The Timothy Reyolds Yellowstone tribute paid respects to an experienced lighting technician known for his work on many movies and shows. Yellowstone season 5, episode 5 "Watch 'Em Ride Away" showed a title card with the words, "In memory of Timothy Reynolds," which was a tribute to one of the show's crew members. Timothy died on August 24, 2022. Before that, he was a crucial part of not just the Yellowstone crew, but also the crews of several movies and television shows, many of which were also Neo-Westerns. Reynolds was a prominent technician and electrician in the American entertainment industry, leading to his Yellowstone tribute.
Though Timothy wasn't part of the Yellowstone cast, he was the best boy set lighting technician on Taylor Sheridan's flagship series. In film, the best boy serves as the second-in-command or chief assistant to the gaffer, chief lighting tech, or head electrician. As a crewmember in Yellowstone, Timothy was crucial to achieving and maintaining the lighting necessary for the ambiance of certain scenes. Apart from his technical expertise, Timothy's role as the best boy set lighting tech entailed coordination with other departments and various other production duties. He is one of the unsung heroes of one of the most successful television shows in contemporary entertainment.
While Yellowstone season 5 was shot entirely without Timothy, he served as the best boy set lighting tech from the Yellowstone pilot up to the second episode of season 4. Before joining Yellowstone, Timothy worked on Joe Bell, Time Freak, Hereditary, and John Carter. Timothy first worked with Taylor Sheridan in 2017's Wind River. Before that, Timothy was on the crew of several Neo-Westerns like The American West, The Hollow Point, Wild Horses, and The Lone Ranger. Timothy Reynolds was also the electrician for Blood & Oil, which is thematically highly similar to Yellowstone — though strangely enough, Timothy wasn't credited for his work in Blood & Oil.
Curiously, like the Yellowstone series, the first show that Timothy worked for - 1997's Not In This Town - is also set in rural Montana and even shares some of thepolitical and racial themes of Yellowstone. After Timothy left his career as a stockbroker, he worked in 26 television shows and films from 1997 to 2022. Undoubtedly, Timothy Reynolds was a somewhat unknown yet highly influential presence in the development of not just the Neo-Western genre, but contemporary television in general.
Yellowstone stars Kevin Costner and centers on his character John Dutton. Dutton and his family live on a cattle ranch just a few hours away from Yellowstone National Park. The series chronicles the family's struggle to defend their home from an Indian reservation and land developers. As if their life wasn't complicated enough, the Duttons also have medical issues, political aspirations, and family secrets stacked against them.
