Photos: TV Western series "High Chaparral" filmed around Tucson, 1966-71
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Rick Wiley
Photo editor
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The TV Western series "High Chaparral," was filmed on location at Old Tucson Studios for much if its production run, from 1967-1971. The show was set in the 1870s in the Arizona Territory at the ranch, "The High Chaparral," run by "Big John" Cannon (Leif Erickson).
The ranch house and set at Old Tucson Studios were completed in time for production of two pilot shows in June, 1966. They are well behind the main street and buildings at Old Tucson, but still standing.
The series was picked up by NBC and first aired in September, 1967. Cast and crew spent nearly 18 weeks each year in production at Old Tucson and around Pima County. The crew numbered 50-70 at times and plus 200 extras when needed.
Creator David Dortort said the show cost three times its original budget because 70-percent was filmed on location, mostly at Old Tucson Studios.
The final season, 1970-71, was shortened to 18 shows.
High Chaparral, TV, 1960s, Tucson
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Actor Cameron Mitchell, center on horseback, gallops into a scene on the set of the television show "High Chaparral" at Old Tucson in May, 1968.
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The cast of the television show "High Chaparral" on set at Old Tucson in May, 1968. From left, Henry Darrow, Leif Erickson and Don Collier, who lived in Tucson.
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Cattle is herded through the streets of Old Tucson during filming for the television show "High Chaparral" in May, 1968.
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Visitors at Old Tucson often have a chance to watch actual movie or television filming. Shown in the foreground, they watch actor Cameron Mitchell at work in July 1977.
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The "High Chaparral" ranch house built for the television series at Old Tucson in 1968.
High Chaparral, TV, 1960s, Tucson
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"High Chaparral" set at Old Tucson in 1981.
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Cameron Mitchell, who played Buck Cannon on "High Chaparral, " said "Working out there in this heat – I pulled an 1,100-pound horse around so hard the other day the reins broke – putting in these long hours I pray I don't die," he told the Tucson Citizen in 1969.
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"There were as many as 400 people up for each of the main roles in this show. Why am I hear? Luck. It's a crap game," said Leif Erickson, left, in 1969. Erickson played Big John Cannon in "High Chaparral," filmed at Old Tucson. At right is Mark Slade, who played Billy Blue Cannon.
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A cast member corrals fans on the set of "High Chaparral" near Old Tucson Studios in June, 1969.
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Linda Cristal, who played Victoria Cannon on "High Chaparral," was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She spoke English, Spanish, French and Italian. She told the Tucson Citizen (1969) that success "...affects me like champagne. It annoys me when people take pictures through the door of my dressing room – even the mirrors. I have no place to hide." Cristal was twice nominated for a Primetime Emmy for "High Chaparral" and won a Golden Globe Award in 1970 as Best Actress in a TV Drama.
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Henry Darrow, who played Manolito Montoya on "High Chaparral," chafed at his new-found recognition in Tucson. "I've had people people here open my dressing room door, shake me by the foot and ask if I were asleep," he told the Tucson Citizen in 1969. "It was a nice old lady or probably I would have done my first rude bit."
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A cast member from "High Chaparral" signs autographs on the set near Old Tucson Studios in June, 1969.
High Chaparral, TV, 1960s, Tucson
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An Indian village on the set of "High Chaparral"near Old Tucson in June, 1969.
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Actor Linda Cristal, who played Victoria Cannon on "High Chaparral," carries a parasol as shade from the Summer sun on set outside Old Tucson Studios in 1969. Cristal, who co-starred with John Wayne in "The Alamo," and appeared in dozens of television series, died in 2020 at the age of 89.
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Tourists and locals brave the Summer sun outside the set of "High Chaparral" outside Old Tucson Studios in June, 1969. Actors complained of fans invading their privacy, though there was little security to wrangle fans.
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The crew of the TV series "High Chaparral" position safety lines and a mattress atop cardboard boxes as a landing platform for stunt actor Buzz Henry to fall 30-feet from a rock outcropping in Upper Sabino Canyon in June, 1966,
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The crew of the TV series "High Chaparral" position safety lines and a mattress atop cardboard boxes as a landing platform for stunt actor Buzz Henry to fall 30-feet from a rock outcropping in Upper Sabino Canyon in June, 1966,
High Chaparral, TV, 1960s, Tucson
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Stunt actor Buzz Henry falls 30-feet from a rock outcropping in Upper Sabino Canyon in June, 1966, for the television series, "High Chaparral." Stunt coordinator Henry Wills, a Florence, Ariz, native, guided more than 50 stunts that week. Henry's 19-year-old son Jerry was a stunt double for actor Mark Slade.
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Stunt actor Buzz Henry safely exits after executing a 30-foot fall onto a mattress and cardboard boxes in Upper Sabino Canyon in June, 1966.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
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