The movie makers often used the red cliffs around Kanab, Utah. The carmel cliffs near Mount Carmel Junction, the strange formations near old Paria town and the colorful hills were great back drops in western movies. Many locals got jobs as extras in the movies. Some of the ranchers rented horses and cattle, too. Peaches Motel was headquarters of the movie makers. The whole area was awake when a movie company was in town There were even two permanent movie sets built in the Kanab, Utah area. They had a army fort just north of the state line but about a mile west of Highway 89. The other one was on a country dirt road at Johnson Wash about 15 miles east of Kanab. It was a small town, false fronts.
The first movie made in the Kanab area after we moved there was a mystery using the Whiting Saw Mill for its crime scene. I watched some of the filming but didn’t really get involved. It was to be called “The Silk Stocking”. I never saw the movie.
The next movie was a low budget western starring Tony Bennett, the singer who “Lost his heart in San Francisco.” I went up by the state line north of Fredonia and watched them shot a few scenes. Tony Bennett was on a horse waiting for ‘action’ when a horse fly lit on his horse’s rump and the horse swung his head around trying to shoo the fly and swatted with his tail. Tony Bennett got mad at the horse and cursed him nastily. From that day on I couldn’t stand Tony.
One summer a big movie was made that starred Joel McRae and Barbara Stanwick. Part of it was filmed at the fort so I hung around out there in my uniform watching different scenes. I visited with both McRae and Stanwick when they weren’t shooting. I was awed in their presence but they both treated me respectfully. Stanwick seemed a bit hard to me. Some of my friends were extras and I thought it would be fun.
Katie Jurado and Ernest Borgnine were there to make a movie, they were quite a pair. I heard she really entertained the guys at the Buckskin Tavern in Fredonia. Most of the movie people had a party at Buckskin Tavern every night. No bars or taverns allowed in Utah so they came down into Arizona to party.
In the summer of 1956, we got word that Warner Brothers were coming to make the first full length Lone Ranger Movie. They came in the last week of June. I decided that this was my chance to work as an extra.
I went up to Peaches Motel the day they had advertised they would start hiring. I was in uniform. The assistant casting director, Julio Milliman was doing the interviewing. He told me that they may not be able to make the movie here after all their preparations. He said the local extras had recently organized into their own guild and wanted Warner Brothers to negotiate a contract with them.
I have always been against unions so I told him that I would try to round up a bunch of guys who weren’t in the guild that would be glad to work in the movie. He told me to see what I could do so I got busy and found plenty of extras. I had a couple of guys quit Bowman’s at Jacob Lake to work in movies. I found several at Grand Canyon, too. I talked to several locals that never bothered to work in movies to do it this time. Last but not least my wife’s sister’s family just happened to be visiting so my brother-in-law, Milton Myers, was an extra too.
Milton had never ridden a horse and fell off it when it started walking, which required a retake of that scene. He stayed on it the second time. We were issued clothes and guns etc. I worked as one of the bad guys, Lyle Bettigers men, an outlaw. I rode an old red horse, not spirited.
We started working right away. We would shoot scenes with no idea how it fit into the movie. We worked down the Virgin River from Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah about 15 miles or so. There were some colorful side canyons to the Virgin River Canyon. We would ride a bus there in the morning then shoot a scene for a few minutes. We'd be off for quite awhile then shoot another scene. Each day went on the same way.
Clayton Moore was the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels was Tonto. They had five horses laying Silver and each had a special tricks! Wan Mackelprang a 19 year old local rancher’s son did the stand-in riding as the Lone Ranger on all fast runs. Robert Warner, a professional stuntman was the Lone Ranger in jumps and stunts. Warner also played the army lieutenant part.
Lyle Bettiger, my boss, was a familiar face in
movies. He was just as honery in real life. The real bad bully guy was Robert Wilkie, a real bad apple. A miserable character with a foul mouth and arrogant attitude.
I would go work all day on the movie then put my uniform on and work the highway for 8 hours. We had lots of nap time during the day between scenes. No accidents happened in my absence.
The guys that I had recruited had a ball and really enjoyed the experience. Some of them slept at my house cause they were from the Salt Lake City area. They were able to go back to their jobs at Jacob Lake and the Grand Canyon when the movie was finished.
On July 4th, a Sunday, they called a small bunch of us to work, triple pay. We shot all day up Kanab Creek about 10 miles north of Kanab. Us out law extras were there. Robert Warner was there to shoot the part where he fights Robert Wilkie down the side of Kanab Creek as the Lone Ranger.
Warner’s wife was Yvonne De Carlo and she was there all day. She was a very nice and pretty lady.
We always had a good catered meal at noon, usually good steaks etc…
One of the days we were working down the Virgin River, a big cloud burst came up stream and sent a significant flood down the river at mid afternoon. The dirt road from Highway 89 Southwest went across the river several times between where we were and the highway so we waited til after dark before we could come out. I got better acquainted with both Tonto and the Lone Ranger while we were waiting. They were both great guys. They all knew how I had made it possible to make the movie there and treated me great.
At this site down the Virgin River we were riding single file through a narrow canyon when a blast went off right in front of us. I was about 15 guys back and when the blast went off all of the riders in front of me fell off their horses! In the retake they put me right behind the two main outlaws and no one fell off their horse. The Lone Ranger was throwing sticks of dynamite in front of us to turn us back. I was clearly recognizable during these few minutes of the film. After the blasting stopped, I was there in front of the camera for quite a while while they talked.
The Moqui Caverns and Twin Lakes area were used for some scenes. They are along the highway a few miles north of Kanab.
Julio Milliman, the assistant casting director had become a good friend and he invited me to come to Hollywood saying he could keep me working in movies. He liked my rugged look. I told him I was happy as an Arizona Highway Patrolman. I told him I was going to California at the next Christmas so he invited me to come see Warner Brothers Studio as his guest. I did this when I went to visit Joop and Toos Wouter.
The following summer a movie company came to make a western. Peter Graves, Jon Arness brother was the star. They were shooting scenes just north of Highway 89 where Mount Carmel was in the background. I stood around awhile and visited with Peter Graves. I took Able Fernadez back to town because he was threw for the day.
When the Lone Ranger movie came to the little Kanab Theater we took the kids and went up to watch it. After the movie was over we asked Dan and Jon if they had seen Daddy in the movie.
Jon said “I didn’t see any highway patrolman in it.” He was five years old.
We watched it again and showed them each time I was on the screen. I have really enjoyed showing the Lone Ranger 
to friends and relatives since.
