Old Tucson - Hollywood in the Desert

My family was there and they were filming Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, was in the late 50s and yes we saw Kirk Douglas and other actors.

It amazes me how many of these old westerns were closer to the time of the Old West than to today.

Excellent video Steve! I was born and raised in Tucson so my parents, who were big John Wayne fans, always liked to go out to the original Old Tucson to watch movies being filmed. I was very fortunate to be able to meet John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson and many, many other Western actors of the day. As an adult I've been there many, many times and have enjoyed every visit. My wife is a big fan of westerns as well in that she also was born and raised in Tucson. But I do have to say that the "new" Old Tucson doesn't begin to compare to the original Old Tucson. Our whole family went into depressoon when that fire in 1995 burned almost fifty percent of the set. Our daughters actually shed tears over that fire..they also loved to go out to Old Tucson especially Nightfall. You do need to come back at Halloween to experience Nightfall at Old Tucson. I try to watch all your videos Steve in that I slways seem to learn something that I didn't know about many areas in the Old West. Keep up the good work!!

Old Tucson before the Fire was the best! Memories 👍 Thanks Steve,💕

Doing stunts and movies there were the best times of my life.

My wife and I travelled over from the UK in 2010 to tour Arizona. We were both great western fans. On the day we visited Old Tuscan it was over 100 degrees. I was suffering from raging tooth ache but still enjoyed seeing where so many great films were made. I also saw my first roadrunner in the car park. We had a brilliant 2 weeks travelling all over the state. Great memories apart from the toothache, and the cost of getting antibiotics and pain meds. Wow, thank goodness we had travel insurance. Love your videos Steve

That Sonoran desert is absolutely beautiful 🌵🏜️

In 2019 when I was at the University of Arizona I went to Old Tucson, when I returned to Japan it was the pictures I took there were the ones everyone wanted to see.

The joy you feel when Steve drops videos about your home town. Thanks Steve ❤

The first time I was in old Tucson was in about 1955 to watch on Audie Murphy movie being filmed. I visited several times over the years including one time when I was in Tucson with Mason Williams and his Bluegrass symphony to appear with the Tucson Symphony. We were brought out to film a TV ad and put into a buck board where we were raced down what was in the main street of Old Tucson and shot at by actors playing bandits. Hilarious and fun.😎👍🏻

It must be nearly a full time job to visit, film, and edit all these places. Thanks for taking us along to places we might not see otherwise.

We were there this past April. Living on the East coast I never had been out west. We truly enjoyed this place! I would love to go back again some time, but being nearly 2000 miles away I probably won't make it. But after visiting and then watching some of the old westerns, we set around and say, "Look! We were standing right there!" So exciting. The picture of John Wayne & Ricky Nelson you showed from the movie ... me, my wife & 2 grandkids made our picture in the same place. Great video! Thanks!

Well, now I have to get my dad out there. He loves John Wayne and westerns, so we watched a lot of them growing up. Thank you so much for sharing, I can't wait to visit myself now. :)

I have driven past Old Tucson many many times and have never stopped. We camped at one of our favorite places called the Gilbert Ray campground just down the road from Old Tucson. Another favorite stop is the Desert Museum a bit farther down the road. I HIGHLY recommend going there. Stay for the Raptor show if you can. I have always been there in January so the high temps were never a thing. Oh, and while in Tucson, drive south and visit the Titan Missile Site. For a small fee, you can go into the missile silo where the missile actually is with a guided tour by one of the volunteers. Another thing about Tucson I just learned is that the famous photographer Ansel Adams donated all of his stuff to the University of Arizona in Tucson and from what I have gathered, you can go see it!!!! Thanks Steve for yet another fine video. ……Russell D.

Thanks very much! Rio Bravo is one of my favorite John Wayne westerns and it's a kick to see some of the locations.

I'm so glad you did a video on this place! My parents took me here when I was 8 years old in 1978. They had live gunfights and stunt show, there was a super elaborate animatronic shooting gallery, and i also remember I had gotten some really good rock candy. I'm so glad that they are still open, I plan on taking my wife there soon. She is a fan of western movies to. SO weird, I have been recently thinking about this place, and BAM, you make a video about it! Thanks Steve!

old tucson was a CC camp during the depression, my dad worked there as a cook. in the early 80's, i was stationed at davis-monthan in tucson. he came to visit for a week and we went out to old tucson. the power had gone out and we couldnt get in, i saw someone inside and yelled at him and explained why i'd brought my dad there. not only did he let us in to look around, he took us on an hour or so long tour to every part and seemed to be as interested in the history from when dad was there as dad was in seeing it again. it might not have been a great day as far as seeing the gun fights, shows and such. but i'll always remember that man taking us in for that tour. i havent been back, i thought it had been closed, going to have to take a trip back there soon now that i know its still open. just not in summer :)

Thanks for braving the heat and taking us along for the ride.

You have a great channel Sir. Your easy going style combined with the laid back presentation is just an absolute pleasure to view. Best of luck and thanks for what you do.

I grew up in Tucson and loved getting to visit Old Tucson a few times during the 60's. Good childhood memories of fun times, including riding the train as it circled the town, walking down the dusty streets, and also getting autographs from a few of the stars of High Chapparal. I always know where a show or movie has been filmed whenever I catch sight of that mountain by Gate's Pass. Thanks for the tour.