TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Old Tucson was a home away from home for stuntman Rob Jensen.
Jensen did it all from acting to stunting to production managing at Old Tucson for more than 25 years.
He says it's where all the magic happened from being lit on fire to throwing himself off a building.
He enjoyed it all, until the infamous fire took over in 1995.
“I had the pleasure of working there before the fire, starting in 1992 for the second Nightfall and I got hired on as one of the actors and that’s when it all began," Jensen reminisced.
After Nightfall, an annual Halloween attraction, Jensen stayed on as a stuntman performing for locals and tourists alike.
“The people want to be shocked. You know, they want that extreme WOW," said Jensen.
Jensen’s love for Old Tucson started when he was a child.
“I got a photo of myself, uh, with one of the gunfighters my first trip there when I was four-years-old, and I was always just fascinated by it," Jensen said.
He knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up.
“I thought to myself, ‘Someday I’m gonna do that.’ And guess what happened?” Jensen continued.
After getting stuntman training from his friends and then joining the United Stuntmen’s Association, his skills only enhanced and had his personal favorite stunt.
“I love doing the fire," Jensen said.
He did everything from tumbling to body burns, precision driving, cable work and high falls.
He doesn't encourage anyone to try these stunts at home.
“Don’t do it unless you’re trained, ever," Jensen said.
When the fire happened, Jensen was no longer working at Old Tucson, but it’s a time he’ll never forget.
“It was just a horrible day. Sad sad day for Tucson. All of Tucson. I mean it was built in '39 from the movie Arizona and it’s just been an institution ever since. It's just like one of the main things people went to see when they came to Tucson," Jensen recalled.
He remembers the day like it was yesterday.
“No matter where you were in Tucson, you could see the orange sky out there above the Tucson mountains," Jensen said.
His mind was flooded with thoughts.
"I think I probably had the same thought that everyone else did, which was, ‘Oh God, I hope they catch it,’" Jensen said.
It turned into a blaze that could not be stopped, though Jensen still holds pieces of history to keep memories alive, including costume pieces and props.
“It’s the old gunfighter logo. It’s cut out with the gunfighter and he’s got his gun pointed down below the font," Jensen described. “I got this great big fiber glass tree log. It’s probably 8 feet long and that big ole round. And that was a prop that was built and used in the Grand Palace for many different musical shows that we used over the years. Yeah, just decades and decades of magic."
After the rebulid Jensen worked at Old Tucson on and off for some years until 2020 when COVID hit.
“Everything changed," Jensen said.
Though Old Tucson will never be what it used to be, Jensen said, “Thank God it’s still around."
He now keeps busy as an arborist, handyman and is still making waves in the entertainment business.
“Still working film very much, both in front of a camera and behind the scenes," Jensen said.
The last big film he was a part of is called Long Shadows, showcased in the Arizona International Film Festival at the Fox Theater on April 6.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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