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The desert town that Hollywood redefined
Los Angeles Times
|July 05, 2026
Tinseltown's arrival saved a community in 1950. Now can the film industry save itself?
ALISON WISE Associated Press RALPH EDWARDS was the host of the show "Truth or Consequences" before hosting "This is Your Life."
Nowhere has Hollywood left its mark quite like this desert town of 6,000 souls on the banks of the Rio Grande.
In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the publicity-savvy host of the wildly popular radio and TV game show "Truth or Consequences," promised to broadcast live from any American city willing to change its name as a promotion for the show's 10th anniversary.
Enter: The southern New Mexico resort town of Hot Springs, best known for, you guessed it, its geothermal hot springs.
Townsfolk approved a municipal rebrand. And Edwards showed up with a Hollywood film crew in tow.
But the Hollywood of today is struggling to bring fame and fortune to any place and to even save itself.
This story is from the July 05, 2026 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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