Folklore has it that Pioneertown was started by Gene Autry in the 1940s, The Hi-Desert Magazine has a different origin for the town that was built as a movie set for Hollywood westerns.
Actor Dick Curtis discovered the area that became known as Pioneertown while riding on horseback in the mid-1940s. He convinced Russel Hayden, Roy Rogers, and some members of the Sons of the Pioneers to invest in an “all-inclusive filming location” for westerns. The town was built in 1946 and included facades of stables, saloons, and a jail, while the interiors featured ice cream parlors, a bowling alley, and a motel.
Phil Krasne began shooting “The Cisco Kid” for television in Pioneertown, and after nine months of production, he sold the rights to MCA-Universal for $1 million. More than 50 films and TV shows were filmed in Pioneertown in the 1940s and ’50s.
For more information about the history of Pioneertown, see the link below:
https://www.z1077fm.com/CiscoKidWasFriendMine.pdf
Copyright © 1998 Hi-Desert Magazine.
