75 years ago, Hollywood saved Truth or Consequences, NM. Now Tinseltown struggles to save even itself
Your morning catch-up: Exporting Hollywood’s rise and fall, California leaders cheer Supreme Court ballot ruling and more big stories
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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — 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.
The town formerly known as Hot Springs
In the spring of 1950, the Albuquerque Journal declared in a front-page article:
“TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M., March 31 — That dateline was born today when citizens of Hot Springs, N.M., voted 1,295 to 295 to change their town’s name.”
Then-Mayor J.G. Mims said that while the reaction had been overwhelmingly positive, “newspapers and city desks of our neighboring towns have been taking considerable number of potshots at our name changing.”
But still, the promised publicity materialized.
In a cornball but classic black-and-white scene, the horse-riding Sierra County Sheriff’s posse marched Edwards — whom the TV narrator called a “desparado” wanted for “twice weekly invading the homes of millions of Americans by radio and television” — down the town’s main drag and demanded he name the place.
When Edwards incorrectly said Hot Springs, he had to pay the consequences: The gun-toting posse stripped him down, put him in law enforcement garb, and named him a deputy. Informed the town had been renamed, he declared: “Aw, gee, that’s swell!”
Edwards and his wife were so smitten that they flew in from Southern California every spring — for five decades — to attend the annual Truth or Consequences Fiesta, a now 76-year-old festival and parade that started with his first broadcast.
Hollywood nostalgia
Inside the Geronimo Springs Museum in Truth or Consequences is a veritable shrine to Edwards, who died in 2005 at age 92.
The Ralph Edwards Room includes photos of him with seven presidents. There are sombreros and hand-painted neckties from Fiestas past. Edwards family photos and letters. Framed commendations, including from the City of Los Angeles.
Edwards became best known as the genial host of “This is Your Life,” whose surprised subjects had their life stories highlighted by the voices of long-lost friends and relatives.
In Truth or Consequences, locals celebrated his Hollywood success like doting parents rooting for their golden boy.
“Truth or Consequences” aired for 38 consecutive years on radio and television — including an 18-year stretch in which it was hosted by Edwards’ hand-picked successor, Bob Barker, the game show legend who would go on to host “The Price is Right.”
Truth or Consequences adopted him as a favored son, too.
The town and the industry
It’s bittersweet to walk through the Ralph Edwards Room and see the wholehearted celebration of the affable host — and of the film and TV industry, which has struggled so mightily in recent years.
“The industry has been pounded by years of job losses, business closings and the flight of production to cheaper locales, leaving once bustling soundstages around Los Angeles half empty,” my colleague Meg James reported last week.
James detailed the success of the HBO Max medical drama “The Pitt,” which is filmed almost entirely on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.
Hollywood, the physical place, is pinning its hopes for revival on “The Pitt.” Just as a little New Mexico town did with a Ralph Edwards game show.
Today, Truth or Consequences, like so many proud-but-struggling rural places, has a lot of boarded-up businesses. Nearby Elephant Butte Lake, a draw for outdoorsy tourists, is so severely drought-depleted that sunbaked fish carcasses line its shores.
But a kitschy newer display in the Geronimo Springs Museum — “Eddington: The Exhibit” — celebrates another little success story, courtesy of Hollywood.
In 2024, “Eddington,” writer-director Ari Aster’s darkly comedic COVID-era neo-western starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone, was filmed in Truth or Consequences.
During the local premiere last summer, the oft-quiet historic downtown movie theater was full.
Today’s top stories
Supreme Court rules states may continue to count late-arriving mail ballots
- In a surprise setback to the GOP, the Supreme Court upheld state laws that allow for counting mail ballots that are postmarked by election day but arrive later.
- California leaders cheered the Supreme Court ballot ruling while eyeing other ways to speed up vote counting.
Hospital visits for smoke inhalation spiked during Boyle Heights fire
- Industrial materials, insulation foam and solar panels fed the fire, raising “unhealthy” pollution levels as regulators worked to measure toxic metals, hydrogen fluoride and other chemicals in the smoke.
- Amid smell and rodent worries, millions of pounds of rotting meat are being hauled off in Boyle Heights.
Downtown L.A. World Trade Center to become affordable apartments
- A $200-million makeover will turn the aging L.A. World Trade Center downtown into Sky Castle, a 512-unit complex anchoring a campaign to build 4,000 new affordable apartments across Los Angeles.
- Rents at Sky Castle are expected to start at $937 for one-bedrooms, with family-size units under $1,300, reflecting L.A.’s push to reuse offices to ease its housing crunch.
What else is going on
- What you should know about the $351.7 billion state budget Newsom just signed.
- A California man was accused of recording nude women in tanning booths. Prosecutors call for harsher penalties.
- The San Francisco Archdiocese will pay $395 million to sexual abuse victims, encompassing 70 years of children falling prey to priests
Commentary and opinions
- “The Bear” moved us to tears over its five seasons, ending on a happy, loving note.
This morning’s must-read
For years, construction stalled at an Eagle Rock site set to become a 31-unit multiuse complex. In the meantime, a mysterious papier-mache bird, nicknamed ‘Pinky’ took roost. But who made the beloved mascot?
For your downtime
Going out
- Art: Here are nine gripping artworks to see now in L.A. that redefine “American.”
- Theater: Sequins! Dancing queens! ABBA! Go backstage for “Mamma Mia!’s” 25th anniversary tour at the Ahmanson.
Staying in
- Television: Commemorate America’s 250th with these 6 series, historical and satirical.
- 🥗 Here’s a recipe for summer herb meatballs with avocado dip.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
A question for you: What are the most unique town names in California?
As I have written in this newsletter, I’m obsessed with getting obscure datelines — the designation of a journalist’s physical presences while reporting a story — from far-flung places.
I have scored California datelines from Weed and Weedpatch. From Cool and Peanut. From Fort Dick and Volcano. Across state lines: Pie Town, N.M., and Valentine, Neb.
What other obscure or fascinating place names have I missed? Let me know if you have suggestions. Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Genaro Molina at the Hospital of Emotions, a large-scale immersive pop-up exhibition in Los Angeles, where art, architecture and emotion come together inside a real hospital building.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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