In 1951, the glamorous singer/dancer Marilu Norden registered at the Pyramid Lake Ranch to wait out her six weeks for a “quickie” divorce. The Pyramid Lake was 34 miles north of Reno in Sutcliffe, a location that was remote then and still is today. Other notables who stayed on the Pyramid Lake for a…
It’s just an old tin ashtray, but the stories it could tell… When fellow Reno divorce ranch history buff, Jerry Garrity, spotted this old tin ashtray from the Del Monte Dude and Guest Ranch in an antiques bazaar in Reno, he knew if anyone would love to have it, that would be me. Indeed, just…
True stories from the heyday of Reno’s six-week divorce era when East meets West Available from Amazon Or Order a Signed Copy from the Publisher
Dick Wolf preps American Babylon Dick Wolf (Law & Order) is prepping a new series, American Babylon, a period drama chronicling the story of the creation of Las Vegas. The series is inspired by the book, The Money and the Power: The Making of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America by Sally Denton & Roger Morris.…
Whose lips had sipped from these champagne coupes (saucers) from the Mapes estate in Reno? Fellow Reno history buffs Deb Geraghty and James Stavena found a dozen of these vintage glasses in a Reno antiques shop and – most thankfully – sent two to Bill and me. One evening, as we sipped Manhattans from the…
IF YOU CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF RENO DIVORCE HISTORY, here are links to READ portions of the narrative from the 4/2/2018 podcast “The Misfits”… LISTEN to the entire 30-min podcast with commentary by Bill and Sandra McGee, and Mella Harmon… and VIEW the 1943 TravelTalk newsreel Romantic Nevada. READ The Golden Age of Divorce on…
Bill and Sandra weigh in on this episode with commentary about the Reno divorce era… As host Sean Braswell says, “Bill McGee may be the only dude wrangler from the Reno divorce era still living.” LISTEN TO EPISODE 4… CLICK HERE AND SCROLL DOWN TO “THE MISFITS” Note: Amazon is listing THE DIVORCE SEEKERS: A…
MARILYN MONROE was larger than life… But beneath the soft-spoken movie star was another woman, one far bolder than most people realize. In Episode 3 of THE THREAD, host Sean Braswell tells Marilyn’s story… much of it in her own words–and in her own inimitable voice–from interview clips. (Film buffs will enjoy this.) LISTEN TO…
THE PLAYBOY MYSTIQUE… Riding the wave of the sexual revolution of the 1950s and 1960s, Hugh Hefner created a male fantasy world in the pages of his Playboy magazine, one that would have lasting consequences for American life and culture. Behind closed doors, however, Hefner’s life in the celebrated Playboy mansion was rather different than…
SEASON 2 OF “THE THREAD” launched on Monday, March 12, with Episode 1, “Of Ms. and Men”, about Gloria Steinem. Every Monday for the next 6 weeks, a new podcast (episode) will air, each one unravelling the story behind important lives and events in history and how one thread leads to another. Host Sean Braswell,…
Carson City, Wed, May 18 – Signing a copy of THE DIVORCE SEEKERS for Randi Hunewill, the great-granddaughter of Neill Hakes West who owned the TH Ranch in Sutcliffe, Nevada, about 30 miles outside of Reno near Pyramid Lake . In 1929, the “TH” was the first ranch in Nevada to take in paying dudes. …