Junior Bonner 50th Anniversary: Remembering the summer of 1971

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the production of Junior Bonner , the Western Heritage Center of Prescott invites fans of the Western classic to share their memories of the film's production in Prescott and Yavapai County in the summer or 1971. The film starred Steve McQueen, was produced by Joe Wizan, directed by Sam Peckinpah and based on an original screenplay by screenwriter Jeb Rosebrook, who was raised locally at The Orme School from 1945-1953. The location manager William "Bill" Pierce worked side by with Wizan, Peckinpah, McQueen and Rosebrook all summer and was key to the movie company's successful production during the World's Oldest Rodeo and the Frontier Days Rodeo Parade. Pierce was also the JayCees Rodeo Chairman and without Pierce the film would not have had access to the rodeo grounds or ability to shoot the parade and rodeo live in June and July of 1971. Over the past 50 decades, Junior Bonner has become a favorite of critics and film historians, and was just rated one of the top 100 Westerns by Cowboys & Indians magazine. In honor of the film, and in anticipation of a 50th anniversary celebration of its release in June 2022, we invite you to share your memories of the production during the summer of 1971 and why the film is so important to the history of filmmaking in Prescott, Yavapai County and the World's Oldest Rodeo . These memories will saved for posterity and a copy donated to Sharlot Hall Museum so that your memories of Junior Bonner: The Making of a Classic in the Summer of 1971 will live on forever. 

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