This long-awaited exterior set is finally ready. The studio tore down Stalag 13 to build this set here… so it better be good. Hogan’s Heroes is one of my favorite TV shows!
Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson will be starring in this Mike Nichols production. I love Bonnie and Clyde, so I hope this show is also a shoot-em up type film…
MGM has sound stages committed to this film and now I hear the MGM train station will be needed for a few scenes. Work has begun on Lot 2 in preparation of the Fortune’s visit here.
Lot 2 is busy, we have a set being scouted at our New York street. It is a 20th Century Fox production. A van with the Fox logo is full of a production personnel. You can tell when the lot is being scouted. Just the way the creative types exit the vehicle, like in a happy daze…looking, pointing, laughing. Lighting gaffers, the director of photography, transportation, special effects usually take this ride.
Their imagination is needed to decide if this street or set can create the needed ambience that the production is looking for. All seems well by their expressions. We may have another customer wanting to film here on this not so washed-up movie lot. I watch approvingly from a rooftop above them as they seem interested in the entire NY street.
My first year of public school just ended and I passed with flying colors…and very long hair. If St. Augustine’s could see me now!
Summer is already off to a busy backlot schedule.
The Fortune set at Desilu is getting some filming in as we switch lots…often we do both studio backlots in the same day.
Production Never Sleeps is the saying in Hollywood!
The Fortune set at Desilu is a bit difficult to access, it requires bravely walking across open space in complete view of the film crew. This is dangerous since we look too young to be technical employees. This set is devoid of kids also, so that disguise is not applicable.
Jimmy and I do not feel urgency to even push the envelope today. Instead, we watch from the same hilltop I was rescued from insideof… most recently.
From this vantage point we are entertained by vintage cars driving around as background on this set. We can see the bright arc lights smoking away. The actors, Beatty and Nicholson pop in and out of view. The homes built for this show block us from seeing the street scenes being filmed inside this corridor.
Quickly…we become bored.
We have more fun tumbling in the high grass on this warm summer day. My friends, the Sullivan brothers, have installed two hammocks, centered between a clump of trees with a view of the village and filming that is taking place.
Great job Sullivan boys!
When it gets warm, we know where to turn on the sprinklers to cool off as we lay suspended in the air. If you tumble out, the tall grass will catch ya… anyhow.
On my transistor radio Vin Scully directs the Dodger game. They are looking awfully good this year. Hammocks, baseball, and filming, my way to spend the day!
We can hear the movie director’s voice, Mike Nichols. He spits commands into his megaphone. Extras respond accordingly. It is exactly what a director should look like, like a quarterback running an offense. We catch glimpses of Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson in a huddle with the director…Damn-they got a good team!
But- I got a good team also. This feature is bigger than a TV show looks when on the backlot. It looks like Ringling Brothers Circus is back here. This is the biggest set we have ever seen constructed from scratch, it took several months to build to get to this point. It sits on the footprint of Stalag 13, to me and my friends, it does not fit here. In actuality, this landscape fits this southwestern motif much better than it did a German prison camp. You know, the Stalag with the palm trees in the background. The fake snow patches beyond the set that helped create a frozen tundra illusion have all been removed. I flipped a couple over before. They are plaster molds and are very heavy, which is why I didn’t end up with any when this camp was liberated.
And now, this same show has interest in MGM lot 2. Both my lots are extremely busy…which makes my life very busy. While all my pals spend their summer days going to the movies, I actually watch these movies get made. The only thing missing is the popcorn. Now this show will end up on Lot 2, it’s going to film right across from Maureen’s place, it’s like this show is coming to MGM to meet my family. Guess who’s coming to dinner…The Fortune.
A security guard mentioned this to me in a fact finding mission earlier at a guard shack on Ince avenue… “this is a really good director!.. this Mike Nichols guy!”
This is just part of his resume…above.
A security time sheet, above.
Yes… there is security guard film critic guarding my old playground!
It is with disheartening news that I share my personal tales of Columbia Ranch… It is now known that this lot will soon go the way of MGM and so many other iconic sites, as history is sold off to the highest bidder… in this case, tract home development.
My boots first touched ground on this movie backlot in the mid-seventies. Very easy to enter; Jimmy and I simply climbed a brick wall behind a supermarket. We covered the entire lot on our first visit. It was Christmas day… 1975.
Above: This is where we climbed in… right through this supermarket parking lot.
Above: Climbing in for the first time, and taking cover for the first time… is intoxicating. Slowly we proceed… one bush, one tree, then a forest, and finally, some buildings to take cover in.
Above: The buiding we are hiding in now will shortly become a regular set in the TV show Fantasy Island.
Below: As we weave around, through pathways and dirt roads, we see a western street that is very old. Some facades are starting to become slanted or unsafe to climb on. A saloon interior is inside one of these. It has seen better days.
Above and Below: We spend time time climbing on what ever we think can hold our weight. It is neat to look from behind the dusty drapes, and spotted windows that overlook this wind-blown, tumbleweed street. It’s like we are expecting a high-noon gun battle!
We take our time in the old west, peeking around for security. If past history at MGM has taught us anything, we may not see the sheriff at all… on this religious, toy sharing holiday.
A church steeple towers over these two-story western buildings from a neighboring set beyond. It caught our attention, since we like climbing to the top of them. Every studio has at least one belfry.
As we climb to the top we become… filthy!
This hobby may seem glamorous, but right now I’m covered in bird shit!
Dead birds lay everywhere. They apparently become trapped inside. It stinks horribly. We rate this the worst steeple we have ever been inside. But, it does give us a privileged vantage point, overlooking a neighborhood with very famous houses.
Above: We tear out of the steeple and through this little village. We discover that by simply turning the corner, we journey from Europe to an all-American residential street.
Above: We run inside the front door of the Bewitched house… upstairs, downstairs, backyard, every angle… like we’re buying it.
Below: Right across the street lives my favorite kid on TV… Dennis the Menace.
We relive countless, classic moments on each front porch… this is as cool as it gets for me. All the obstacles blocking us from this experience have been overcome, we have conquered another iconic backlot!
Above: The General Lee from the Dukes of Hazard.
Below: The only stages on this backlot…
Memories—
Jimmy and I had our last chase/get-away on this lot. Although we had no way of knowing it then… this incident, on a Saturday afternoon, would be our last close call moment. The closure of a decade of trespassing at every studio. Our swan song.
After being seen by a man on a golf cart, we knew by his reaction, we better hide. So, we jumped into an old barn, behind a sheet of plywood, which was laying up against a wall.
Face to face, again… just Jimmy and I.
Waiting, listening, barely breathing, as two men search this barn. Finally, while listening to them talk and search, they conclude that we must’ve gotten away.
A few minutes later… we did!
Jimmy was 24. I was 22. We were 12 and 14 when we began a life of running and hiding.
Looking back, we had no idea how historic this get away would be… our very last, as a duet. Like Butch and Sundance, except we lived on.
On September 25, 1980… John Bonham died. A news flash bursted over everything else on the radio, just as Danny, Jimmy, and I, jumped over the studio wall… the Led Zeppelin drummer was no more.
Sadly, we took this news in, on the Fantasy Island jungle set. Danny, being a terrific drummer himself, could barely fathom this event.
We were all stunned. This took the wind out of our sails that afternoon.
Led Zeppelin played on the radio all day… From the pastel shades of “Going to California,” to the volcanic eruption that is “Immigrant Song,” this was an unmatched band and Bonham was a beast of a drummer. These songs emanated from every building. It became our soundtrack as we remembered his life and the Zeppelin concert we saw together, at “The Fabulous Forum.”
A backlot is more than just a filming location. Life takes place in, on, and around its pearly gates. History is made, but also lives here…
Just as we had to accept that Led Zeppelin will never be again… we must now, 40 years later, accept that this treasure of a movie lot is soon to be just a fond memory.
That’s the way it is…
Written and lived by Donnie Norden
Edited by Donna Quesada
Hidden within the city of Burbank is The Columbia Ranch movie facility, surrounded on all four sides by residential property. Modest single family homes stand outside its fences on these charming, tree lined streets.
In baseball terms, this lot is like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, places of unbelievable magic and history making… tucked behind the most conventional of appearances.
Two story homes and apartments can easily see inside this fabricated world… right from their living room windows, residents can have a peek over the ivy covered fences that secure this iconic movie location. It’s as if they are part of famous movie sets that sit right across the street. Like having a balcony seat for a fine play. Except this play never ends… until now.
Being this close to actual film production, sounds, smoke and production activities slip into this normally quiet residential neighborhood. For some residents, their entire life has been an inadvertent part of this movie history.
It has been this way for generations, but soon, this wonderful, western-style, movie playground will go the way of so many other former studio backlots, such as MGM, Fox, and Desilu, which have all seen this sad movie playout before: Quick cash, in the form of real estate development, will overide the movie history that has played out both inside and outside the backlot. Paving paradise once again.
It seems escalating property values overide history every time. Who needs these old buildings and mature forest areas that lie inside this lot?
And number crunchers will make the case and justify the cause. But the effect is felt most acutely by those who worked, in some cases, their entire life at this film ranch, as well as movie history buffs. The community surrounding this studio knows no other normal. It’s a throwback to Hollywood’s past glory.
You may think you never have seen this lot or experienced it… ahh, but you have!
The home from Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, is still standing. It sits across the street from Jay North’s Dennis the Menace home. Chances are… you have watched TV episodes that were done entirely on this lot. In the back of your mind, you might’ve wondered, just where these neighborhoods exist.
The Columbia Ranch… that’s where!
A Personal Anecdote—
I was fortunate to be invited on a movie set during filming. The movie being filmed was Hooper. It starred Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, and Jan Michael Vincent. The movie is about Stuntmen in Hollywood. The director was Hal Needham.
Chariot races were being filmed that afternoon. It was stunts on top of stunts. A stunt rodeo was taking place. I was sitting in a chair next to video playback on the historic High Noon western street, from the Gary Cooper classic. I approached Mr. Needham, as he replayed the activity just captured on film.
Being a teenager, I was caught up in all this excitement. I had to ask… “what was your most thrilling stunt ever?”
He turned away from what he was doing — directing a movie — and proudly turned to me and boasted, “I still have the record for car rolls: 23 rolls on one cannon flip.” As he was telling me this, Burt Reynolds walked up, and upon overhearing this, said, “He can have that record! Tell him how long you were in the hospital, Hal!”
Mr. Needham replied, “Well, I broke my back, several ribs, and was in traction for awhile, but I own a record no one on this set can touch!” Burt then chimed in, “or even want to,” as the two of them looked at each other and laughed.
A priceless moment that is as fresh as the day it happened. The beauty of memories is… they can’t be bulldozed.
Trailer: Burt Reynolds, filming at Columbia Ranch.
Fun Facts and photos on Columbia Ranch (Retroweb.com)—
Founded in 1920 as Columbia Pictures Studios.
Built in 1921, this 17-acre Hollywood movie studio was originally the historic Columbia Pictures Studios.
“In 1948, Columbia establishes a television arm, housed under the revived Screen Gems banner, which makes it one of the first studios to invest in television.”
Spring 1970 – “soundstage # 4 caught fire and some Bewitched sets were damaged (especially the kitchen). Not wasting any time, the show shot scenes for The Salem Saga episodes while the kitchen set was repaired and redesigned.”
“In 1972, the nearly bankrupt Columbia Pictures sold its Hollywood location at Sunset and Gower and moved over the hill to Burbank in the San Fernando Valley, where they shared space on the Warner Brothers lot (renamed for a while as “The Burbank Studios”).”
The studio had no backlot, and instead, the Columbia Ranch in Burbank was used for exteriors.
The Ranch started in 1934, as a 40 acre plot purchased by Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures Corporation.
“Over the years, Columbia Pictures sold off much of its 80-acre Burbank ranch to developers. Columbia’s ranch had acted as the studio’s backlot since 1935, with its scenery of grassy park and fountain, Old West street (destroyed by fire in 1970), and facades of city buildings, townhouses and suburban homes (including the Bewitched house).”
A 1957 aerial photo “shows the single soundstage Columbia built at the ranch. Later, in the late 1950s, a second stage was built right next to it. Also, you can make out Columbia’s special effects water tank with its sky backing almost dead center. Up to right where there’s a semi-circular backing was the spot the lamasery set was built for Frank Capra’s LOST HORIZON. Today that portion of the lot has a large drugstore and a parking lot. Many year ago Columbia sold off a portion of the lot to a developer.” – Richard P.
“The real street used in the Blondie movies was right near CBS Studios. I took some photos when I was there last year. One of the houses was later recreated at the Columbia/Warner ranch…which later became the I Dream of Jeannie house.” – Anthony
“The (new) “re-created” Blondie house at the Columbia Ranch from the early 1940s was indeed used for the exterior on Jeannie, as well as Mr.Wilson’s house on Dennis, and the Anderson house on Father Knows Best, during the 1950s/60s. It’s still standing, has most likely been used for numerous other TV shows and movies, as well as commercials throughout the decades.” – Mark J. C.
“[In Bewitched,] I seem to remember the Kravitzes front house exterior being the house that would later become (or by 1970/71 was already) the Partridges’ house [but in the episode “Mary the Good Fairy,”] there’s a closeup of Gladys Kravitz gasping as she sees the police picking up Mary. and Mrs. Kravitz is [standing instead on the front porch of] the Donna [Reed] house (and also Dennis Mitchell’s house).” – Mark J. C.
“I think they used a different exterior for the Kravitz house in that two-parter as the former house suffered some damage in a backlot fire.” – Anthony
In 1970, three successive fires (in January, April and August) destroyed half the lot
In mid-1971, became a combined Columbia and Warner ranch
1990 – Columbia left, and ranch became The Warner Ranch
“All of the houses on the Warner Ranch are now complete structures. I don’t think there are any “facades” left. Some of the “facades” have been enclosed within the past decade to protect the sets from water damage.” – William F., Jr.
Some of the Shows that Filmed on Columbia Ranch—
Father Knows Best
The Donna Reed Show
Hazel
The Hathaways
The Farmers Daughter
Our Man Higgins
Gidget
Bewitched
I Dream of Jeannie
The Flying Nun (Convent set)
The Monkees
Route 66
The Partridge Family – exteriors AND interiors (on soundstages at ranch)
Camp Runamuck
Here Come the Brides
The Wackiest Ship in the Army
Fantasy Island
Eight is Enough
Columbia Ranch lagoon and berm seen in Gidget.
Columbia Ranch Western Street seen in The Monkees.
Home of Major Tony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie.
Home of The Partridge Family…a facade rebuilt following a backlot fire in 1970.
The Ranch’s New York Street as seen in Bewitched.
Columbia Ranch lagoon as seen in I Dream of Jeannie.
Post-fire aerial view of the Columbia Ranch in 1970.
(Bullet points and photos courtesy of Retroweb.com)
I have been dying to show Maureen our new hangout…the caretakers house. I cased the joint again right after school, just to make sure I can still make entry. Seeing the window is just slightly ajar, it looks exactly how Jimmy and I left it.
Our house below…
Tonight, is date night, Maureen and I will have a picnic supper inside this really nice house we just inherited…
Our school pictures below…Maureen on the left, Donnie on the right.
Sure, we have no furnishings yet, but we’re just a young couple starting out. All our utility bills seem paid, everything works, that’s most important. So it’s time to just relax with my girl- friend- buddy- pal.
I’m not in the mood to be chased or hunted tonight. I just want to show this super foxy chic just how cool she really is!
Lots of older guys hit on my girlfriend and some even offer her rides in their fancy cars, I’ve seen it attempted. She always says (No)!
I’m telling you, there is (no one) I would rather share a fox hole with. She’s got my back!
We have packed a basket full of goodies. Peanut butter and and jelly sandwiches will be the main entree. I snuck 2 of my dads cheap beers out from his fridge.
I have my own fridge now, it’s just empty at the moment. Maureen and I may cook next time…it’s doable, we soon will both agree. I brought some Hershey’s Kisses for later, always thinking ahead!
But what I most look forward to is making popcorn. I have Jiffy-Pop hidden under a cloth in the picnic basket. This table cloth is hiding an assortment of, girly things, such as a red rose, Hershey’s Kisses, and reading material…
No BB guns or buck knives,tonight.
I will share the surprise items with her as soon as we unpack. We have a cassette player, I checked that box before leaving home. It has a two-hour tape. One side is Led Zeppelin and the other side is Steely Dan and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
All that is left to do now is to go through a hole in the fence. I just made it earlier this afternoon. Impossible to see from the inside due to shrubs, it is hardly noticeable when walking down the public street…outside.
My guess, it will last us a couple weeks until it’s found and fixed. I only need it tonight, anyhow.
I already know this girl can climb with the best of them. Fearless, I call her!… She has nothing left to prove. She was trained well. But tonight, she won’t have to climb.
I will do all the dirty work this evening, cut her a hole in the fence, fall through a window and be as smooth as Chevy Chase as I open the front door. I will then escort her and our picnic basket inside, across the threshold.
All goes accordingly, and as we tour our new home together.
Press play…Graham Nash
Her expressions are of surprise and amazement. She asks, while looking around, “Where are the bedrooms”…”Great question”… I quickly respond. I pick up the picnic basket and say “Follow me…I’m one step ahead of you”
We excitedly run up the stairs. We have the pick of two bedrooms that both look over a vast expanse of the backlot. We settle down in the one that we feel has the best view.
Summer is about to start, the tall eucalyptus trees are throwing long dark shadows on the Bewitchin’ Pool below us. We can see the Bavarian village that Young Frankenstein recently finished filming on, off in the distance. The towers and irregular rooftops look like layers on top of a cake. The pictures we see through our windows appear like album covers. Everything is extra groovy tonight.
The Ford Bronco even makes a courtesy drive by, slowly, on the dirt road behind us. We can’t quite tell who the lonely guard is tonight.
The setting sun casts a bright orange hew on the distant Bavarian village. It’s still painted exactly as it was in that film.
An Art Director couldn’t ask for more of a scenic atmosphere or background.
Maureen begins to unpack our basket as I fiddle with the radio/ cassette player.
“A candle”… Maureen asks?
“Yes, it will be dark soon, it’s a very small candle don’t worry” I sheepishly speak and smile simultaneously…”Oh, I’m not worried, just asking,” she adds.
“Ooohhh, nice pick, this looks like a good MAD magazine!” she begins to get excited…
“Popcorn?” her next question, as she holds it by the wire handle…”how will we pop this?”
“Downstairs, on our new oven top” I remind her. She turns all smiles and giggles and says “Let’s do it!”
My heart flutters
“Let’s make popcorn!” she says!
“Sure…sure Popcorn, yes, Popcorn,” of course, as I realize what she meant!
Downstairs, we pop corn as Steely Dan plays…“Reelin in the Years.”
Back upstairs, in our master bedroom, we share an apple. Then a jelly sandwich. The moon, in a crescent shape, is beginning to rise.
“This is the time the owls come out to hunt… let’s just listen to nothing for a bit.” She agrees… moments later, two owls swoosh, screech and dive in the field in front of us. Silhouetted against what is now a very dark blue sky.
Well that is as romantic as it gets I think to myself, watching owls hunt!
So out break the Hershey’s Kisses and we stick one in each others mouth…. like any grown up couple would do.
We lay down on the magically carpeted floor together, just as the moon peaks inside our bedroom window with its romantic blue tones. The leaves on the trees are blowing in a gentle breeze, I hit play on the cassette tape deck again…
Our mouths bask in chocolate…but our ears bask in the music.
Stairway to Heaven begins to play as only Stairway to Heaven can play…perfectly!
We crack open two Burgermeisters to toast this event. Our favorite song helps begin our first evening in our new pad.
Cheers Maureen, your the best side kick a fella can have…
Thanks MGM, everything’s sensational, as usual.
This is the type a moment that you wish never ends!
A Stairway to Heaven really exists in MGM
Written and lived by Donnie Norden and Maureen Miller
Having been captured recently by Big George, I knew it would just be a matter of time before this day would happen… Today is that day.
As Jimmy and I ride our bikes around MGM today after school, we head down Overland. It is the street that separates the front lot from the backlot. We are on the Lot 2 side and naturally we check to see who is working the guard shack over on the Lot 1 side of the street.
If it’s friend we will cross the street to visit. If it’s a foe, as it appears it is, we will just mostly ride on the backlot side, just looking inside the fence.
We see Les Green across the street, we consider him dangerous since he would love to catch me. Frankly, he is too old. So we ignore him and really don’t consider him a threat.
Lester…pictured below… in the West Gate shack.
Doing just that, staying focused on our side, I hear him shout over top of the few cars going down Overland. We turn our heads, Jimmy and I, as we stop pedaling. Les is as animated as I have ever seen him. He is standing outside the gate and is on of the dirt sidewalk beyond the guard shack. His arms are waving as he continues to shout, he has something clenched is his hand…some papers.
Les looks like he’s trying to get a star’s autograph with his paper in hand …jumping in the air… waving. It’s like I’m Elvis Presley or Gene Kelly…I quickly process this strange image…
I can hear now and as the traffic stops for a moment, he is shouting at me- particlarly me, not Jimmy. “We gotcha, we got everything,… your house… your phone number, and your name!”
We sit and stare but quickly we jaywalk over to him, we all meet at the West Gate guard shack. He proudly hands it to me, “Read it and weep” he says. “This is fresh from the press, it just got dropped off by my Captain”
It is 5 pages and quickly realize I know almost everyone on it, I sit myself down inside his shack while taking this all in… Jimmy crams in next to me and my spinning stool seat. We read slowly, we may never see this paper again. I’m flattered I mean so much to them. I was just caught a month ago so they revised this whole thing…. just because I’m on it.
Les stands outside his own shack as we box him out. We go over each and every name and who captured each trespasser. We see who is worth their salt in security…naturally Big George seems to be MGM’s Top Dog!
Al Black and Bob Trigger Happy Coleman are next in line. Bob takes them… dead or alive…we chuckle. We have been here awhile and are barely through page 3. I look up to see Les bent over and leaning into a car window that wants to enter the lot…I quickly roll this captured list up and stick it under my sweatshirt, as I push Jimmy towards our bicycles. We silently ride off without saying… good-bye.
So now I have me this fancy list fresh off the MGM printing press. It can double as my rolodex, If I need a friend’s number, well it’s probably on this list.
So far, 1974 has been magical. It picked up right where ’73 left off. TV show after TV show, movie after movie, my event calender has been very active. I barely have time to go toschool…
Due to my unique and unusual hobby, I have become very popular when on campus. My English teacher and I have become very good friends. She is a very special grown up to me. She knows I’m different, and so is she. She says I remind her of her boyfriend, who she offers up to meet me. He is an inmate at a local prison…Terminal Island.
Well, I am flattered, as I accept her invitation. We agree to take a field trip after school, just me and teacher… in her two-seater 914 Porsche. Feel Flows, the Beach Boys classic, plays from her Blaupunkt radio.
As we speed cross the large green Vincent Thomas Bridge, I can see all of Long Beach in the distance. As her hair blows in the wind, Debby points, “that’s where we’re headed… that prison over there!”
We arrive on this minimum security island… All Along The Watchtower, by Jimi Hendrix pounds inside my head, as we pass underneath a real watchtower. Debby, dressed in very tight blue jeans and a tight black sweater, clears us for a visitor entry. She looks mouth watering pleasant. Once inside the facility, Terminal Island turns into Temptation Island. For most male inmates, anyway.
Inmate 13 has entered the room. A handsome all-American type that must be extremely popular in here. She introduces me to him, as then she leaves the area. I was not expecting to be alone with a prisoner.
Inmate 13, in his Orange jump suit, sits across from me. I’m wearing jeans, a sweatshirt and tennis shoes. We begin by discussing Debby, our only common ground. He asks, “so, where do you know her from?” I respond, “she is my teacher, we’re on a field trip”…
“How about you?” as I stare back at his shackled arms… “I’m her boy friend, or was, until I was extradited here!”
Our eyes lock together… a stone cold silence takes over the room, at this moment… he then continues… “I was framed and I am being charged with importing cocaine from Brazil in aerosol cans!” Well I’ll be dammed, this guy is bad ass! I think to myself… even though, everyone in here probably thinks they were framed!
I realize this is not the scared-straight moment that Debby was hoping for… I’m actually impressed by #13 in orange… friendly exchanges conclude my first ever prison experience.
This guy has it all… looks, charm, an international business, women in Brazil, a woman in Manhattan Beach… Debby… and a Federal Trial he is sure he can win, based off his extradition process being flawed. Now, he has a 14 year old fan. I see what Debby likes in him… and in me. Bad boys bad boys whatchya gonna do…
I take this experience to the Desilu backlot, as Debbie drops me off… to process this meeting I just shared with inmate 13. I sit on the stairs under a sign that says Sing Sing Prison… Ossinings, New York
This is a maximum security prison set used in the Untouchables, that sits alone, as it towers above an isolated corner on Desilu’s back 40. I like to visit sets that pertain to my mind state… It’s cool that I have my own prison to wonder in!
Heck, I have a whole world to wonder in…
I have forts… or offices, at two major Hollywood Studios. I have produced an 8mm movie on this lot. Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson are filming a blockbuster next to my saloon, where my World Headquarters for Hole in the Wall existed.. until we were suddenly cancelled.
I recently met MGM’s most iconic and dynamic duo, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. I just saw Frankenstein roam the backlot. I have been on the set of Medical Center and have seen Chad Everett, up close, multiple times.
Sydney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx, Jack Cassidy, Broderick Crawford, Peter Lawford, Richard Roundtree, Charlton Heston, Chuck Connors, Edward G. Robinson, and Jimmy Stewart are just some of the stars I have seen in the last two years.
And the sets I have seen in the same time period are just as impressive… from the ancient past or the distant future… they are created for every mood and occasion.
I am strategically hidden most of the time, by a bush or a wall, but always just out of frame. I’m not famous… yet, to anyone who knows me, I’m… Almost Famous!
All stories written and lived by Donnie Norden Edited by DQ
At Desilu, finishing touches are being added to the south western community, built solely for this film, called The Fortune. Mike Nichols is the director. This set has taken many months to build, and is located on the footprint of Stalag 13, exactly where the iconic camp used to stand.
The same construction crew that built this village also helped us earlier with the cantina fort that had a rotted ladder. They were kind enough to build us a new one!
Today I’m gathering information on this production. The film stars Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson. To remain hidden, yet still see the set, we determine that a large grassy hilltop will give us the best advantage. It is impossible to get caught here, even if we’re seen, since we can run in any direction and hiding places are abundant. Like some Vietnam set.
This hilltop has very deep grass, tall trees, sand-paper plants, ohh… and sprinklers. We find where the spinkler system turns on, a major plus when it’s hot out.
This is a man-made hill top. The grass is so deep in certain spots, that we spring over it like leaping deer. Otherwise you just sink underneath it. On one leap, after ascending to my highest peak, I sink to my lowest low, I completely disappear…literally!
This hill has swallowed me whole. I land 15 feet inside it, on my rear end, in some enormous cavern. Jimmy turns around and I’m no where to be found. We were just speaking a minute ago. Poof …no more.
I now realize that this grass we play on sits on top of a wooden rotting structure and this entire place is fabricated. This garden of eden set “above” is supported by a frames that severely rotted termite infested wood. I’m stuck below the surface and “I can’t get out!”
Tree roots dangle above me, back-lit only by the hole that my body just punched. The underbelly of this organic studio prop has gobbled me into its version of studio hell. Heaven above, hellbelow…
The grass fixes itself like nothing happened. I barely see light. Jimmy has no idea about my dilemma or where I went. This sucks!
I shout for Jimmy relentlessly… but to no avail. I would not be surprised if I find skeletons down here from other missing kids.
I have no way to climb out. I’m in quite a predictament. Finally, Jimmy hears my shouts, but helping me will require a rope and he himself could fall in if this collapses any more. He talks into a hole in the earth, which is where I’m located.
We decide to ask for help from the people preparing The Fortune set. Jimmy enlists men with tools, ropes and ladders, who are more than willing to help. I sit in silence, in my hole. Dirt begins to fall inside from an already weak ceiling.
That’s just great, I think, as I wonder my fate. Mom always tell me, “Be careful Donnie!” Now look at me.
I hear lots of talking… Jimmy has recruited a small army to rescue me. The show stops preparing the movie set village for filming and shifts its focus to help me.
Finally, my tiny hole has been discerned. A man with a helmet and harness on… and a flashlight, stares inside. I say “Hello.”
“Oh… it’s you,” as men gather above and laugh downwards. Next, Bam! Down comes an extension ladder and up pops a teenager. I climb out and see that everyone on the set was dialed in to my rescue… I exit to a slight applause.
Studio transportation has a crew cab parked down below, they brought the ladder over. They have all seen me here before. They remember me filming my movie on western street, a few months back. Heck, it was their rolling phone that we used daily at my old saloon fort… to cast women and order pizza. I’m like crew.
Some of these guys, like Charlie, the Manson look-a-like, and me, have even gotten high together. I am handed an ice cold Hawaiian Punch by a pony-tailed Teamster. We all have a real good laugh and go back to our business.
The crew goes back to being a film crew and I go back to being me…
It took a village for this rescue… a studio village.
I feel… Almost Famous.
Above: Base of hill that I disappeared into.
The road in the above picture is located at the base of the my hilltop…
Below: This is where that road ends up… it was once the site of Stalag 13…
Now this road drops you off at the set for Warren Beatty’s latest show… The Fortune (below)
Below: View from the top of this hill, facing Baldwin Hills.
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
Introduction to Igor
Phantom of the Backlots 