TOMBSTONE, Ariz. (KGUN) — The iconic western Tombstone, filmed in Southern Arizona, turns 30 this year.
To celebrate, about 10 cast members from the movie are coming back to the eponymous town this week for a reunion.
“In 2018, we did a 25th [anniversary reunion], probably five or six thousand people here over two days,” said Larian Motel owner Gordon Anderson, who is also organizing this reunion.
“Several of the actors have urged me on to create a 30th. And that’s just what we’re doing,” he said. “They like to re-hash old memories and meet their old friends, and meet their fans they love their fans.”
Among those planning to attend: Michael Biehn (Johnny Ringo) and Billy Zane (Mr. Fabian).
“Lisa Collins [who played Louisa Earp] lives in Sydney, Australia,” Anderson explained. “She’s coming all the way from Sydney just for this event. So that’s how important it is for these stars.”
Anderson says hotels in town are sold out for this weekend, but there is availability in nearby towns.
“This will never happen again,” said Anderson. “We’re never gonna get this many stars from the movie Tombstone [again]. It’s a 30-year-old movie.”
But it still has big fans.
Al Paquette, visiting Tombstone from Florida, said he’s watched the movie 100 times.
“I had to come here after seeing the movie so many times,” he said. “Big fan of the movie so had to see this part of the country where it’s still preserving this part of our history.”
The movie would never have happened without that history. Both work in tandem to bring in the tourism that keeps Tombstone ‘The Town Too Tough to Die.’
“Pop culture is really important as far as history is concerned because it keeps the history relevant to people,” said Nogales history teacher Frances Colunga, who frequently visits the town because it feels “authentic.”
“Having something like the movie and people from the movie… Celebrities drag people in. People have money. Money keeps the town alive,” she said.”
Besides the movie, one of the town’s biggest draws are the performers who re-create the O.K. Corral gunfight.
Jacob Pigman is one of them. He calls it “the best job I think I’ve ever had,” while also acknowledging that it’s physically demanding.
Because his character often falls during the show, he says he currently has a knee injury that makes it painful to walk, but that the audiences make it all worth it.
“Tourism is everything to Tombstone,” he said. “I mean, we’re a tourist town. That’s why we have four different gunfights in town, you have four different ways of showing how town lived back in the day. So I mean, if it wasn’t for the tourists, we wouldn’t be here.”