reviews – Phantom of the Backlots

MGM/Lorimar-Dallas TV Series

February 7, 2026 Phantom of the Backlot2 Comments

J.R. Ewing played by Mr. Larry Hagman

Bobby Ewing played by Patrick Duffy

Sue Ellen played by Linda Gray

Pam Ewing played by Victoria Principal

Miss Ellie Ewing, The matriarch of the Family, mother of J.R, Gary, and Bobby Ewing, played by Barbra Bell, replaced briefly by Donna Reed due to health issues, she recovered to return back to…The ranch.

Ray Krebbs played by Steve Kanaly

Donna Krebbs, played by Susan Howard

Jock Ewing played by Jim Davis

Lucy Ewing played by Charlene Tilton

What a cast…That’s the menu of meat and potatoes that fed this hit television series from 1978 to to 1991

I get by with a little help from my friends for this tale on this iconic series, Lets dive in the Norfolk pool…

A friend of mine named Paul Vakay was the Best Boy for Set Lighting Department on this top Rated T.V Series that ran from April, 1978 through May,1991. Paul’s Dad ran the MGM Set Lighting department. in the 50’s, 60’s and into the 70’s. This job is best learned from the ground up, so before you become a lamp operator or Best Boy in the era of Arc lights. A show Best Boy over sees all things Electric. Set Lighting starts with Rigging sets with heavy cable that is necessary to distribute the power where lighting will be taking place.

The Best Boy is a very important puzzle piece. He is the “go to guy” for all things lighting on any set. The term itself is a spin off over time when department heads would request from other crews there best and most capable “Chief assistant” to fulfill needs by the department head. Second in command to the “Gaffer” and work with “juicers” to fulfill electrical demands. I “Donnie” was a “Juicer” that made sets “Hot”at Universal. Each show’s Best Boy on our lot in my Universal career had my “pager number” for emergencies or other electrical needs. Sometimes I worked with 10 Best Boys a day in several capacities. Generators Operators, Special Effects, Transportation, all have large electrical needs. The power is delivered from a building with huge generators located The Power House. This facility pumps the juice, D.C “Direct Current” juice, which in the day was the power standard.

An example of a Powerhouse and every studio had one of these in the day.-at Universal, we had 7 2000 amp D.C -Westinghouse generators feeding D.C to every stage. Best Boys contact the 40 shop “juicer” to throw in the switches to energize the stage they are working in. Our Universal Powerhouse has been used in Vintage- Horror movies as a laboratory because of all the classic- real switches and meters- throw in a switch, if polarity is correct- The Monster will – “Come Alive.”

Tunnels and conduits run to every stage on the lot below each stage. The bowel’s of the studio is where electricity spreads its tentacles to shows in need. Many Powerhouse operators ended up with Leukemia, no thanks to magnetic fields which get created in these cement cellars. Asbestos, a strong carcinogenic, insulates cables. It took decades to realize all the negative effects working in and around this environment. The Golden Age of Hollywood came with side effects.

A.C “alternating current” has replaced D.C. A very expensive option but lights flicker on A.C, unsuspecting by the Naked Eye, but jumps out when film gets processed. This is a technical business where lots can go wrong. Remember, power is invisible, odorless, and always ready to strike. More electricians die annually than police officers get killed in that line of work. I salute those who master this world of movie set power.

“Bull Cans” are on most every stage wall and provide power to the copper inside these 50 ft. one hundred pound cables that tie into spider boxes by connect cable lugs to buss bars. Often, the cable goes up to the top off the perms or catwalks that exist above the stage and over look each set and every room on whatever set is below you. This is…set lighting country-don’t be afraid of heights in this career.

Generators replace Bull Cans on exterior and location work. My job as a Local 40 ‘juicer” was to make sure power sources were available to breath life into the cables after all the rigging is complete. We usually pre-light with the “gaffer” who knows just what ambiance or light effects are needed. This way when the stars arrive and camera get set up we are ready to roll.

This is a well oiled and polished machine, no department wants to hold up shooting so this job is all about prepping. On cue, when everything is tied in…the juicer will say ‘Coming Hot”-magically the set comes to life. Amperage is now flowing through cable like blood flows inside your body, it’s the life source. Heat rises and these perms get extremely warm. Lighting throws off heat, a summer day- up high- with the set totally lit creates more problems, make up on actors may melt and make acting uncomfortable or impossible.

Another responsibility I had on sets is Hooking up 30 ton Air Handlers, the more lighting, the air needed. I was a very popular guy on hot days. A lot of work and cable goes into installing portable air. Grips, Set Lighting, and Special Effects are the departments that you find up high in places raccoons like to hide out!

Welcome to Hollywood

So enough tech mumbo jumbo, we are ready to film….

On the Dallas set, the company had 4 stages committed to them on this very busy Lorimar, formerly MGM, main lot known as Lot 1. Dallas is the Top Dog on this lot as the 80’s arrive. CHiPS, Little House on the Prairie, Flamingo Road, Fame are also clients in need of stages. The lot formerly know as MGM is in transition like a subsidiary of Warner Brothers. That studio is known at this time as The Burbank Studios, the T.V Division was booming and one home was not enough, but MGM is now available for occupying first class film making facilities.

The former MGM Lot was a busy as any time in its history. Rigging crews work 3 shifts round the clock-rigging and striking. This cable only stays put on sets that are continuously used. Dallas had 4 stages with rigging left in place.

My friend Paul from Local 728 became a lamp operator on this series after training – rigging these stages and sets. Paul, formerly a baseball star at Pepperdine up by Malibu, his dream was not ‘Rigging,” it was baseball. He could pitch a mean game until he tore his rotator cuff, where pitching careers usually end. Now Paul falls back on his father, the Department Head. Paul works his way onto this series and his life changes dramatically. Not only is he on the top rated series, actresses take notice of this fine looking surfer/ lamp operator.

Ted Turner bought MGM in 1986 and sold it to Lorimar, who already had a foothold on the property. Dallas had 4 continuous Stages, 5,18,19 and 23. Knotts Landing also had 4 Stages at MGM as the Lorimar impact began to dominate the studio landscape.

Stage 5 housed the Oil Baron’s Club and various “swing sets.” Side story here is- passing the dressing rooms between the 4 Stages clumped together, the smell of marijuana often filled the air. Drugs, especially weed and coke twisted its snake like head not only with cast but crew also. The industry at this time was like Woodstock, with out the war going on anymore. Big money and fast times is how this industry rolled in the 70’s and 80’s.

I can tell you first hand the same environment was taking place at Universal on all your favorite series. The Hulk, The Bionic Woman, Airwolf, Cheech and Chong and the Blues Brothers could party with the best of them, different time in space in that era. I don’t want to personalize who did what, things happened like this inside any gate at every studio. I digress…

Stage 18 was the Ewings living room, there was also an attached dining room and this stage and Stage 19 had sliding doors and two stages could become one stage inside, this offers versatility.

Stage 19 had “swing sets”, sets that fit an episode but are not permanent. It was on Stage 19 Paul, the source for this remembrance we are sharing, met his first wife while on top of a ladder outside the living room set when a spark would later ignite a relationship/marriage. While on location in Texas, Paul’s eventual first wife would stand-in for her mother while on summer break from college. She would later meet Paul at Culver City. Stage 19’s sets constantly changed to introduce new cast members, love interests or simple office sets, Susan Howard, who played Donna Krebs-“Ray Krebs wife was the mother of Paul’s first wife. Pretty cool how they met.

Stage 23-The Ewing’s back yard, based of this actual location in Norfolk,Texas. That yard on location was dominated by a swimming pool. This was a difficult task to match the real location to the stage version, matching the daytime lighting on this summer location to that of the stage mock up. Most backyard scenes were on Stage 23. Location provides ‘establishing shots” cleverly edited to match Culver City’s sets.

This describes how the MGM Lot and Lorimar Pictures blended together.When the studio operated as MGM, before the purchase, Lorimar rented everything from stages to cable from MGM. Lorimar kept MGM afloat through payment on rentals. Lorimar was going bigger and bigger, how high can they fly. The answer is….they bought the studio. My old MGM Sign and Leo the Lion overlooking the studio and city was replaced by Lorimar Telepictures, A thriving upstart company replaces the most legendary first class film lot in American History. MGM fades to black just like the backlots that preceded this evolution. T.V is King!

This show became so big, the cast was recognized wherever they went. Most actors just dealt with it, the trade off of being a star and all the fame, success and money that follow you. Larry Hagman had a bodyguard named Tim, who was also a stand in on this series. Between the actors salaries and the residuals, money rained down like Pennies from Heaven…

That show was done at MGM in 1981, starring Steve Martin, as this series was being filmed. CBS was the network this series aired on. The number 7 actor on this series in those days was making 35 k an episode folks. You couldn’t watch a football game on CBS without “What’s next on Dallas.” Usually during a Dallas Cowboy football game. Our country relaxed with –All things Dallas!

Larry Hagman lived in Malibu and came to work in a two seat Mercedes coupe. often enjoyed a drink on set, or across the street from Lorimar at the legendary Backstage Bar. Larry had his own Red Booth vinyl seating corner in this legendary bar. The stars of Combat drank here-at wrap, before going home -7 shot glasses greeted the cast after playing Army all day. A legendary dark dive bar across the street from MGM’s South gate.

This hit show became a machine, like a Ferrari, Today, the shiny show that dominated television on the most wanted, hard to have success- Friday Night Prime Time Network has been relegated to reruns. I’m surprised it isn’t more popular today. Kinda hard to locate on television today. The Waltons still dominate the rerun world, but all those other T.B.S Lorimar series remain stored in film cans, like a genie returning to its bottle. Things went so smoothly on this set that often shooting was finished by lunch time, and prep started immediately for the next day. They stayed a head of the curve, that is the key to success, don’t get bogged down. be professional, you know what’s needed, Do It.

Success follows hard work…this show is an example as all the departments come together to create memories that will be ever captured on film. There are just as many fantastic stories behind the scenes as what you see on your T.V….

A list of Directors includes the stars itself.

Lorimar could not pay stars more money so being a Director became a perk. Patrick was a natural, Larry was shrewd, always asking the camera operator what the shot would and should look like. The camera operator and set up continuity, absolutely essential to film. Just ask Thomas Ince.

Written and lived by….Donnie Norden “with a little help from his friends, Thank you Paul for your insight and detailed memories.

Gomer Pyle – Camp Henderson D.C# 1

January 30, 2026March 11, 2026 Phantom of the Backlot2 Comments

This road-Ince Blvd, named after film pioneer Thomas Ince, leads to this Marine Base.

This puts the lot in perspective in the mid 1960’s. Notice the creek- that’s where we entered in my trespassing adventures. Camp Henderson starts most every visit.

You know you’ve arrived when a MP greets you and paved roads turn to dirt. This set is actually the Main Gate to enter these most historic…40 Acres

The Main Gate to 40 Acres. the guard shack pictured above is where backlot security was posted in this picture pre-Camp Henderson. These 9 square roof hatches are-The Desilu/R.K.O Film vaults in blast proof bunkers. This borders the residential streets of Van Buren and Ince Blvd.

Desilu Studios…NO TRESPASSING

The Batmobile should be arriving soon…The Bioscope sign as put up just for Batman in an episode that drives right behind Camp Henderson. Bioscope is known as the historical hub of silent films and news reels. I would find a Silent Film trailer 60 years after this was filmed. the trailer turns 100 years old in 2026. Marion Davies had it built. Nitrate Film from the silent days is stored within sight of this main gate. Fireproof cement bunkers protected the film and their propensity from catching fire.This simple prop reflects the depth of film history in and around these 40 Acres…

Sand Point is Camp Henderson and this set is…The Forty Acre-Desilu Guard Shack. I found this report inside this military outpost where studio backlot security operates out of- located on Ince Blvd.

Military Experiments Gone Wrong…

n this picture I took, 2 barracks are missing after collapsing. Only one full barrack stands, a front door and back door seal the barracks on the right side of the pathway. the barracks on the left have open backs as I explained earlier. The flagpole was located left side of that farthest bungalow, that one is also just a front with no backside. The guard shack is blocked by that structure and that’s the area where Sergeant Carter had his car blow up.

Ronnie Schell, Ted Bessell, and Jim Nabors inside the camp. This set was built for this television series in 1964.

Look who’s kissing ‘That Girl”- Donald Hollinger double dips TV Series at Desilu. 1966-to 1971.

Ronnie and Greg Schell, along with myself in the backseat return to Camp Henderson in 2024 to spin some tales, Ronnie teared up and told me stories of all things this series and this Desilu Studio in general. Ted Bessell was one of Ron’s very best friends as was Jerry Van Dyke.A series that never dipped below the Top Ten in ratings. A hit then and a hit now-60 years later…

Ronnie Schell – Pulling Rank!

Paramount Hollywood handled the interiors for this series- but-Thursdays and Fridays were reserved for location work at Paramount Culver City.

***Across from this gas station is the Culver Hotel, a bus bench is just out of view. We often took the bus to the backlot and got off right here across the street. Culver Blvd and Van Buren.***

Al Lewis pictured left-“Grandpa” on The Munsters and a prank by Sgt. Hacker that backfired. Every show that films on 40 Acres funnels down the dirt road and eucalyptus trees that hide the surroundings and leads to the main gate.

I had this lunch pail too, along with The Rat Patrol.

Ready, set ….Place your bet-Yellow Bear or Gomer Pyle.

“Slater-keep your eyes out for those ….Dogs on Duty!–One of my favorite pictures with the Baldwin Hills looking down on the lot, That’s where we watched over this lot from, Slater is following- Gomer racing Yellow Bear in an effort to settle a bet between Sergeant Carter and Sergeant Hacker.

Gomer racing Yellow Bear in an effort to settle a bet between Sergeant Carter and Sargent Hacker.

Carter bet on Hackers horse in the race…Pyle won making both Sergeant’s losers. This road borders the creek and is usually our point of entry.

Friendly Freddie hangs out at the two main gates at this camp. A woman Marine, is actually in disguise to visit her husband but can’t resist “cheap sale.” This chain link fence is Camp Henderson’s other gate, ironically, it separates two camps, the other being-Stalag 13. A row of eucalyptus trees, conceals the camps for camera angles.

Sgt. Ronnie Howard in Opie Joins the Marines.

Green recruit quite out of uniform, I wore shoes like Gomer has on here.

What’s with this Private?

Before the barracks were put up, this set stood here and was used in Andy Griffith. For the die hard backlot detectives-Notice the tree behind squad car. It is in every episode since it was the only tree in the camp. The Barracks were on both sides of this tree, a landmark that stayed after the backlot was torn down.It finally died on its own doing of old age-20 or so years later. A natural landmark, two more exact style of trees also were on the western street close by. We called them-The Hanging Trees, where bad folk find the end of a noose.

Before being Gomer Pyle-The Marine- he worked across this tiny dirt road at Wally’s Filling Station. The camp could not have been built any closer. Behind Gomer would become Camp Henderson.

Same area as pictured below, this is the field where military practice takes place.

***This area would become Camp Henderson in 1964***

Before entering…I can’t believe after all the time I spent being part of this camp I would ever meet any of the stars…especially Mr. Cool Duke Slater. God bestowed me a blessing allowing me to climb into my TV Set and let me pull out Mr. Ronnie Schell. Oh my, I will forever be grateful to experience Camp Henderson with the legend and one of the most popular actors in the 60’s. He’s in everything, not just this series, his memories and stories just moved me like a film reel being rewound to the opening credits. Never, could I possibly imagine that this young trespasser who grew up sneaking in this camp would meet this Shaman of Desilu History. I even had a Gomer Pyle lunch pail. I really enjoyed Sergeant Carter blowing his fuse- Frank Sutton played his role so well. This was my world…

We begin in the La Ballona Creek, just kids having fun on a summer afternoon kicking a can, Like the opening Credits of The Andy Griffith Show, also produced by Danny Thomas. Water in the basin is barely deep enough to float a raft as the creek current drains to the sea. Tarzan filmed across the way from this camp set in the R.K.O. version of the Legend of the Jungle.

Eucalyptus trees line the studio property on our other side. Climbing a 10-foot embankment puts you level with the trees. It’s here you scope the terrain. A dirt road separates you from the first sets you come across, which is the Quonset Huts that that make up this camp. Your first move with the coast clear is to run inside the barracks that stand open end facing the creek.

These barracks have lockers and cots inside and movie cameras easily enter through the open back end and face the front door that when open connect to the roll call center of all things barracks. This is the set where everything we do- day or night usually starts here when trespassing this wild movie ranch. What strikes all who do is fascination – the contents in one of the open-end barracks is roughly 25 TV Sets that are sitting inside. This seemed so odd, like a TV Land commercial several decades before those cable outlets even existed.

Think about it in this context, the programming used on these cable networks today was being made where we play every day. Back in the 1960’s. you only had channels 2-13. To watch Gomer Pyle, you watched channel 2-primetime. This was the era all our favorite TV shows and this backlot was a busy as any in Hollywood back in the days when TV’s replaced theater films and TV dinners replaced family table dining. TVs were like toy boxes stuffed full of images and sounds and commercials usually containing muscle cars, alcohol, and movie and TV advertisements. Everyone smoked it seemed- there were no rules against it!

Many commercials were filmed in backlots, once you dare to come inside these sets, you can’t turn the place off because when you go home and turn your TV on- there it is stating at you, the place you just left.

You have entered…The Magic Kingdom

No risk-no reward was taught to me here on these tempestuous backlots. Many friends refused to cross the line, take risk, fearing a trip to jail and the punishment they may receive- if their parents find out. I’m not that kid, I can talk my way out of most situations and when that doesn’t work-I’m a great climber and run really fast. I only had a few close friends to share this old Bioscope backlot with.

Often, I just traveled here alone which creates its own risks. If you fall through a roof for example, you may not make it out of the fall zone and worse-often there is no one inside or close to hear your pleas for help. On the Gomer Pyle sets, there is no fall danger. Unless the corrugated steel framed with 2 by 4’s inside collapses, which happened in strong winds back in 1975.

I have several friends who are a bit older and joined …The Marines!

I would give tours to actual Marines who watched this series and were inspired to join the Corps. Recruitment soared due to this series. The look on their faces might as well symbolize the raising of the American Flag after a decisive battle. They train in Pearl Harbor, Alaska, and San Diego, yet this set resonates to these highly trained warriors that look up to…Gomer Pyle.

A true Cultural Phenomenon

I saw firsthand how a television show steered a course of teenagers minds looking for adventure into the Armed Forces. I was too young to join but I felt like a soldier, especially leading soldiers around this backlot. Jim Nabors was a good friend of Rams Q.B. Roman Gabriel at this time and often would sing the National Anthem before Rams games. Jim is also known to have visited neighborhood kids at this front entrance-the Ince Gate. He loved cherry lifesavers and handed them out to the local girls trying to catch a glimpse inside. Jim would serenade and pass out treats.

From his arrival at the studio on The Andy Griffith Show-5 years later-he starred in his own series and surpassed that series in the all-important ratings game that pitted these shows against each other depending on the time slots the networks positioned you in. Mayberry R.F.D., Hogan’s Heroes, and Star Trek were stiff competitors. Needless to say, Batman surpassed all the other Superheroes, distancing itself from the first Caped Crusader known around here as Superman. Bruce Lee- “KATO” lived a short walk from here on Van Buren Ave. He had charisma and was our favorite hero- besides Batman.

My friend, neighbor, and fellow trespasser Danny Hancock was Bruce’s biggest fan. Danny has a blackbelt in Tang Soo Do and his instructor, John Natividad was in a Bruce Lee film. Instant “street cred” for John...Kato had a special something about him that transcended beyond just being a TV star-he will forever be a very special spirit. While living on Van Buren- Bruce not only a fine neighbor, he wrote his manifesto on his predicted stardom and achievements his spirit resonated. He had a big dog, a boxer, and this Desilu backlot main gate was part of his every day itinerary in the 2 years “1966-67” he lived next door to this entrance on Ince Blvd… Only the Good Die Young!

This camp is so close to the guard shack that in daytime with the gate open and shack occupied, we would avoid it as to not be seen. Escape is simple since you’re right next to the creek. I did get caught here at the edge of camp, security called the police, after a search and interrogation, the police took down our info on what we call “Scare Cards.”

We were trying to get my friends motorcycle, a Honda 350, down the embankment and back into the creek after riding around the backlot, we knew we were in trouble when the guard saw us in Mayberry. We were pretending to be Barney patrolling, when we saw the real backlot sheriff -we sped away. But reinforcements caught us right before we could wrestle this two wheeled contraption down a steep grade. There is no funner place to ride a motorcycle that this backlot.

In my book-Hole in the Fence-Maureen and I take a dirt bike down these dirt roads and city streets in a romp titled…Born to be Wild.

As we finish this tour of the camp, everything is ground level, no stairs leading up to anything or ladders. When inside a barrack, you see every hole in the sloped roof. You can see the clouds in the sky which translate to mud inside when we get rain. The only floor is by the lockers just to see floor as the door opens, the interiors get wet and smell of mold. The light is natural, no light switches, just sun through holes, windows, and doors or the open-faced backside barracks. It’s neat to see the sun’s rays protrude inward, at night moonlight replaces the sun.

The landscape behind the barracks on the North end towards Stalag 13 is green grass and eucalyptus trees, in summertime-this field dies and turns brown with tumbleweeds taking over and blowing into the old west which lies next door. This was a ranch with a studio built into it. Indians, real ones, once occupied this area below the hills and adjacent to the La Ballona Creek.

This spot where Thomas Ince met Harry Culver while filming the original creek with lush landscape on both sides. That was removed by The Army Corp. of Engineers because of flooding all things alongside this creek. Harry Culver steered Ince away from Inceville- by the sea and into a more favorable area for the westerns Ince was making.

Before Gomer’s sets were constructed, a farm was located here used in the Andy Griffith series titled “Ellie Saves a Female’

Every time we watched a rerun after school, usually sandwiched between Gilligan’s Island or The Munsters, we reenacted the scenes using this camp as fast as our bicycles could get us there. Like we had a buzz on-what we just watched we would now go-relive. You can if you listen closely, still hear Sergeant Carter yelling at Private First Class…Gomer Pyle.

All the channels you will ever need….

Beverly Hills Cop 2-1987

November 20, 2025November 26, 2025 Phantom of the Backlot1 Comment

“That’s a wrap,” Eddie Murphy #67, Tony Scott, a cigar and a movie star in his arm and the entire cast. Enjoy this very special pictorial of my pictures I took on this set in 1987.

Director Tony Scott, fresh off TOP GUN, giving direction to Brigitte Nielsen in her final thrilling scene.Cigar in hand as always, this picture is my favorite one of all I took on this location in The Baldwin Hills Oil Fields. Dent Industries is crooked oil business. I could’nt have posed this better, this content laded direction. Cigar, pointed finger, with hat he wore directing TOP GUN. Picture means more to me now than then. Absolutely great director at work….

Eddie Murphy in his impressive Detroit Lions vintage jacket. He is about to be shot in this plot twister moment…

Brigitte Nielsen right before this action sequence is to begin filming. At this time she is married in real life to Sylvester Stallone

I’m Shotgun alongside the Panavision camera. Sequence is the pivotal twist in this film. Who shoots who…Tony Scott in previous picture is directing our blonde star on her movements, what the camera sees and reaction needed.

Brigitte twists and turns as her character is taken out. The legendary Buddy Joe Hooker is assisting this action sequence.

Our female lead, Karla Fry- is about to pull the trigger and kill Axel Foley but Sergeant John Taggart shoots her before she can unload her gun.

A round of applause..excellent death scene indeed!

Buddy Joe Hooker doing his own stunt being shot off this rooftop. Dent is a fictitious oil company.

This crime is all but solved…

Beverly Hills P.D.

Case solved…Axel explains to the chief of Beverly Hills police.

Let’s make 3 – This show is Good. Sure enough, #3 was to be made and they used Universal Studios for several sets and animations for Wally’s World- Theme Park.

Brigitte Nielsen and Donnie Norden. Brigitte never stopped working out in between scenes, part of a hockey family. Her brother was on set and he plays Hockey in Sweden.

Downtown Los Angeles…distant. The final shot of the day on location in the Baldwin Hills Oil Fields.

The Sequel Everyone is waiting for…

Beverly Hills Cop- 2 filmed the action packed finale on a location I grew up on, in Baldwin Hills. In 1956, The Highway Patrol, starring Broderick Crawford, used these exact roads and sets in an episode titled Oil Lease. In that episode a bazooka was used as a weapon to hold up oil workers from their hard earned payroll checks.

30 years later – rocket launchers replaced bazookas as weapons of choice. In each case, the law outsmarted the bad guys and apprehended them. On this set of COP 2, Tony Scott is the hottest director in Hollywood. Fresh off TOP GUN- he’s pumping out gold. This was the first time I met him. Later on, he would film scenes with Deja vu, starring Denzel Washington. A chemistry exists when actors and directors have synchronicity that takes over the stage. It’s a rare quality.

TOP GUN and Deja Vu are serious films, while COP 2 is a comedic adventure. One of my all time favorite sets I’ve ever been on was Blade Runner, directed by brother Ridley Scott. Quite the brother combo. Tragically, Tony took his life by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro after a bout with brain cancer. Even in his own death- a finish fit for a sad blockbuster movie was his chosen final scene. Legends never die…they just move on.

Tony Scott R.I.P… This stone at Hollywood Forever Cemetery has his name carved into it and all his films. A fitting tribute to a man who lived life like his own movie…

Written and lived by …Donnie Norden

The Outer Limits of MGM Lot 3

January 26, 2025 Phantom of the BacklotLeave a comment

This sensational MGM Lot 3 photo is compliments of Todd Spiegelberg. Todd and David Barns excel at matching pictures of sets on these studio lots. They connect these pictures to the films and T.V shows filmed on these dusty old streets…

“**Please Stand By”**…That was your standard test pattern. It was also the original title for this series that lasted two seasons. The creators feared audiences would change the channel. They thought this was an emergency broadcast system interruption, so the name was scrapped.

“***Leave my TV alone!”***…*Donnie Norden*– 1963

“*Looks like a friendly planet*“…***The Zanti Misfits*** *1963.*

“*Look Out Kid*” –***The Zanti Misfits***…*Terrorizing TVs everywhere.*

***Vasquez Rocks.***..A very popular location. I have filmed there, Sliders-TV series. Wind Machines…blowing dust and tumbleweeds.

“*Another film company rolling in here again… I’m sick of terrorizing these idiots!”*

*MGM Lot 3 and Vasquez Rocks blend together.* *MGM has Baldwin Hills as a western backdrop.*

“*I think I got bit”…”I’ll get help if I don’t die first*“

**MGM Lot 3-** Two other sci-fi series film back here. **The Twilight Zone** and **One Step Beyond.** All three, including **My Favorite Martian** used this very street. One of two church steeples on Europe Street can be seen sprouting behind the western corner. Combat filmed this lot regularly in 1963.

The simple two window, one door set right of the driving M.P. appeared in the Dust episode of the Twilight Zone. In that episode, a man gets saved from a gallows pole by some Magic Dust. This building was the jail where the man was incarcerated.

*This picture of mine is same angle as screen grab. Notice The Mutiny on the Bounty masts are sticking up above the Western Street- far end.*

*Zanti set two years prior- The Twilight Zone episode “DUST”*

*Wait till the Zantis get a hold of you!*

*The MGM grip department mounted* *this capsule on the roof. A studio union operated spacecraft.*

*This kind of stuff ends up in our property storage on the backlot. And possibly, it will land at my house to complete its mission. Two kids could easily carry this to my MGM version of Mission* *contro*l.

*These Zantis are available for purchase on-line…duplicates of course.* *Technically,* “***Zantis are trespassers!”***

“*Where’s MGM security when you need them?”..*.

“*Air Police- MGM Police- everybody open fire!”*

“*I got some grenades off the Combat set”…*

*Zantis, Germans*, this lot has ammo everywhere…This is where- **War is filmed.**

*The camera twists in the wind as the TV tries to regain* *control through its roof antenna.* *Moving the antenna doesn’t fix this problem*, *it’s just magic.*

These trains block the view into the lot, we work this fence line. An irrigation drain is on the public side of a chain link fence. We run up and down it to view into the lot. We look in between the wheels. The **Horse Soldiers** is a film starring John Wayne. John Ford directed it. The movie had one of the best battles ever staged out of these trains.

This is a hiding spot, but MGM was well aware of it. Salt Rock guns shoot at you here as you attempt to exit. The irrigation run -off trench worked like a WW 1 trench. Many Culver Residents met their fate in this gully that still occupies and exits along what is now Raintree condos. This area was like Gettysburg. If you’re going to get shot, it’s probably in this location.

*That’s a real good name for this town…*

This is my MGM Art Department photo of this street in this story.I am fortunate to have been given my own private stash of MGM backlot pictures from Tony Vallone, he headed the Department. He was hired by MGM in 1938. He was a kid in the Real Boystown when MGM went on location to film in Nebraska. Over the decade of the 70’s, my backlot notoriety spread through the studio as I became…**The Phantom.** I spent an entire afternoon going through cabinet after cabinet of MGM stills. I was handed an envelopes and told “take what you wish!

I felt like Burgess Meredith in “Time Enough at Last.” I met this Penguin at MGM on the film “Rocky.” He was hanging out outside a stage. I went up to him. I told him how much I love his Twilight Zone episodes. “Mr Dingle” I call him…

This irrigation catch basin trench still exists along the southern border of Raintree. It was there back when MGM was. This was a very strategic trench; we could see clearly into Lot 3. Trains partially blocked our views down the Western Streets. Security chases often conclude here. You’re successful if you escape without a buttocks full of salt rock. This was like a trench from W.W1. Its purpose was to protect MGM, now Raintree, from storm runoff water. Three other catch basins on the oil field side provided additional protection. The runoff cascades down these hills toward the old backlot. There have been times where this backlot flooded. But we had canoes and several different watercrafts to overcome flooding.

*Lot 3 looking west-* *Raintree Condos now surround a smaller but original lake.*

This picture from an oil derrick captures Lot 3, Raintree in a similar current angle today. The field in the foreground is currently a Pumpkin Patch for kids… Mr. Bones will greet you here. The eucalyptus trees are original to MGM and that straight line is the Eastern MGM Lot 3 boundary. The best place to sneak in at. There is usually no one around these parts and when you’re inside the studio, the jungle is your friend. Some rusted old fence posts with barb wire still stand, representing MGM. Chain link fences were used facing hills, so camera doesn’t pick up a wooden fence. Those were used on Jefferson and Overland Blvd. Half the lot had green wood fences with- No Trespassing Signs, Forbidden by Law, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer attached everywhere.

**Charles Bronson** *close up Death Wish 4. Plexiglas camera protection*…**shots fired!**

**Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Telly Savalas** appeared in the Twilight Zone before making this film.

*This pointed ear concept developed for* *David McCallum would be* *used on Leonard Nimoy as Spock.*

1963- MGM Backlot 3

The Outer Limits filmed a few episodes on the MGM backlots in its two-year run. Joseph Stefano wrote most of the episodes. He just completed work with Alfred Hitchcock. He wrote the screenplay for Psycho. He was this show’s –Rod Serling. Many monsters and props got reused after the show was canceled. Many of the crew ended up on a new series-Star Trek. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both appeared in The Outer Limits before liberating outer space.

The process used to make David McCallum’s ears pointed in The Outer Limits would be copied for Spock.

Talent existed everywhere and Cinematographer Conrad Hall photographed 15 episodes. He was the man behind the lens for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969. This series ended abruptly due to a schedule change. it would be located as the lead in for Lawrence Welk. The opposition was Jackie Gleason, my dad’s favorite guy. It was an attractive show for a younger audience, so this change to a mature time zone lead in failed. I watched it. I love this show’s opening television take over. It seemed real. You can tell by my kid picture. This TV is for watching Combat, back off Space Men.

My last post was located on the Universal Backlot, featuring The Birds, in 1963. 21 miles away, these Zanti creatures were terrorizing MGM, by way of The Vasquez Rocks. MGM Lot 3 fits the landscape needed to match up those real rocks with sets built at MGM. Lot 3 is the most rustic backlot ever built.

A 67-acre playground of bombed out European Villages, Western Towns… complete with blowing tumbleweeds, jungles with canoes, tall ships and even a paddleboat. Half-tracks, tanks, jeeps, trains and planes are parked everywhere. All these sets have a 1400-acre oil field directly behind it.

The Baldwin Hills are the backlot extension very few are aware of. But you have seen them. Laurel and Hardy and The Little Rascals used dirt roads. These roads can easily get you lost. They are located right behind MGM Lot 3. I worked on Beverly Hills Cop 2 in the hills overlooking these sets. We were firing bazookas; “Dent Industries” was an fictitious oil company. I recently saw an episode of the Highway Patrol. It starred Broderick Crawford himself in 1955. He was pursuing oil larceny suspects. They were robbing payroll with a Bazooka of all things. If you live long enough, everything happens twice. Bazooka attacks, 30 years apart. I also met Charles Bronson up here, overlooking this studio, on Deathwish 4.

We chatted about the Twilight Zone episode titled- TWO. He starred with Elizabeth Montgomery in that classic on MGM Lot 3. We were pointing sets out, where they stood, from atop these hills. Then we talked –The Dirty Dozen. The famous climax on a backlot located in England. Yep, “The Chateau” was on a backlot across the ocean at MGM’s British Studio. Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and John Cassavetes fought for their lives as the Chateau goes up in flames. This show happens to be my all-time favorite movie along with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. My 3rd favorite is Kelly’s Heroes.

So, these hills are extensions of the backlot, and Howard Hughes owned a hilltop overlooking Desilu. Howard was going to build a mansion up on the top. It would overlook Los Angeles and the distant Hollywoodland sign in the Hollywood Hills. However, something happened in 1924. Richfield/Standard Oil discovered oil reserves up here. An oil boom sprouted wells surrounding this entire area. Howard sold the property to Charles Wright. He stated, “The last thing I want to see is oil wells out my living room.” Wrightcrest became a Culver City Street. Charlie built himself a mansion where Howard had planned to build one. This change came after crude was discovered.

Rance McGrew and Mr. Garrity and the Graves have the hills off in background in those classic Twilight Zone episodes. Combat avoided camera angles that would connect to these hills.

What’s cool was this lot was a wildlife area due to its location. Skunks, possums, raccoons-like the one that took out hunting dog- Rip and Hyder Simpson. This is-that place, The Hunt was done here. Rod Serling would walk these trails developing concepts and plots. I daydream here too.

Owls, hawks, crows, and doves combine aviation forces here. Snakes, squirrels and gophers complete this fun backlot. Horse stables still exist up in these hills. When Combat filmed, birds took flight and rodents took cover on the safer oil field side. Filming turned into escape time for these critters who fled this studio home when Combat yelled “ACTION”

When the lot was quiet, you could hear the churning oil wells. MGM Lot 3 was the best backlot in history. The legend of Arnold Gillespie and his MGM ocean still resonates back here in this wilderness area.

Lastly, The Zanti Misfits was ranked #98th on TV Guide’s 100 Greatest Episodes of all-time.

That’s today’s story, everywhere I go –I kick up movie dust

Good news…I have regained control of my TV- just in time to watch some quality reruns!

Written and lived by…Donnie Norden

My Female Side Kick at MGM

December 18, 2024 Phantom of the Backlot8 Comments

Her friends call her Esther…I call her Maureen

Let’s Go Back Jack and Do it Again… There’s those old kids again they never stop climbing fences

Book signing at Sony – If MGM Guards could see us now. They are represented fondly in this book Maureen is holding.

I hear sirens , Hurry up and get this shot!

Huron Avenue, that’s my street, and all the kids who live on it know my new hobby… Trespassing MGM.

My helmets and ammo made a big impression. While playing Combat, I had a belt full of blank ammo shells and a fancy helmet. I had found the helmet in a building in German Village, when we first met.

Her backyard is France …1944. I was at war. While running through the neighbor’s yards, I met this girl while I was shooting other kids. Now, I just tolerate girls mind you. She is different. I think- I kind of fancy her, and her bombed out backyard!

I always thought she would have made a swell boy. Her name is Maureen. The prettiest girl around these parts, I find myself wanting to impress her. I want to show her around MGM, but I am torn. Jimmy and I have an alliance that girls do not belong there. They would slow us down and they scare too easily. Dare I say our first crush is MGM lot 2. I figure she will probably say “No” to trespassing anyway. I casually ask her if she would like to come with me. I offer fair warning: “I guess this is illegal.” She rubbed her hands together and said “Let’s Go.”

Understand, most of the boys are scared. The prettiest girl around is all in. That is, if she can climb.

Well this Saturday morning she strolled down to my house in comfortable pair of running shoes. We walk the tracks on the steel rails themselves, like a tight rope. When we arrive at the barb wire pole behind Grand Central station. I brief her. I fill her in on what to expect. We kick at the gravel alongside the rails. This is where the rubber meets the road, literally. If she climbs this successfully, it’s a good sign we will work out. She is dressed in cutoff jeans and a T shirt, not a whole lot of protective clothing. I am going to get a kick out of this!

” There you are, that’s the climb, I will go first, watch where I grab.” I say

I’m now inside as her pretty little head pops above the fence, followed by her pretty behind. The prettiest climb I have ever seen. Slow-motion, pretty, like a shampoo commercial. She jumps down and looks thrilled. I dampen her enthusiasm by letting her know she needs to do it faster … next time. Silently, I am Frigging impressed.

I first show her the trains. We sit in the plush but filthy seats and talk about things. We avoid sports and the army. We just talk about stuff. There is really nowhere we have to be…any set is cool. Somehow, I am relaxed. This is going well, this girl thing.

I feel brave and we cross the field to a building we named Boystown. We named it after seeing a movie that used it called- Girls Town. Jimmy and I changed it to Boystown, since we’re boys…

We find a bench on the bottom floor. I wanted to bring it up to the top of this building. We can sit and view the Tarzan lake from a nice high vantage point. She helps me get this bench up to the top of this 4-story maze. I couldn’t do it without her so she is already paying off.

She is covered with dust but she even looks prettier filthy. Plus, none of the guys smell this good. The first piece of furniture is in the new Penthouse fort we are building. The Red Bronco has come in, and does the the rounds, below us. We can see the main gate from here, that’s big. We know we are alone when the guard exits that main gate. Not sure when he comes back, but, he is gone now…we are alone.

Jane’s looking pretty good to me right now …up here, not wanted or being chased. She’s is an angle. She glows in this dim room. Sun beams direct themselves on her glittering blonde hair. Her blue eyes are silver. A strong attraction takes over. I release a Tarzan like yell projecting over her towards Tarzan Lake. It is powerful enough for the birds in the forest below to take flight…

I lead her down from this maze of a building. We run across a dirt road holding hands. So Romantic, we our overdressed for this party.

Then, we cross over the lake. on a tiny foot bridge. I have a row boat stashed with a couple of paddles, just above the pond edge in thick bushes. Aah, the perfect way to end this afternoon. We float around listening to a transistor radio playing 93 KHJ…Boss Top Thirty hits.

The Real, Don Steele. Charlie Tuna, Humble Harve and Robert W. Morgan spin classic vinyl on a classic lake. The prettiest girl I know framed by this exterior,

Jethro Tull’s hit song Bungle in the Jungle evokes a journey to the jungle. The lyrics take you across the green pond. You traverse under two bridges. Meanwhile, the sun slowly begins to sink into a blaze of orange blinding light.

This area is secluded and a guard would probably have to leave the vehicle to see us…that rarely happens. We even doze off as we sit low in the boat. Hazy sun reflects through the trees and off the water. The lake is the sky as clouds in the sky duplicate their image on the water, as do our faces. The lake is a giant mirror of its environment. A pair of ducks mingle around us, as does a bull frog. This lake is loaded with crawfish, minnows, and carp but more so than anything else- history!

This is like dream, this legendary place is my new backyard. And, I have a new friend to explore it with. We dock and step off into the jungle that is magical and gigantic. I step on a twig, as it snaps, a thousand birds took off like a Hitchcock movie.

That can work for us. I remind myself of this. If the birds suddenly take off, it’s a signal someone bad may be coming.

The only problem the lake has for us is that it is located in the middle of the lot. This means you have a long run from here to the fence if things go bad. Better off hiding, most likely. I am always thinking ways to keep ahead of my pursuers. Small stuff adds up. I’ll take any advantage I can.

We end our day hungry like typical teenagers, so climb out over an old green wood fence. Maureen is probably the dirtiest kid in town right now. Using lake water to clean up smeared dust and created mud. She looks like a native in war paint. and now she smells like an aquarium. There is just something magnetic about her…

We picked a spot not barbed to exit. Maureen has already earned an advanced climbing badge. I grade kids on my own set of expectations like an Iowa Test at school. swears she will someday pole vault this sharp obstacle.For now…she’s one pretty -pole dancer.

Donnie thinks he so tough…Guys are the biggest chickens! That fence is nothing…

She runs over to her apartment. “Wait till she looks in the mirror. Good-by Jane,” I salute. She looks like she exited a Hollywood Movie.

I thought to myself as I was going to bed…”Girls aren’t so bad after all!”

Maureen and nephew Chad… notice MGM in background…German village and China St.

Leon, you asked for more Maureen, who doesn’t. Try this on for size.

A typical day in the life in our private Disneyland…

Written and lived by Donnie Norden and Maureen Miller…

The 23rd Century

December 7, 2024December 7, 2024 Phantom of the Backlot8 Comments

This story is in my Book Two-“The Uninvited Visitor”

A very special moment on the set of ...King Kong

All activity on the lot indicates to me Kong is close to ready. However, sneaking in Lot 1 is dangerous. The MGM guards all know me. They know I don’t belong on this set or lot…Period!

However, I need to see where we’re at, like some producer kid. It’s time to pay Little Italy a visit. But first, I’m getting a couple of donuts, one orange iced, the other, a Kong cream pie. It’s a specialty donut, in honor of the Great Ape, being dressed just across the street. This donut shop, as is this city itself, is all things Kong.

It’s across this street I’m headed next. I have my little bag of delights. I need to climb a fence. A billboard of Logan’s Run proudly displays itself there. Poor Farrah. She is getting shoe marks all over her face. Her skimpy outfit is marked too on her section of this advertisement board. It’s the only spot I can get over at… sorry Farrah!

First, I hold my breath and close my eyes. Then, I toss this tiny donut package over the sign. I hope it floats softly like a balloon, limiting damage.

**23rd Century -Get in spot for MGM Lot 1**

I’m next. After grabbing one hand hold, my tennis shoes slip and slide. They glide like a cartoon on this extra-large movie poster. My right hand barely clasps the top of the fence. My momentum buys me the extra inches to pull myself up to the top. Then I go over, reuniting with my tiny bag of donuts. I may have just landed in the 23rd Century.

Kong is getting the star treatment and looks like an actor getting finishing touches before hitting the set.

The fabricated tree area has been switched to a rubber hose forest. Miles of hoses or tubes have been cut. They fit inside this massive, formidable 40 ft object. It has been hibernating here for months. He would be just a rubber doll without these arteries for oil to activate all his digits and facial expressions.

Activity is taking place around me at a mesmerizing pace…I find myself in between pit covers, artificial trees, and pallets of rubber hoses towering above me. I appear like Johnny Quest, with donuts!

**That’s a fancy car kicking up all that dust…**

A long black Mercedes-Benz wheels onto the set. It sends up a cloud of dust as it suddenly stops. I realize the attention all shifts to a dapper man, dressed in attire fit for a producer. I lick orange frosting off my fingers. I stand behind some artificial trees to get a better view of this person of interest. This is him, I think to myself, it’s Dino…

Everybody stares at the car, waiting for the great man, the producer, to emerge. Even King Kong stares, impassive, his giant ape face frozen 40 feet above the car. After a couple of seconds, the producer, Dino De Laurentiis, bounces out of the car. There is no doubt that he does this for dramatic effect. He flounces with energy. He pays absolutely no attention to the rest of us on the set – about 50 people. Looking up, he locks eyes with King Kong. He is here to see the giant monkey. De Laurentiis doesn’t even glance at the maybe three dozen special effects people who are swarming over Kong. Several of them take up positions at big instrument consoles. Each console has a series of levers that control hydraulic valves within Kong.

Slowly, gradually, I hear the hum of electricity. Then the whoosh of valves. Kong is coming to life… Maybe. Dino De Laurentiis has come to see the beast move. And it better move and move well. The Hollywood Press has been hinting at problems with the giant hairy star of the movie. Rumors suggest that the whole movie is at risk. And that is no small risk. It’s 1976. The $30 million budget for King Kong makes it the most expensive film in history at this point. Many people in Los Angeles think De Laurentiis’ remake of the 1933 classic starring Fay Wray is a folly. They believe this because the original is such an iconic movie. Additionally, they think no movie should cost $30 million and depend so much on unproven, untried special effects.

Giant jungle robots, indeed. Many movie insiders in ultra-competitive Hollywood are happy. They take not-so-secret delight at the prospect of seeing De Laurentiis fall flat on his face. He is the flamboyant Italian interloper. De Laurentiis is moving to the United States. He had a career in Italy. His work focused on spaghetti Westerns and niche films like Barbarella. He also worked on derivative, knockoff spy and gangster movies. Some people think De Laurentiis is too big for his riding britches. Remaking King Kong could be his Icarus moment. It is the moment when he flies too close to the Hollywood sun.

De Laurentiis is looking less than cocky at this moment. He looks worried, his eyes never straying from Kong’s as he stands a few feet from his car, waiting. I’m enthralled, this is a very big moment in this film. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t need to. Men scramble, levers are pulled, hums and wheezes and whooshes get louder. Is the big ape going to come alive for the big cheese?

Kong’s ears wiggle. There is a murmur on the set, but nobody shouts or cheers. Nobody says anything. Everyone is concentrating so much on the big robot that I can step out of my hiding place. I just turned 16. I am not supposed to be anywhere on this studio lot. I definitely should not be here on the tightly closed, high-security set of the biggest movie ever. This is happening during a critical special effects test. I am about half a football field away from De Laurentiis. I am next to the jungle scenery that has been my hiding place.

Kong blinks, slowly. This is promising. But the robot needs the capability to make much more complicated movements with its arms and legs. He must look real – and huge, and menacing – on the screen. If Kong moves like a robot, the movie will be not only a flop, but a laughingstock.

Slowly, Kong’s left arm rises, a little. He blinks again. His head turns left. His head turns right. His partially raised left hand is in a fist. Slowly, the ape’s massive fingers, the size of a real Gorilla’s legs, start to unfurl. I sneak a quick glance over at the Mercedes, and De Laurentiis is starting to smile.

Kong raises his left hand higher, so his hand is chest high, palm toward his chest. I suppose if you know how a 40-foot gorilla would move, the robot’s movements look pretty natural. Kong extends all four fingers and his thumb, so his palm is facing his chest. Amid more wheezes and whooshes and buzzes, slowly Kong folds his thumb in. Then his pointer finger, ring finger, and little finger. His middle finger remains extended.

King Kong is giving Dino De Laurentiis the bird.

The set erupts in cheers and shouts and laughter. I eat my cream filled Kong donut as Kong stares down, paralyzed. He passed his audition, barely… People clap, and so does De Laurentiis. With a cigar in his mouth, Dino flips the bird at his creation. He smiles as he exhales a plume of tobacco toward his leading man. This is the moment it’s become clear that the King Kong remake would become a mega-hit. This time it stars Jessica Lange in her first film role, along with Jeff Bridges. The film is released at the end of this year. I can feel it, all this hard work is culminated in this magical moment.

As fate would have it, after the exchange of gestures, everything is green-lighted to move to the backlot. The largest scenes yet remain to be filmed. Kong stands proudly with his finger extended over the Italy assembly area, I see everyone laughing and celebrating by smoking. The only one not smoking is me and Kong.

As the thrill of victory wears off, Dino leaves in a cloud of dust, excited as Dr. Frankenstein when his monster came to life before his eyes.

Kong stays in the same position, not contorting even for a moment to wave farewell. It turns out, this demo was like test driving a used car. Our hero has a hydraulic leak in the miles of rubber hose inside. This leak has depleted our star of the life blood. It’s needed to pump his massive joints. He’s not broken, just leaking oil. like some old used car.

Don’t worry-I’m hiding behind stacks of rubber Kong hydraulic tubing sitting on a sea of pallets…

Kong will maintain this posture until the leaking section is identified. It needs to be replaced. I’m not sure if Dino caught wind that Kong’s hand is stuck after he left the test range…

As we say in Little Italy…cambio olio -sprigati, sprigati, –Ti stiamo aspettando!

Welcome to Hollywood fellas, Winchell’s donuts is across the street, you still got a lot of work to do…

I better get out of here, Little Italy needs to cut up more rubber hose, Pronto!

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