Saloon prepped for Maverick…
Nothing like a set full of horses.
This was the first T.B.S picture on the roll of 36 pics. I had just got this camera, a Minolta, for Christmas. This happens to be Christmas Day 1975. The shutter snapped, then the roof snapped louder. My shiny- fancy camera got a big dent but we both survived. When I caught up to my friends, we went driving around in costume. The Wantons had wardrobe inside it, hats and coats for all of us. The car was a stick, I wasn’t old enough to drive and I nearly crashed into the Walton House. All this- while you folks were watching ‘A Walton Christmas’ episode on television.
Same angle from a Chapman Crane vehicle. Roof is unsafe, take it from me!
This street is long gone, built in 1957. You can’t have a backlot without a saloon…
Where the heck the heck did I leave my horse?
I’ll have what he’s having bartender…
I almost died when the roof of this bank fell through. Half my body was dangling in the upstairs windows. My upper torso was precariously balanced on the roof. This was possible thanks to my camera strap. Quite a sight indeed. The story just begins up there that wonderful Merry Christmas Day in 1975
I see the Walton’s are in town…
Those Walton’s know a good watering hole when they see one. Grandpa “fires up” in his truck before pushing open those swinging doors… That’s the rumor round these parts anyhow!
Last Chance Saloon…Show Downs daily!
Bonanza has filmed in Paramount’s Saloon, The Desilu Saloon, and Warner Brothers. The family that drinks together has the best chance for a long and successful T.V series.
Bring on-The Dancing Girls
We take all currencies-Gold, Copper, Silver and Paper
This behavior always gets the best of ya!
When Maverick says “I’ll Return !” He keeps his word. Decades apart!
Area 14, 13 and 12 featured in tonight’s episode of craziness. Map from 1967, pre- Walton House. Notice the circle around the jungle, dirt roads take you to and from sets in this part of the backlot. We always enter the lot off California Street, that’s where we park. First set always was the Walton house, shed, and treehouse. If you can climb the chain link barb wire fence covered with ivy.
We miss the the old west;
I’m 22 years old now a days, considered by law enforcement to be a grown up. But, we also look old enough to blend in…unlike when I was 12. There are pros and cons in everything, I suppose. All the Culver City Studio backlots were long gone. MGM’s Backlot 3 was a saloon haven. Desilu/ 40 Acres had one-a very good one. One of the first places I ever got drunk was at Desilu.
Jimmy, Danny, Pat, Tim and myself had a hankering to go back in time, back to the old west. Tim, who was a background actor on Happy Days at this time, came up with an idea. Tim is the only one who still is at studios all the time. His brother Sean doubled for a lead actor on Blade Runner.
That feature was a ninety day shoot-all nights. Ridley Scott directed this film that used The Burbank Studios New York Street exclusively. I was in-between studios. MGM Film Labs just shut down. My next job was next to the The Culver Studios at a film distribution warehouse. I was in between my trespassing life and attempting to build a career.
So far, trespassing is still really my true career at this time. I spent about 30 nights sneaking on Blade Runner. I saw everything you can imagine. Acid rain, Asian street walkers with large anaconda snakes wrapped around them. Ostriches, hookers and spinners compete on water covered sidewalks with outdoor live food stands.
Cranes on set merge with liquid nitrogen. Special effects inject it to create the lift-off of the Spinners into the night sky. Androids being hunted by humans-what can go wrong. Like craziest drug trip ever, with out drugs. This film just “wrapped out” recently at this time.
Each one of my pals tonight visited the Blade Runner set with me on one night or the other. We all have our own memories, especially the mid night catering as the clock strikes 12.
From dusk till dawn, dinner was served at mid night promptly. I would hand craft a well laid out tray of gourmet food. Then, I would disappear into the darkest parts of this backlot. Often, the Walton front porch was the eating spot, quiet- dark, and surrounded by jungle. The closest humans are on a very lit up New York Street. The lighting shines so bright that it can be seen from outer space. Yet, the canopy in this jungle area blocks all the hectic commotion from a couple of villages away.
These valley studios quickly replaced the backlots I lost in Culver City. Even better, the guards don’t know me here. I always had call sheets in my pocket. proof that- I belong!
I crave this movie stuff-just like a plate of Prime Rib and Lobster!
I digress, but I became very familiar with all things Warner Brothers. At this point this studio was The Burbank Studios. Around 1986, it rededicated itself as Warner Brothers. I was then driving trams and Warner Brothers rented our trams and drivers for the 12th biggest party in history. Sandwiched between Woodstock and the J.F.K birthday bash.
A Tram in search of a saloon.
I‘m the one with the gimpy leg…
History waits for No -One!
This backlot was all things Waltons in the 70’s. Every storefront had set decor, costumes could be found in picture cars. But shows get canceled and channels change.
Other shows would take over the backlots. Maverick returned. James Garner and I crossed paths in a scene. It was in front of this very saloon we are visiting tonight. The Fall Guy made a guest appearance here, that day I met Roy Rogers. If only they knew I was a trespasser…
My older version of “The Hole in the Wall Gang” reunites tonight in a saloon. The meeting takes place in a dark, deserted ghost town.
I frame this story I’m about to share with past history and future history not yet lived. With all this lead in, lets go have some drinks…shall we?
The Climb
We begin this night by climbing in behind the ‘recently canceled’ Waltons house. “No more of those kids” we all laugh as we climb a barb wire fence behind the chicken coupe shed. “Those Waltons are all grown up now, but not us!” we snicker.
We are not even stoned yet, but it’s never to soon to get into character. Tim breaks out a bag of Magic Mushrooms. We chow down large caps and the stems they’re attached to. Next to our make shift counter are empty chicken cages. Crude farm tools also persist from the series. This includes a big saw blade. An outdoor smell of hay remains from the series.
None of us know what that family even did for a living. Oh well, another fine set becomes ours.
Double vision is kicking in-Two different backlots
We had a fort in the red version of this set in Desilu. We had so many parties in the Mayberry R.F.D home. Inside little exists, just a stairway upstairs. The red one was torn down, this clone set sits empty at T.B.S. Both these sets are exact, inside and out.
We all feel a “buzz” coming on a half hour into tonight’s odyssey. We started off as quiet as could be, talking very low. There are no guards or any other signs of life, which allows us to become lackadaisical. The mushrooms are adding flavor and colors to this pitch dark setting.
We are, Out in the Woods
Every bush, tree and vine acknowledge us as we pass alongside and underneath. Crickets sing, a bull frog croaks as we pass a tiny lake. Flamingo Road filmed here and Howard Duff had an accident, falling off a hydrofoil. He was pulling up to shore, that’s all the scene required. The big spinning fan blade was moving too fast. It caused Howard to dump below the surface. I had just arrived on set. I had just climbed in the jungle area like Tarzan.
As the corrupt Sheriff Titus Semple struggled greenish colored water, everyone on this set was “busting up.”
I just climbed in, this was the first set I came upon. I worked my way behind Morgan Fairchild, who was watching from the lake edge, just out of frame. I follow her lead and stand beside her as this scene unfolds. Unexpectedly, this craft flips. Morgan begins laughing so hard-she hugs me, laughing furiously.
As if I was Mark Harmon. I’m a trespasser, on the lot for 10 minutes. That’s enough time to be embraced by the star. Every time I come to this studio, I meet big stars. This backlot always has something going on, from Kung Fu to The Dukes of Hazzard. Even Maverick is back, now in living color.
My mind is a kaleidoscope of a collection of images, each with there own story…
I don’t need movie stars to have fun here. That said, it was pretty funny to see Howard Duff the white suit get dumped into the drink. That scene got cut out, no matter how funny that moment was, not what they were hoping for. You couldn’t do a retake, he was all wet and different looking as he walked out of the jungle lagoon.
A vacant backlot is pretty darn fun. That’s what we have ahead of us tonight. We walk down this winding jungle road. It delivers us to the old west.
Illusions fill our confused minds, images come out of the dark and tantalize us..
The Queen of Hearts is taking a walk
. You haven;t seen security tonight have ya? …You never know who you may run into on psilocybin.
For those who have never indulged, the high resembles images from a rock video. I worked on this video with Aerosmith. Title –Sunshine.
As we pass slowly through this mysterious jungle, we see the silhouettes of buildings on Laramie Street. We each brought a quart of beer. Colt 45, Miller Malt Liquor and a couple of Foster Lagers. Beer from the Outback being drank on the backlot. We got something for everybody tonight-On Location at-The Burbank Studios
Silence is broken
The sound of a motor scooter can be heard and appears to be following our tracks. We take cover like raccoons in the old Ike Godsey country store on the edge of town. We lay low as the scooter with a security guard operating appears to be investigating something. He must be hearing things, things being My Hole in the Wall Gang.
We carry our large round beer bottles protectively, like a football. Slowly, we are moving the chains.
The saloon is the end zone, we are close to scoring. As the ‘put put’ scooter disappears, we reappear and transition from a jungle to…the old west. Mission accomplished. We now occupy the bottom floor bar area of the Laramie Street Saloon.
Twist off the tops and have a toast!
Cling, cling, is the next sound you hear as we toast at the bar. It is so dark that color magically takes form. The next thing you know, a strong pot odor fills the air inside our saloon. We are feeling as good as can be and like in any saloon, the talking gets louder and louder. Sports talk fills the the sound void.The first backlot sports bar is now talking Dodgers.
It is so dark inside here. You have to reach out and touch things that dimly appear. This is just to see what is real and what isn’t. All the while, we keep getting louder.
One by one we head upstairs to the saloon roof. We share stories as we pass the the joint around. We duck down on each hit so the “cherry” can’t be seen from the street below. I laugh, “If The Doobie Brothers could see us now!”
Louder and louder we get as we try to out do each other story wise...Until
That silly little scooter has returned with a jeep accomplice. We now have two motorized sheriff posse circling below us with their lights of. We lay flat on the roof as they park there motorized horses and enter the swinging doors.
As if they are looking for a “Showdown.”
We got them out numbered, They probably got a good whiff of “spirits”as they entered.
We hear no talking, just footsteps. 2 guards, 5 trespassers. We are too high to go to jail. If they come through the roof doorway, we will jump. First to the balcony, another jump to where the dirt road they parked on.
We could take off with their “horses” while they search for sounds of ghosts.
We wait for our Que, we will react when need be. Everything is quiet, an eerily silence because… we know they are waiting below us. Pure silence as our minds race to a conclusion of what to do next. We have one way out of this studio. We need to retreat to the chicken coupe next to the Walton former residence. After a half hour library time. they finally move on after never coming up to the roof.
We exit and backtrack through the jungle, retracing our steps, but this time we run. It’s not fun to climb a barb wire fence while being chased, nor extremely stoned. We are happy to leave without a visit to the watch commander. The funnest part of this trip was outsmarting the motorized security hunters. A typical cowboy adventure, all that’s left on the roof is a bunch of empty beer jugs.
Take that sheriff
Yee haw everybody!
Written and lived by…Donnie Norden
Phantom of the Backlots 