W O R L D ’ S
O L D E S T
R O D E O ®
The Legacy of
‘JUNIOR BONNER’
The World’s Oldest Rodeo® honors the classic Western on its 50th anniversary. B Y
STU A R T
R O SE BR O O K
Over Labor Day weekend in September 1970 screenwriter Jeb Rosebrook received a call from his agent Mike Wise. “Robert Redford wants a rodeo story. Do you have one?” Wise asked. Little did the agent know that Rosebrook had just written a first draft of “Bonner,” a short story about an aging rodeo star whose career, family, and hometown are all on the line. Wise also didn’t know that “Bonner” was a highly personal tale about my father’s adopted hometown. Rosebrook had found his inspiration for “Bonner” after a short visit back to Prescott on the 4th of July for the 1970 World’s Oldest Rodeo. Little did anyone know that the short story would change the fate of so many, so quickly — especially our family. My father, who first came to Prescott as a 9-yearold boarding student to attend the Orme School in 1945, had not been to Prescott since 1955, and the changes he witnessed while driving into the historic Yavapai County seat from Cordes Junction through Mayer, Humboldt, Dewey, and Prescott Valley made a strong impression on him, especially the early development of the wide-open spaces of the Fain Ranch. When presented with the script in late 1970 and early 1971, both Steve McQueen and Sam Peckinpah signed on quickly to star and direct the film for Joe Wizan. The reasons were many and personal on why they wanted to leave the confining nature of film production in Hollywood in the summer of 1971, but most important, they wanted to make the film on location in Arizona in the real-time of Prescott’s Frontier Days® Parade and the World’s Oldest Rodeo. Jeanne McLain of Prescott sits on the steps of the wardrobe truck with Steve McQueen during a break in the filing of the movie “Junior Bonner.”
82 WORLD’S OLDEST RODEO® • 1888-2022
