The Desilu water tower and palm trees can be seen in the background
While watching your favorite movies or television shows, many of you with a keen eye have noticed things in the background, that just don’t belong. The Desilu water tower is no exception.
This cylindrical, 100,000 gallon water tower was built in 1927 by Thomas Ince. It towered over the studio like a guard tower of a prison camp. Movie Moguls that once occupied this studio from Ince, DeMille, RKO Pathe, Selznick and Desilu all proudly painted their studio name on this water tower which could be seen from miles away.
In Steven Bingen’s book “Hollywood’s Lost Backlot”, the water tower received its most exciting role in real life on October 17, 1964, when one Richard Ulroy, disgruntled and depressed because he could not find employment as a film editor, climbed to the top of the tank, apparently for the purpose of committing suicide. Culver City firefighters summoned to the lot spent several hours trying to convince Ulroy to come down. He finally did, after representatives of the local motion pictures editors’ union showed up to listen to his grievances.
I’ve always had a desire to sneak into the Main Lot and climb this water tower due to its proximity to the fence on Ince Blvd, and get an aerial picture of a different angle of the 40 Acre backlot. I’m still looking for a picture from that angle, similar to a picture taken from Vet’s Tower looking over MGM Lot 2, hopeful that someone else snapped it.
Rusted with holes and unable to store water for decades, the tower was finally removed and sent to the scrap yard in 1991. To this day, I still do a double take when I notice it’s not there.
If you know of any other movies or television shows which shows the water tower in the background, please post the pictures in the comments.
Written and Lived by Donnie Norden.
The water tower can be seen here in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Tara with the water tower and the incinerator located on the main studio lot.
A scene from Batman showing the tower in the background.
A great shot of the water tower and the incinerator taken from a helicopter.
A great shot down Ince Blvd. with no painted logo on the tower
One of the earliest known pictures of the water tower with 40-acres backlot in the bottom right.
Same angle, years later showing the tower and the Quonset Huts from Camp Henderson.
The tower with the Selznick International Pictures logo on it in 1937, prior to Gone With the Wind.
1930’s picture of 40-acres and the water tower
Palm Trees and Desilu water tower can be seen here during the last season of Hogan’s Heroes.
Thanks for reading! For more backlot adventures, check out my books on Amazon. Phantom of the Backlots Presents: Uninvited Visitor https://a.co/d/eRTFLsy
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