Remembering Burt Reynolds: Here's Burt with Ruta Lee and Cesar Romero at Iverson Pond in 1961 in "Zane Grey Theatre"

Burt Reynolds in "Zane Grey Theatre" (1961)

In celebration of the life of the legendary Burt Reynolds, who died this week at age 82, the Iverson Movie Ranch Blog is updating some previous posts about Burt's work on the famed location ranch. In this one we revisit an episode of "Zane Grey Theatre" that brought a 24-year-old Burt to the ranch in 1961. He was just starting to get his career rolling at the time the episode, "Man From Everywhere," was produced.

Iverson Pond, in "Man From Everywhere" (Zane Grey Theatre)

A key sequence in "Man From Everywhere" played out on the shore of Iverson Pond in the Sheep Flats area of the Lower Iverson. This was a few years after the Iverson Western street, which had been standing on the spot since late 1944, was torn down — and a couple of years before Sheep Flats became the first part of the movie ranch to be sold off. Construction would begin here in 1963 on what is now the Indian Hills Mobile Home Village.

Iverson Pond wasn't particularly deep, making shots like this one, with riders walking their horses across the shallow body of water, relatively easy to shoot.

Ruta Lee at Iverson Pond — note the stacked rocks

The Iverson Pond area featured a number of stacked rocks, two of which can be seen in this shot of Ruta Lee at the edge of the pond. Lee was 25 and already a TV and film veteran when she appeared as Jenny Aldrich in the "Zane Grey" episode. Now 83, she remains active in charity work along with occasional acting gigs.

Ruta Lee and Cesar Romero — Pond Rock in the background

The scene also features film and TV veteran Cesar Romero, who would become known a few years later for playing the Joker on "Batman." He previously had a run on "Zorro" as Esteban de la Cruz, the trouble-prone uncle of the title character. In the above shot, Ruta Lee's character is having second thoughts about Romero's scheme as she appears to be falling for Burt Reynolds' character. And we get a glimpse of the pond area's most famous stacked rock, Pond Rock, between Lee and Romero.

Pond Rock on dry land, featured in a behind-the-scenes shot for "Wee Willie Winkie" (1937)

This promo shot for the 1937 Shirley Temple movie "Wee Willie Winkie" provides one of the best looks at Pond Rock. The rock was a feature of Iverson's Western street when the set was in place — from 1944 until about 1957 — and transitioned to being a feature of Iverson Pond in later years. You can read about Pond Rock's appearance in a Three Stooges movie and in "The Virginian," along with other appearances, by clicking here.

Burt Reynolds, left, and Peter Whitney in "Man From Everywhere"

Also appearing in the "Zane Grey" episode was character actor Peter Whitney, who was known for his massive stature. Note the size disparity between Whitney, on the right, and Reynolds. Whitney was a regular in feature films in the '40s and '50s before transitioning to TV and working steadily through the 1960s. He appeared across many genres, but got much of his work in Westerns.

The Sheep Flats sequence showcases a number of key Iverson Movie Ranch features, capturing the look of this area during its final years as part of a location ranch. The background seen here includes much of the Eucalyptus Grove — often called simply the Grove — along with a portion of the rock formation the Pirate Ship, at left.

Here's another view of the Pirate Ship, captured in full this time. Also visible here is a small clump of rocks that up until a few years earlier was usually seen in the corral area behind the Livery Stable as part of the Iverson Movie Ranch Western street. I call this clump the Livery Rocks.

The Pirate Ship and Livery Rocks are identified in this version of the shot.

This is what the Pirate Ship looks like today, having survived development. To read more about the Pirate Ship and see additional photos of it, please click here.

At one point in "Man From Everywhere," Burt Reynolds' character, Branch Taylor, surprises Ruta Lee's character by striding over to her and planting a big kiss on her.

His move receives a favorable response, as the two actors appear to have some chemistry. Here again, Pond Rock looms in the background — that's it in the bottom left corner.

The Reynolds charm was already evident. The "Zane Grey" episode premiered April 13, 1961, soon after Reynolds' 25th birthday.

The romancing was all going on within spittin' distance of the Livery Rocks, seen here behind the young lovebirds. It was rare to get this good a look at the rocks, although they often appeared in the background in shots of the Livery Stable.

A cocky Reynolds admires the view as Ruta Lee walks away — and we get an even better view of the Livery Rocks, mainly to the right of Burt's hat.

"Gold Raiders" (1951)

Here's a glimpse of the Livery Rocks about 10 years earlier, from the Three Stooges movie "Gold Raiders." The rocks can be seen casting a shadow at the far right of the frame, behind the Livery Stable.

A number of the photo's key features are noted here. As I mentioned, the Livery Rocks were usually in the background when they appeared in productions shot while Iverson Village was in place.

Burt Reynolds at the Fury Set, 1962 — "Gunsmoke" promo shoot

Reynolds would return to the Iverson Ranch — the Upper Iverson this time — in 1962, about a year after his "Zane Grey" appearance, for a memorable photo shoot on the Fury Set to help launch his run as Quint on "Gunsmoke." Additional photos from that shoot — along with a discussion of whether Reynolds shares a particular trait with Billy the Kid — can be seen by clicking here.

The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time ... Part II: The Livery Stable

"Along Came Jones" (1945): The Livery Stable

The Livery Stable announced the arrival of Iverson's Western street with this appearance introducing the newly minted set as the town of "Payneville," and the stable itself as Payneville Hay & Grain, in the Gary Cooper movie "Along Came Jones." The movie was released in 1945, but construction and filming took place in late 1944.

The Livery Stable slowly comes into view as Cooper, in the title role of "slow-talkin', slow-walkin'" Melody Jones, and his sidekick, George Fury, played by William Demarest, first ride into town.

Gary Cooper and William Demarest approach the Western street in "Along Came Jones"

The film luxuriates in its slow-paced introduction to the town set, allowing the hero and sidekick — and along with them, the viewer — to soak in the ambiance of the place. It adds up to a fittingly reverent first look at a town that would go on to be seen hundreds of times in movies and early TV shows.

A number of features of the arrival sequence are worth noting, as highlighted above. You can click here to see better photos of the Pirate Ship — a large and imposing rock feature located east of the Iverson town set and often visible in the background in shots of the town. For a recent post about the Livery Rocks — and more about the Pirate Ship — please click here.

"My Three Sons"

TV fans who go back far enough will remember William Demarest as Uncle Charley on "My Three Sons."

Gary Cooper in "Along Came Jones"

Cooper was responsible for the construction of the Western street in 1944, having it built for the only movie on which the two-time Oscar-winning actor had a producer's credit, "Along Came Jones." In this shot from the movie, the star and producer appears to be sizing up the end result of his labor of love. Behind him are the Livery Stable, on the right, and a smaller building on the left that would undergo extensive remodeling soon after appearing as a "ladies' and gentlemen's furnishings" shop in Cooper's movie.

"The Millerson Case" (1947)

Situated in a strategically important position at the south end of town, the Livery Stable went on to a long and productive career in movies and television. In this shot from the Crime Doctor movie "The Millerson Case," a catfight takes place right in the middle of the street, with the Livery Stable as its backdrop.

"The Millerson Case"

The same movie also features this unusual view of the town set, with the southern face of the Livery Stable holding down the right half of the shot.

A few of the town's main structures are identified here. The town is seen almost directly from the south, which was not a commonly used angle.

"Check Your Guns" (1948)

Another unusual view of the Livery Stable, from the Eddie Dean B-Western "Check Your Guns," shows the full expanse of the Livery Stable as it appeared from the west.

"Gold Raiders" (1951)

For the Three Stooges movie "Gold Raiders," a sign was placed on the building identifying it as the "Harry Temple Livery." It has occurred to me that this may have been meant as a humorous allusion to Moe's trademark haircut.

"Arrow in the Dust" (1954)

I haven't run across nearly as many good shots of the Livery Stable in color as I have in black-and-white, but here's a pretty good one, from the Sterling Hayden Western "Arrow in the Dust."

"Sky King" TV show (1955)

Aerial footage of the Western street from the TV series "Sky King" shows the location of the Livery Stable at the south end of town — the opposite end of the street from Casa Grande, the subject of the previous entry in this series.

"Whirlybirds" TV show (1957)

Two years after the "Sky King" footage, a bird's-eye view from the TV series "Whirlybirds" captures the corral area behind the Livery Stable, with a little bit of the building visible in the top right corner. This shot was taken around the time the Western town was beginning to be dismantled.

The shot appears in an episode of "Whirlybirds" titled "Fury Canyon," which premiered July 25, 1957. The flat space in the bottom center of the shot, below where the vehicle is parked, is where the mobile home park's swimming pool area is now located.

"Man in the Saddle" (1951)

Drama plays out around the southern steps of the Livery Stable in the Randolph Scott Western "Man in the Saddle" from Columbia. The photo features Cooper Rock, in the middle of the shot, along with a view of Iverson's Eucalyptus Grove in the background. Cooper Rock is named after the man who built the town, Gary Cooper.

"Sky King" (1957): The Western street partially dismantled

By late 1957 the town was beginning to be torn down, with Casa Grande no longer in place at the north end of the street and other buildings in various stages of demolition. The above shot from the "Sky King" episode "Dead Man's Will" shows the Western street as a ghost town, a frequent role in the town's later years.

Taking a close look at the "Sky King" shot, the roof of the Livery Stable is little more than a frame at this point — and across the street, the Saloon is in even worse shape. The episode premiered Feb. 22, 1958.

"The Iverson Movie Ranch Western street, one building at a time" is a series of posts on the movie and TV history of each of the major structures making up Iverson's town set, which stood from 1944 to 1957 and appeared in hundreds of productions.



To see all of the posts in the series on the Iverson Western street, please click on the following links:

Part I: Casa Grande
Part II: The Livery Stable
Part III: The Saloon
Part IV: The Hotel
Part V: The General Store 
Part VI: The Barn
Part VII: The Sheriff's Office
Part VIII: The North and South Adobes
Part IX: The Lost Dutchman
Part X: The original north end of town
Part XI: The North and South Towers
Part XII: The Harness Maker
Part XIII: Rainbow Mine Co. 
Part XIV: The Church/Schoolhouse  
Part XV: The Corral Rocks Shack
Part XVI: The decline and fall of the Western street