My stories always start like this…
Civil War -GWTW recreation…I can’t offer more-I wish I could. This pictorial is basically my pictures trespassing this lot circa 1982.W
“What a find this Ranch was- I took full advantage!”
If I remember correctly – this was a recreation of a Gone with the Wind scene. That would be Scarlett O’Hara…
Sound cart, sensitive equipment. Airplanes flying over have to be waited on. Especially if the time frame of show preceded aircraft, such as what’s being filmed here on this day.
Oak Trees dominate the landscape…
Lake Keezia-Little House on Prairie starring Michael Landon.
Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley was the location most used… but this lake at Golden Oak Ranch was also a location.
Zorro took place here…
Same Bridge -Hazzard County. This lot was a frequent location in this series. Usually, scenes filmed here end up being mixed with The Burbank Studios Backlot.
John Schneider at Gold Oaks. This car usually is going high speed at this location.
Double vision…off to Golden Oaks we go!
You can never have enough action cars…
This show went through a lot of cars if you remember this hit T.V show.
Lunch is served -to a couple of trespassers…
Life is good here–maybe I’ll find some Gold!
Myself, my Sheltie- Grady-this dog caught frisbees par excellence.. Jimmy, my trespassing buddy for well over a decade took this photo. This day we added another studio to our resume.
There’s Gold in these hills.
March 9, 1842 Don Francisco Lopez became rich! Hence-Golden Oak Ranch
My history here started with a trespass in 1982
My pictures take you along with me on another trespass. I had no background information as we arrived at an open main gate. Lucky for us, filming was taking place, so traffic coming through the main gate was allowed. Just wave “hello” and don’t come to a complete stop. That’s how you trespass… in a car!
I’m 22 and my friend Jimmy and need a backlot fix. Having been to all the major studios, several times-Jimmy suggested “Let’s try Placerita Canyon, there’s a studio out that way.” We arrive in a VW Square back with a dog anxiously waiting in the backseat. With filming taking place, we feel right at home. Actors in civil war costumes provide atmosphere and a female, playing Scarlett O’Hara is wondering in a field. Within an hour of our arrival, lunch is served.
This is how this trespass begins on a ranch we have yet to explore. After a filling lunch, and a brief nap-we soldier on. Nothing is more fun than exploring sets for the first time. The only guard is at the main gate. We look old enough to be crew, and I doubt this ranch gets trespassed much-if ever.
Here are some facts about this place we had no idea of at the time we first visited. Walt DisneyProductions leased this land for the Mickey Mouse Club-“Adventures of Spin and Marty” in the 1950’s. The company bought the 315 acre ranch in 1959. More land was acquired and quickly, this movie ranch increased to 890 acres. That’s bigger than any studio or film ranch.
The gold found on this site started the California Gold Rush. A heliport exists here, two creeks, a waterfall, and several Western sets. In May 2013, Disney expanded with 6 new stages and offices. this site would be named Disney/ABC Studios, at The Ranch.
Desperate Housewives was a show on ABC that was a staple on Sunday nights for 8 years. All episodes were filmed at Universal Studios because Disney in Burbank did not have the capacity for this humongous T.V series. Often, they had 6 stages on the Universal Lot and an entire street on the backlot. This show had 2 sometimes 3 basecamps. It was the biggest thing going at Universal.
Because it’s Disney, tour guides were instructed not to mention it, Universal will not promote Disney. But they will cash their checks, this was the most expensive series on television for 8 years. So as trams passed by, the show stuck signs up promoting themselves “Desperate Housewives” as the guides remained silent on orders from upper ups.
Finally after year 8 completed, ABC /Disney Ranch built facilities took move the show to this ranch. They built another Wisteria Lane out at the Placerita location and the Golden Egg Universal that pumped extraordinary rental fees into their coffers dried up. Marc Cherry, the show creator, surprisingly pulled the plug on the series before ever filming at the ranch. The ratings were great, but he had some problems brewing with the girls. Nicollette Sheridan had a 20 million dollar lawsuit against him, pitting cast members against each other.
I lived that turmoil, I often received emergency calls to power up separate make rooms because the girls were having cat fights. The girls were jealous of perks others received, motor homes had to be top quality, every girl thought she was the rating draw. Oh what fun that series was. I have seen Ms. Sheridan pull up in a Ferrari, wearing practically nothing, go inside her make up tent, only to get into it with Teri Hatcher. No one was sure who the star was. Teri Hatcher was the big name, but Eva Longeria rose to stardom on this series.
Each year, heads got bigger and bigger finally pushing Marc Cherry to fold his hand and the anxiously awaited move to Golden Oaks Ranch never took place…
Written and Lived by…Donnie Norden
Phantom of the Backlots 