The Fall Guy-A Trespassing Adventure at The Burbank Studios

Just a simple train stunt…

Our Cast has arrived…

Vasquez Rocks-Santa Clarita, Calif….A popular backdrop for cowboys.

No truer words…

I’m a Rhinestone Cowboy

Laramie Street, The Burbank Studios–1982

1975 picture of mine–Speaking of “Fall Guy,” as I took this photo, the roof caved in on this set on Laramie Street. I dangled precariously as only my camera case attached to my body kept me from falling 3 stories down. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of this predicament, I was on the roof by myself, no one was going to save me. Carefully edging my way back up, inches at a time, I could see the length of the street with my upper torso while my legs dangled above a dirt interior 3 stories down. When I finally finessed my way free “like the Milton Bradly board game Operation” and safely went down the ladder, I looked up at the sky through a new Hole in the Roof. Take that Lee Majors, I was a 15 year old Fall Guy, I think there are child laws against that!

The Saloon would receive a major remodel by 1982.

Singing “Water Cool Water”

Howie shoots Trigger while practicing his “draw”

Often employees and even The Cast of The Waltons referred to the area surrounding their family home as a jungle. On today’s adventure, this is NOT VIRGINIA!

After the Waltons were evicted- a cartel of sorts moved in. Recognize this house?–This is now Singapore for the series Bring Em Back Alive.

Meanwhile…at the former Walton House. That home is covered with rusty corrugated steel, ferns and palm trees. The Walton Family Home now looks like a South American drug lab. This series is titled Bring em Back Alive. A Golden Triangle is recreated on The Burbank Studios backlot

The jungle has cable running through it as this area is being rigged by seat lighting. Set decorations include spears and canoes, motorbikes, and cages. Where Singapore ends, the old west begins at TBS. Ike Gotsy’s is now a store in Asia selling jungle provisions.

Get your “Jungle Merchandise” here… The TBS Art Department slapped up some corrugated rusty steel and tropical vegetation to transport us to another continent. Fantasy Island was also a very popular jungle type series going on at the same time at The Burbank Studios.

Example of…Rusty steel and thatched reeds quickly and cheaply cover up previous conservative set designs.This picture I took on the Columbia Ranch on the set of Fantasy Island.

“Keep that Tiger off our set,” warns Roy Rogers. “Trigger don’t like Big Cats!”

You can see the parachute under his blue blazer coat.

Now a days – this is CGI… Stuntmen are getting squeezed and A.I will only reduce the need for Hollywood Stuntmen.

This action all takes place in the opening credits…Live and Let Live

Live and Let Die…

The Life of a Hollywood Stuntman…

Farah Fawcett and The Flying Nun, Sally Field- love Stuntmen..

Donnie’s notes begin like The Jungle Book...At this time and date, Jimmy and I appear- in a Asian Jungle.

Slowly but surely, Jimmy and I climb a backlot fence with a posted sign-Trespassers will be Prosecuted. We use this section as our main entrance when trespassing- The Burbank Studios. Nothing has changed on this tree lined residential street that we scouted out many years ago while exploring for access to this backlot. We determined back in 1974, this was the safest, most practical entrance because of its isolated location. The neighborhood’s upscale homes and living rooms stare directly at the ivy covered chain link fence that protects this studio from- people like me.

These residents can be watching an episode of The Waltons on their T.V sets while also looking at rooftops and partial side angles Ike Godsey’s and The Walton family home. Sounds easily carry from inside the lot when filming. These our the real neighbors and whose everyday life combines in synchronicity with the large T.V family across the street from their homes and T.V sets.

We are seasoned veterans now, and we never met a fence we could’t climb. But now, we are adults. The good news is we look like we work here, once we’re inside anyways. The bad news is we are 22 and 24 years old respectively. We will no longer receive a “minor” get out of jail free card. We most likely will be prosecuted. Well, nothing ventured-nothing gained!

Jimmy climbs first, we go one at a time- do to- “fence wobbling.” As he climbs, I watch the neighborhood carefully to see if …we’re being watched!

Jimmy takes about 3 minutes, that’s professional grade when fences have barb wire on the top. The point of No Return, you’re committed. My turn now, I stick one tennis shoe in between the fence holes that allow us to see inside while pulling myself upwards with my right hand and right foot pushing upwards for leverage to reach the top. It’s here that you turn into a sloth, extreme eye/ hand coordination is necessary at this point, touching the barb wire is necessary, just avoid- the barbs.

This is much more dangerous climb at night, you do what you gotta do around here.

Once past the the sharp barbs, you jump and free fall into tall grass in a safe jungle setting, landing behind The Waltons hen house and tool barn. A tiny shed allows for cover. “My how things have changed” we immediately notice. We stare out a doorway as workers are moving around greens and shrubbery in a house we no longer recognize. If only The Waltons could see their former residence now…

Rusted corrugated steel covers what once was…The Waltons House. Today, it looks like a jungle drug lab. Another thing we notice is the tree house is gone. The Waltons were canceled in June of 1981, this area is now fair game for all things The Burbank Studios needs sets for. Motor bikes with leather bags attached have replaced the cars we once drove around here. This is a Hollywood jungle set.

Universal Studios also has one of these sets going on in their backlot. Tales of the Golden Monkey is filmed there, we just trespassed that set last Friday night. A crashed airplane in the Universal jungle, located alongside the Black Lagoon, had a skeleton pilot in the cockpit. Natives in war paint and armed with spears pull up in canoes to examine the wreck. Jimmy and I began this hobby long ago in a jungle used by Tarzan and Johnny Weissmuller over at MGM. We are like a couple of Johnny Quest expeditionists…we have even explored the ultimate jungle-Skull Island. King Kong lives there.

Movie jungles are our friend…

We see cages for large game in an unoccupied part of this TBS jungle. An animal handler is working/ rehearsing a “Big Cat,” before the actors arrive. It’s like we have arrived on the set of The Jungle Book. We have no choice but to walk in front of grips, electricians and drivers if we want to explore more of the backlot. We ask a laborer what this show is and we are told “Bring Em’ Back Alive,” a new T.V series. Everyone is busy here so we move on into a jungle being rigged with electrical power.

Canoes, rafts and cages make this area appear like The Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. The only thing missing are the Macaws.

We take time out here, manning a canoe, we gently float out in this the most tiny of backlot ponds. Just because we can. Workers return from lunch on bicycles and race each other around this cement edge, one guy has his tire slip and he falls in the water…every one laughs and shouts unflattering jokes. Jimmy and I find a beer can in the jungle and contort it into a pipe with just a couple quick tweeks and a nail, which are everywhere, to put holes into it for inhalation. We are ready to smoke some “high grade” weed. Standard procedure on these backlots, beer can pipes. We find them a lot., including in The Walton home. We gotta feeling that’s what these guys were up to.

Cowboy On…

We have no idea what’s next as we pony up to western street. We pass the former Ike Godsey ‘s country store and it’s now been reclaimed by the jungle. Reeds, rusted steel, now cover it. More interesting is the horses we see tied up to a horse carrying trailer. We gotta cowboy movie going on, just out view. Western sets have their own horse smell. We probably kinda smell just like these four legged T.V stars- we are now petting.

Transportation trucks parked near by indicate this is a 20th Century Fox show and before you know it- we cross paths with a star. Jimmy and I say “Hi” to Howie, Douglass Barr. He is sitting outside the saloon reading his lines in the script. “Love this show Howie!” I retort. “I love everything right now” is how I feel.

Across the way is Lee Majors joking with a very pretty woman, this guy is a chick magnet. We let him be because we see …Roy Rodgers and his horse Trigger. It turns out the next scene is “Howie” accidentally shooting Trigger. Trigger is well versed in Falling Down, we hear from his wrangler.

So we stay around with Roy Rogers as his horse is about to get shot. We stand on gang planks alongside this most famous of cowboys wearing his very fancy boots… It’s fun being a trespasser!

What we don’t see is a caterer and these two stoned trespassing guys are getting a bit hungry. We decide to leave the old west for life around the sound stages. We walk down New York Street where for the last year Blade Runner had this entire area “locked down.” I spent over 20 nights on this crazy ass set. Spinners took off, in clouds of liquid nitrogen, with the help of a crane. Street atmosphere included ostriches, enormous snakes, crazy eyed Asians…Oh-and non stop acid rain.

Things have returned to normal on this street after a year of Ridley Scott directing Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer in a futuristic thriller that has come home to roost in 2024. A harbinger then of things to come.

As we reminisce, it does not solve our hunger. But, afraid of nothing, we pass security like we stepped out of our own movie. The Studio Commissary is still open, how cool is this, a sign says…”We are welcome here.” I have been eating on movie sets since I was 12, but not inside a commissary. A novel thing to do, of course, since we are trespassing, this is not a free meal is the only drawback.

When in Rome or just– The Burbank Studios, I order a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes, and a piece of Boysenberry pie. We relax in quiet being the last folks inside, it’s closing time.

During our meal we plan another escapade, we’re going over to Universal Studios after leaving here, it’s right across the street, separated only by a fine restaurant-The Smoke House. We love double features. Since MGM was torn down, we get our fixes in the valley now. Backlots are everywhere out here!

Rather than risk not being able to get out where we climbed in at, we casually walk towards the main gate on Barham Blvd, waving good bye to security. MGM security knew us all to well, these guys don’t. It’s as if Jimmy and I got amnesty-the thing Alias Smith and Jones tried so hard to get. Well cowboys, we’re headed to your lot next and we got a story to tell you about Roy Rogers…Gitty Up!

Written and lived by…Donnie Norden