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Show Feature SOUTHERN UTAII NEWS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 22. 1W7 Department where Roy helped ranch in 1968, I made a movie By Carol Sullivan It was during the filming of save studios from large losses by about Santa Gratutis cattle. It Westward the Women in 1952, keepingtrackofhiscosts. Hollis was a breed developed by the that young Roy Hollis first saw created a department that ac- King Ranch in Texas, for Argenthe red hills ofKanab. That trip counted for all the money spent tina andBrazil. They were pretty to Kanab left a lasting impres- and saved studios a lot of money. much heat, bug, lice and tick sion. I liked it up here very By 1957, when he returned to resistant. I thought they would much so I said, I'll go back up Kanab working for Director do good at my ranch in Utah. So there. It was for this movie that Howard Koch again, this time I bought two bull calves, brought the set was built in Johnson with a TV series called Boots and them to the ranch and started g them with the Saddles, Roy had established himCanyon. Roy attended high school in self in his career and had married cattle that were here. It worked Simi Valley, California. Al- Jean (Helen) Cransford, a beauti- out very well. I got very good though offered many scholar- ful young vaudeville actress, who prices for my crossed calves. During this time Roy had pro ships, he chose UCLA because had a young son named Dennis. inter-breedin- he could continue working, study mechanical engineering, play football and continue working part time for MGM. He liked his job at MGM and the pay was good, so he continued to work there throughout his college career, even though football, studies, and work left him little time for anything else. After graduating from UCLA in 1944, Ray joined the Air Force for three and one-ha- lf years. While in the Air Force, he played football for the Second Air Force Team, based in Colorado Springs. Again, when he got out of the Air Force, he returned to his job at MGM. He was contacted fay the coach of the LA. Rams to play ' professional football. So, Roy signed a contract with them, but continued working at MGM. Not too long after he started playing pro football with the Rams, he had trouble with his knees. They wanted him to have surgery, but Roy thought, I dont see any reason to keep hurting myself. So hisdedsion was to leave the Rams, and work full time at MGM. Thus began a career that took him to the very top in his field and to just about every continent in the world. He is still highly recognized in Hollywood today as being the creator of the modem Transportation Department, which amounts to about 12 of a film budget. It was Leroy Hollis who separated that department from the Production She was beautiful and had a fantastic figure. While we were making movies, my wife and son would always come with me." Helen, his devoted wife, was always at his side. Dennis later followed in his Dad's footsteps and today has his own transportation and specialty business with marshy. When I drained them, they started growing pretty good grass. The cattle loved it After putting in a lot of check dams, I got fairly good control of the water here when we had a bad rain. You cannot stop water, you can only slow it down and make it go where you want it to do. I also built the road from Highway 89 to the Ranch. After we were in the Long House, I discovered a hive of honey bees in the old ranch house. I got some of those old Shell insect tape strips to get rid of them. Well they moved out. It froze that night and the next momingthey were kind of crispy frozen. But as it warmed up, they revived and started chasing me. My wife ran in the house and laughed. Meanwhile, I had a heck of a mess because the bees got in my hair! In 1980, Roy had a severe stroke which incapacitated him and made it that much more work for his wife. After his stroke, they decided they should sell, because there was too much for Helen to do alone. By then my son, Dennis, was working in . Hollywood, and he didn't have time to come up here very often. We put it up for sale and the place finally sold. Now we are in the process of escrow. Unfortunately, my wife passed away before I sold it. She loved it so. After my wife passed away last September, I realized, I've got to get out of here. So I agreed to take time payments. The appraiser asked me, How do you appraise a National Park? I've never done that and this is like a National Park. I need to have a National Park or State Park that has keen sold to compare it with. It is difficult to appraise if you can't get a comparable. It is time for me to more on and do something else. I will return to California and visit friends and relatives. Ill be staying with my son Dennis Hollis in Northridge, California. There I will decide what I want to do with my life. In all my years working with the studios. Ive been almost everywhere in the world and got paid a lot ofmoney for doing it. So now I can go any where I want to, do what I want to, and not have to ccme back home on a certain date. So 1 say goodbye to Kanab and return to my first love, which is southern California. I will leave many good friends here and all of you who were my good friends know who you are." I am now 70 years old and I think I can lire quite awhile yet and still erjqy my life to some extent, but I will miss my friends and these beautiful red hills. TTiey were quite the studios. Dennis says, I had an excellent teacher! All of the top people in that field The Long House at the HoBis Ranch served as the main living quarters. Photo by Carol today, worked and SuTJvan. learned from my Dad." In 1957, I was doing a TV grossed working with the movie bought supplies for the house, series here called Boots and industry to where he did a lot of They were so much cheaper Saddles. At that time Fay bigjobs.Hewasinchargeofthe there. My trucking business Hamblin, my good friend, transportation and location on a made it easy for me to transport brought me up to look at what lot of big westerns. The biggest them. Some people got mad at was then Cave Lakes Canyon. I one he made was called Hallelu-reall- y liked it and thought I can jah Trail. The next biggest after make something out of this that was The Way West. Hollis place. The next 10 years saw also did one in between those Roy traveling to different beau- - two called The Indian Fighter. tiful locations, but the beauty of I became in demand in Holly-thcanyon continued to call to wood, because people liked the him. way I did my job. I never looked to help. I hired a couple of carpen- While I was in Kanab during for a job, they called me and ters and we went to work on the the 1957-5- 8 school year, my son asked me to do movies for them. long house. After a year of work, Dennis attended Kanab High Other movies Roy Hollis worked we got the house in pretty good School and was on the football on were: PapiUon, Diamonds are condition where you could live in team. Kanab had not had a foot- - Forever, IJties of the Fields, it with plumbing, electricity, ther-ba- ll team for years. I helped Boyd Prime Cut, Prophesy, Sergeants 'Goonie Adams, a teacher at Three, Cattle Queen ofMontana, Kanab High, coach football that just to name a few. Some TV year. They had suffered some programs he worked on were: terrible losses. With my football Gunsmoke, Duet at Diablo and How The West Was Won. There also were lots of little movies no one ever heard of. Roy got into the trucking business because one day he sug-th- e Production Company helped gested to Howard Koch that they build the old football field at the needed a special vehicle to carry planting trees, grapes, vines and present day Middle School. Dor- - sound equipment. Well Howard berries. She worked awfully ing that time, we lived in a trailer said, You build it and I'll rent it hard at it and she finally got from you. So Roy ended up with them growing. Then the gophers behind Peaches Baird's home. In 1968, Fay Hamblin called a trucking business and build- - meved in and decided to eat the Roy to tell him that the ranch was ing specialty equipment that he roots. She had a fit We bought for sale. The Hollis's bought it rented to the studios. gopher poison and got rid of After the Sanella. and It from Drs. Riley ranch, them, so now there are fruit they bought wife come and would his condition that at was in terrible Roy up trees, grapes, berries, etc. here, time, but we thought that with and stay at the ranch every Another problem we discovered my engineering training and the chance they had time cfTbetween amount of money I was making at pictures. We started fixing up. that time, that we could fix it up. We worked on the old ranch the electrical and Although it was known as Cave house, d so would have a we we it Lakes Canyon, plumbing lived there the canyon to drain it better so the There are many wonderful home and Ranch Hollis temporary right away." I Then I built cattle could feed on the meadows. memories here. " Shortly after bought the fairly comfortably. at re-di- re-nam- ed Roy Hos says goodbye to the Ranch. Photo by Carol SutHvan. a caretaker's home. We couldn't leave without having someone permanently watching over the ranch, feeding the cattle and taking care of everything. We had many caretakers over the years some good, some bad. Our next decision was what to do with the long building that finished. It was about one-thir-d had no roof, no floor, no windows and no doors. We decided to make a home out of. I made plans to develop it into a nice home. I went back to California and |