Gold Rush: What Happened to Jimmy Dorsey

It seems like ages ago that Jimmy Dorsey rumbled with Greg Remsburg and then left the Hoffman crew at Porcupine Creek for good. Heck, it seems like ages since the Hoffmans were at Porcupine Creek at all. So . . . what in the world is Jimmy Dorsey up to these days?

It looks like Dorsey is a resilient man. He didn’t let his abrupt exit from Gold Rush get him down one bit. Not only has he been in the gold mining business ever since he left the show, now, he is also headed back to reality TV.

From the very beginning, Dorsey was a polarizing figure in Season One of Gold Rush. The Dakota Fred controversy at the beginning of Season Two seems to have eclipsed just about everything that happened before it on the show, but the drama with Dorsey was a central plot line in the early days of Gold Rush Alaska. He was a little younger than the rest of the Hoffman crew, and he was the only miner who wasn’t a part of the Hoffmans’ small circle of friends. He began as an outsider, lived uncomfortably on the margins of the crew, and then left three months later with a couple of broken ribs and no gold.

After leaving the show, Jimmy was an outspoke critic of Gold Rush. I’m not sure what Christo Doyle was thinking back then, but apparently he didn’t have any contractual leverage to shut Dorsey up. Gold Rush has had passionate critics from the very beginning, but none quite as energetic as Dorsey. On his blog, you could find everything from accounts of what happened off camera to descriptions of set up scenes to salary information, and none of it reflected very well on Gold Rush. He also gave the most detailed description of the “scripting” process in an interview done shortly after his exit from the show.

They knew exactly what they wanted to see out of the program. Even me leaving was scripted, but in the way in which it happened was not. The plans were made, but the footsteps were ours. They actually direct you into these situations. It became very real. That is why I actually got my ribs broke. There was a fight…not even a fight…I was assaulted by Greg. He broke my ribs. That was very real, but it was also in the script for episode four which ended up being episode six, that I would end up leaving the show. They kind of push you towards, making these things happen. They would tell me to say ” We’ve got get gold in seventy hours” so I say “We’ve got to get gold in seventy two hours”. Then they would say “What are you going to do if you don’t get gold in seventy two hours?” And I am like “I don’t know you just told me to say seventy hours.” Then they said “What are you going to do if you don’t get gold?” They push you towards saying I was going to leave if we did not find gold. It was never my intention to leave. My plan was staying the entire summer and seeing it out.

As we know, Dorsey didn’t stay the whole season. He left Porcupine Creek and Gold Rush in what appeared to be a very real huff, even if it was set up, and that was that for Dorsey. Or was it?

Here’s a video dated April 15, 2011 that seems to have been produced by Sharon Bronstein (Whale Wars) as a sizzle reel for a show about gold mining in Eastern Oregon starring Dorsey.

So . . . what can we make of this? Well, several things. (1) Jimmy seems to have gone straight from Gold Rush into gold mining in Oregon,(2) that he had cameras following him around in those mines, and (3) that the show never got made.

But that’s not all! In a March 2012 post to his blog, entitled “My contract with Liz Bronstein of Whale Wars is almost done . . . Thank GOD,” Dorsey writes:

Wow, it has been quite a year for me. I started a new band, lived in three states, became a hard rock gold miner, tramped two more mines, signed with an lazy or dishonest producer, we are having a third child, moved to Telluride Colorado, started college online at University of Nevada MacKay school of mines and am ready for another summer of gold mining! Some have asked, “are you upset that you didn’t go back mining in Alaska?” Really? My goal has always to become a real miner.

So, According to Dorsey, the sizzle reel didn’t turn into a reality show on gold mining because his producer was “lazy or dishonest.” I’d like to know more about that. Someone who posted the video on Youtube suggested that Bronstein might have been paid off by Discovery not to produce the show. I’d love to know more about that, too! (So let me know if you know anything about it!)

Show or not, Dorsey seems to have been really mining in Oregon. The same post from his blog goes on to say that he even had a little bit of success.

Now I know Todd and his crew were given less Gold than I got from my tax return from Gold mining! Now, of course most of the guys were given $80,000.00 for their contribution to the filming of Discovery… at least that is what they offered me last year to come back on the show. I know that Todd’s bump was 10% so he and his Dad have been given over$ 1,000,000 for their participation and part ownership in Gold Rush thus far from Discovery Channel. Again, they are mining all of you viewers, that is where his money is.

Sigh. I guess success wasn’t sweet enough to take the taste of sour grapes out of his mouth.

But, that’s not the end of the story, either! It looks like Dorsey has another gold mining reality show in the works, and this one seems to have been given the green light. In a June 15, 2012 post to his blog, Dorsey wrote a post that has since been taken down, but whose title remains: “Here is a good summary of Gold Rush… and now on to Ghost Mine!” Ghost Mine. GHOST MINE!

There isn’t much out there yet on Ghost Mine, but, sure enough, Syfy issued a press release in April 2012 in which they announced that the network had green lighted five new shows, one of which is called “Ghost Mine.” Here’s what the press release says:

Ghost Mine — In the remote woods of Oregon lays one of the richest gold mines in the United States. For the last 100 years, it has remained abandoned — until now. Soon to be re-opened by a scraggly group of miners, these hardy souls will battle the elements to find their fortune. But with a rich history of paranormal activity surrounding the mine, they may just find something else. Production company: 51 Minds. Executive producer: Mark Cronin.

So . . . Dorsey, who mines in Oregon says he’s on to “Ghost Mine,” and Syfy green lights a new show called Ghost Mine set it Oregon. Sounds like we may be seeing some more of our boy Dorsey, doesn’t it? Is this good news or bad? What do you think? And how about the paranormal angle? Does this sound like creepy fun to you or just more (un)reality tv silliness?