1965 Fur Rendezvous
Michael Landon
Grand Marshall

by Michael R Dougherty
(California)

Back in 1965 I walked to downtown Anchorage to film the Fur Rendezvous parade and other Rondy activities with my new 8mm film camera.

I was attending East high school and had decided that I wanted to study cinematography after I graduated the following year.

Michael Landon, the actor who played Little Joe on the Bonanza television series, was the Rondy Parade Grand Marshall in 1965. As you will see in the footage that follows, I was able to get a good shot of Landon as he rode his horse in the parade.

It was a freezing cold day, and you can tell by how you can see everyone's breath. The cold must have been a bit of a shock for Michael Landon, who lived in Southern California.

if you lived in Anchorage in 1965, were on 4th Avenue enjoying the parade, be sure to look at the footage. You might see yourself, family members or someone you know. It's also fun to see the cars and the shops from 1965.

While shooting the film, I felt a little funny with my tiny camera and tripod as I set up next to professional cinematographers with their pro equipment. Oh well, you have to start somewhere. I also learned how to shoot a movie in cold weather.

Anchorage's Fun Rendezvous is a colorful event featuring wonderful and unique sites. People everywhere have fun and enjoy something entirely different after a long, cold Alaskan winter. I was in the East High band and marched in several Rondy Parades. In fact, I wrote a story about it titled Marching in the Fur Rondy Parade which you can read right here.

In the film footage included in this story, you'll see the Blanket Toss, parade, Michael Landon, and the sled dog races.

Enjoy the film, there is no sound

My family first arrived in Anchorage in 1950, so I enjoyed a lot of Fur Rendezvous. It was also a real pleasure to capture at least a bit of Fur Rondy history by shooting this film.

Some years later, in the 1970s, I found myself behind a color television camera on top of a truck on 4th Avenue covering the Rondy Parade live on KTVA channel 11.

Oh, and by the way, I went on to win an Emmy Award for my camera work in 1980, just 15 years after I shot this footage. Who'd a thunk it?

BONUS

Remember when the “Keystone Cops” would put you in Rondy Jail if you didn't have a Fur Rendezvous button? It was all fun.

Take a look at My Mom got put in Rondy Jail and enjoy.

Yours Free

Anchorage and Alaska Facts, History, and Pioneers

Delivered by email