looks brightest when honoring its storied past. So let’s jump on the time machine and visit the still-working cattle ranch which served as the original “Bar 20” in the first and best Hopalong Cassidy feature film made in 1935. Come and see the historic and beautiful Lubken Ranch. Incredibly, the many Western film-location books have all ignored it, because until 2011 its storied movie history was unknown – even at our own Festival. We begin in the Museum Theater with a video compilation of Western excerpts shot at this pastoral venue from 1926-49. Then we travel up into the splendors of Lone Pine scenery via car caravan to tour the sacred grounds of the Lubken spread. There we will search for the ghosts of cowboy heroes who made scenes here we have known practically all our lives: Gene Autry, Randolph Scott, Bob Steele, Tim Holt, Ken Maynard, Fred Humes, Gabby Hayes, Richard Arlen, Big Boy Williams, Bill Cody, Hoot Gibson, Tom Mix, Johnny Mack Brown, Tom Tyler – even “Bonanza” shot here! Some walking is required as we trace the footsteps of screen legends through this rare oasis of green in Lone Pine. Tour guide is author and film historian Richard W. Bann. More importantly, we hope to be joined by festival guest Billy King who appeared with William Boyd in four Hoppy adventures. Come re-live magic movie moments, and make new memories too. CAR CARAVAN: 2.5 hours
TOURS KEY
Tour guide: Larry Maurice Saturday: 6-8:30 a.m. Sunday: 6-8:30 a.m. For nearly 20 years, Film Festival visitors have thrilled to the breathtaking beauty of the Eastern High Sierra “Sunrise Tour.” A photographer’s dream event, but so inspirational, everyone can enjoy this early morning spectacle. See why directors and cinematographers can’t get enough of the spectacular mornings in “The Range of Light.” Watch the morning sun ignite the peak of Mt. Whitney and bring the Alabama Hills to life. Share good fellowship with a spectacular light show, a continental breakfast, a little music, a little poetry and a start to your Film Festival day that will never be forgotten. CAR CARAVAN 2.5 hours
A Good Day at Black Rock
Tour guide: Jerry Condit Friday: 8:30-11 a.m. Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-noon Screening: 7-8:30 a.m. on Friday at Museum Theater Jerry Condit will lead an auto caravan out to the dry lakes east of town. These strange flat areas have been used for races and scenes for several movies, including “Courageous Avenger,” “Army Girl” and Mel Gibson’s, “Maverick.” Then it’s on to the Black Rock town site which gives the tour its name. Using large photos and sharing humorous anecdotes, Mr. Condit will lead folks through the area. A short walking distance from Black Rock, the tour will then take a stroll to the site of the ghost town set that was used in “The Law and Jake Wade.” CAR CARAVAN: 2.5 hours
BUS: Buses contain 54 seats and leave from south parking lot of Museum. WALKING: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car. CAR CARAVAN: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car.
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LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
TOURS
Owens Valley: 100th Anniversary Arches of the Alabama Hills of the Completion of L.A. Aqueduct Tour guide: Orlyn Fordham Tour guides: Page Williams and Dorothy Bonnefin Saturday: 7:30-10:30 a.m. On this four-wheel-drive tour of the Owens Valley, learn about the long water war between Inyo County and Los Angeles, and the history of the L.A. Aqueduct. See how the once-dry Lower Owens River has made a comeback and river wildlife is enjoying new and improved habitat. Led by California historian and wildlife photographer Page Williams and Lone Pine’s own Dorothy Bonnefin. Four-wheel-drive vehicle is required. This will be a caravan to different areas around Lone Pine and down by the Owens River. CAR CARAVAN: 3 hours
Limit 18 people per tour; 2WD dirt roads and approximately 1 mile of walking Friday: Presentation in Museum – time TBD Saturday: 8-10:30 a.m. Sunday: 8-10:30 a.m. Most people would agree that the Alabama Hills exhibit an extraordinary beauty with their unique rock formations, stunning skylines and the backdrop of the majestic High Sierra mountain range. It is no wonder that the film industry has repeatedly chosen this area as a location for so many movies. However, hidden within the rocks, there is another, often-overlooked natural treasure, the arches of the Alabama Hills. There are reportedly more than 300 of these geologic structures in the area and they range in size from just inches to more than 20 feet in length. This driving and walking tour will include three of the area’s best arches as well as short hikes through a couple of areas where there are a concentration of these features. Warning: Hunting for arches can be addictive! Be sure to bring cameras, binoculars and water, and wear hiking shoes. CAR CARAVAN: 2.5 hours
Django Unchained
Tour guide: Manuel Ruiz Saturday: 4-6 p.m. Sunday: 8-10 p.m. The tour will take visitors into the Alabama Hills where Quentin Tarantino shot a number of scenes for “Django.” There will be 3-4 stops highlighting six locations, including Lone Ranger Canyon where the infamous Legend of Bruumhilda is told, Gene Autry Rock (opening shot of the movie), additional locations used by other well-known films (“Gunga Din,” “Tremors”) and lastly to Mother Hill where two familiar shots from the film take place which involve Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz. Four of the locations are easy access; two will require a small walk. CAR CARAVAN: 2 hours
Audie Murphy: A Real/Reel Hero
Tour guides: Ross Schnioffsky and Warren Davey Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-noon Re-trace the steps of American war hero Audie Murphy as we take you to where he made three of his most interesting movies, “Hell Bent for Leather” (1960), “Posse from Hell” (1961) and “Showdown” (1963), which features 2013 Festival celebrity guest L.Q. Jones. Murphy was a better actor than he gave himself credit for and was involved in some production planning, such as location spotting. Warren Davey and Ross Schnioffsky will show you not only sites from the films but also where some of these movies’ most thrilling stunts were performed. The tour will incorporate some “Audie audio.” Join us as we saddle up with one of Lone Pine’s great ghost riders. CAR CARAVAN: 2.5 hours
TOURS KEY
BUS: Buses contain 54 seats and leave from south parking lot of Museum. WALKING: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car. CAR CARAVAN: Cars meet in south Museum parking lot – watch for signs. Note: Cost of tour is per person, not per car. WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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ABOUT THE TOUR GUIDES Richard W. Bann
Richard W. Bann is the host of Lone Pine’s Bar 20 Ranch Tour, a regular essayist for “Lone Pine at The Movies,” a major source for 16mm prints for the Festival the last 20 years, a film historian and author (with books on Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang, W.C. Fields, Hal Roach and John Wayne). Bann started his career as a CPA testifying on behalf of William Boyd Enterprises with respect to Hopalong Cassidy films litigation and later was vicepresident of Blackhawk Films, Inc. More recently he served as consultant to CMG Worldwide, the marketing and licensing agent representing the estates of Marilyn Monroe, Mark Twain, Babe Ruth, James Dean, Vince Lombardi and Jackie Robinson. For the past 30 years, Bann has been library consultant to a European film and TV company, Kirch Media GmbH and related entities, where he spent $4 million restoring and preserving the Hal Roach Studios 35mm nitrate film collection. Bann’s knowledge of movies and Western heritage is always greatly appreciated in Lone Pine.
Dorothy Bonnefin
A former real-estate broker for 30 years, Bonnefin has lived in the Owens Valley for more than 70 years. In fact, she worked at the front desk of the Dow Hotel in the ’50s and ’60s when filming was at its peak, and remembers that “when one studio checked out another checked in.” She even worked as an extra in movies and commercials. A true movie fan, Bonnefin has been involved with the Lone Pine Film Festival since the inception of the event in 1990. She served as Festival director for six years, and continues to dedicate herself to serving on the Film Museum and Festival boards of directors and with the Friends of the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery.
Jerry Condit
An artist and photographer, Condit currently lives in the San Fernando Valley. After discovering Lone Pine and those fabulous Alabama Hills 20 years ago, the area has become very dear to his heart, as a second home and a favorite place to get lost, meditate and escape. He is passionate about Lone Pine’s movie history, especially the vintage years. Condit is currently re-photographing, from original camera positions, the Alabama Hills locations that appeared on the silver screen.
Orlyn Fordham
Orlyn Fordham was born in Kalispell, Mont. in 1954. He has lived in Washington and California and he currently resides in Nevada. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Science from California State University, Northridge and a teaching credential in Physical Science from California State University, Fullerton. Fordham retired after 27 years of teaching in public schools.
Jude Greenburgh
Originally from Great Britain and now a resident of nearby Darwin, Judyth Greenburgh currently works in the Lone Pine Film History Museum’s art department. Greenburgh is an international art director and has worked on
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Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Mike and Jan Houle in the field and on the hunt for movie locations. The couple has been searching for Lone Pine locations from their favorite movies for decades, and are among more than a dozen of like-minded film buffs leading location tours during the Lone Pine Film Festival. everything from global advertising to local nonprofit causes. A born communicator, she brings her docent experience from being a trained guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and her love of this landscape and how it inspires into being through the exhibits, the artwork and guided tours.
Mike and Jan Houle
Janet and Michael Houle literally stumbled onto Lone Pine during an Eastern Sierra vacation more than a decade ago. Buying Dave Holland’s book in Lone Pine led them out into the rocks to find Holland’s locations as illustrated in the book. On one occasion later on, while searching for more locations, Holland drove up and asked if he could help the couple, and thus began a long and fruitful relationship of movie site location work. When not looking for movie location sites, Janet works for Sacramento County and Michael, while retired, is an active musician.
Debbie Kielb
Debbie Kielb has been a State and National Park interpreter and a tour guide for Park Concessions since 2003. She has volunteered her talents for the LPFF since 2007 simply because, “I’ve been a movie-lover all my life.” Conveying an understanding of the history and helping the audience find a personal connection to these favorite films is her goal on the Anchor Ranch tour.
Chris Langley
Christopher Langley was born in New York, graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. and spent two years in the Peace Corps in Iran, teaching Baluchi tribesman. He and his wife, Sandy, lived three years in New Idria Mining Camp south of Hollister, Calif., teaching in a two-room school. He moved to Lone Pine in 1972. He has served as director of the Lone Pine Film Festival and is executive director of the Lone Pine Film History Museum. He is also Inyo Film Commissioner and has worked on such films as “Iron Man,” “Django Unchained,” “G.I. Joe,” “Man of Steel” and “The Lone Ranger.” He has published two books, “Lone Pine” and “Mount Whitney,” and written articles in the four “Lone Pine in the Movies” books. He is presently collaborating with photographer Osceola Refetoff on a landscape book of photographs and writing, “Desert Chimera: Seeking the True Face of the Mojave,” and film history books on Lone Pine, Death Valley, Eastern Sierra and director Clarence Badger. He and Sandy have two sons and three granddaughters.
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
Don Kelsen
Tour guide Don Kelsen has been learning about the Alabama Hills and film locations since the first Festival in 1990. Inspiration for pin pointing filming locations comes from Kelsen’s association with Festival co-founder Dave Holland and their work together on Holland’s first video, “On Location in Lone Pine.”
Larry Maurice
Larry Maurice has spent the last 35 years as a cowboy, horse wrangler and packer in the Eastern Sierra and the high deserts of Nevada. You’re likely to find him leading a string of mules into the backcountry, on a horse drive in the Owens Valley of California, or working with Longhorn cattle in Virginia City, Nev. He is an exceptional after-dinner speaker and spends a great deal of time in schools around the country talking to children about the role the cowboy has played and continues to play in the development of the West. Maurice has been honored with the “Lifetime Achievement in Cowboy Poetry Award” from the prestigious National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas. In 2000, he received the Academy of Western Artists’ coveted “Will Rogers Cowboy Award” for Cowboy Poet of the Year. A regular in Lone Pine since the Festival’s beginning in 1990, Maurice has been providing guidance, support and friendship throughout the years.
Melody Holland Ogburn
Joining us again, Ogburn is the daughter of Festival co-founder Dave Holland. Having led guests on bus tours as a step-on guide since the first year, she notes first-time attendees on at least one of her tours each weekend. “Every year brings great, new experiences through these movie location tours. I treasure seeing people meet to share with old friends. Others make new friends. And they’re all enjoying the area. It’s a unique Festival!”
Mike Royer
Drawn to Southern California in the spring of 1965 by the lure of a career in comic art, Mike Royer spent his first 14 years in comic books, comic strips and TV animation. He has inked many great pages including “Magnus,” “Robot Fighter,” “Tarzan,” “Star Wars Speed Buggy,” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids,” to name a few. Royer spent the next 14 years on staff with the Walt Disney Company in the creative department of its Consumer Product/Licensing division. As a character artist/product designer – performing as idea man, concept and final line
artist and sometime inker – he addressed the areas of book publishing, comic books and strips, and all forms of theme park and licensed merchandise. He created the “new look” that launched the massive “Winnie the Pooh” licensing program in late 1993. Royer now lives in Oregon and continues to work freelance, doing pencil work on a wide variety of projects, including creating characters for comics and for computer game animators. A long-time Lone Pine Festival attendee, he has a diverse knowledge of filmmaking in the area and brings a passion for Western heritage to all his tours.
Manuel Ruiz
Manuel Ruiz has been an intern for Inyo County Film Commissioner Chris Langley since September 2011, combining his passion for film with first-hand experiences as he develops his film career.
Ross Schnioffsky and Warren Davey
The call of the Alabama Hills has lured Warren Davey and Ross Schnioffsky back to Lone Pine after an absence of a few years. They have been rootin’, tootin’ lounge-chair cowboys ever since Walt Disney dusted off Davy Crockett’s old coonskin cap. Schnioffsky and Davey live just west of Lone Pine in the little frontier town of Melbourne, Australia. TV Westerns arrived in Australia in 1956 and the pair has loved them ever since. Despite spending most of their working life in all forms of education, from elementary schools to universities, Schnioffsky and Davey have held on to their sanity, barely! Schnioffsky, who loves making little docos on cinema history, is a faculty librarian at La Trobe University, Melbourne and Davey, who loves reading about all things western, is an elementary school librarian and both happily maintain disorganized lives.
Page Williams
Page Williams is a fifth-generation native Californian and part-time California historian and wildlife photographer. She has worked in the entertainment industry for more than 44 years, first in the theater with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and then with the London Royal Ballet and New York Opera. Williams has worked in Hollywood for the past 35 years and was just elected to her third term on the executive board of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 80. But as much as Williams loves Hollywood, her heart belongs to Lone Pine.
Burt and Donna Yost
Returning from a ski trip, Columbus Day weekend 1990, Burt and Donna Yost discovered Lone Pine and as it happens, the Lone Pine Film Festival. Fans of old Westerns, Burt and Donna soon started making trips to Lone Pine and the Alabamas in search of their favorite movie locations. That led to a meeting with Film Festival Founder Kerry Powell and Director Dave Holland, with whom they became fast friends. Since then, Burt and Donna have developed many additional friends in Lone Pine and have become well-versed in the Alabamas and Eastern Sierra landscape and respective movie locations. Their annual Festival tours are always a sell-out, especially the “Backyard” tour highlighted in this program. The Yosts call Santa Barbara home, when not in Lone Pine.
Don’t crush the brush
Photo by Charles James
Volunteers, under the guidance of BLM Steward Dave Kirk, get to work replanting native vegetation in the Alabama Hills during one of several clean-up/restoration events the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group hosts throughout the year.
Group’s efforts to protect Alabama Hills include upcoming restoration events, possible federal designation A true Lone Pine Film Festival experience isn’t complete without at least one visit to the Alabama Hills – an enchanting landscape where more than 400 movies have been filmed since 1920, and countless television series, music videos, TV commercials and even print ads have likewise utilized the land and its famous rocks in the artistic process. Not only are the Alabama Hills widely known as Hollywood’s favorite back lot, they’re also a national treasure for their unique character, unparalleled scenery and the myriad recreational opportunities they offer to residents and visitors alike. Protecting this landscape in its semi-primitive natural state has become an important priority for the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group, which wants to ensure that everyone who currently visits and uses the Hills still has an opportunity to do so and that the Hills remain forever beautiful and unscathed. Created in 2006, the group was specifically established to promote the longterm vision, conservation, use, enhancement and enjoyment of the Alabama Hills, which are federally designated as a Special Recreation Management Area. Working in tandem with the Bureau of Land Management and its local resource advisory panel, the group has forged a strong, community-based partnership to maintain the area’s landscape integrity and vital tourism economy. The AHSG’s objectives are to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the natural beauty of the Eastern Sierra’s Alabama Hills and that they remain a protected landscape and visual legacy of the area’s film heritage. The organization’s motto, “Don’t Crush the Brush,” speaks directly to the importance of visitors helping to protect these lands and their rocks. This fall, the organization will be restoring two areas that have been badly abused. The area known by locals as “The Bowling Alley” but by movie fans as “The Gravesite” (from “Rawhide,” where Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward buried Edgar Buchanan) has seen significant damage to the brush and landscape as a result of being tracked over by motor vehicles and large RVs. The islands of plants that enhanced the natural beauty have disappeared as renegade drivers
have needlessly carved a new road around the perimeter of the area. All visitors are asked to not camp in this area this year so a natural recovery process can begin. A second site that has also been badly damaged is the parking area just off of Movie Road, east of where the rock known as “The Shark Fin” is located. Parking and driving off the designated area has done extensive damage to sensitive brush and flora and has caused the roads to widen and has, unfortunately, expanded the area. This site will also be undergoing restoration work this year. In addition to stewardship work on the ground, the AHSG continues to lobby for additional layers of protection – and promotion – that could be afforded the Alabamas via a new land designation. A campaign to secure a National Scenic Area legislation for a significant area of the Alabama Hills began with the launch of AHSG and continues to gain momentum towards passage. The group is working in Sacramento, with Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Office and Congressman Paul Cook of the 8th District, to make this a reality. More than 40 user groups benefit from this campaign to preserve and protect the Alabama Hills with an effective and long-term management plan complemented by supporting funds for proper program implementation and management of the area. The Stewardship Group, a non-profit 501 (C) (3) organization, has worked collaboratively with the community and governmental agencies to create a vision and action plan to address priority management issues in the Special Management Area. The AHSG invites everyone to support its mission through donations, membership and/or participation in projects and events. For more information or to be placed on the newsletter list, please contact Chris Langley, AHSG President, at (760) 937-1189; by email at lonepinemovies@ aol.com; or see http://alabamahillsstewardshipgroup.org. Every film buff and movie tourist loves the Alabama Hills, and it takes all of us to keep its landscape from deteriorating. JOIN AHSG TODAY! WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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Stargazing in the Sierra Nevada Celebrity guests brighten 24th annual film festival
Leonard Maltin
One of the most recognized and respected film critics of our time, Leonard Maltin has appeared on the long-running television show, “Entertainment Tonight,” for more than 30 years. He also has hosted “Secret’s Out” on ReelzChannel and introduces movies on DirecTV Cinema. For three years he co-hosted the movie review show “Hot Ticket.” The annual “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide,” first published in 1969 when Maltin was an 18-year-old freshman at NYU, has become an indispensable tool for movie-lovers. Since 2005, he has produced a companion volume, “Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide,” which focuses on movies made before 1965, going back to the silent era. His other books include “151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen,” “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Encyclopedia,” “The Great American Broadcast,” “The Great Movie Comedians,” “The Disney Films,” “Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons,” “The Art of the Cinematographer” and “Selected Short Subjects.” Maltin has taught at the USC School of Cinematic Arts for more than 15 years, and was a member of the faculty at the New School for Social Research in New York City. He will be hosting several of our Q & A sessions with Festival guests.
Andrew Prine
One of Andrew Prine’s early performances was in “Advance to the Rear” in which Stella Stevens starred. He worked in the episode of “Have Gun Will Travel” called “The Marshal’s Boy,” which has a wonderfully dramatic climax up at Whitney Portal near the waterfall. Many other Western films fill his credits, including “Texas Across the River,” “The Devil’s Brigade,” “Bandolero!” and “Chisum.” As the Western genre faded from the big screen, his appearances were more diverse although he starred in several episodes of classic television Westerns. These included “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Virginian” and “Wagon Train.” Prine’s diverse abilities have been on display more with his guest-starring roles on modern television shows such as “C.S.I,” “Six Feet Under,” “JAG,” “Saving Grace” and “Boston Legal,” among many others. Recent film work of his includes Rob Zombie’s “The Lords of Salem” and the yet-to-be-released “Beyond the Farthest Star.”
David Rothel
Author David Rothel’s lifelong fascination with show business began with frequent visits to the three movie theatres in Elyria, Ohio, where he was intrigued and inspired by what he saw on the silver screen. He has since gone from youthful observer to published authority on various aspects of popular entertainment, all of which is reflected in his 13 books on show business history, including “Opened Time Capsules: My Vintage Conversations with Show Business Personalities,” “The Singing Cowboys,” “The Great Show Business Animals” and his latest, “The Case Files of the Oriental Sleuths: Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, and Mr. Wong,” Rothel’s fascination with the Western film genre caused him to research and write books on many of the leading stars of those films. He had the opportunity to personally interview Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and other leading and supporting players for his books. His book on Western film locations, “An Ambush of Ghosts: a Personal Guide to Favorite Western Film Locations,” was twice featured in Leonard Maltin segments on “Entertainment Tonight.” In March of 2012, Rothel received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Williamsburg Film Festival “for his Dedication and Outstanding Contributions in Honoring the Golden Age of Hollywood.” Rothel and his wife, Nancy, live in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Dahlonega, Ga.
Mariette Hartley
Mariette Hartley has established herself as an enduring star on stage, screen and television for more than 40 years. Her first film was Sam Peckinpah’s classic Western, “Ride the High Country,” with Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott. She followed that up with “Marooned,” starring Gregory Peck and directed by John Sturges; “Skyjacked” with Charlton Heston and James Brolin; and “1969,” with Robert Downey Jr. and Keifer Sutherland. An Emmy winner and five-time nominee, her TV credits range from the original “Star Trek” to “M*A*S*H,” “Peyton Place” to “Goodnight Beantown,” and such acclaimed television movies as “MADD: The Candy Lightner Story,” “Silence of the Heart” and “My Two Loves,” the latter alongside Lynn Redgrave. Hartley also did four episodes of “Gunsmoke,” four “Bonanza” episodes, a classic “Twilight Zone” episode, “The Long Morrow” with Robert Lansing and, of course, those Polaroid commercials. She has appeared on “Saving Grace” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” She has been seen on HBO’s “Big Love” and “Law & Order: SVU,” where she recurs as defense attorney, Lorna Scarry. Hartley received a Drama-Logue Award for “Trojan Women” and a Broadway Ovation Award nomination for “Enchanted April. She toured in “The Sisters Rosensweig” (Drama Logue Award) and “Copenhagen” (for which she received the Broadway Ovation Award). Other theater credits include “Trojan Women,” “Enchanted April,” A.R. Gurney’s “Ancestral Voices” at Lincoln Center, “Sylvia” at MTC and the Broadway production of “Cabaret.” Hartley has been a mental health advocate since 1987, when she cofounded the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. For the past 15 years, she has co-facilitated eight-week survivor groups through Didi Hirsch and speaks all over the country. Her autobiographical bestseller, “Breaking the Silence,” is a deeply personal, revealing and funny look at her life and career, a must for film buffs. It has been republished and is available online through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Ms. Hartley will be signing copies at the Film Festival.
L.Q. Jones
In a long and varied career in motion pictures, Jones worked with a number of Hollywood’s great Western stars. In Lone Pine and the Eastern Sierra, Jones worked with Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy, Joel McCrea and Steve McQueen, as well as directors Henry Hathaway, Budd Boetticher and Sam Peckinpah. In fact, he was a favorite of Peckinpah’s, appearing in five of the auteur’s best-known films, including “The Wild Bunch,” “The Ballad of Cable Hogue,” “Ride the High Country,” “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” and “Lone Wolf McQuade.” Over the years, Jones has become a popular and easily recognizable character actor, turning in many interesting performances. Non-Western credits include “Casino” with Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci, “The Edge” with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, “The Patriot” with Steven Seagal and “The Mask of Zorro” with Antonio Banderas. In recent years, he has portrayed a variety of crusty old Westerners in multiple TV guest spots.
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager’s 50-plus-year career in television is highlighted by two NBC Western series in which he co-starred, “The Tall Man” and “The Virginian,” although the majority of his work was non-Western. Among the feature films in which he appeared are the Peter Bogdanovich contemporary Western “The Last Picture Show,” the racing film “Winning” with Paul Newman, “McQ” with John Wayne, director Don Siegel’s “The Killers” and the cult horror film “The Return of the Living Dead.” In his long career, Gulager appeared as a guest star in nearly every dramatic series of the 1970s and 1980s, including “Police Story,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “The Mackenzies of Paradise Cove,” “Quincy, M.E.,” “CHiPs,” “The Fall Guy,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “Airwolf,” “Knight Rider,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.” Gulager now lives in semi-retirement in West Hollywood where he conducts an acting workshop.
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Billy King
We are happy to welcome Billy King to Lone Pine for his first appearance at the Festival. He worked in four Hopalong Cassidy Westerns – “Hopalong Rides Again” (1937), “Texas Trail” (1937), “Heart of Arizona”(1938 and “Pride of the West” (1938) – three of which were shot amidst the spectacular rock-studded terrain of the Alabama Hills. Actress Grace Bradley liked the casting of King because “it gave young moviegoers a way to personally identify with Hoppy.” We look forward to the recollections of King as a 12-year-old boy working (as Artie, Buck Peters’ adolescent nephew) opposite William Boyd as Hoppy and George Hayes as Windy. Do not miss the opportunity to meet Mr. King.
Dean Smith
To the general public, Dean Smith’s name remains little-known because he spent most of his life serving as a stunt double for actors (and occasionally actresses) to maintain the illusion that they were the ones falling from horses and leaping off buildings. Smith jokes, “I began my career and I ended my career working in Lone Pine. I began with my first job away from Hollywood on location in Lone Pine as a stunt man on ‘The Law and Jake Wade’ in 1958, and ended it working as a stunt man on ‘Maverick,’ in 1994.” In between the two films, Smith worked on “How the West Was Won” (1962), “The Birds” (1963), “McClintock!” (1963), “El Dorado” (1966), “True Grit” (1969), “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” (1969), “Big Jake” (1971), “The Sting” (1973), “Sugarland Express” (1974), “The Towering Inferno” (1974), “Christine” (1983) and “Raw Deal” (1986). At the height of the TV Western boom, his credits included “Maverick,” “Gunsmoke,” “Iron Horse,” “The Virginian,” “Bat Masterson,” “Outcasts,” “The F.B.I.,” “Tall Man,” “Have Gun Will Travel,” “Riverboat,” “Ironside,” “Zorro,” “Texas John Slaughter,” “Cimarron City,” “Wagon Train,” “Laramie,” “Lawman” and dozens of others. Now, at 81, Smith may finally be getting his turn as the star attraction with the publication of his memoir “Cowboy Stuntman: From Olympic Gold to the Silver Screen,” written with Mike Cox of Austin, Texas.
Dan Hornak (aka Jake Thorne as The Duke)
Dan Hornak was born and raised in the Midwest. Growing up, he found – like a lot of young men did – a role model in John Wayne. Ever since he was 10, Hornak wanted to “walk the walk and talk the talk” of his hero. He played football and boxed in high school. Along the way, he has worn a sheriff deputy’s star, aimed a news camera and directed television. But acting has always been in his blood. He has appeared in films, on stage, in commercials, promotions and public service announcements. “Now that The Duke has been gone for over 30 years Americans need to be reminded of what he believed in and stood for. I’ll stand up for that any day,” Hornak says of his current role. When not on the road, he spends his time on his little spread, Trails End, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, N.C.
Wyatt McCrea
Wyatt McCrea was born in Los Angeles as part of the fifth generation of a California family. His grandfather was Joel McCrea, famous as a cowboy star from the second half of the handsome actor’s career when he made many classic Westerns. Joel made “Cattle Empire” in Lone Pine and “Cattle Drive” in Death Valley. Wyatt’s grandmother was Frances Dee, a striking leading lady who made more than 40 films before deciding to focus on family and raising her and Joel’s three sons. Wyatt McCrea spent the bulk of his professional career in real estate and financial services, in addition to preserving the history of his filmmaking family. McCrea is an associate board member for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and a member of both the Rodeo Historical Society and American Quarter Horse Association, among many other professional and Western responsibilities.
Larry Maurice
Larry Maurice is Lone Pine’s favorite Cowboy Poet and Master of Ceremonies. Not only has Maurice been a familiar, friendly face and voice at the Lone Pine Film Festival for many year, but he has spent the last 20 years as a cowboy, horse wrangler and packer in the Eastern Sierra and the high deserts of Nevada. Over the last few years, he has had to juggle his need to be on horseback with his busy entertainment schedule. Maurice is a sought-after entertainer, not only for his cowboy poetry that speaks from the heart of the day-to-day cowboy, but also for his ability to breathe life into the history of the American West. From the Thursday Night Museum Gala, to the closing campfire in the park on Sunday, Maurice will keep things moving along with aplomb and good humor. His participation in our Festival is underwritten by the Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from The James Irvine Foundation.
Peggy Stewart
One of the major leading ladies from the heyday of the B-Western and serials, Peggy Stewart has been one of the staunchest supporters of both the Film Festival and the Lone Pine Film History Museum, where she serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Having worked with almost all of the B-Western stars of the 1940s and 1950s, it is two films she made in Lone Pine with two of the leading singing cowboys that cement her place in Lone Pine film history. One is “Trail to San Antone,” a Gene Autry film featured in one of the prominent exhibits in the museum. The other is “Utah,” a Roy Rogers film where she is featured along with Dale Evans.
Loren Janes
Loren Janes again joins us to share his experiences and insights concerning stunt work as well as his experiences filming “How the West Was Won” in the Alabama Hills. Loren worked with Steve McQueen as his stunt double on “Nevada Smith,” also filmed locally. Janes has attended every Festival and serves an active role as a board member for the Lone Pine Film History Museum. He also made “Behind the Action,” featuring candid footage from many of the films he worked on to bring extra insight to his audiences about the making of action pictures. Janes is one of the key figures in the development of modern cinematic stunt design and improved safety procedures, and co-founder of the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures & Televsion. He ranks alongside Dar Robinson, Hal Needham and Yakima Canutt for his contributions to movie stunt work. Janes has lent his athletic skills to many amazing stunt sequences in more than 130 feature films, and has doubled for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson and even Debbie Reynolds in a career spanning nearly half a century. He has contributed his talents to such spectacular films as “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “Spartacus” (1960), “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), “Planet of the Apes” (1968), “The Towering Inferno” (1974) and “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984). Ruggedly handsome, Janes has also had minor acting roles in more than a dozen Hollywood feature films. In 2001, well-known Western actor and fellow 2013 Festival guest L.Q. Jones presented Janes with the Golden Boot Award for his lifetime contribution to the Western film genre.
Diamond Farnsworth
Diamond Farnsworth is an accomplished stuntman, serving as stunt coordinator on the show “NCIS,” and before that working on “JAG” and “Quantum Leap.” He is the son of Academy Award-winning actor/stuntman Richard Farnsworth, who was also a one-time guest of the Festival. Diamond began his stunt career in 1968 and has been serving as a stunt coordinator since 1980. He began with “Paint Your Wagon” and served as a stunt double for Sylvester Stallone in “First Blood,” “Rambo” and “Rhinestone.” He has also doubled Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid and Jeff Bridges. On the big screen, he’s been stunt coordinator for such major motion pictures as “Rambo: First Blood Part II” (1985), “The Big Easy” (1986), “No Way Out” (1987) and “The Dead Pool” (1988). He has loaned a pair of chaps to the Museum, which belonged to Ken Maynard and were given to his father Richard by the famous Western star. WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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SCRAWLS, SCRATCHES & SCRIBBLES
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SCRAWLS, SCRATCHES & SCRIBBLES
WHERE THE REAL WEST BECOMES THE REEL WEST
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Billy, the kid actor
Former child star returns to Lone Pine for first time in 75 years By Elizabeth Glazner In the 1930s, there weren’t many opportunities for child actors in Hollywood. But Billy King managed to snag a plum multi-picture role without even trying. He was in the seventh grade in 1937 when he made his first of four movies, playing a young horseman in the serial “Hopalong Cassidy” Westerns that enthralled audiences for 66 episodes in film and on television. His little town of Delano, Calif. had never had a movie star in its midst, and by his own account, King, now 88, never should have shined that light. “I had absolutely no acting ability at all,” he declared. “But I could ride a horse.” And that is exactly what he did in the films, three of which were shot in the Alabama Hills: “Hop-A-long Rides again” shot in 1937, and “Heart of Arizona” and “Pride of the West,” shot in 1938 (he also made “Texas Trail” in 1937, but it was shot in Arizona). King’s good fortune began when his father brought home a Mustang colt that he named Tony, a dark sorrel with a black mane and tail and three white stocking feet. His dad was a mule skinner and taught Tony and King to excel at horse shows, and King was charged with cleaning the barn and taking care of Tony. The boy and his horse won many local shows, attracting the attention of Harry “Pop” Sherman, a Hollywood producer who was looking for a “kid cowboy” for some upcoming movies. “He noticed me because I was competing against men,” said King. In Hollywood, King and his dad met with Sherman and Lesley Selander, the director, who had the boy read from a script. “There was no screen test – they just hired me and my horse.” He was given a contract and sent home. On a promise to show up in Lone Pine for the first film’s shooting, King began receiving a weekly
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Photos courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
Billy King with William Boyd (center) in the 1938 Hopalong Cassidy film, “Heart of Arizona,” shot on location in Lone Pine. Inset: Billy King today. salary, even in the midst of the Great Depression. The movie studio provided a tutor so that King could keep up with his schooling, while the wife of actor William Boyd, who played the heroic Hopalong, helped him with his lines. King and his dad lived at the Dow Motel during shooting, where the studio kept a board on which was posted the day’s events and any special instructions to the cast and crew. Back home, King had
LONE PINE FILM FESTIVAL 2013
become a movie star. “Oh hell, it was a little town of 6,000. I went through all of school with only 13 kids. The boys didn’t like it but the girls loved it,” King recalled. On set, he was given special instructions: Selander told the young actor to just be himself. “He said ‘Billy, you know the story and you live the life, so you can use your own words to express what you’re thinking. I want you to interact on the screen like you would if you were interacting with a real person.’” King worshipped Boyd. “Bill Boyd WAS Hopalong Cassidy.” he said of the man who played the cowboy hero. The “kid cowboy” storyline ran its course, and King’s movie career ended. He said he had no interest in pursuing more movie roles, because “I never could act.” After his brief fame, King finished high school, went to college, served in WWII as a Naval pilot, married his college sweetheart and raised three children while working as an insurance executive. He earned a graduate degree in rhetoric and group dynamics, an Aristotelian pursuit, and taught college for 30 years at UC Davis. He did not return to the Alabama Hills until this summer. He said it was fun to pick out where certain scenes were filmed 75 years ago. “I couldn’t believe how the hills changed whether it was a.m. or p.m.,” he said. “We hunted around and found several locations. It was fascinating to remember.” Film Festival attendees will have the opportunity meet King during the 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival as he takes part in a Hopalong Cassidy panel discussion, as well as a special, one-day tour of Hopalong Cassidy filming locations Friday morning.
A Hollywood Who’s Who
Can You Name the Actor in These Vintage Pics? 1.
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Answers are on page 35
PANELS
From the horse’s mouth … Actors, authors, stuntmen and others talk about films and film industry at 2013 panels and discussions
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ne of the major attractions of the Lone Pine Film Festival are its panels and discussions, which bring together celluloid stars, industry experts and insiders, authors and historians for intimate talks on topics they’re all passionate about. Whether the discussions are in-depth examinations of certain aspects of filmmaking, or casual and collective strolls down memory lane, the panels and discussions are always enthralling
and educational – leaving audiences that much more informed, entertained and enamored with the movies. This year’s panels and discussions will certainly be no exception, offering a gamut of topics for every film fan. The keynote panel of the 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival, Saturday morning’s look at “The Relevance and Future of Western Films in Today’s Hollywood,” is featured on pg. 32.
Hopalong Cassidy Panel
on the changing stunt practices Smith encountered over his 60-plus-year career. Questions will be taken from the audience. Lone Pine favorite, legendary stuntman Loren Janes, will be also in attendance. This panel will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. in the High School Quad.
History Museum presses, author Dave Rothel will lead a discussion on popular pals and noted number-twos from favorite Westerns. His discussion gets under way at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the Museum Theater.
Wyatt McCrea
This panel is part of this year’s Festival Special Event, which includes a screening of “Ride the High Country” in the High School Auditorium, followed by a panel discussion featuring Mariette Hartley, L.Q. Jones and Wyatt McCrea, all of whom starred in the locally-filmed Sam Peckinpah Western. Leonard Maltin moderates. The event will be held from 7-10 p.m. Friday and is open to holders of Film Festival souvenir buttons only. (Seating is limited to 300.)
Western film historian Ed Hulse, editor of “Lone Pine in the Movies,” will moderate a discussion featuring actor Billy King and Hopalong Cassidy authority Richard Bann. King appeared in four Hoppy films (three filmed in Lone Pine) as Artie, Buck Peters’ 12-year-old nephew, opposite William Boyd and George Hayes. The audience will be asked to contribute questions. The panel begins at 11 a.m. Friday in the High School Quad.
Stunt Panel
Stuntman/stunt coordinator and Festival regular Diamond Farnsworth will engage retired stuntman Dean Smith in a discussion of Smith’s new book, “Cowboy Stuntman.” Smith’s reminiscences of the years he spent working with John Wayne and other Western icons will be sure to enlighten and entertain us. They will touch
Wyatt McCrea will discuss the new edition of Tony Thomas’ film biography of his grandfather, titled “Joel McCrea, A Film History.” Wyatt will talk about the Hollywood of his grandfather and grandmother, actress Frances Dee. McCrea’s insights into his family’s history will be sure to fascinate and entertain. McCrea begins his discussion at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the Museum Theater.
Sidekicks
With his book, “Those Great Cowboy Sidekicks,” hot off the Lone Pine Film
Ride the High Country Panel
Top 10 Western Weapons
Author Dave Matuszak returns to
compile his next list with the help of Lone Pine Film Festival attendees (past endeavors have included the Top 10 Western Theme Songs of All Time). This year, Matuszak will moderate an audience discussion in an attempt to identify the “Top 10 Iconic Western Weapons.” Get in on the discussion starting at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Museum Theater.
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager will join Western film historian Ed Hulse to discuss his 50-plus-year career. Although best remembered for his roles as Billy the Kid in “The Tall Man” and Emmett Ryker in “The Virginian,” Gulager’s career has been long and varied and will provide for a lively discussion. This talk takes place at 1 p.m. Friday in the High School Quad.
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PANEL DISCUSSION
The Western today Does the genre have a viable future in Hollywood?
The critical and box-office success of recent Westerns “Django Unchained” and “True Grit,” followed by the failure of Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” with both viewers and critics, begs the question: What do audiences want in their Westerns?
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estival attendees won’t want to miss this year’s principal panel, “The Relevance and Future of Western Films in Today’s Hollywood.” Westerns are the major defining genre of the American film industry, a nostalgic eulogy to the early days of the expansive, untamed American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring and flexible genres and one of the most characteristically American genres in their mythic origins. The popularity of Westerns has waxed and waned over the years. Their most prolific era was from the 1920s to the 1960s, and most recently, in the 1990s there was a resurgence of the genre. They appear to be making an invigorating comeback, both on the TV screen and in theatres. The success of current small-screen serials like “Justified” and “Hell on Wheels” indicates audiences are ready for more storytelling with a Western point of view.
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Modern movie remakes, such as “3:10 To Yuma” (2007) and the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit” (2010), have paid homage to their mid-20th century predecessors. More recently, Hollywood brought us two new Westerns with a Lone Pine connection: the very successful “Django Unchained,” followed by the disappointing box-office failure, “The Lone Ranger.” This raises the questions: “Is there a market for ‘contemporized Westerns?’ What is Hollywood thinking and what does the audience want?” Western film historian Ed Hulse will moderate the panel that will include well-known film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, among others. The discussion begins at 11 a.m. Saturday in the High School Quad. Admission is available through the purchase of a Film Festival souvenir button.
Park offers plenty Three days of arts, crafts, food court, memorabilia, music and more
Park photo by Charles James; band photo courtesy Jeffrey James and The Wanted Gang
While Film Festival attendees check out the unique and even one-of-kind offerings at the Arts & Crafts Fair, Jeffrey James and The Wanted Gang will be closing out the “Music in the Park” portion of festivities Saturday afternoon.
For about as long as Lone Pine has been offering a Film Festival for fans of Western cinema, the community has been offering an arts and crafts fair for Film Festival attendees. At the north end of town, tucked away in a lush pocket of shaded land known as Spainhower Park, guests will find three solid days of the aforementioned arts and crafts, in addition to food, live music and general socializing and recreation. The Arts & Crafts Fair will be up and running Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. As always, shoppers can expect to find a wide array of goods, from jewelry, gems and minerals, to clothing, purses and quilts, to metal art, stained glass, pottery, bird houses hand-crafted wood items and even antique fine china. There will also be memorabilia dealers and vendors of unusual items you won’t see at your average arts and crafts event (e.g., Julie Hendrix’s paparrazi jewelry). A separate food court will supply the snacks, lunches and libations, including pastries, smoothies, funnel cakes and shaved ice. Live music will fill the air Friday and Saturday, and on Friday, everyone will have a chance to be a part of the show if they sign up in time. From 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Bishop-based musician Chase Little will host an open mic, helping to kick off the for the “Music in the Park” portion of the Lone Pine Film Festival. Little not only has a love for music and the arts, he loves helping fellow musicians and artists to have the opportunity to show off their talents. So if you think you have what it takes to put on a “good show,” get
Photo courtesy Lone Pine Film History Museum
The Festival’s “Music in the Park” will begin with an open mic session hosted Friday by Bishop-based musician Chase Little. All interested artists are asked to sign up early, as the number of performers will be limited.
there early for sign-ups and bring your instruments because the number of open-mic acts will be limited. Later on Friday, from 2-5 p.m., local favorites Bob Stockman and Jim Pryor will take the stage with “Classic Country Trails” – a set list derived from both cowboys having spent years hittin’ the trails and playing all the favorite country songs from days of old. It is recommended that anyone looking for a relaxing day comprised of an old fashioned picnic/dance come out to the park and let Stockman and Pryor’s music take them back in
time. Halfway to Benton takes their turn on Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The band is spun from the Sierra sounds of a singing guitar duo, Jim Lambert and Rob Nalumaluhia, who approach every performance with a fun energy that extends to the audience. Be prepared to dance to both oldies-but-goodies hits and classic rock favorites. Closing out Music in the Park from 2-5 p.m. are local powerhouses Jeffrey James and the Wanted Gang. If you haven’t yet see them perform, make it a priority. The band covers all the bases with their retro/country Western music that is both heart-thumping and toe-tapping. With influences that include Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, Elvis and The Beatles, the band knows how to play country, soul, gospel and rock music with equal aplomb. Film Festival attendees will want to head back to the park Sunday for the Closing Campfire, an event tradition that’s said to be the only proper way to end the three-day affair. It’s your one opportunity to join all the Festival supporters, stars, performers and behind-thescenes volunteers that make this amazing smalltown, home-spun Film Festival happen. Sunday evening, just at dusk, the entire crowd gathers for the Closing Campfire at Lone Pine’s Spainhower Park. Hosted by past Festival director Dorothy Bonnefin and long-time Festival supporter and cowboy poet Larry Maurice, this Lone Pine tradition features old fashioned pickin’ and singin’; tall tales of the West and the lore of the cowboy. It’s a gather-round-the-campfire farewell that’s not to be missed.
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Museum releases two new books in time for Festival Updated ‘Western Sidekicks’ and ‘Lone Pine in the Movies’ available now The Lone Pine Film History Museum’s publishing arm, which has been working with Western film historians and writers since 2007 to publish select titles in the genre, has released its latest venture just in time for the 2013 event. “Lone Pine in The Movies: Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West” was released Oct. 1 to coincide with the 24th Annual Lone Pine Film Festival, which shares the same theme this year. Like its predecessors, the 2013 edition of “Lone Pine in the Movies” examines vintage films made in and around this sleepy little town nestled among the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains and in the shadow of majestic Mount Whitney. This all-Westerns issue features a handful of in-depth articles, all profusely illustrated with portraits, scene stills and poster reproductions from the horse operas under discussion. In an extensive interview, Don Murray (Marilyn Monroe’s leading man in “Bus Stop”) opens up about his long career and especially his offbeat 1958 Western, “From Hell to Texas,” which was shot in Lone Pine. Another lengthy piece chronicles the making of three classic Randolph Scott films written by Burt Kennedy and directed by Budd Boetticher: “The Tall T,” “Ride Lonesome” and “Comanche Station.” Billy King reminisces about the trio of late 1930s Hopalong Cassidy pictures filmed in the area in which he appeared opposite William Boyd as the 12-year-old nephew of Buck Peters. Other articles explore the Lone Pine productions of B-Western stars Tom Tyler and Jack Randall. The issue ends with a portfolio of then-and-now photos in which Los Angeles Times photographer Don Kelsen matches old movie stills with contemporary shots. This handsomely printed journal sports a glossy wraparound cover and offers more than a hundred pages with as many illustrations. Other Western titles published through the Lone Pine Film History Museum include,
“Hopalong Cassidy: On the Page, On the Screen,” “Filming the West of Zane Grey” and “30 Years on the Road with Gene Autry.” The museum’s publishing group has specifically been working on the “Lone Pine in the Movies” series since 2006. Each edition complements the annual Lone Pine Film Festival with articles and features on past and present films, stars and directors. These all contribute to the Museum’s film heritage preservation work. Earlier this year, the group acquired the rights to several books by Western film historian David Rothel. The first was “Who Was That Masked Man? The Story of the Lone Ranger.” The second, “Those Great Western Sidekicks,” has been released to coincide with the 2013 Lone Pine Film Festival. “Sidekicks” is an in-depth examination of such fondly remembered comic character actors as George “Gabby Hayes, Smiley Burnette, Andy Devine, Al “Fuzzy” St. John, Pat Buttram and many other sidekicks of the B-Westerns – 39 in all. Much of the book is told through the reminiscences of the sidekicks themselves and the cowboy stars who enjoyed the company of these often bewhiskered, tobacco-chewing saddle pals. Rothel interviewed many of the top Western stars, sidekicks, heroines, directors, writers, relatives and Gower Gulch extras in his effort to tell the story of these comic actors. These books and other publications are available in the Museum store and online at www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/books.
NAME THAT ACTOR: ANSWERS
NAME THAT HORSE: ANSWERS
The actors shown on page 28 are:
Let’s see how well you know your four-legged sidekicks from pg. 15: 1. Koko, “The Miracle Horse of the Movies” 2. Champion, “World’s Wonder Horse” 3. Chico 4. Pal 5. Buttermilk 6. Duke 7. Scout 8. Tarzan 9. Scout 10. Duke 11. Diablo 12. Topper 13. Dear John 14. Old Brownie 15. Buckshot 16. White Flash Tom Mix and Tony. 17. Silver 18. Tony and Tony, Jr. (or Old Blue) 19. Trigger and Trigger Jr., “Smartest Horse in the Movies” 20. Target
1. Paul Picerni was in Lone Pine in “The Adventures of Hajji Baba,” and was a guest several times at the Film Festival. 2. Nancy Gates starred as the kidnapped wife Randolph Scott returns in “Comanche Station.” 3. Frank Falen was a stuntman who worked his way up to villain parts but gained fame as Dobie Gillis’ father. Here he appears in “Hangman’s Knot.” 4. Henry Silva played a villain in The Tall T. 5. Pauline Frederick is the most difficult of these actors for a modern audience to identify. She starred in “The Sting of Lash” in 1921 in Lone Pine. She became good friends with Genevieve Naftzinger who played at screenings of dailies and silent films and ran a store. She eventually went to Hollywood and worked in a Jack Hoxie film.
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he Lone Pine Film History Museum and The Lone Pine Film Festival are committed to preserving the heritage of the American Western film and the spirit of the American cowboy. Our efforts would not be possible without the tremendous support of our sponsors, friends and the community. “Cowboy Up!” is truly spoken in the Eastern Sierra. Inyo County Jim Rogers Best Western Frontier Intermountain West Communications Lynne Bunn Comfort Inn Dow Villa Boulder Creek RV Resort Coso Geothermal Gardner’s True Value Hardware Lone Pine Drug Lone Pine Propane Kerry Powell Martin Powell
Alex Printing Community Printing CR Briggs Corporation Eastern Sierra Motors El Dorado Savings Bank Gillespie Distributing High Sierra Distributing Inyo Mono Auto Body Inyo Mono Title Company Lone Pine Rocks & Gifts Lone Pine TV McDonalds Pizza Factory Schat’s Bakkery Sierra Reader
Xanterra Corporation AltaOne Federal Credit Union Crystal Geyser Design’s Unlimited Fendon’s Furniture Inyo Council for the Arts Inyo Mono Title Joseph’s Bi-Rite Markets Lee’s Frontier Liquor & Deli and Chevron Merry Go Round Restaurant Mt. Whitney Restaurant Rio Tinto Minerals Seasons Restaurant Winnedumah Winn Casino
Special thanks to: Bureau of Land Management City of Los Angeles Department of Power & Water Please see a complete listing on our website at www.lonepinefilmfestival.com/sponsors