Former Teen Actor Ditched Hollywood Hills for Wyoming Mountains

Stewart Petersen is proof that you can take the boy out of Wyoming, but not Wyoming out of the boy.

Petersen fought his way to a Wyoming state title at 145 pounds during his senior year of high school while battling the notoriety he had as a young actor starring in a film sequence of the from the age of 13 until his late teens, notably “Where the Red”. Fern Grows”, “Seven Alone”, “Pony Express Rider”, “Against A Crooked Sky” and “Rivals”.

But while many kids dream of one day becoming movie stars, Petersen said all he ever dreamed of was returning to Wyoming.

“I just never liked the way people seemed so impressed with people in the film industry,” Petersen told Cowboy State Daily. “When the crowds were rushing to get autographs, it was just something I didn't like at all. It had no appeal.

What attracted him were the mountains of Wyoming, ranching, family life and his faith.

So the boy who grew up in the small town of Cokeville, Wyoming, abandoned Hollywood opportunities and turned to the things he knew and loved.

This led to his roles as a husband, father, successful construction contractor, provider, and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Petersen, now 63, said he has no regrets, except that perhaps he didn't “dream bigger” as a high school wrestler and didn't win a state title before his senior year.

Timely visit

Petersen grew up on a ranch and credits his parents with instilling a strong sense of faith and moral values ​​in their children.

Her brief career in the film industry came about thanks to her mother's brother, Lyman Dayton, who at the time was a producer on an independent film project to translate the novel “Where The Red Fern Grows” to the big screen.

Petersen, 13, often went to his grandparents' house after school. There, his uncle arrived with a recently approved screenplay from author Wilson Rawls for “Where the Red Fern Grows.” Another young man was at home reading Dayton's script, recommended by a teacher at Petersen's school.

But Dayton also turned to Petersen and asked him to read the script as well.

“I was hesitant, but he cajoled me, and I didn’t think there was any harm, no foul,” Petersen said. “And I read for him and I thought, 'Well, I've seen a real movie script.' That was about all I cared about.

That summer of 1973, his uncle called and asked him to fly to California to read for the film's director. Again, Petersen said he didn't want to do it, but his brother helped convince him that he would at least get a free plane ride – and Petersen had never taken a plane to reaction before.

He went to read for the principal and returned home.

Shortly afterward, his uncle called him and asked if he would take a drug test they had arranged for him at Brigham Young University. Petersen said he had no desire to go there, but did so reluctantly and went through the motions, unfazed by the “coaching” he received from a committed young man to do the test.

As his summer came to an end, Dayton asked his nephew to fly to Oklahoma for additional testing with three other boys who were vying for the lead role of “Billy” in “Where the Red Fern Grows.”

“I was worried, but my brother said, 'Stewart, you'll be back in a few days, at least you'll get another free plane ride.' I looked at him and said, 'Yeah, you're right.'

You got the part, now take off those shoes

Once in Tulsa, Petersen said he enjoyed meeting the other boys who were trying out for the role, but his competitive nature showed.

“I thought, you know, I'm not really interested in this role, but I want to win. That’s kind of how I saw it, that if I won the role I could achieve something,” he said. “I didn't know that after I won the role, I started thinking, 'What have I gotten myself into?' And I was like, “I’m not sure this is the path I want to take.” »

Things moved quickly after she was selected for the role. His uncle told him to be prepared to speak with reporters and others writing stories about his selection, and then he learned he wouldn't be returning home — that filming would begin in a week.

And there was one more request from his uncle.

“He said, 'I'd really like you to take off your shoes and start strengthening your feet,'” Petersen said. “Because the role required me to be barefoot, and I had never been barefoot in my life – being raised on a ranch. This was another negative for me, but I thought I would do it nonetheless.

The film was shot in Oklahoma and for two months Petersen learned how the film industry worked. He said the actors treated him well and that the veteran actor, James Whitmore, who played his grandfather, seemed in real life to be a grandfather-like figure.

A classic scene translated from the book involved a mountain lion attack on Billy while he was hunting with his dogs. Petersen said the director used two mountain lions – a tame one and a wild one attached to a cable – and very specific camera angles.

“I never had to be near mountain lions because of the way they shot corners,” he said. “They were very protective of my physical condition.”

“Seven alone”

“Where the Red Fern Grows” was released in 1974, and Petersen was poised to direct films for a few summers to come.

“Seven Alone” followed, a project that involved working with his younger brother and three younger sisters to play the Sager family who lost their parents on the Oregon Trail. Petersen's role was that of the older brother who pushed and preserved the family to Oregon.

The film was filmed around Cokeville and in the nearby mountains of Wyoming. Petersen said making the film with his family members came naturally. And the story of those who braved the mountains and the challenges of Western migration continue to fascinate him.

“With me, everything was quite contemplative and I wondered if I could have been one of those people living in nature and in the wilderness risking their lives,” he said. “Even today, I love this kind of story, I love hearing about people who had character and who had the capacity and the means to endure the almost daily tragedies of the West. »

The following summer he starred with Richard Boone in “Against a Crooked Sky” and the following summer filmed “Pony Express Rider” in Texas.

In all of his roles, Petersen said he never considered himself an “actor.”

“Thanks to the characters I chose to play, I never felt like I had to play a lot of roles. It closely reflected my own behavior and life experience,” he said. “It was just me portraying myself in the circumstances of what the story (or scenario) could have been.”

No to the “Sacketts”

In his late teens, Petersen was offered the role of one of the Sackett brothers in “The Sacketts”, a television miniseries, but turned it down after reading the script because it involved a relationship with a woman and a typically Western “party”. on weekend evenings, and he didn't want to compromise his values ​​to play this role.

Instead, after graduating from high school, he went to Brigham Young University and wrestled for a semester. He then went on a two-year LDS mission to the Netherlands, where he said he tried to learn the Dutch language and learn as much as possible about the nation.

“I also learned a lot about myself,” he said.

After the mission, he followed a desire to play college football that took him to Ricks College in Idaho, where he played for two years. That university is now called BYU-Idaho and it's where he met his future wife, Chemene Goodwin.

After marriage and a brief return to BYU, another uncle Petersen offered him a partnership in an outfitter in Cokeville. His wife agreed to the move, and the couple settled in the community where Petersen grew up.

Construction and outfitting

Petersen said outfitting didn't provide him with enough income to support a family, but his choice to get extra income turned out to be just as enjoyable.

“I always wanted to work with my hands and I loved working with wood,” he said.

Petersen had experience building homes in Utah, so he started his own construction company.

“When we came back, it was this solution that not only helped us put food on the table, but also helped subsidize my love of the outdoors as an outfitter,” he said .

Petersen's Crooked Sky Outfitters has been featured on MeatEater, an outdoor lifestyle brand that includes podcasts and a reality TV show.

He and his wife have six children, and Petersen said his children have all seen his films — and his wife made sure they had their own copies. They took their father's acting career in stride.

Looking ahead, Petersen said he plans to make more cabinets and furniture and build a few fewer custom homes. He will also be in the mountains helping lead outfitting expeditions from July to October.

“I still love doing what I do,” he said. “I grew up on a ranch, I love horses and I love being in the mountains on a good horse, and therefore I will continue to do so.”

Over the years, Petersen said he has been approached on occasion for acting roles, but he doesn't see a return to film or television in the future.

“I probably didn’t encourage them much that way. Everything should be exactly the way (I would) like it to be to feel comfortable,” he said. “I just don’t want to do anything that would devalue my faith or my trust in God. »

Dale Killingbeck can be reached at [email protected].