Dennis Hopper has many ties to Las Vegas and at least two ties to Boulder City. Back in August 2016, I wrote about how Hopper helped actress and model Lauren Hutton after a motorcycle accident in 2000 near the Hoover Dam while the pair were on their way through Boulder City to the Guggenheim Museum inside The Venetian.
Actor Robert Downey Jr. has a cinematic tie to Hoover Dam. Frequently referred to as a comeback story, I like to think of his life more as an American success story.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has a photograph of the former actor-turned-president sitting on a boat at Lake Mead in 1954. Ronald Reagan was an exceptional person and incredible actor and made history as a president. While Reagan was visiting Boulder City’s backyard, Lake Mead, with his wife, Nancy, he already had a full life behind him and probably could not imagine the career change he would have as the leader of our country starting in 1981.
Hollywood has rearrived in Boulder City. In the late ’30s, even early ’60s, there was an insurgence of actors from La La Land soaking in the city’s surroundings either for personal vacations or because a movie was being filmed close by. Today, our city is again attracting major Hollywood names for shopping, eating and living.
Actress Yvette Mimieux has a direct tie to Boulder City. In 1965, Mimieux starred in a film titled “The Reward.” According to NevadaFilm.com, “The Reward” was partially filmed at Lake Mead.
Boulder City has a strong tie to NBC’s television show “Saturday Night Live,” which is now in its 44th season. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting SNL’s Finesse Mitchell in the green room of a local television station. He was promoting his comedy tour in support of his Showtime special, “The Spirit Told Me to Tell You,” while I was helping to promote the Dam Short Film Festival.
In 1952, Columbia Pictures put out a movie about the Russians invading the United States titled “Invasion U.S.A.” While the movie primarily is set in Manhattan, there is a heavy focus on Hoover Dam.
