Hi!

In the summers of 1976 and ’79 I worked at Dirty Jack’s Wild West Theater in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a helluva good time, and a time that I remembered often. I would sometimes search on the Internet for any shred of information about Dirty Jack’s, but I found pretty much nothing.

It was low wages and funky living conditions, but it was Show Business and it was in the most beautiful spot on earth, the Grand Tetons. At 7:00 each evening we would put on our makeup and perform for a packed house of vacationers. After the show we would head for the bars that ringed the town square and listen to (or sit-in with) the best country-rock bands in the world.

They were the best summers of my life. If you ever set foot in Dirty Jack’s theater, please post a comment with your stories.

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Tom DeWester

I once wrote in this blog about how intimidated I was by the slick and professional show at our competitor theater, the Pink Garter, back in 1976. I just didn’t see how our raucous and bawdy production of Paint Your Wagon could compare with their impressive and colorful Molly Brown. What I was really talking about – what I was really intimidated by – was Tom DeWester. Tom was the best actor I had ever seen, by several orders of magnitude. He was absolutely magnetic on the stage, with great looks, deft timing, a commanding voice, and a master craftsman’s instincts. He was absolutely sensational, and the show was so perfect and impressive I wondered if anyone would come see us a few blocks away. Tom has stayed busy on the stage, and I am not the only person he has wowed with his talent. I took a few minutes to Google Tom and found nothing but raves: (In no particular order) Tom DeWester is Count Dracula and he out Bela Lugosies Bela Lugosi, except nobody trembles in fear when DeWester&
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Googling Dirty Jacks

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In the Summer of 1988... We ate al fresco in the town that evening at Sweetwaters and went to the 8 PM show at Dirty Jacks Wild West Theatre . It is a fun filled evening of hilarious wild west comedy. It is also very family friendly. At the time we happily attended their performance, they had been performing there for 17 years. Much laughter was heard throughout the comedy skit and we smiled for days thinking about the actors crazy antics on stage. You Grew Up in Jackson If... -If you know the difference between "Jackson" and "Jackson Hole", and laugh at people who don't! -If you know what "KSGT" stands for -If you ever ate at a restaurant called "Topper's" -If you remember what and where Kelly's Alley was, and ditto for Second Station -If you ever took a ski lesson from Pepi and learned the difference between carving and butchering your turns -If you went to the Cutter Races -If you ever hot-walked the polo ponies (that was a Girl Sc
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Any Which Way You Can

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I was clicking through the cable channels the other day and saw this: Dirty Jack’s Theater on the Big Screen! Do you remember the movie Any Which Way You Can ? Part of it was filmed in Jackson Hole in the fall of 1980. I like the picture above because I watched this scene being filmed. Prudy and I stood on the lawn across from Dirty Jack's. Eastwood was running past us in the shot. There are lots of cool views of Jackson in the movie. You gotta watch around the action in the film to catch it. The movie is hokey but really funny; a lot like the shows at Dirty Jack’s Theater. I also like this shot of the old Teton Motel, now long gone. This was the place Jon Stainbrook housed many of the actors and musicians who worked in the 1979 show. I lived there all summer; swam in the pool; annoyed the other guests with my loud car stereo playing Poco and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I remember knowing friends who hired on as extras for the movie, but as I scan the crowd scenes I don’t yet see any f
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