A Famous House on a Hill at Universal

A temporary landing spot for a house on the move…This is the highest hilltop this home would see, here for trams to see as they pass by to the Ice Tunnel. This is upper flatland area. I was trespassing on this photo expedition, circa -1982. Right before I was hired to drive –Glamour Trams!

Knight Rider paying a visit above the tree line…This second brief location of the Psycho House looked down on the Ice Tunnel, the last adventure on the Glamor Tram Tour.

Don’t go in there David! says Kit…

The Six Million Dollar Man has been all over this backlot…A dangerous –Wrong Turn.

Looking down on the Ice Tunnel–Inside the Ice Tunnel-I would stop inside, back up a bit thanks to the dummy rails keeping it from jackknifing, then speed up, people screamed in terror, only to finish with laughter. Occasionally someone would” throw up” this effect throws off your guidance senses and creates “Vertigo” Sometimes-even making you cough up your Prop Plaza Burger. Tour guides will tell ya “I gave the best tunnel.” If you experienced this while on a tram-I was your driver.

Murder She Wrote-Starring an old friend, Angela Lansbury. “I’m looking for a lost little Girl in tonight’s episode“

Lost in Cabot Cove…

Christy …Are you up there?

Help Me Angela, Please!

This house has much more history than just Psycho-here pictured in Captains and the Kings-miniseries

Wagon Train…

Notice the telephone pole at the very top of the Psycho House standing on top of the tree lined hilltop. A Spanish Style Home overlooks this haunted house and the entire Universal Lot. That home was owned by Tom Mix when he worked for Carl Laemmle, Universal’s Founder. That residence is on a private street just a few feet from the studio property line.

I took the color comparison in the early 70’s…

Close up backside-of Psycho House

In this LIFE cover- Our Little Mexico area and Six Points Texas are clearly in view. A wrangler is on a horse for one of our many westerns in the 1960’s. Amazingly, these streets and sets still exist. The Psycho House was relocated, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas moved from Stage 12 to this hilltop the Psycho House sat on. The benefit of the BLWH set was it was built complete with interior rooms, very practical and often used inside and outside.

On the “Life Cover” in previous picture-these buildings are in that picture and still in use…

The same street in the distance on the Life Cover. Dirt was paved over for trams, so dust doesn’t kick up on our guests. When needed, we just put dirt on top of the pavement.

Let’s go inside...Life Magazine. This is Laramie Street, it sits above Denver Street. Train tracks and depots are located behind and below that row of Eucalyptus Trees. All out of view but neighboring streets. Denver was often used in Alias Smith and Jones… The Universal Railroad was a line from 6 points to a depot in the Court of Miracles. A decent long run so trains could appear on the horizon and disappear. Denver Street no longer exists. The trees still do…

Nothing like having a helicopter. The same skies Airwolf prowled in my day…Both Warner Brothers and Universal have Western Streets named Laramie.

In the shadow of…The Psycho House… Showdown–1963. Same time as the pictorial. In 1963, The Psycho House was located where it was first constructed, overlooking Singapore Lake and our Western section of the backlot. Revue Television was renamed Universal Television in 1963.

Warner Brothers and the L.A. River off in the distance. The Psycho House is the house on the hill. All original at this time- 3 years after the film was made. The Barham Bridge crosses the river, Toluca Lake Golf Course is on the opposite side of river. It remains today, if it was a backlot-it would have been raised 50 years ago. Rule of thumb-Backlots are not needed but golf courses live forever.

Two Dressing Rooms with doors open, no air conditioning appears to be attached to trailer. That’s why doors our open. A horse is being delivered to set by a wrangler. A third trailer is parked at the Bates Motel. The cart is called a mule cart, now pulled by “tugs” motorized mules. We move props around with this equipment. The Psycho House Dome foremost. Interesting –A door exists for access top dome-a ladder and platform is how you get to this spot.

Laramie Street-A truck seems to be dropping of lighting equipment. A star trailer is parked at the Bates Motel and on the side angle of The Psycho House. Westerns were king still in the 1960’s on this lot.

Today’s Landscape -located higher up the hill. The final locale of this House Upon a Hill. The door to dome is open in this picture.

The lit window is where–Mother is reading my book!

Bates Motel -second location built for Psycho 2.

Vacancies exist…But you can never “check out!”

This a splendid vintage picture of a three car Pink and White Glamor tram beginning its climb up the hill that has a Haunted House looking down on it. That’s our featured house on the hill…The Psycho House Tours began in 1964 and this looks every bit of that era, the house has been altered with sides. In 1960, it appeared in Hitchcock’s film without sides, quickly aging the wooden structure due to our very hot summers on this lot. Jaws was not even a thing yet, that would come along in the 70’s. McHale’s Navy was in production at this time and PT 73 has been docked here in Singapore Lake. Later to become-Jaws Lake and Cabot Cove.

Same exact angle-still pre Jaws. The tram winds up the road, alongside this house on its journey to the upper flatlands wilderness area and the final animation …The Ice Tunnel.

“Laredo”, A Universal western series …The first show to go color with this house.

Emergency! –Psycho House original location above Singapore Lake. “I hope Mother is alright.” Thank goodness we have our own Fire Department. Squad 51 to the rescue.

Alfred Hitchcock Hour-1965

A Fabled History…

One of the first shows to use this home after the original Psycho movie was a short-lived TV series titled Thriller. Hosted by Boris Karloff. “The Purple Room” was the first to reuse it, just a month after Psycho was released in 1960. The following year, it was used in “An Attractive Family.” This narrative was about a family that was more homicidal than hospitable…

• Wagon Train- “The Eleanor Culhane Story”
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour– In 1965, Alfred Hitchcock returned to this house for the episode “An Unlocked Window” The plot would develop as private nurses lock themselves inside the house to escape a serial killer.
• Laredo- “The Small Chance Ghost.” 1967, A Universal Television series, was the first show to feature the house on color film. The house looks less terrorizing in color.
• Night Gallery – “A Question of Fear.” Rod Serling would utilize the house in the series as the decade of the 70’s begins. In this episode, Leslie Neilsen gets more than he bargained for, to say the least.
• Emergency!– The plot has John and Roy help an elderly woman get to safety as the home is threatened by a wildfire.
• Captains and the Kings- The Psycho House got its first ever fancy makeover for this miniseries starring Richard Jordan as a rich Irish immigrant. Patty Duke, Robert Vaughn, and Jane Seymour costarred.

All this history took place in the exact location the house was originally built on. It was not until the early 80’s, when Universal began dramatically reshaping the backlot, that this house packed up and moved to an even higher elevation. A temporary stop over was above the ice tunnel, so tourists could see this iconic set before disappearing in a tunnel full of ice. I was not working there yet when I took the lead picture of this story. I was a trespasser for that special picture. It would only stay at this second location briefly as the studio prepared for the third and final landing spot. A log cabin was the closest neighbor and a quaint stream that feeds Falls Lake was part of the rustic landscape.

As time went on, the log cabin would move next to the ice tunnel and the Jurassic Park visitor center became the newest neighbor. Steven Spielberg would add another large set for War of the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise. That would involve a residential street with a 747-plane crash destroying most of the homes. Hidden just behind the crash is The Jurassic Park Visitor Center. Standing tall, proud, and newly refurbished is the most popular set in Hollywood-The Psycho House.

I did a nighttime visit under a full moon titled ‘I’ll leave a Light on for You” that reads well with this presentation.

https://phantomofthebacklots.com/2023/07/21/psycho-house-ill-leave-a-light-on-for-you/

Written and Lived by…Donnie Norden

“This is recommended reading” says Mother !

Thank all of you who chimed in with a review. It is much appreciated. Also, I’m very pleased to receive a review from author and historian Marc Wanamaker, whose work I have enjoyed for years. These books are the diaries I’ve kept. I jotted down each adventure after it was experienced. Sometimes in the middle of the night, I couldn’t go to sleep I had so much fun. Before computers and cell phones – never will there ever be a time like this again. Old time film making that took place over decades on Hollywood’s Greatest Backlots. Adventure awaits around every corner, Follow me-if you dare…