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The Hollywood Connection
By: Annabel V Sclippa
1. HOW THE WEST WON THEM
2. LANDSCAPE LOVE OF ARTISTIC VISIONARIES
3. AND THE WINE GOES ON
4. I LOVE LUCY AND HOW
THE BALL FAMILY ARRIVED IN THE VERDE VALLEY
5. AND ALONG CAME A
LUCY-LOVER, WORTHY OF HER SETTING
6. MORE MUSICAL MELODIES
7. A STAR IS BORN
8. HOLLYWOOD TO OLD TOWN COTTONWOOD
9. THE ROMANCE OF TRAINS AND OLD WESTERN
WAYS
10. HOTEL LOVE AFFAIRS
11. SETTINGS FOR SCREENS
12. FACT OR FICTION?
How the West Won Them
The Verde Valley is a surreal landscape that begs a picture-perfect
sunset on its dramatic red rocks, and one can readily imagine cowboys
and Indians suddenly appearing. Just like you’re in an Old Western,
and thus many have been filmed right here. Heart of the Land of
Enchantment, and home to two of the three most visited sites in
Arizona: sultry Jerome and stunning Sedona. Perhaps this is why
Sedona was known as “Little Hollywood” from 1923-1973, and was
the home of over 100 movies in the heyday of Hollywood westerns
and cult classics.
Perhaps, also why handfuls of famous people have come from Hollywood
to find peace, to be healed, and to forge new frontiers. So many, it seems,
that it’s easy to get carried away, attaching any name who passes through to
the list of ‘have lived here,’ making it a challenge to define fact from fiction.
DTPR MAGAZINE #15-2: March - April 2025