Since 1981, the Walk of Western Stars in Newhall, California, has
commemorated beloved performers from Western film, television, radio,
and music. Over the years, nearly 100 honorees have been memorialized in
the sidewalks of Old Town Newhall with bronze saddles and terrazzo
tiles. Each April, new inductees are added to the walk during the Santa
Clarita Cowboy Festival. Santa Clarita, which includes Newhall, has a
century-long history of Western film and television production that
continues to this day. Newhall is the site of William S. Hart Park,
where silent cowboy superstar William S. Two Gun Bill Hart, the first
Walk of Western Stars inductee, had his retirement home. It is also the
home of such Western gems as Melody Ranch, a film ranch once owned by
Gene Autry that is still in operation. Melody is where Matt Dillon first
stared down the bad guys in Gunsmoke, where Al Swearengen ruled over
Deadwood, and where the hosts first became sentient in television's
Westworld.