They called me the "phantom of the backlot." Join me on my adventures through the historic and celebrated MGM studios, in Culver City, during the height of its glory.
My entire life, or since I could walk without supervision anyway, I pass this old two story house almost daily. It is surrounded by a see-through chain link fence partially hidden by Oleander bushes.. Usually, a little terrier pooch runs the entire length, along side the public sidewalk, and barks at whoever is going by. It is the normal routine, for as long as I’ve ever walked this street. My dog and that dog are friends and they fraternize in between fence linkage.
Often, an old timer with his 50’s Buick in the long gated driveway is out and about also. Almost always he wears coveralls, like a care taker, a guy always ready to do something. A pencil usually extends from his top pocket. He sometimes has a tool belt and completely reminds me of that guy in the Maple Street episode of the Twilight Zone that leaves to check on the neighbors, only to be shot by Charlie on his return home. IT’S THAT GUY. Always doing something- kinda guy…
I’ve been on his garage roof to watch the film Shaft. It was the only spot we could see over and past the bushes that were blocking us from the star Richard Roundtree. That’s until his dog figured out we were up there and wouldn’t shut up. We had to escape little Fido and his advances by slipping through a hole in the fence to escape his endless chatter, Jimmy and I had to jump off the roof to get away as an old man shouted ” who’s out there?”… The film crew had to press pause while this racket took place, it was interfering with sound. We easily relocated by traveling through yet another hole in another fence, behind the Bewitchin’ Pool. Yes, there are many holes around here, and I know them all!
I’ve never talked to this old man, just his dog. He has silently been going about his business for years, his yelling at us on the roof that night was the first thing we ever heard him say!
But- what is his business? How come he gets a house on the lot? Just-who is this guy?
Lately though, the dog, the car in the driveway, and the old man and woman that live inside are all missing. I watched this backlot family grow old. Walking, skating, or bicycling, I constantly pass this house, including every day on the way to school. It’s located just behind Esther William’s swimming pool set. The colonial mansion is the closest MGM facade to this real life home. It has complete access to the backlot since it is in the backlot…but this structure is a real home!
Myself along with all my MGM trespass buddies realize this would be a nice addition to our ever growing studio resources, if it’s available, as it appears it is.
Jimmy and I begin reconnaissance of this area, carefully of course. Trespassing is a misdemeanor but burglary, or breaking and entering is a felony!
We walk a fine line, but that’s what we do. Being young teenagers and not age 18, helps us push the envelope. If you break the law, you need to know the law… We Do!
Bushes that help frame the studio pool also conceal this caretaker house. They provide cover that allow us to get close enough to look in the windows. We see no furniture inside, this confirms what we were hoping for…it’s abandoned!
Hoo-ray!…We nervously turn the backdoor handles, but they are locked. So too… is the front door, but luckily we find a side window is ajar. We push it open and climb inside, the one place on the backlot we have yet to explore. As we tumble inside, our fall seems softened, we happily realize that this place has wall to wall carpet. Jimmy and my eyes light up, as if it’s a magic carpet. Take us for a ride Mr Carpet.
Steppenwolf : take it from here…
We fly to the kitchen first and a refrigerator exists empty, with an old box of Arm and Hammer inside…yet, it’s on. We have power,.. this keeps on getting better, the kitchen sink has hot and cold running water. This fridge will allow storage of movie caterer’s food. Something we needed.
Answers are being provided to the questions stuck in my mind for years, this is the coolest house on the planet earth.
Next we go upstairs where three bedrooms exist, the windows look out over the pool set and all the way to the Bavarian village just used by Young Frankenstein. What a spot, it’s better than Maureen’s bedroom view. We turn the glass door knob and enter the bathroom, the toilet flushes and the shower works.
Everthing has carpet except the kitchen, the stairs have carpet going up to two upstairs, carpeted bedrooms. We have two working bathrooms, one on each floor.
Jimmy and I smile at each other, saying nothing, but thinking …everything!
We scored, an entire house, nicer than my folks place!
Carefully, we cover our tracks, going back down stairs, keeping the doors locked as we exit through the same window that we climbed in. We shut everything so it appears secured.
We leave this place the way we found it. We are so excited, full amenities, carpets, power, water, gas, and phone jacks. We will find a phone to plug in later, that’s easy…just a hot jack with tip and ring connections. A television can be watched inside here also. I have one-with rabbit ears. I’m just going home to pack my bags, I’m moving out- from Huron avenue to Arizona street.
I can’t wait to tell Maureen…”Honey, we are moving up in the world!”
Why don’t you come with me little girl… On a magic carpet ride!
After school finally ends today, Gerald and I find ourselves racing our bicycles around the outskirts of the MGM Lots. Our homework always starts with what we may have missed during long tedious school days. Time to cut loose in this Adventureland.
Friendly officers usually habitat these guard shacks at every entrance. Usually, these studio police officers stationed inside these boxes are polished in public relations. They don’t wear side arms, they greet you with a smile and get around the lot with an electric cart. I can easily out run these carts.
That differs from the nose to the grind stone approach that I deal with daily across the street on the backlot… it is like when Central Casting picks different characters for different roles. The men assigned to this detail are equipped with pistols and a 4 wheel drive Ford Bronco. Inside the jeep is a CB radio so reinforcements can be found quickly.
The security in a box guards are much cooler than the patrol officers, and we really appreciate and utilize, their kindness. As we talk to them, we look over their shoulder for valuable studio information, posted all over the interior of these ancient shacks.
Above: MGM’s East Gate
Today, at MGM’s East Gate, the legendary Ken Hollywood is on duty. We roll up and we immediately feel at home as we realize just who is on duty…
He pulls out two pieces of paper and hands them to Gerald and I. Gerald is turning into my apprentice, a little me. He watches my methods and copies my approach to info gathering.
Ken Hollywood says to us, “two guys are coming out any minute and you will want their autographs.” He leaves it at that as people come and go at the studio’s main entrance and we chat with Ken… waiting for these somebuddy’s…
Minutes pass and a Rolls Royce slowly pulls up to the stop sign next to the guard shack. Ken nods to the driver. Right then Gerald and I realize who this somebuddy is… Fred Astaire!
He looks so dignified and classy behind the steering wheel, just like a scene from his movies. He stops as he sees us walk towards his driver side window. “Hello Fred,” I say, as his power window touches down. He nods, seeing the paper and pencil coming towards him and graciously accepts our autograph request.
We stand silently as he signs two different copies. We thank him and I shake his hand as he tips his hat. I am in awe, and speechless, as he smiles and says goodbye and rolls off gently into the sunset.
A wow moment… catch my breath!… I just met MGM’s biggest icon!
I realize I was not prepared with any questions since I was caught off guard… I am still not sure who the next somebuddy is going to be…
I’m floating on a cloud as an old Impala comes towards this same exit. I ignore this car since it is not eye-catching fancy, and I face Ken in his shack. Ken dips his head, as if to say “turn around!”
I look again and the somebuddy inside that Impala is none other than Gene Kelly. My heart flutters…
I love everything about him… I’ve seen all his movies so I am ready to ask some questions. As God would have it, Gene sees our pencil and paper and says, “let me pullover,” and he does. He stops out front of MGM’s main headquarters, the Irving Thalberg building.
He gets out and leans against his car, seemingly in no hurry at all. He signs as I ask my first question… “Mr Kelly, what was your favorite movie you ever did?” “Well”, as he hands me my paper that now has two of Hollywood’s biggest icons names attached, “I am going to surprise you, it’s not a musical.” And he pauses…
In my head, I quickly run through his catalogue… which movies are not musicals? I have to pick between Pay or Die, made in 1950, or is it… And just as I am about to say the right answer, he says, The Three Musketeers!
I say “you were fantastic in that! It appeared that the sword was attached to your hand! You are so athletic… dancers are great athletes!”
Gene responds…”I love baseball, I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. I would have played minor league ball, but one thing led to another and here I am.” Gene shrugs his shoulders and smiles…
I am thinking as he speaks… I just saw him on Johnny Carson, and it came up that women around the world propose to him constantly… women he does not even know… I can see why.
I am admiring his prescence… his persona is so cool, calm and collected…
“Gene,” I now feel like he is my pal and so I call him by his first name… “I loved It’s Always Fair Weather (1955), especially when you danced with those huge trash can lids on your shoes”…
“Funny you say that, it was actually a very trying number, due to the size of those lids, and the three of us had to be in sync. Michael Kidd did a wonderful job choreographing that dance sequence.”
I continue on, “Me and my friends often sneak into the backlot and recreate your dances exactly where you performed them.” “We copy your Singing in the Rain number, or try to… singing and dancing with umbrellas when it actually rains” …sheepishly, I smile, as I look at the ground… “well, mostly we just splash in the puddles, just trying to sing and dance like you.”
As Gene hears this, he begins to smile affectionately, as only he can with that big broad legendary smile… we shake hands and bid each other a fond farewell…
I am on cloud 9… I just met two of MGM’s biggest stars ever… Gerald and I race home… I tell my mom and show her these autographs. She is speechless, then says, “How do you do this?”
“I smile.” She knows…
I did not wash my hands… literally, for one week, at least!…and…Lot 2 will never be the same again, I belong here, I cherish being able to amuse myself, recreating famous scenes, meeting iconic legends, exactly where these scenes were performed… years and even decades before…
This evening arrives in the blink of an eye… the last three weeks of building, decorating, painting, electrical rigging, and pre-lighting have just concluded. Filming is about to commence on this old backlot.
My mom made me an early dinner tonight as I excitedly enlighten her on my latest MGM adventure. I warn her I may be coming home real late all this week, due to the fact that all the filming takes place at night… “it’s a Frankenstein movie, mom… directed by Mel Brooks…. I’ll be safe, I promise,” beating her to her favorite line, which I hear every time I walk out the front door.
At this very moment, the rotary phone next to the dinner table rings. I grab the reciever and stick it next to my head. It’s Maureen, my girlfriend. Her enthusiasm can’t be contained by the phone line. No hellos. Just… “Get over here!” Then, she managed to blurt out “they’re filming at the train station across the street… lights are shining in every direction.” Barely breathing, she continues, “my whole bedroom is lit up”…
“On my way,” as I finish off my glass of double scooped Ovaltine, grabbing my skateboard…
I’m hauling ass, as fast as one leg can pump, on this chilly evening. As I round the corner, I can see that the studio is lit up like a rocket launch. I arrive in literally seconds at Maureen’s front door, and I just barge in. She is standing on her bed, as I join her.
Together, we can see one side of the trains that are parked alongside the station’s platform. Thick steam is clouding our vision; it is artificial, being created by special effects. It protrudes above and beyond the studio fence.
This moment is magical. This old edifice has been transformed… like it took a sip from a fountain of youth. Movies such as The Band Wagon and The Brothers Grimm have captured this set with class and dignity, but tonight, Young Frankenstein will add to this train depot’s long list of credits.
Maureen and I now find ourselves in the same situation we were in just a few weeks ago—jumping up and down on her bed… like a couple of pogo sticks, watching The Phantom film… Maureen has the coolest bedroom window, ever!
We know that the higher we can jump, the farther we can see… albeit, very briefly. We get quick mental snapshots as we teeter up and down. I go up as she goes down. We can hear a director’s commands on a megaphone, which we gather is Mel Brooks.
Her bed has become a complete mess. It is nighttime and everyone can see us do this alternating, hodge podge dance, with each jump… the crew can see our heads bobbing up and down. We see them in flashes as they see us.
I’m getting exhausted already, yet the company is still setting up this first shot. The exhilaration of jumping is intoxicating. I wonder what actors may see us as we continue to bounce, giggle and laugh. We turn off her bedroom lights and now her room is indirectly lit by the same lighting that is capturing scenes from across the street.
Next, I grab a ladder that is in her laundry room and we head to the train tracks across the street… we can see through windows at the depot, as we share a seat atop this ladder. We can hardly believe it… “Is that Gene Wilder?” We squint our eyes… trying to see through the steam… “There he is!… he’s rehearsing with Madeline Kahn.” We can’t hear the actors’ lines, but we see their every move, including Gene’s, as he boards the train to Transylvania.
Bronco Bob is the guard on duty, as is Big George. MGM has its heavies securing this station. MGM knows we operate from this depot. We are not hiding, since we are not trespassing, at the moment… Bob’s short stocky build is recognizable, even in the fog… He sees us and waddles over… He says to us, “you two better stay outta here or you’re going to jail!” I respond, “can’t you just say hello, and be a bit nicer? I have a pretty girl with me,” I say, rather sarcastically… “the last thing we would do is intrude on your watch… leave us alone!”
Bob snarls and mumbles and right before he disappears from our view, I shout with my ego inflamed, “you can’t out run either one of us, anyway… even if we do pop over!” What a buzz kill this guy is.
Above: The scenes we are seeing filmed, on this night…
On the next night, the train station is dark. Quite a contrast from last night. But over at Boystown, the lights are strong enough to bounce off the moon and back. Gerald wants to go with me tonight and I oblige him.
We are determining if we can get past the web of security that George and Bob create and so, we take it all in from our Boystown fort. Set lighting equipment is lit up at the Transylvania station set as we arrive. We will watch this scene, from the colonial mansion, a couple hundred yards away.
This train depot, with steam and fog, created by special effects, is the center of attention at the moment. We see Marty Feldman, “Igor,” greet Gene Wilder, “Dr. Frankenstein,” as he arrives. Everyone laughs as take after take is shot and reshot. The actors are having a tough time keeping a straight face, as everyone on set laughs at their difficulty…
Below: Sequence of photos showing Dr. Frankenstein arriving at Transylvania station
Introduction to Igor
“My name is … Igor”
“I am a rather brilliant sugeon and I can fix that hump,” says Dr Frankenstein.
“What Hump?” responds Igor…
Above: Special effects creates interesting lighting. It’s an old trick that requires creating a “dead short” in an arc lamp. Special Effects and Set Lighting work together for this scene.
A roll in the hay… who could resist Teri Garr?
The whole scroll Above: All the scenes shot on this chilly evening…
Next evening… The actors are rehearsing at the cemetery below Boystown. Special efffects sets up a rain bar. A fire hose is attached to an aluminum manifold controlled by valves; that’s basically how this device works… It’s like a big sprinkler system. Rain can be controlled with this apparatus. A high pressure hose attaches to a water truck.
We overlook the set by climbing up to the top off my Boystown fort…
We are now in our familiar surroundings, yet my secret hiding place is now the center of the universe. Light comes through every crack, hole and slot… we are directly above a grave plot with a pile of dirt alongside it. A coffin sits between some grave stones and the rain bar sits above this gated cemetery and plot.
Gerald and I sit above all of this, like we are looking down from the stars above. Just watching as we wonder what scene is being set up next… We are in our sanctuary overlooking a haunted paradise.
As usual, I share this experience with two wise old owls. I love these two horned beings. I wish they could talk and tell me what all they have seen in this old backlot…
What we see is of course in color, yet this film we are told, will be in black and white. Just like the Boris Karloff original.
Igor and Dr. Frankenstein continue rehearsing a grave robbery. We sit 40 feet above this grave sequence, and after this coffin is exhumed, Dr. Frankenstein is disgusted with himself for stealing this cadaver. Igor then shows a bit of humility by saying, “it could be worse… it could be raining!”
On that queue, Effects creates a deluge on the cemetery. We take this all in, from above the rain, like the God Thor!
Lightning flashes, as wind blows on command… giant fan blades, like airplane propellors, which run on DC, silently churn the rain into powerful gusts of wind, to add intensity. We are so close, but we have to muffle our laughs as this hysterical scene takes place… in living color. Right before our astonished eyes…
This scene needed to be rehearsed to perfection… since the rain will immediately change a dry cemetery to an unworkable wet set. The scene needs to work as a dry-to-wet sequence
Above and Below: These are all the scenes shot that night, right below my fort…
“It could be worse” Igor points out.. “It could be raining!“
So far we have not seen Frankenstein, but I’m sure this will change.
New Night… Gerald begs to be a part of it, again. I oblige.
More tents have been set up for tonight, as many extras will be needed in these shots. The tents are heated and full of donuts, fruit and coffee. Costumed villagers huddle inside. George and Bob could be on the other side, but the lure of a chocolate bar is stronger than our fear at this moment, so we pull the tent flaps back and enter. The food table is located on the opposite side of this entrance, so we pass by many extras, as they talk amongst themselves about parts and shows they just did, elsewhere… It looks like some sort of gyspy camp.
“They are dressed like Bavarian Boy Scouts,” we joke… “They should have a Saint Bernard with ’em”…
We are overhearing one extra tell another about his appearance on a new TV show, Happy Days. He was just on that set yesterday and hopes he can be a regular on this new series… this is like a movie industry coffee shop and trade show, involving all available cattle… I was up for “this” part… I was up for “that” part… Quickly, we see how egotistical this part of the movie industry seems to be, and we’re just kids…
Our eyes scan each corner of the tent… many extras are sunken into their own lounge chairs, sleeping under newspapers, with their mouths half open… In one corner of the tent, there’s a card game going on… In another corner, they are standing around, anxiously, chain-smoking, as they wait their turn for the telephone… all making their nightly call to Central Casting, hoping to lock in a part for the next day. They all wonder where their next check will come from… We take it all in.
We leave with a hand picked selection of the best donuts. We also expect a long night. We need to get into a rooftop position while things are getting setting up. Plus, Bronco Bob and MGM’s security version of the Monster, “Big George,” would have us in a pickle if they were to walk inside here right now…
The company will now shoot many scenes in this rebuilt village… until the sun rises and kids go to school.
Below: This is the set where Frankenstein will will be hunted down by villagers carrying torches with blood hounds. It is a hard set for us to approach, due to the fact that this is a very-small, quaint village.
Above: This rooftop, over looking the center of town, will be our preferred spot to oversee everything thenext few nights... We try to put together a feasible plan, but often, plan Bs must beimplemented, due to unforseen events…
Above: This scene was still being filmed as I left, around 11 p.m. Still …No Monster!
Above: Frankenstein has arrived in my little village… He looks a lot like George Barner, MGM’s guard “on duty”… I peer down in amazement, as I see The Monster for the first time… I want to talk to him so bad! Peter Boyle is behind all this make-up and has a grey complexion.
Below: We watched these scenes get rehearsed and reshot, take after take, from this rooftop spot… in living color! My plan worked to perfection.
Below, the villagers unite to hunt down my favorite monster!
Above: Villagers cross a bridge that spans the Tarzan lake. That concludes this production on MGM’s Backlot 2… it was the only exterior locationused in this film…
Below: A call sheet…
Above: Look Carefully at the call sheet… A “hump” for Igor! And look again, farther up… The two studio police requested on the insert are the ones that both hate me! (And the feeling is mutual!)
Next up, I meet Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. A special once in a lifetime, memory! The show… That’s Entertainment!
Don’t change that channel…
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by DQ
I have spent the last three weeks observing, as these sets get fancied up. I have never seen the German Village look so debonair… all the bullet holes and craters have been patched or built over. A train station exists now next to Boystown, where horse stables are located. A sign greets you now… Transylvania Station.
Before Transylvania station was built on this site, stables and kennels existed. The stables are the doors behind the cage. Lassie Come Home with Liz Taylor is shown here… that show used two sets – now being used by Mel Brooks…
A cemetery set, has been put together, in all places, below my Boystown fort. As I watch these sets get final dressing, I envision how I will position myself to view all the backlot scenes!… Like a stuntman familiarizing himself with his surroundings… before action is commanded.
This cemetery is especially enticing. I realize that the Boystown fort sits directly above these grave stones and plots. What an oppotunity! Hopefully, special effects or set lighting won’t need to be inside my fort. Special effects will have a rain scene directly above this cemetery, and just below my fort.
A grave yard robbery will be filmed on this set, above… Below, the same exact area in the 1930’s
Below, A gallows, complete with a hangman’s knotted rope, sits where the 1960 award winning movie, The Time Machine, once sat… A hanging will be happening soon
Below, a production still shot on the set of the Time Machine (1960). Mushroom cloud shelters have been replaced by a prison with a gallows pole…
An actual Time Machine. Operated by… Yours Truly!
The modern train station is also receiving an extreme make over. Fresh coats of green paint have been added to all the trains. Pennsylvania Central is stenciled on the side of these vintage Pullman passenger cars. We climb in right behind this set, usually… but if we get rerouted, so be it. I’m just happy to see this set made over so elegantly!
MGM security has a night set watch on these hot sets, but in the daytime, they are non- existent. It is crew only… besides me.
The countdown begins its final sprint, and all these sets are near ready. A circus sized film company arrives with all the usual stuff, star trailers, make up-wardrobe, craft service, a camera truck, stand by vans, and shuttles, etc.
They park in the open field between Boystown and German village, the most centralized and accessible spot to all locations being used. Tents sprout up like giant mushrooms, everywhere.
Two problems potentially exist for me. They always do…
One… Security is now present at all times.
Two… This film is nights only at MGM. Once again, school gets in the way of my life.
This means I can only stay until around midnight, which is when Catering serves second meal. But Friday, I’m good for an all-nighter. I already cleared it with my parents. They root for me. My mom offers her usual support, “Just be careful- Donnie!”…as she clutches her rosary beads tightly.
The show has finished all its preparation. A Base Camp now exists. Set lighting does a pre-light prior to first unit arrivals. The lot looks magical as lights are positioned in certain windows. German village has transformed itself into Transylvania.
Above: This same village in 1948… this picture is the making of The Three Musketeers… Set lighting is struggling over uneven cobblestone paving with arc lights that weigh more than they do… This same incline will have a coffin containing the Frankenstein body slip off a cart in one of the scenes that is to be shot here… The Constable will offer his hand in assistance…
Lassie Come Home… A matte painting of a factory on a hill frames this iconic village as it appeared in 1943… Lassie was produced at the height of WW2. Ironically, WW2 did not hit this village until 1962 when Combat began a war that lasted 6 years with battles easily heard from my home…
Prelight begins… Arc lights are strategically placed. Smoke churns out from the vents on top of these 10 Kilowatt set lights. Lamp operators stand atop ladders and continue to feed this monster its diet of carbon rods. These rods react to electrical voltage and generate a blinding illumination. New rods swiftly replace used rods. Lighting technicians open and shut these lamps like a revolving door.
These men use pliers while wearing thick gloves to exhume the used rods while feeding new ones inside the cowling. The result is light as bright as sunlight. This prelight will keep unwanted surprises to a bare minimum for this production company. These arc lights are smoking monsters themselves…
Below, over two decades earlier, is the arch that greets you as you pass into this village… Frankenstein will be seduced by a violin under this exact arch…
Like the set lighting crew, I too have prepared as much as possible… going over different scenarios I may run into. I also dislike unwanted surprises… Mel Brooks and I share that common thread on this set.
Tommorow… 5 pm shooting call times… stay tuned!
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by DQ
It’s been raining hard the last couple of days. Today is no exception. Things have been relatively easy at my new, public junior high, since I already covered the same material in Catholic school. I find myself wondering about other things… things not exactly taught in the classroom, but easy to find in the schoolyard!
Drugs lurk everywhere on campus. All sorts of drugs. And the kids that deal them are older and drive fancier cars than the faculty. They are considered to be the epitome of cool. I’m intrigued.
Uppers, downers, cocaine, LSD—apparently anything goes at public school!
Sales for every drug are brisk, but the real currency of the realm here is marijuana. It’s available in an astonishing number of varieties from an equally astonishing number of places. Columbia, Hawaii, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, and Thailand constitute their own United Nations of weed. Among the more popular strains are Acapulco Gold, Maui Wowie, Sensimillan, and Hashish (available in either blonde or black!).
The latest craze, however, is Thai sticks. Students take them to La Ballona Creek between classes and light up. On one or two occasions I’ve gone myself. There’s a hole in the fence that serves as a makeshift “drugstore”, and usually pretty girls are in attendance.
Today the creek is unusually high because of the rain, the water choppy and dirty-looking. Two guys I don’t know know appear and proceed to burn one right next to me. All of a sudden, I have a “eureka!” moment. “I know a better place than this, no parents, no teachers, no nuthin.” “Where is it?” one of them asks.”I’ll show you. Follow me.”
Their names are Tom and Pat. Not the guys from the Doobie Brothers, but rather, just a couple of high school tokers. As we draw closer to MGM studios I can tell they’re skeptical. “This is safer?” Tom asks. “Yeah!” I answer enthusiastically. “I can show you around the backlot and I can teach you about movie biz stuff!” Now they were sold. Their eyes brightened. They are ready to trespass.
The rain clouds haven’t gone anywhere, but that’s perfect for what we’re about to do. “I wanna try your Thai stick when we get inside,” I say casually. “For sure,” says Pat, nodding, already a little stoned. I promise myself I’ll confine this adventure to a simple one-set visit, because, well, these guys are carrying drugs!
We climb in just out of view by the caretaker’s house, which has a chain link fence, or as I like to think of it, a climbing fence for beginners. The rain keeps up as we run 20 yards to the back of the colonial mansion and race up to the second floor. By luck, I’d already equipped the spot with rocking chairs and a bench, so it’s cozy. Opening the curtains and looking out, I’m struck by the view of the formal garden.
This view is where we climb in to run to my mansion, below…
Above: We are in the mansion, top right window.
Below: View of garden
Below, “my” mansion…it has a Bewitchin Pool adjacent to it…
If ever a song fit, Joe Cocker nails it…
My new friends are older and cooler than I am, but I’m impressing them, just the same. They’re really digging “my” mansion! I delivered my goods, the sanctuary of this movie lot… now it’s their turn.
Tom breaks out an AM/FM radio and Pat produces a bag of Thai sticks. They’re long with pot wrapped around them and a string to hold it all together. There’s also a fine brown powder coating it, which guys inform me is opium!
I hear the sexy guitar of Hendrix’s “Angel.” The velvety tones are slithering around me. No one will hear us because of the rain, so I advise Tom to turn it up. Then we begin to smoke. A peacepipe full of the Thai weed is passed around again and again.
I sink back into one of the rocking chairs. I feel as if I’m a candle slowly melting. I’m seduced by the wonderful aroma and sensational music. This is a groovy moment! We’ve successfully turned the mansion into an opium den. Smoke clouds hang everywhere, occasionally taking the shape of friendly spirits. I melt still deeper into my chair, arriving at a place of profound relaxation. This isn’t my first time getting high but it the first time I’ve gotten this high.
Zeppelin’s Rain Song fills the darkening sky, as I take another hit from the pipe. It’s only 4pm, but the sky is almost black. When I spot the headlights of two tractor-trailers driving into the German Village, it doesn’t faze me. I’m confident the trucks are a benign presence. When they finally park, I see the broad side of the trailers emblazoned with the familiar 20th Century Fox logo.
I see that the trailers are being disconnected from their tractors. The landing gear drops next and a van unloads a handful of production guys onto the cobblestone street. I’m still high, but not so much that I can’t tell that some new production is firing up..
A TV movie, The Phantom of Hollywood, just used this location and the European village has sustained extensive combat damage. Desperate to know more, I bid Tom and Pat a quick goodbye… “Just exit the way you came in!… Good luck!” With that, I race down the stairs en route to the backside of the German Village, as I leave Cheech and Chong in their clouds of smoke.
Inside one of the buildings, a bright worklight illuminates the group of men talking and pointing at other buildings in the town.
Compelled by a much stronger force than my fear of getting caught, I had to know what was up, so I walk inside and see blueprints on the table. “Hi!” I say. “What are you setting up for?” They look me over, and nobody says beans about what I’m doing there. “The entire street is a rebuild,” a bearded man tells me. “It needs to look like Transylvania. Gonna be a Mel Brooks film.”
Wow! I just saw Blazzing Saddles with Maureen, and loved it, so I was ecstatic to learn that this crew was the same that worked on it. The bearded guy continues to fill me in: “They shoot in three weeks. It’s called Young Frankenstein I think. Production will use several sets but this street will get most of the attention. It needs a big face lift!”
I think to myself “No way! Is the Phantom going to meet his favorite Monster of all time?” I’m so into Frankenstein, I even like to watch The Munsters.
“Did any of you see The Phantom of Hollywood TV movie that just aired last week?” I ask the room. “It was filmed all over this lot, including this street!”
“Are you The Phantom?” one of them snickered…
If they weren’t sure about me being a trespasser, they were now. I look too young. I’m by myself. I’m way too enthusiastic. But no one seems to care much. This is Hollywood, where everybody is happy all the time. I smile at everyone as I walk out, leaving them with a last word of advice…
“Strange things really do happen around here,” I say.
On my way home, I wondered about stuff. I do a lot of that lately.
I wonder about everything these days… girls, of course… having my first girlfriend, I have a handle on that thought already. I’m sure all girls are exactly the same. No problem there!… I wonder about my career path… I know it must involve these studios… I wonder if I will be drafted. Vietnam luckily just ended… I wonder if I can play pro football, like Joe Namath. No one around here throws a better spiral… I wonder about being a policeman, maybe… I like playing with weapons… I wonder why drugs are at every party I go to… what exactly do they do?… I wonder about being older and having my driver’s license because I want a Corvette… I wonder why so many rockstars are dying so young… I wonder why I get turned on by my English teacher, while she’s standing side ways at the chalk board… the lovely Mrs. Z. I wonder about all this wondering!
I’ll be keeping an eye on this Transylvania set… build, prep and shoot… Stay tuned!
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by Eddie Mullins & DQ
I ride around the outside of MGM constantly, always doing my due dilligence. Since I have now been captured, I’m a bit gun-shy. I was told by Captain Jolly, head of MGM security, I would end up in jail if I fail to comply. I now save trespasses for cool stuff, so when filming takes place, I will punch that ticket. Even this speck of compliance will eventually diminish, I’m sure.
Probably sooner than later because I have just obtained a shooting schedule indicating that a made for TV movie, with the working title of The Phantom of Lot 2, is in production.
All the studio entrances now say World Wide Studios …
It is being directed by my hero, Gene Levitt, who produced Combat on these same MGM backlots. I still play in the craters and bombed out villages desolated by that TV series. The same show whose gunfire I could hear all day long at my house. Combat was my inspiration!
I had to see what really takes place behind the studio fences. I had to see the devastation. What is this place that plays war with real army stuff all day long? It will be an honor to sneak onto his set. So much for compliance.
The amazing thing about this Phantomof Lot 2 show are the similarities to my own “shenanigans” taking place right now, on these back lots. We watch, as the show starts with two teenagers who look like dead ringers for me and Jimmy! They climb into MGM exactly where we climb in, right across the street from Maureen, my girlfriend, and her bedroom. Her window looks directly at this scene from across the way. We continue to watch, as we stand on her bed, peering out of the top of her bedroom window, which is practically in the framed shot. We joke in amazement, “look at those guys, they look like us!”
MGM often positions a guard at exactly this spot because they know this is our frequent entry point. (And that’s because it’s a sling shot away from our houses). And yes, we often fire sling shots at the Bronco when it parks right there…
It gets stranger. There is a a building that a teenager falls and dies from. It’s Boystown, my fort, which was recently involved in a huge police search involving me.
Check this out… The teenagers in this show begin their trespass at the same place where we sneak in… regularly. They look like us. These teen age- long haired punks as Broderick Crawford call us die falling from the top of Boystown, where my fort exists. I am nicknamed the Phantom by MGM security… “Here one minute, gone the next,” they say… So, I already had the nickname. I reckon the show is all about me!
This lot is only big enough for one Phantom… Me!
World Wide Security wants this rogue individual much in the same way MGM wants me. It is the focus of this show and parallels my own reality on these Hollywood Lots. Who better than Broderick Crawford, former star of the television series The Highway Patrol to play head of security? Rough and gruff, he reminds me of my dad. I’m glad he is not the one in charge here, for real.
Set decorations are actually attempting to make all their sets more dilapidated than they actually are, as if this old place is no longer a major player in movies and TV.
The reality is that the future would have plenty of huge blockbuster movies ahead…
Scenes with wind machines blow dust in the background to emphasize desolation and abandonment. The back lot now gives the impression that it’s only fit for phantoms.
In another scene… Me and Maureen’s old row boat… making its last TV appearance
After school, I immediately go to the back lot to catch up with this film. I start by peeking through holes in the fence to figure out what sets are in use today. That way, I can sneak in, yet not have to cross vast open expanses. Since my capture, efficiency is priority number one.
This Friday afternoon, I’m doing just that… I’m outside the lot, casing the joint on my bike, peering in at times, at every crack and hole. I’m on the corner of Montana and Midway, in the residential neighborhood just beyond the fence. I look up and at exactly the spot where I hit Big George with lemons, just months before, I see the Phantom!
And he is looking at me. He is filming, 10 feet away, in full costume, with his metal spiked weapon in hand. He just killed a man who was involved with tearing down Lot 2.
We stare in amazement at each other. He is masked, but I know it’s Jack Cassidy. I’m excited, as well as flabbergasted. It seems so surreal. He waves with his non-weapon hand. I could not be closer if I was on the lot. I wave back!
I like the fact that his goal is to protect these sets from decimation. I try to do the same thing. He refuses to let this place die. Like me.
My view from the fence, as The Phantom attacks the man on top of this stairway
Nightime brings out a different energy on this grand play ground
Care to enter? …Please shut the gate behind you
Make yourself comfortable, you’re in a special place that warps time… sugar plum ferries live under this bridge, so they say!
Below, The Phantom protecting his castle
Below, If this worklight could talk, the stories it could tell…somehow, it ended up at my house.
Below, I’ve seen this pose before!
Spirits do exist in the night here, all night… just let them run through you…
Nightime is mysterious, but yet magical on the backlot. Like sparks rising from a wood fire into the night sky, spirits seem to rise up out of the cobblestones themselves… These spirits aren’t scary, so don’t be afraid. Just let them be the spirits they are. I often come here by myself, but I’m never alone. Louis B. Mayer himself walked these pathways… Scarlett O’Hara and Clark Cable emerge from the deep south… Judy Garland sings clang clang clang went the trolley… A caped Rudolph Valentino drinks wine while serenading ladies from balconies… costumed acrobats skip and cartwheel about… French waiters and can-can dancers and the sound of accordions bring Parisian villages to life… Gypsies, tramps and thieves band together, while fog camouflages their movements. The smell of incense fills the air. I visit beings that only reveal themselves on their terms. Not everyone will see them, but ohhhhow they exist…
Whether you were a larger than life movie star, a famous director, a movie mogul, such as Louie B. Mayer, or a bottom of the barrel security guard, we are all welcome here. We are all kindred spirits. We all share the same passions… that’s why we’re here. And these backlots are truly the stars, anyway. We’re just guests here. All these ghosts will tell you that. No egos allowed at this party…
Doors open and close all around us, by themselves. Spirits dance whimsically about… curtains blow with no wind and windows suddenly shut… it just happens. Don’t be afraid. Owls hoot endlessly, making music for us, as the moon shines through the windows of hollow buidings. Bull frogs croak with joy. Nothing is real, yet everything is real, its all perspective…
All these wonderful entities are celebrating both the past with the present, amongst these deserted cities of the heart. I am suddenly struck by a need to keep this legacy alive… Stories for future generations to share… stories that celluloid can only capture visually. Yes… a passing of a torch will happen… The spirits were waiting for someone like me to carry it on.
Somewhere in my bones, I decide… right then and there, that these stories—stories from people who lived, worked and dreamed inside the boundaries of the backlots—shall live on…
Spirits will let you exist in their inner magical circle, and in my case, help me escapecapture, so that I can be with them,… so I, too, can experience this wonderful place. I draw on these spirits when I’m boxed into a tight situation, like when I’m outrunning security or police… Or, like the chimney escape that I relayed most recently, when I got away, against all odds. They grab my hand invisibly, and lead me to safety.
My passion for this movie studio is as deep as the passion that exists within these magical flying embers that surround me, like a bunch of happy fireflies…
It’s like I’ve been here before, in another carriage… Your spirit will never die, if you wish to believe. No one can take it… it’s yours forever. So, dance, drink and be merry, with all the spirits in the night… just like that ride at Pirates of the Carribean.
Life is a one take affair, all or nothing… so don’t blow it!
I truly feel the TV Phantoms’ frustration, as the developers start knocking down the sets.
Every picture tells the story…
Below, I myself have experienced running along these catwalks…
In scenes to follow, all over the backlot, especially on New York street, the chase by security and the local police takes place. They must capture him. The TV phantom kills a tractor operator with an arrow, at the base of the Great Wall of China set. I watch from the Montana Lot, where the crew parks, as the chase along the catwalks takes place. It’s like I’m watching my own movie.
This accident can easily happen, it’s part of the danger of being a Phantom..
The TV Phantom is running out of time…
You will notice Febuary 12, 1974 this show first aired on TV, almost exactly 46 years to this day I now share this memory with you…
World Wide Security finally finished off this Phantom… MGM knows there is still a young Phantom laying in the weeds. This one won’t go away.
Below: Me… escaping like the Phantom of the Backlot… That’s how you do it—right way up!
My hair works as a parachute…
As this show wraps up, it will air on CBS in the upcoming weeks. I tell everyone to watch. I walk home with a spear that is fake, but looks so real. I found it at the graveyard (shown below) that this show put together, alongside Tarzan’s Lake. I promote the other Phantom… as my spear gets passed around by all the neighborhood kids. Everyone will stay home that night to see what they’ve been missing over at Lot 2.
Above: Most kids carry school books home, but I carry spears, weapons, and movie props.
Notice that the call sheet says “Phantom of Lot 2″… CBS TV wanted to use “Hollywood” in the title, instead of “Lot 2,” so, they changed it prior to airing!
Coming soon, Young Frankenstein… Don’t turn this channel!
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by DQ
At nightime, the German village on MGM’s Lot 2 appears eerily haunted. Silhouettes with different shapes are very familiar to us, since we now know this lot inside and out. A castle top, turrets, and a church steeple, sit atop a hill, with cobblestone streets going in three different directions.
Tonight, it’s just me and Danny, my good pal. He is a year older than me, and loves to fish, which he does often at Tarzan’s lake. Usually that includes frying a batch of crawfish, also, which I’ve seen him do.
We are perched inside the church steeple in German village, with the many owls I often see up here. The only thing moving on the lot tonight is the Bronco. We are able to make out that it’s none other than Bronco Bob, the same guard that once shot at my friend, Pat, in a chase last year.
We decide to just sit inside this old steeple and watch the Bronco patrol the lot. It’s completely dark and the Bronco gives itself away easily with its distinctive headlights. Street after street, dirt road after dirt road, village after village, we see these headlights advertising Bronco Bob’s whereabouts. A simple, methodical, and ineffective way to patrol, if you ask me, but I’m just a kid.
Above… the steeple in the story and the Red Bronco on patrol
Danny brought some cigars. I’ve never smoked one. Tijuana Smalls… you know, the brand by this jingle… 10 for the road baby, for you maybe, you know who you are… mellow like wine baby, for you maybe, you know who you are… I know who I am… I’m the Phantom of the Backlot.
These chic cigars have given me quite a buzz, so I decide to play with my brand new Buck Knife that I just bought at Big 5. I pass it to Danny, as we sit at the very top of the church, and he drops it… Four stories down she goes, through a tree below us, and right smack onto the pavement. We decide to climb down to look for it, then leave.
We cannot find it… it’s too dark and we can’t use lights of course, with Bronco Bob on duty.
I’ll just have to get it tomorrow after school, I think… in the daylight.
I go straight from school to MGM, without any stops in between. I want my brand new shiny Buck knife back.
I find it right away… while wondering how I could have missed it. With my knife in my hand, and my school books on my back, I climb back out to civilization, at the train station gate. This is the moment that will forever change the rules of this cat and mouse game. “Big George,” the giant hired to capture me, “finally gets his kid,” the caption should read. And I practically jump right into his arms.
Above: Big George.
I figure he must’ve seen me while he was driving down Culver Blvd. And to add insult to injury, he is off-duty! He cuffs me, and throws me in his econo van. Quickly, as if he had a siren, we charge through the East Gate, on Lot 1. He slows down, once we pass through the gate, just to show off his prisoner. We tour the studio so everybody can have a look. I’m humiliated! Ohh geeze, there is Chad Everett, I look away, not wanting to be linked with security, in case I see him again. What’s more embarrasing, George looks like a slob in his dirty white T shirt.
I am finally ushered into MGM’S main security department to meet Captain Jolly. They now interrogate me under a bright light, and search my school bag. They list a million reasons why I should not play here, then call my dad, who is very aware of my studio double life.
He arrives shortly to pick me up. I’ve been released… no jail, no harm, no foul. But MGM now has what they want: my address…
What this will mean in the future is this…I imagine, is chases will no longer end just by jumping the fence; they will now end at my house!
I live a block away from George… Lucky Me.
The ride home is silent, my dad is the quiet type. He played his part of concerned parent good enough. I’m pretty sure he is aware this charade is more bike than bite. But right now, we agree to agree, I’ve done wrong. Finally, one last prop is taken out of the security closet in MGM’s police headquarters. Props are stored everywhere in this studio, a large iron bar gets dropped on the interrogation table, an echo or extended ring adds to the drama. In a display to frighten me off forever, I am told this fell from a rooftop, narrowly missing George himself and possibly killing him.
Save the drama for your next TV pilot, I don’t believe this happened, I think to myself.
We all sit in silence as the depth of this example takes hold, my next thought, a silent one is-did I almostkill him?…I do spend a lot of time on rooftops…he is a big target. Just because I hit him with lemons one night doesn’t mean I want to kill em! I have no verbal response, this is a moment for silence. I may need a lawyer. The studio is trying to send me a message, the same one my mom says as I run out the front door of my house everyday…”Donnie-Just be careful!”
“I promise…I will.”
I am released finally, and my dad can’t wait to fire up a Marlboro as we walk to exit out the east gate. I introduce him to Ken Hollywood as we pass the guard shack, as famous security guard at this studio who reminds my dad “He’s agood kid”
“Thanks Ken , see ya guys next time!”
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden Edited by DQ
This is the lot they named a city after… Century City. It is bikeable, which is good, since we don’t have driver’s licences. This is the farthest studio we can easily ride to. It is a Friday night in 1973. Jimmy and I ride our 10 speeds down Motor avenue with the intention of finding a way inside this studio. This starts with a perimeter search… which means, we case the place, all along the studio fence lines. You see, we need to think like cops because we have to deal with cops in this line of work.
Right across from the Rancho Park golf course, in between some stages, we see a fence that we know we can get over. We take notes, but this is just a location scout visit; we will figure and implement a plan, later. The important thing is that it is possible.
We cover the entire outside of the studio, which includes the LA Rams ticket office on Pico. I often buy my game tickets here. My idol, Roman Gabriel, just made a movie on this lot with Merlin Olsen, Rock Hudson, and John Wayne, called The Undefeated. Gabriel also can be seen in an episode of Gilligan’s Island. I’m on the hunt for that island, which lies somewhere at CBS, in Studio City.
We’re satisfied with our findings and are just fixin’ to leave, but linger a bit, just because it’s 20th Century Fox. We peer at the guard shack that sits right next to the chain link fence. This is the same one that greets you, in the famous Hello Dolly entrance, on the lot’s New York Street.
We briefly say “Hello,” to security. His name tag says Charlie. This entrance is busy and serves as the hub of the studio.We stand and imagine… what is on the other side, hidden out of view!
We are taking it all in, when a van pulls up behind us. Someone shouts my name… “Donnie!” We turn and the driver is none other than Bill, my sister’s on and off boyfriend. He is a Teamster in the movie business.
When he’s not driving stuffy movie people from set to set, he drives Goodhew ambulances. I guess you could say, he likes to drive stiffs around. My parents’ house often has an ambulance backed in the driveway. He makes out with Nancy in between hospital deliveries. A very stressful occupation, probably.
He says, “Park your bikes at the guard shack, here, and climb on in.” His van is empty and has a cardboard show title in the window. He is driving for the TV show, called TheRookies, my favorite police show that is on right after Monday Night Football, on ABC, my new favorite day of the week… besides when the afternoon school bell rings on Fridays, and Sunday morning kickoffs.
Well, before we can get two words out, we are off. It is like being in an… ambulance. We turn a corner, practically sideways in the dirt, on a little western street, just as two costumed actresses jump from the road to the porch. They shout “Hey Billie,” as they smile broadly, waving in a familiar way, like this happens all the time. Various film trucks, makeup trailers, and movie equipment line this small Western street. Bill smiles and waves back, as we hold on for dear life.
This beats Friday nights in Santa Monica, cruising around in Pop’s Big Blue Bus.
What an introduction to this iconic lot. Bill’s father works as a stuntman on Hawaii 5-0 and Bill has craziness in his blood. He likes my sister and the steep, pitched roof of my house. He often practices rolling down the incline and falling onto a foam mattress, just like stuntmen do in jumps. I practice doing it with him… I find myself in this situation more than most kids, so I practice this stunt off of a very difficult roof. The rolling part is a bit of an overkill, but… I’ve gotta be prepared.
My dad tells me not to do this fall guy routine off of our roof. Lets just say, I broke my leg once on a miscalculation, just missing the safe zone. I love stuntmen and my dad works all the time, so… who knows what those thuds are on the roof?
We zip through this huge lot, like a movie on fast forward. Bill is driving a stand-by van. His job is to shuttle cast and crew back and forth, and everyone seems to know him. He said Kate Jackson was just sitting where I am now, which is shotgun in this van.
He brings us to his set, on what is called “New York Street,” on the lot. It is where Michael Ontkean is involved in a scene. He is the star of this series.
The area we are in is a slum that fits a crime show. It is the center of this small Street, which is actually Los Angeles in this series. Taking full advantage, we scout interiors of these five story buildings, as we make our way to the rooftops. It has a marvelous view of Century City and the New York Street, below. I just saw this same angle in the TV show S.W.A.T. A sniper was firing a rifle in that episode, which hit a van that exploded like the bomb at Hiroshima… lots of pyro, to say the least.
Above: same view, different night…
We missed a fire scene tonight, which involved a car, and the scenes being filmed now feature officers investigating this smoldering wreckage. Fire engine lights emit a red glow which flickers against the dark alley walls. Tall street lamps complete the sense of being on a real street. It is fun when we can match scenes to areas where we hang out. The martini shot is being filmed; that is the last scene of the night… hence martini. The crew is packing up the equipment as the show is wrapping out of this location.
There are many police cars to move and Bill will be involved. Right now, he is shuttling stars and crew back to makeup/wardrobe, and to the exit. We sit inside an LAPD cruiser, eating snacks from the fancy craft service table. That table rapidly disappears, right before our eyes, into a small trailer, for its next location early Monday morning. Good thing we loaded up and are wearing jackets with big pockets.
Free snacks… chips, candy bars, soda pop, popcorn and Cracker Jacks fill our pockets and stuff our tummies. The candies are all the extra big size. Everyone is so friendly around here. It’s the happiest place on earth.
Bill comes back an hour later and now drives us around in this police cruiser. We go around the lot much slower this time. Bill lets me turn on the flashing red lights. It’s a good thing he’s going slow, so we can map the place for future visits.
We take note of a water tank set where everything is miniature… miniature battles with miniature ships, miniature planes, and even a miniature submarine—probably from the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea series—along side it. The tank is empty at the moment. Full size actors act out water scenes here, also. The wood framed structure is very old and has probably been used a thousand times. MGM has one on Lot 1, next to the scenic arts building. But, the grand daddy of all water tanks was on MGM Lot 3… which was last used for the film, Ice Station Zebra. R.I.P!
We get dropped off in this police car at Fox’s main gate, which is where we started this whole night. We get out with prestige, in front of the security guard, Charlie. At our bicycles, we proudly say “Good bye” to Charlie, the guard, and Bill. Just hours earlier, we were looking for a way in… now we are leaving in a picture car… with 7/11 in our pockets.
Bill was and now, more than ever, is, my favorite of all my sister’s boyfriends. Jimmy and I pedal back down Motor avenue towards home, with another stripe on our sleeves. The Few, the Proud, The Marines. We have a dignified arrogance about us. All the while, blowing bubbles, thanks to Crafty. Our pockets are jammed full of Dubble Bubble and Bazooka Joe’s… they even have grape!
I have enough for some to chew tomorrow, at one of my forts in one of my other studios.
MGM, Desilu, Fox, “the big three” on the Westside, are all under our belt, and I’m only 13. The future looks bright.
The only thing holding us back from the Valley Studios is that no one can drive yet. That time will come… for now, these three icons take up all my time.
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by DQ
Something is going on at Brownstone street at Lot 2. Fresh from some hair raising security disturbances, Jimmy and I cautiouly move about, as we watch set decorations prep the length of the street. Unlike the usual props and decor, these artists are making the street a bit ghetto-like. We watch from above the iconic alley that has an entrance to this slum. There are three streets that that turn into this alley.
Wrappers litter the sidewalk, graffiti is being painted on the fake brick walls, a shoe polish stand sits on the curb, along with a newspaper stand, next to a corner street light. This is your standard set dressing for this set. The light poles are stored behind this street. They wait patiently in between parts, or roles, I know this because I hang out inside the storage area with them now and again. It’s like a toy shead.
Jones Market-Set decorations for Uptown
We are not sure what show we are getting ready for. We do know that this set will have a security guard, the term known around here as a set watch. His job will be to watch out for … me!
We leave, knowing that when a set is decorated, whether it’s fancy or trashy, it will be accompanied by a badge. This trash is a Hot Set, which in Hollywood terminology, means it can not be touched. It’s ready to shoot.
This set will require daily surveying, since I don’t have call sheets on it, yet. Fortunately, we have peep holes that look straight down Brownstone. This way, less risk is involved and we will make our trespasses count. It’s been dangerous here lately…
What do you know… The next day, while looking down the street through our little hole, we see Al Black, the guard who has been after me, hot and heavy, lately, patrolling on foot. We are on the sidewalk, on the legal side of the fence. We call to him. He gladly comes over to talk, as he boosts himself up to a higher part of the fence in order to look over.
We casually pick up the conversation, like none of those hair-raising, security driven incidents even happened… like a forgiving mother. He is giving us the advance, like a walking call sheet.
Jimmy and I conclude: He is luring us into a trap!
Al tells us it is a “Sidney Poitier movie, with Bill Cosby,” then tells us the title. He gives us the shoot date and practically gives us an invitation to… Come on over.
Well, we do. Not to see him, of course. We take the bait, alright, but we will circumvent the traps. Jimmy and I joke, as we make our way back to the alley set. What if we get chased and have to run in front of the Panavision cameras for our escape?… “Remember to wave to the stars! We giggle, as we make our way to the set. Stranger things have happened.
It is day one of a One Day Shoot, on these Brownstone scenes.
We arrive and a cab is parked at the curb. Upon closer look, we see that it’s none other than Bill Cosby, driving the cab. Soon, we observe dialogue taking place between the two big stars, Poitier and Cosby, but we can’t quite make out the words. We can only watch from buildings across the way, so, we substitute our silliness, instead. Ironically, we can see the high school from the famous movie, TheBlackboard Jungle, from this vantage point. It is a wonderful movie that we love to watch over and over, when it pops up on Ben Hunter’s matinées.
Sidney, along with Vic Morrow, play troubled students, Glenn Ford is the new teacher in town. That building still has a Public Library sign above it, last used in Soylent Green. We wonder what it must seem like for Sidney, who filmed that show in 1955. In 1965, Sidney filmed a Patch of Blue on the exact sidewalk that he stands on now. This is so surreal, we think, as we use our imaginations to relive those moments… just as Sidney probably does, himself, when he returns to these well-known sets. We can almost feel time warp itself into a different space, as it entwines the past into the present. It feels like a time machine.
It is hard to put the pleasure and satisfaction of this feeling, into words… it is like living a dream. It is as if we are skipping a stone on a pond and where it stops is where you’re at… like the wheel of fortune. Or, perhaps like opening the middle of a history book, and watching it come to life.
1955, 1965, 1973… its all here, on these wind swept streets just below us.
This would’ve ended up being a boring day, if it hadn’t been for our time tripping. No action today! We are getting spoiled!
But, there is a caterer and, yes, we are hungry, but guess who we spot off to the side?… Al Black. As if he is expecting us, he sits in a doorway on a folding chair… obviously waiting for something more than a meal.
We take it all in, realizing this show may be too dangerous to eat on. Some cab driving scenes are being filmed, as Big George pays a visit to the set on a golf cart. Al and George now collaborate, and we take advantage of this down time to make our exit. But first, while they gab, we grab. Teamster lunch has begun, always a half hour earlier than crew, because drivers start earlier than the rest of the folk. A specially prepaired lunch awaits us, we quickly assemble a to-go box. We are becoming addicted not only to these lots, but the food this environment contains. We look over our shoulders while stuffing this styrafoam container to the maximum. With the coast clear of security, Jimmy yields to temptation and grabs a piece of choclate cake as we disappear through adjacent doorways
We weave our way through back through the various labyrinthine web of alleyways and exits, alongside parked movie vehicles, always staying just out of view. But, we want a grand exit, so we fandangle our way, behind buildings, to a point where we can climb out safely. We want to be seen now, by MGM security so we climb an old section of fence that you can sit on top of. We wait and sure enough, seconds later our opportunity presents itself… We yell “See You Later” to the two guards who would just love the title of Top Hunter… having captured “The Most Wanted.”
They are too far to do anything. They simply stare, with a befuddled look, as we shout, wave and exit.
It was very nice of Al to feed us all the information needed to have this memory. The stiches left a nice scar from the last time we talked at the fence…anyways, plenty more food where that came from. Stay tuned!
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by DQ
Feeling the heat at MGM these days, we shift our attention to the Desilu backlot. This studio is so busy they can’t use dogs anymore… just older guys who sit in their vehicles, drinking something out of paper bags, for 12 hour shifts. Getting around these guys will be a piece of cake for my battle-tested hombres. It’s like a resort here on this backlot.
And this resort has alcohol for all. Across from our fort at Andy Griffith’s house is the giant church you see in every episode. It’s a Saturday, so no work is taking place, but there’s still a security guard. He sits on the Fortune set, which grows exponentially every day, in every direction. It’s an entire town, with a main street, gas stations and a southwest residential neighborhood. The guard on that set stays on that set. We- own the rest of this place and take full advantage.
We have had our eyes out for another rolling phone, like we had at the saloon. Today, Jimmy and I rolled into one, inside the church. As I call my house to see if it works, we notice a refrigerator and some church pews, that serve as seating. A coffee pot sits on a table. It’s like we found someone else’s fort.
The phone works! I dial off lot, just as Jimmy opens the fridge… low and behold it is packed with soda and beer. This is no fort… it’s a make-shift production office.
Where is the guard… they must have one… Or, does the guy, 20 acres away, report here?
We can’t hook the phone up at Andy Griffith’s house, since the closest phone jack is inside this church. A shooting schedule is stapled to the wall. This is a Colt 45 commercial.
Set construction is to begin Monday, with a shoot day of Thursday. We don’t want to start off on the wrong foot, knowing we are going to hang out here for this shoot. We leave everything in tact, minus two tall cans of Colt 45, ice cold.
We can see where this set will be, as bundles of wood are sitting in the middle of Mayberry at the Four Street intersection in the center of town. You can see we do good homework, knowing how to read the advances, so we, too, can advance.
Below: This is the intersection where the set is being constructed. Each day this week, I pop in, to see the Colt 45 set getting built.
Day One… There is much to do in a very short time, and the shifts go past dark as worklights illuminate the street. Much work gets done rapidly. The interior and exterior are being built independently, but simultaneously. The two story building interior is already framed. The front-side, or exterior will be involved in a dangerous, special effects collapse. It needs to fall in exactly the right way, as it is key to the entire shot. The front side is built on rollers, so it can slide into place, seamlessly.
Day Two… Since school gets in the way of my life, but I still have to go, I am amazed how much gets done, in the form of set construction, in the hours I miss. Just today, for example, set decorations are loading in, the interior already has bedrooms, there are clocks, paintings, and fancy tables and chairs. Painters are touching up the walls, carpets are laid down, and everything is very fancy. The exterior set is just a collapsing front, built specifically to fall, without resistance, on a signal by special effects in coordination with Stunts Unlimited.
Lots of prep needs to take place, since this is a classic one take scene.
Day Three… As I arrive today, the exterior has been put in front of the interior. Stunt men and effects rehearse in coordination like a symphony. I can’t get enough of this, I want to be a stuntman!
I have a big concern… this commercial that I have been watching since its inception may shoot before I can get to it. I have to go to class for a test on Thursday, and I’m very anxious about missing the shoot. I put all this time into watching and learning how this movie stuff is done. This… is my school!
Yet… I may end up missing the money shot…
DayFour… Shoot day at the studio. Test day for me. After the test, I cut out at lunch and skip P.E. My mom will have to make up an excuse. Gerald and Danny and Jimmy will meet me after they finish school, but I’m in a hurry. Class dismissed!
As I arrive, I am immediately caught up in all the activity and goings on. The finished product has brought this street to life. Transportation has parked trailers on the street below me. The typical equipment I see on all my sets. Make up and wardrobe, a High Noon honeywagon, and a Winnebago for the star, Mr. Foxx.
The set is complete. The front of the hotel has been put in place. There is an outdoor cafe in front of the entrance. It all looks very posh. There are tables with fancy table cloths, shiney goblets and elegant napkins. Waiter activity and dialogue are being filmed.
I watch from a second story window. I notice a big burly guard walking around with a lasso rope, practicing roping things around the set.
I think… thats an interesting method to catch someone… I wonder where his horse is… Choose your weapon, Cowboy!
I see the star sitting at a table, drinking Colt 45’s. It is Redd Foxx… My dad loves him, and I’m the one that gets to see him act. I realize the shots being filmed are the ones that need to be done first, before the front collapses. It buys us the time we need to deal with the problem of… school.
I see my friends starting to show up and so I sneak down to direct them to a perfect vantage point, while the director finishes up with the A Unit and the star. The B Unit—which is stunts and effects—takes over. It’s just stunts and effects now.
We pass around a fat doobie and wait for what’s next. Two black stuntmen now sit where Redd Foxx was just downing the syrup with his cohort. They look and dress the same as the stars.
There is a nervous tension and quietness on the set, as a final run through takes place. Finally, all the cameras are in place. Two are on the ground and unmanned by operators, with plexi-glass in front of the lenses, to prevent damage.
The countdown begins, as the stuntmen pick up where the actors left off. The director yells ACTION, and in a flash, all this work concludes in a calculated pile of rubble.
Slowly, as the dust clears… you see the two stuntmen/actor doubles sitting at the table drinking their Colt 45’s, like nothing happened. Redd Foxx is inserted back into his chair, at the table, like it was he who sat there the entire time. Close ups and final dialogue and a Colt 45 toast concludes the day.
Mr Foxx is then driven off in a Limo… what a day!
Bravo, Stunts Unlimited… Applause from the kids upstairs. This business is all about stunts and effects. When I get older, I know what I want to be… One of those guys who gets shot, does car chases, gets lit on fire, and can jump from horse to horse. Or… just sit and have cocktails while buildings collapse.
In the meantime, I will just have to light my plastic army men on fire, play with my gunpowder, crash my Hot Wheels, and run from police.
Stay tuned…
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden Edited by DQ
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Phantom of the Backlots 