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Steve Shaw was fortunate enough to live his passion. He grew up with a passion for the Old West, whether it be Western history or just watching a favorite Western film.

Born and raised in southern California, during a time when the Western was prevalent on TV and on film, Steve spent his childhood playing cowboys; wearing his favorite cowboy boots, beloved cowboy hat, fringe shirt and buscadero holster-rig and play guns… the odor of his toy six-shooter caps permeated the neighborhood. Add this to his watching his favorite Western movies with his dad. Remember, this was the days of Fess Parker’s Davy Crockett, Hugh O’Brian’s Wyatt Earp, reruns of Errol Flynn’s swashbuckling Custer in They Died with Their Boots On, and Tyrone Power’s Jesse James movies and of course, John Wayne.

Upon graduating from California State University, Long Beach, with a degree in Business Administration, Steve made a 30-minute, 8-millimeter Western movie with a few pals and previewed it at his graduation party.

Soon after graduation, Steve entered USAF’s Officer Training School and became a B-52 navigation instructor. His fondness for the Old West was rekindled when Steve was assigned to Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, South Dakota – just a few hours’ drive from the Black Hills – and the history of Wild Bill Hickock & Calamity Jane, Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and the Sioux, Deadwood, Wounded Knee – it was all there.

His military obligations behind him, he joined Ford Motor Company in Detroit where he acquired his master’s degree in management at Central Michigan University. Having a career in corporate America, Steve never forgot his love for Westerns.

In 2004, Steve made multiple appearances on the History Channel’s Wild West Tech and as a historian / talking head on A&E’s Biography of Doc Holliday. Steve also did some background work on such feature films as HBO’s 2nd season of the Deadwood series, Disney’s The Lone Ranger film, and Seth McFarland’s A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Through the years, Steve became an accomplished writer with 250+ articles published in various Western-oriented magazines.

Accepted to the prestigious Western Writers of America in 2004, Steve’s first book, Beyond the Rio Grande, was a Finalist in the 2007 New Mexico Book Award Program. Steve has also received awards for his short story writings, all Westerns, of course.

In 2006, Steve acquired his travel agent’s license and developed “Great American Adventures.” Steve created, organized, and hosted historic old west horseback rides. The tagline: “Ride Where Legends Rode.” These 4- and 5-day horseback rides across the Western United States were based on historical characters and events from the Old West, that included historians and visiting locales rarely visited without a horse.
Over the 18 years these rides were offered, they garnered awards from various Western magazines for “Best of the West Tours” and were featured in Western lifestyle magazines. His very successful “Wyatt Earp’s Vendetta Ride” in Tombstone, AZ was sanctioned an official centennial event by Arizona, due primarily to the rich history the ride offered and the use of historians to bring the Old West alive.

In 2017, the Wild Bunch Film Festival presented Steve with an Honorable Mention as screenwriter for his first feature film, The Peace Makers: The Night of the Ripper. In 2018, Steve was presented on stage with the Wild Bunch Film Festival Directors Choice Comedy Western and 2nd Place for movie poster for the same film.

In 2018, the city of Tombstone presented Steve and his wife, Marcie, a “Proclamation” and “Keys to the City” which was officiated by Tombstone’s Official Historian.

In 2019, Steve’s and Marcie’s contribution to the preservation of the Old West were recognized by the National Day of the Cowboy Board and inducted into their “Cowboy Keeper” Hall of Fame.