By Nancy Jennis Olds

Nestled in robust Joshua tree groves just about seven miles west of the small town Searchlight, Nevada, (and within the new Avi Kwa Ame Monument) lies Walking Box Ranch. This large Spanish Colonial Style ranch house was once the desert oasis for Hollywood stars in the 1930s and 1940s. Silent movie screen idol and “The It Girl”, Clara Bow, and her handsome cowboy actor husband, Rex Bell, had retired from the celluloid glitz and glamor of Hollywood to live blissfully on their original vast working cattle ranch.

The name Walking Box Ranch, which was the emblem for the ranch’s cattle brand, featured a box camera of the silent movie era on top of a tripod. On Saturday, May 6th, our group of volunteers and members of the Friends of Walking Box Ranch, arrived to clean up and landscape around the house. Little did we know, we were in for a treat! Our willingness to pull weeds and trim branches would be rewarded with an indoor guided tour of this classic 1931 ranch house! (Walking Box Ranch is currently closed to the public.)

Above left: View of the ranch in the courtyard area with the pool (filled in for safety reasons).
Center: The 1931 Spanish Colonial Ranch.
Right: One of several balconies to the ranch house. Famous actress Clara Bow enjoyed sunbathing on the balcony.

The ranch (comprising the main house, barn, guesthouse or bunkhouse, tennis court, decent size swimming pool, and cactus garden) is in relatively sound shape. However, I did notice that the barn’s roof needed some TLC. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which assumed management of the property in 2005, is currently co-managing this historic ranch with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In 2009, Walking Box Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Clara Bow and Rex Bell (Bell having grown up in Chicago rather than on a ranch) would’ve been proud of that designation.

Above left: (Left to Right) BLM Park Ranger Jimmy Linares, Judy Bundorf (Friends of Walking Box Ranch), Ellen Ross (Friends of 'Walking Box Ranch), BLM Park Ranger and Volunteer Coordinator Brian White.
Center: Lisa Ortega, a Southern Nevada Group Sierra Club member and founder of Nevada Plants clearing out weeds.
Right: (Left to Right) BLM Park Ranger Greg Flowers, Ellen Ross (Friends of Walking Box Ranch), BLM Park Ranger Greg Linares, and BLM Park Ranger and Volunteer Coordinator Brian White.

The weather was slightly breezy in the morning as we fitted ourselves with work gloves and a rake, shovel, or clippers for the yard work. There were vast clumps of weeds that needed to be pulled all around the ranch house. We tried to save any plants that were not considered weeds. The yard appeared neat and trimmed after about two and a half hours of steady work. Quite a few large bags were loaded up by the time we were done.

Above left: BLM Park Ranger Greg Feathers discusses the Walking Box Ranch's spacious garage.
Center: A very ancient Joshua tree in the courtyard where a cactus garden once existed.
Right: Lisa Ortega, a Southern Nevada Group Sierra Club member and founder of Nevada Plants with BLM Volunteer Coordinator and Park Ranger Brian White.

With some time to spare, three BLM staff (Brian White, Jim Lenares, and Greg Feathers) unlocked the house resplendent with large windows and wood-framed glass doors and gave us an amazing tour which I and fellow volunteers thoroughly enjoyed. The faceted glass door knobs, metal latches, sconces, and fashioned metal lamps were tagged, indicating that they were original to the house. The original furniture belonging to the ranch house still exists, according to Brian White, they're kept safe in storage with UNLV.

Some of the most prominent features of the house were created by a personal family friend, “Big John”, a sheriff. "Big John" was not only a lawman but a talented master builder. A beautifully created bar and a magnificent mica and stone fireplace (from a nearby quarry) which dominates the vaulted ceiling of a grand hall are no doubt the work of Sheriff “Big John”. 

Befitting a popular and glamorous movie star, a cedar lined walk-in closet stored Clara Bow’s collection of fur coats. A built-in makeup vanity was where Clara would apply her makeup and brush her curly reddish hair prior to entertaining her guests which included husband and wife Carole Lombard and Clark Gable (before her 1942 tragic airplane crash), Errol Flynn, Lionel Barrymore, John Wayne, and an emerging young actor named Clint Eastwood!

A life near Searchlight, so remote from the stardom and glittering life of Hollywood, was the haven that Clara Bow and Rex Bell craved after their demanding careers. Clara Bow was a native New Yorker, born into a brutally impoverished and dysfunctional family. Her mother nearly tried to murder her daughter during Clara’s small performance in her first movie, “Beyond The Rainbow”. Sarah Bow was sent to an asylum. Clara Bow had a lifelong struggle with insomnia. Her father, Robert Bow, drifted in and out of her life and took advantage of her budding fame. Winning a beauty and personality contest at age 16 helped launched Clara Bow’s career and bring her to Hollywood. Later, Bow made the transition to movies with sound. I listened to an excerpt from one of her “talkie” movies and she was fine, but she couldn’t convince the Hollywood executives with her native Brooklyn accent! Also, the alleged scandals linked to her name further exiled her from Hollywood. Imagine that!

Her husband Rex Bell, birth name George Frances Bedlam, became a moderately successful actor, mostly with Westerns. Later in life, the rancher became involved in politics and was elected lieutenant governor for the state of Nevada. Bell suddenly passed away from a heart attack on July 4, 1962 a few hours after campaigning in Las Vegas to be the next governor of Nevada.

Clara Bow and Rex Bell had two sons, Tony Bedlam, who changed his name to Rex Anthony Bell, Jr. and George Bedlam Jr. Their sons grew up at Walking Box Ranch. Rex Anthony Bell, Jr. would follow his father’s footsteps into politics. An actress with an amazingly natural effervescence in front of a movie camera, Clara Bow enjoyed her idyllic life at Walking Box Ranch with her family. Sadly, later in life, she developed acute psychiatric problems. Clara Bow passed away from a heart attack at age 60. Her years raising a family and cattle ranching at Walking Box Ranch was where she could sunbathe privately on her deck and enjoy the surrounding desert landscape. The ranch was a far call from her humble Brooklyn roots and a welcome retreat from the notoriety and fame of Hollywood. Walking around this lovely place and visiting the numerous rooms, the kitchen, the fancy garage where her Lincoln Roadster was kept, the grand hall, and much more, recalls how Clara Bow's truly remarkable life went above and beyond her humble beginnings.