writing – Phantom of the Backlots

The Legend of Saint Nico

January 29, 2026 Phantom of the BacklotLeave a comment

The North Pole

Santa Clause’s Number One Reindeer, giving the gift...of LOVE!

This gift arrived to me in late summer, no batteries required.

Nico immediately had his eye on this girl named Thora, the Rottweiler – a female version of the Nordic God Thor, Both happen to be 3 years old. Thora has a thing for Huskies…

These two became attached at the hip. Side by side while eating, sleeping and all things inside or outside.

Adventure awaits..

From the desert to the sea and all locations in between is how myself and my two dogs roll. Every night is …A Three Dog Night!

Up here, we all become wildlife. Owls hoot feverishly, coyotes howl and the awakening landscape all send out their own Bat signals .

Coyotes eye my posse- Nico has a couple favorites that wish they were him. Wild Coyotes look at Nico as the King of the Mountains.

Nature works in mysterious ways. More than once, my Rottweiler has been challenged by what to her is the size of a chew toy. She stays calm as I think – “Watch what you wish for little doggy!“

This man rescues Rottweilers, The most difficult of all dogs to reboot. They take charge if you’re not up to the challenge. He has reformed over forty wonderful yet very tough souls.This man performs Miracles. Up here in the Mountains, Huskies and Rots are the most popular dogs in this wild wilderness.

Nico loves squirrel hunting, Ground squirrels, tree squirrels, He would never kill anything-just a game of -cat and mouse.

Time out- I need to eat!

Yep, we’re exhausted too…

One of the very first pictures ever of these two together. Nico’s mind is blown – this is his new life!

My daughter Christy provides Nico with a human female best friend. She took this picture in her place.

The Gift that never stops giving…Saint Nicolas.

Christmas Morning 2026

A Wonderful Life…

As I wrote this story, this was going on outside my window..”.Love Will Find a Way”

Shape Shifting Orb

Getting in Tune – to Miracles!

This Story is dedicated to Dustin Maenpa

A friend, compatriot, surfer, jack of all trades, artist, and a damn good drummer. What couldn’t this guy do? He left us much too early. I was blessed by his family to raise his dog, after he lost his 26-month battle with cancer.

When they asked, I accepted without hesitation, even though I wasn’t exactly sure what I was biting into.

Nico is just over three years old, and for most of his young life, he has only known a sedentary life, as Dustin fell ill when he was still a young puppy. It’s as if he was born into the role of caregiver. Although there were brief periods when Dustin felt well enough to take Nico to the dog park, neighborhood walks fell on family and friends. Towards the end, Dustin was too weak to get out of bed, but Nico was there all the while, as his constant support, and spent a lot of time lying next to him.

This dog is more like a wolf, than a dog. He’s big and brawny, and as handsome as a G.Q. cover model.

But what I couldn’t see from the introductory picture, was the saintly soul that sits behind those stunning blue eyes. I quickly realized that this dog genuinely has a heart of gold.

Nico as a puppy, with his sister.

What a face… After I said Yes, Dustin’s family found this picture of Nico and his sister, when they were puppies. Now I see the circle as a Halo.

At the time of this photo, Dustin had no idea that his life would soon take a negative turn. He had no clue that such a twist of fate was about to unfold and cut his future short. But through it all, Nico was Dustin’s Angel, helping him cope with all the difficulties and painful challenges to come. Nico had to grow up quickly.

He became a caregiver, giving all he had to give to Dustin, especially the most important things… his compassion, his silent understanding and reassurance, and ultimately, his soul. Because they were together during extraordinary circumstances, they shared a very special human-animal bond.

All that mattered to Nico was Dustin… How can I fix him? How can I make him better?

Things happen for reasons unknown to us simple-minded humans. We are here for tasks unknown to us, and often serve others in ways we hadn’t planned on.

We often tune out, but animals tune in. We are distracted by a million things, but animals are present, and are focused only on us.

Just recently, I had my own touching moment with Saint Nico, when I caught the flu. I appeared ill for the first time in front of my new best fiend. I realized he was extremely concerned with my well-being. I knew this bug would pass, but Nico was visibly distressed. He’d seen this movie before, and didn’t care much for the ending.

He watched my every move like an overprotective mother. I had never seen him anxious, like that. As I laid down to sleep that night, he cuddled up with me, like a teddy bear, even though he normally sleeps on the big couch close by. I was sandwiched in between two caring and concerned dogs.

I’m convinced that he didn’t want to relive the agony of seeing his master fall ill.

Amazingly, after falling asleep in a doggy sandwich, I awoke entirely symptom-free and ready go back outside and do the things we love to do.

Nico, Thora and I love to get up very early. Nico greets us with smiles, excitement, and love. We have all bonded like we were meant to be. And we’re grateful for every fun day we spend together. We’re a pack.

I watch Nico dream when he’s asleep. Sometimes all his paws are grooving, like he’s having a musical dream. The Maenpas are a musical family, so perhaps Nico has the musician spirit in him… Nico the drummer Rocktsar!

Was he dreaming about Dustin playing drums?

We’ll never know. When he awakens, he quickly focuses on reality. Maybe he was dreaming about playing chase with his bestie Thora, or riding in the back seat with the windows open, or about all of our adventures… at the beach or in the mountains, where they can run and play all day.

Dustin will always be in our hearts, and I know that he is watching with a smile from the other side. He has his fingerprints all over this miracle.

Nico is a reminder to always take time to give thanks for the blessings, big and small, that surround all of us.

I do see the Nico story as a miracle: When loved ones pass, other blessings appear.

The fun for Nico has only just begun. Now it’s time for him to enjoy what’s ahead, without forgetting the past that he shared with Dustin.

Nico’s movie gets a happy ending, after all!

Love you Dustin! And remember, we’ve got you covered down here, where your heart and soul will live on forever.

Peace and Love… Written and lived by… Donnie Norden
(Edited by Dustin’s sister, Donna Quesada)

MGM Toy Chest

January 27, 2026 Phantom of the BacklotLeave a comment

We weren’t the only kids that took advantage of this playground. Todd and Carrie Fisher are seen here with their friends horsing around at MGM Backlot #3.

From the North Pole to the MGM backlot

My pal Stanley makes the perfect head replacement from this oversized prop used in The Brothers Grimm.

Armored vehicles can be seen here where Andy Hardy once filmed

Tanks are always a great place to hide

Here I am on the right, on a train used by How the West Was Won and many other movie and television shows.

I’ll take the train…

This cockpit is the one in The Twilight Zone. It is in the process of being moved as it awaits its fate up by the main gate. The airplane room – its home for decades, has just been disassembled.

I have had many an Odyssey in this cockpit, maybe even better than Flight 33’s crew.

The cockpit that took us all back in time. to a prehistoric world. Anything goes in here. What goes on in the airplane room stays in the airplane room. (See “Twilight Zone Party” in my first book Hole in the Fence)

We even had WW2 Corsairs off of Overland and Sepulveda!

On the left side of this photo, the long hangar stores massive props, the white square building closest to us is attached and provides wardrobe on the backlot. We call it …The Helmet Room.

Helmets of ancient warriors are ready to march on at their beckon call… For a deeper dive into this area, read “The Helmet Room” in my first book “Hole in the Fence”.

This is how this room looked prior to auction. Much still existed even afterwards.

My playmate Maureen holding up her nephew, on the balcony of her home which overlooks MGM backlot 2.

Our cruise ship unfortunately looks more like the debris field from the Titanic.

Wagons are seen here on Lot #2 for the filming of the movie Cimarron in 1960.

Thanks for taking the time to read my stories.
Phantom of the Backlots Presents: Hole in the Fence
https://a.co/d/3ZkUAkd
Phantom of the Backlots Presents: Uninvited Visitor
https://a.co/d/cybQd8j
Phantom of the Backlots Presents MGM “The End of an Era”
https://a.co/d/cS5X35P

One Man’s Trash—

The stuff we see on TV does exist; I see it, I touch it, and if I can climb all over it, I DO!

The buildings on this lot are jam packed and they hardly know what they have. Since it might get reused one day, they keep it. That was old school studio mentality, when MGM ruled the screen. Sadly, no one uses them anymore. It’s like the kid who once lived here grew up and moved away. Well, at least they are captured on film for eternity.

To me, finding them is like stumbling into the world’s largest toy store. And it’s an interesting challenge to match up the puzzle pieces to the shows they were featured in.

First Discovery—

Today I visit yet another specimen in the television menagerie. It is a hangar, or to my eyes, a humongous toy chest. I venture inside and close it up behind me. A fuselage from a Jumbo jet is parked here and has an upstairs and a downstairs. This was a real plane, cut into sections. This plane is a teenage party spot. Comfy chairs recline; food table carts sit waiting for a pretty face to push them.

It Gets Even Better—

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that I would unearth the airplane cockpit that was used in two Twilight Zone episodes—one with William Shatner, and one with John Carradine. There are so many knobs and levers it’s astonishing to see what pilots must deal with.

Signs, Signs. Everywhere a Sign—

The next department in this Super Store of toys is behind New York Street, in a covered two story, steel structure that can easily double for any Bowery warehouse. I estimate there are 500 large flashing neon Broadway signs stored in here.

If you look really close at the neon signs that flash on your favorite Twilight Zone episodes, you will see them again and again, on all the different building fronts. Like a deck of cards being reshuffled. This card game went on for decades. I would think this is all very valuable and should be saved, but what do I know? I’m just a kid.

More Stuff—

Another drawer in this giant toy chest is the helmet room, located by an ocean liner. (Not a real ocean liner, of course.) There are helmets from Combat, army jackets, and a mountain of ammo clips that snap into place, allowing eight rounds to be fired. The guns are not here though, and it appears that this room has already been picked over.

A clothes hanger that says “Ben-Hur’s head gear” stands forsaken in a closet, missing its iconic helmet. Soylent Green used this room as a makeshift wardrobe in 1972.

But the most impressive assembly I’ve seen is the odds and ends storage facility. Spaceships park alongside Pirate ships, a conning tower from Ice Station Zebra peeks over the top with its periscope. Scattered pieces from some bygone laboratory look like an unfinished science project.

Another rarity can be found looming on this lot. Amazingly, an imposing figure that dwells in a corner is a headless monster. I would later see this creature in the movie, The Brothers Grimm.

Sometimes it takes years to complete a puzzle, but inevitably, I end up seeing the shows this stuff was used in. Is the puzzle complete?

Written and Lived by… Donnie Norden

Colt 45 Malt Liquor-1975 Desilu

November 12, 2025 Phantom of the Backlot2 Comments

In the Heart of Mayberry- this set was built for a 70’s Miller Malt Liquor commercial. Ironically today, their logo jingle is based off- 50 years ago. Great 50 year old stories, this is my story

This Hotel is next to the Mayberry Hotel at 40 Acres. Main 4 way intersection, center of town.

This is really going on -real collapse -real humans in fall zone. Stuntmen get replaced by stars as dust settles…Old fashion film making like Buster Keaton or Hal Roach would do!

“This must be Urban Renewal” toasts Redd Foxx. Colt 45 is named after Baltimore Colt running back Jerry Hill who wore number 45.

Drink hard, play harder!…The true Colt 45

This picture is from behind behind the buildings in this commercial.

Opie is where backside of mock up hotel stands.

Mayberry-where drinking is a crime. No longer in 1975…

Gomer Pyle scene exactly where this drink is served! I never met a Marine who doesn’t like drinking.

This guy looks thirsty..15 years to early is this- Man in a Hurry.

If your standing here-YOUR TOO CLOSE

Everybody wants to see this beer commercial…

“This planet drinks” ..says Captain Kirk

The view on left before ‘Urban Development’ – set on right built in this intersection…

Beer commercials, cigars-cigarettes, big fancy cars commercials, and soft porn films all found their way on to this lot in the mid 1970’s. The backlot reflected the culture.

The two story building at the end of this street is my location. I am trespassing, 4 P.M ish. I saw this set and then a guard, he didn’t see me so I went upstairs. Im behind camera which has the same angle for this “one -take shot.” Security looked like Sheriff John, he had a cowboy hat, a badge, and a rope. He walked around lassoing everything he sees. I have to watch out for him because I do not want to miss this scene. Redd Foxx-is right below in a Limo. The front door of Hotel faces south to Baldwin Hills.

I took this picture 1976, the last year of the 40 Acres Backlot. This is exactly where this Colt 45 Hotel stood…

***My Dad often had some of these cans in our home refrigerator. Naturally a few ended up here at the Desilu Ranch. Miller Beer and I could do great commercials….VIntage of course***. My dad was an actor in Bar Fly. He pretended to be drinking…even got in a fight with Frank Stallone in an ally behind the bar. His credit depicts “Man in ally” My mom hated it but dad loved it. Paid to drink and hang out with Faye Dunaway. Filmed at the Culver City Bar closet to this set.

ONE TAKE –Then a Toast

All the preparation is complete, this set took a week to build and another week to “dress” the set and familiarize effects and stunt folks with all the moving parts. This building is built to collapse, Not straight down, it must tip. Actors “stunt people” could get hurt if things do not go as planned. This is old time film making going on here. The final go overs are being checked as this shot is to be captured in daylight, of which has about a hour left to it.

I just got home from school and am not sure I will make it here in time. As soon as I hit the lot I run down the backroads along the creek and climb upstairs in a building looking straight at the one that has only – less than an hour left to stand. A grandfather clock is added as the interior is finishing being dressed.

These are actually two sets. The exterior is engineered to be a collapsible front on wheels. Set two is the stationary interior of this hotel. The Art Department is finally finished now the front of this hotel is rolled and positioned exactly to the square inch where it needs to be to collapse safely. This integration is slow and methodical. Inside upstairs, the stunt people load in. This is too dangerous for actors, they won’t be seen till the dust settles.

Anticipation increases as every final detail is checked and rechecked. A guard is active on this set. He’s a character with a badge, cowboy hat and a rope. He hangs out by REDD FOXX as we all watch from almost the exact spot.

Countdown 3,2,1

A building is collapsing before my eyes, this 7 second moment seems like an eternity. People disappear and reappear in a cloud of dust. They got their shot, actors are inserted at doorway entrance as if they survived this. REDD says “SO THIS MUST BE URBAN RENEWAL” as he toasts to Pabst Blue Ribbon.

The real toast belongs to Special Effects, this was so perfect, when I get older I want to be in Special Effects, For now, I’m a trespasser looking down at a collapsed building, a famous T.V Star, and sheriff with really wild roping skills who looks like he stepped out of a western film. I hope there’s a Colt 45 in the fridge for when I get home…

“Gitty Up, It’s time for some…Malt Liquor!”

Written and Lived by…Donnie Norden

Laramie Saloon Night

October 3, 2025 Phantom of the Backlot4 Comments

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

Mission Impossible-Mayberry in Disguise

July 15, 2025 Phantom of the Backlot2 Comments

Never say Never!

We start with a Mission Briefing, inside this KVWV truck located at the Paramount Studios lumber storage and mill.

The Big Black Vehicle arrives…

The briefing involves election fraud in Mexico. In this swank 1966 apartment, the record player is disabled as we browse the folders on I.M.F personnel needed for infiltration.

“Cinnamon” is perfect for this assignment and “every” mission period.

We have our small yet tactical force. “Rollin Hand” is a code name we used. It describes how we rolled our “Doobies” on the backlots…

This Mission starts in Mexico, look behind the curtains, this is Mayberry…

Behind this ‘False Front” is the Mayberry Post Office. A Police Station, for this episode. Directly across the street, where camera is, is Andy Griffith’s Courthouse. The backlot uses several disguises in this Golden Age classic. Several Mayberry and Gone With the Wind facades will be altered. T.A.G.S was still shooting this street almost daily, so these set decorations and modifications required “striking.” This backlot was as busy as anywhere in Hollywood. T.V was never as good as this era.

Our I.M.F Force has arrived…

We need a free and honest election…Liberation !

Window set dressing…often-this kind of stuff ends up in my forts. Winston Churchill is a perfect trespasser motivational influence! We would sneak up to these widow displays from the back entrances and remove set decorations. Right after a scene was filmed and before set decorations could retrieve their items.

On the set of Roger Corman’s “CAPONE,” an entire tobacco shop was relocated upstairs in my fort. This included cigars and brier pipes relocated to the Mayberry R.F.D House set. This happened after a gangster was shot from a passing car band was blasted through the picture window. That story in full detail can be found in Book One titled…”Bootleggers, Tommy Guns and L.S.D”…Hole in the Fence–Book One.

This election…is rigged!

A day of reckoning -I.M.F in Volkswagon- Election fixer in dark glasses.

Downtown, Mayberry was built to be Atlanta in 1938. When television was born, this Main Street was disguised as any Metropolis in the world. Paint, cars, signs, and costumes can transform your mind. Production wants you to experience different places, all within the comforts of the studio.

Long before Mexico, this street was used as Atlanta in …Gone With the Wind

Lets unpack this picture...The West End of Atlanta/Mayberry. The Desilu Watertower overlooks the backlot. He pictured above the Atlanta train depot, still standing in 1966. False fronts were installed to block the view of this iconic depot used in GWTW.

There were two theaters in Mayberry. On the corner on the left side, you can see a marquis. An alleyway, not shown, separates the theater from Main Street.

This is that corner, minus the train depot. My picture taken in 1972. The single one story row of buildings that blocked this view of the depot is no longer standing. I took this photo after they had been removed. This is where the pavement begins on this dirt backlot. It was dirt for Gone With the Wind. No backlot in history used so little cement.

Same corner in…Gone With the Wind

Mayberry became the next identifier on this main street. The Untouchables branded it as Chicago, Metropolis in Superman, Gotham City in Batman and Berlin in Hogan’s Heroes.

Election interference…”I was pushed off the road!“

This crash was where the theater alongside the Mayberry Hotel stood. Donkeys are first responders.Concerned voters assist with election ballots inside ambulance.

Meanwhile, in the nearby jungle“We need some gas- Cinnamon”

“I need a smoke Rollin!“ I have seen this gas station before…

Wally’s “Gasolina” Station

This famous turn into Goober’s Gas Station

Goober’s filling station. This dirt road parallels the La Ballona Creek. Gomer Pyle films across the way…

If only I had some music to unwind-says Cinnamon…Mission Accomplished!

To the left of this jeep is the filling station. Music for a successful “Mission Accomplished.”

Final thoughts;

I thought I would share my version of Mission Impossible dating back to 1966. These screen grabs, combined with my photos and personal experiences paint at picture of a wonderful era of television. As God would lay out my future, I worked on the first feature of the same name with Tom Cruise. Paramount rented the Universal -“SKY” backdrop and water basin for some stunts and inserts.

Paramount owned Desilu when this T.V series was in production. Hogan’s Heroes was also a regular Paramount location on the 40 Acre backlot. These streets were like revolving doors, different shows, every day-non stop. Crime had no chance with all the capped Super Heroes and detectives roaming these streets.

I Spy, The Green Hornet, and Batman followed Superman and the Untouchables. Sheriff Taylor also patrolled this street with Barney through much of this 60’s decade. It was originally designed as Atlanta in GWTW.

I rode my bike here in the late 60’s. I came just to look through the fence. I was in search of all these- “Heroes.”

The marvel of television allowed me to watch episodes then go relive scenes where they were filmed. Basically, “I lived my T.V set.” Even my parents were amazed by this passion burning inside me. We would sit and watch television together and I would have my own stories…like a real life Opie Taylor. I put a fort upstairs in the Andy Griffith house.

My folks saw the Hogan’s Heroes tree stump effect become my own personnel hide out. That big bulky item moved in and out of my bedroom to various locations around my house. Everyone wanted to go -“under the lid.” My house had signs with bullet holes nailed to it. I even had a working Barbers Pole that would spin and light up when plugged in.

I was quite the sight. I could be seen towing tree stumps, various props of all sizes, spears, bows and arrows, etc. I had weapons ranging from rifles to ray guns. I brought B.B guns to play inside Combat sets. I fought real Marines from Camp Pendleton. I gave tours of Camp Henderson to these same soldiers. Gomer Pyle, Jim Nabors- was a recruiter and recruitment soared.

Most kids carried school books, but I carried props. I even had bushels of King Kong horse fir, so much I attached it to my dog. That was quite the monster looking creature. My dogs trespassed at times with me. I wasn’t like all the other kids, needless to say.

It’s fun being the “Black Sheep.” I never wanted these times to stop and they never did. My life evolved into living this lifestyle everyday. 35- Universal working years later, I feel a need keep and hand down my history. I did not realize then I was living in the Golden Age. I thought things would never disappear. But disappear they did.

Thankfully, I took notes, no matter what time of night I came home. I gobbled up discarded “call sheets” and have taken more studio pictures than anyone alive. MGM blessed me with hundreds of Art Department pictures. I became a legend long before I worked at these studios. Everyone knew me, or about me-at MGM. I had an endless supply of blank ammo shells, what kid has that?

Not bad for a trespassing kid who even snagged the studio “Trespassers List” from a guard shack. I knew 50 percent- of the captured folks!

I thank all of you. You like to return to that marvelous era I specialize in capturing. This era is called- The Phantom of the Backlots. I always knew I was experiencing “special things.” A salute-from me to you…

Written and lived by…Donnie Norden

But wait-There’s More…Glamour Tram is back up and running. Come take a tour with me. This site on WordPress reads like a book. You must scroll to the beginning for “cast of characters & training exercises.” Otherwise, your just lost on the tram route, which is really fun anyways…

Real life Tram Tours with Donnie Norden, you too may be on my celebrity list of “miscasts.“

More adventure stories now on sale at Amazon. Follow The Phantom in his escapades back in time…

As always…Boots on the ground stories–Written and Lived by…Donnie Norden

Hollywood Forever

June 13, 2025June 16, 2025 Phantom of the Backlot5 Comments

**Paramount Studios** …*early 70’s*–*It’s built like a penal institution with Insurmountable walls.*

*Maybe we can get into the studio through here…this backlot cemetery*?

I turned 65 on this Friday the 13th, and I’ve still “got it!”

***My office at Home-*** *Tea with Marion is how my morning begins* *and I’m headed out today to see her grave, in respect and appreciation for this gift of extremely tangible **Hollywood History.** My day always begins with Hollywood Spirits…*

This stool is where Marion sat with a make-up artist in a tiny room that fits two. You’re surrounded by mirrors inside. It’s amazing how good of condition this chair is. It could be fastened to the floor when this trailer was originally moved by horses.

This trailer was made when Marion was working at Paramount Studios. This room bore witness to sound revolutionizing how films are made. Silent to talkies, films were silent when this unit was built. Underneath some white paint is a distinctive color green. Paramount and RKO were that green color, it’s on their equipment. The degree of craftsmanship is astonishing. The mirrors are built into the wall, not hung. Shingles would be added at some point to preserve the original wood integrity. Randolph Hearst did not have film facilities, but he had a star he controlled and endless stories from Cosmopolitan Pictures, which he owned. A disconnect happened between Paramount and Hearst, and this portable trailer went on a long company move cross town to Culver City. That’s when the story I’ve discovered becomes overwhelmingly compelling….

*Bottles of various Ambrosias. Wine bottles imported from Italy still remain. “Hey, wait, is that the Phantom, who’s drinking that bottle? “*

*This is the room’s entertainment system. Installed in 1925 …*

*I brought the music and the wine.*..what guests should we expect?

*Everything ages, time waits for No-On*e. It just folds up to be revisited… ***you just gotta believe***. This room never died. I applied power to the lighted mirrors and they illuminated like they did in the early ***1920’s.***

“*Horses are hitched, we’re ready to roll”* One of two rubber wheels, not counting the “*steel wheel”* above the hitch.

*Randolph Hearst strolling around a Koi pond San Simeon. Culver City also had a similar pond in- between Marion’s dressing room and the Ince Backlot.*

*This statue from antiquity* *sat above a Koi Pond outside Marion’s make up room door.* *It came along in the relocation. This is her art; I’m just keeping it for her.*

The iconic Paramount Water Tower…distant.

“*Pull over, who’s driving this car?*“…Before being ordained as The Wizard of MGM, *Arnold Gillespie* worked with ***Cecil B. DeMille*** on the ***Paramount Studio Lot.*** This stunt gag by A.G. preceded his long heralded career at **MGM.**

*They don’t make movies like this anymore-you know* –*the feel good ones-1922.* An Exodus was taking place at this time…both **Marion Davies** and her overseer, **Randolph Hearst,** and **Arnold Gillespie** would move on to **Culver City.** Ironically, these parties would reunite at **Metro Goldwyn Mayer.** A top actress, a top art/effects technician and the richest man in the world all packed up and set foot at the brand new facilities built by ***Thomas Ince.***

*Cecil B. DeMille (hand on hip) directing one of his early motion pictures. ca. 1920.*

***Don Adams-****A Gentlemen first, television star second…*now resides very close to ***Marion Davies.*** ***Get-Smart*** filmed at this ***Paramount Studio.***

I gave this man and his family a Tour of Universal and a humorous discussion took place involving “Shoe Phones.” Dial me up on my at –The Glamour Tram ...WordPress site.Ride with us on WordPress…The Glamour Tram. Stories aboard trams lived by yours truly. Take a tour around Universal with Agent 86. This is a priceless tour, follow me for more on T.G.T.

*“I Love Stuntmen*” **Burt Reynolds** checked in to **Hollywood Forever Cemetery** because “we needed an actor capable of doing his own stunts!”

“I know I can jump this pond-Get me my Trans Am”…”**I’m bored”**

I’m reading Burt a story featured in my latest book, just released. We spend the day at The Columbia Ranch and I meet and gab with Hooper. He loved it then,he loves it now. Going on fifty years at this graveside visit.

“*Stay out of trouble Charlie, for mom’s sake!”* This was Marion Davies mother figure. **Hannah Chaplin, Mother of Charlie.** Two top box office stars but more importantly-**Soulmates**. His soul sadly, was not allowed back into the U.S.A. He rests in peace in Switzerland at the Corsier-sur-Vevey Cemetery. Grave robbers dug him up and held him for ransom. This was Marion Davies’ best Male-Friend. Not Randolph Hearst. That leads to speculation…was Thomas Ince accidentally killed on board the Oneida. Was Charlie the real target do to shenanigans between the two? Hearst covered it up in his news papers, **nothing to see here!**

Persons of interest…Thomas Ince, deceased on voyage. Charlie Chaplin-potential target of jealousy. Marion Davies and Randolph Hearst.

“Charlie…was it really indigestion that killed Mr Ince?” A report of blood was mentioned in the La Jolla medical facility that Mr. Ince was dropped off at after the fateful cruise. “Was that supposed to be you Charlie…Was Ince at the wrong place at the wrong time?

“My Make-Up Trailer would know”-these mirrors were privileged to experience what really happened aboard ship. History documents itself forever in mirrors. Belief is portals are created when mirror reflect other mirrors, as they do in Marion’s room from antiquity.

So let me get this correct Charlie, it was you-not Thomas Ince-that Randolph Hearst was perturbed with? Wasn’t the merger of Ince/ Cosmopolitan the entire point of the cruise? Rumors persist you and Marion had a thing going on…

*Marion being serenaded by Charlie Chaplin*

This was Marion’s very best friend. The highest grossing box office duo for eternity. The attraction between these two is part of the mystique of that famous 3-day cruise that changed motion picture history. What I have discovered in Culver City fuels this conception that things were going on behind the scenes involving Thomas Ince and Randolph Hearst. Cosmopolitan Productions and Thomas Ince Productions **had** an announcement to make on the return voyage…

GWTW used Marion Davies’ trailer. Scarlett refers to the compound I discovered on Lucerne Avenue in Culver City as “Tara Next Door.” Quote “If you need me I’ll be at Tara Next Door!” Make up done for Vivien Leigh was done right behind The Tara Plantation. At the time GWTW was being filmed, Marion Davies, Clara Bow, The Little Rascals, and Fay Wray all connect to this tiny little Trailer. The first ever mobile star studded Make Up Trailer in Hollywood.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road-Judy Garland is also laid to rest here.

*Marion’s neighbor, The Tower of Power.*“*Only the good die young”* *said Tyrone.*

*More neighbors*…**Mickey Rooney** 1938-“**Boystown”**-same year as fan letter. ***My kind of kid!***

*“So Mickey, I had the coolest fort upstairs in the Andy Hardy house at MGM. And another fort in building we called Boystown. Your sets became my forts.* ***We think of you all the time-I brought some mail…from 1938***.”

***Mickey Rooney fan mail from 1938.*** *I found this in a desk on the backlot in MGM*.

*Cecilia is best know as Marian Hardy*, *the sister of Andy Hardy.* *Alabama Power Company top corner-crossed out.*

*Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. She passed on in July of 1993 in Ventura California. In 1938, the time of this letter, she married actor Dick Baldwin.*

*Reflections of simpler times. Marion’s make up trailer had a koi pond right outside also.*

Home for Eternity yet, I feel she’s in **my house.** **Marion Davies’** *crypt.*

*Family name **Dovras-**Marion Davies is incognito for eternity.*

*Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door…*

*Marion at the entrance of Hearst Castle*

*Cool stuff like this ornate decoration- both trailer and tomb…*

*The make-up trailer and the crypt she is buried in both have just one door to enter*, *like the Twilight Zone*

*My dog Thora visiting with Marion*–*she talks through this mirror*, *in the* –**Twilight Zone.**

*Marion’s room lit right up like no time passed by at all. The bulbs were all unscrewed but original and in a box inside her room. Different colors and frosts helped provide the tint most favorable*. *Blue and red bulbs were options.*

**Randolph Hearst** is Mr. Statue, besides other things. She took a ‘fancy’ to his same art tastes. They had that in common.

Marion’s-Fan Mail Box or simply “**Somebody just wanted out!”**…beneath her crypt lies this protrusion. This is how I find treasure others miss or simply pass over. You gotta get your hands dirty to go back in time.

Across from this opulent crypt his a simple stone grave in a fancy location.

We shared a Make up trailer, a Movie Compound, and now are neighbors forever…A camera from 1933, on display at the Culver City Historical Society, was discovered in Marions’ trailer. In 1933-Marion had a new trailer. This original trailer location was a sling shot away from Skull Island and King Kong’s massive walls. Fay Wray had her make up done in this trailer, hence the camera. Continuity of make up…funny how things play out over time.

Marion Davies’ Make -Up trailer would be used by Fay Wray in 1933 for King Kong. Now they share the same cemetery, very close proximity.

My dog **Thora** was with me when we went inside Marion’s trailer on Lucerne Ave. We said “**Open Sesame”** and as the entry door opened, it revealed the secrets still hidden inside. As if this room wanted to be discovered by a caring figure, which I am.

Legendary Director Tony Scott, here directing Brigitte Nielsen in Beverly Hills Cop II is located at this plot. Expand and you will see his name in granite at the top, with his list of shows also carved in below his etched name. Victor, the gentleman pictured on the right, worked with Tony and still does for Ridley Scott. I have met both of these legends. Blade Runner is an all time favorite. 90 nights was the schedule for Blade Runner. Mostly all at Warner Brothers and many on New York Street. One of my all time favorite films. I was told that the affair Tony Scott had with Brigitte ended his marriage and Sylvester Stallone’s.

I was on that set-pictured here with our female star. Turmoil began here with the Scott family.

Your Mission, if you choose to accept it, is scale this impregnable fortress…. “I was here 50 years ago, scouting for a way in, it doesn’t exist. **Mission Impossible** best describes trespassing here.

*New York Street peeks over the t*op of the fence above this graveyard...

**Spirits in the Night**..You don’t know what they can do to you...

My Third Book is finally completed. An anthology of the decade of the 70’s ‘Trespassing Adventures on all of Hollywood’s Backlots’

Pictures on covers: John Ritter rescuing a kid from a burning building in the last MGM Feature ever done on their historic backlot. Hero at Large 1979. A special thanks to the legendary Marc Wanamaker for his fine words. The Front Cover is picture I also took in 1977. Behind the Fireworks-in a Hot Air Balloon is Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees sailing above the MGM Backlot. They had to duck for cover and this scene was replaced by CGI cheesy replacement.

This is a must see color experience, you won’t be disappointed. I’m not trying to sell you a used car like Cal Worthington does, fact is my diary just kept getting better. I took more pictures of MGM than anyone ever. This color book presents my personal photos on every film set used by MGM in this era.

Included are never seen before tear down photos in 1980. This book will make you laugh, and make you cry. Some stories will scare you but you will come away wanting more, after you catch your breath anyway. The final chases and events at MGM are inside these magical covers…enough said… Roll Film!

We begin today’s adventure mingling through grave sights and tombstones from the distant past. In this haunted landscape-I appear…

The date, June, Friday the 13th, 2025. It could just as well be 1925, clocks aren’t needed here, the sands of time are just… Blowing in the Wind.

I discovered my Hole in the Fence at MGM’s legendary backlot 2. The first set I saw was a cemetery. My friend Jimmy and I were frightened. We hid behind tombstones. We even hid alongside a coffin with weeds growing out of it. Ironically, my studio life began in a cemetery. A big fancy studio stood beyond, like what is in front of me today.

I immediately cross paths with Paramount Security guards right off the bat…”How is that, why are they here?” I ask my dog. I approach a gentleman with the badge and Paramount baseball cap. I ask why he is stationed here? Stonework surrounds us with names and beginning and end dates chiseled on the surface… Eternity begins here.

His response was the Paramount lot is so busy that overflow parking is taking place in this cemetery. Satisfied with his response, I asked “do you know where Marion Davies‘ grave is?”

No one that works here could direct me and neither can Paramount security. However, I was informed that question gets asked frequently. I have my suspicion because of the Italian architecture. It has a flare of the Randolph Hearst. I’ve found it. It’s fancy as expected.

It’s not a crypt -it’s a condo.

I’ve seen this movie before. Marion plays hard to get, except for me. It could be 1972, when I first visited here. It could even be 1899 when these pearly metal gates first opened.

Just me and my hunting dog on a hazy sunny summer afternoon. We see tomb after tomb of movie legends. I have met many of them. Very surreal, yet pleasant. We all have to checkout and what better place than backside a movie studio.

My dog and I sit in the shade under a tree as the sun gets reflected in patterns. I’ve found tranquility. The grave that happens to be next to me says- June 13, my birthday. Inviting me inside, “I’m not ready, Thank you.” The Paramount Studio fortress overlooks this graveyard. My dog’s ears rise a bit crooked as we hear conversations on the studio side of this graveyard. Past, present, one doesn’t know...just voices.

The graves closest to the backlot are as old as the studio. I’ve been here several times before. I never came to star search. I was looking for a way in Paramount Studios. After all, I am the Phantom. But that never happened, it’s impossible or should I say Mission Impossible…Yes, that show was made on the other side of this blockade. It’s built like a prison. The walls are insurmountable and several stories high. The perfect design to prevent trespassing. I remained in denial. I went back and forth, seeing if I missed any way to get in. I don’t need much but…

I was given a tour by my friend Tim in 1974 who was often in the television series Happy Days. Then, in the 80’s, I got a driver job on the film 48 Hours with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. I drove a San Francisco trolley from the Paramount lot to downtown L.A. It was supposed to be San Francisco. I have very little history here at this studio but certainly not for lack of trying.

In 1976, MGM became Paramount. Dino De Laurentiis took over Louis B. Mayer’s office and the work force was all things Paramount Pictures. Kong was too big to be contained at this tiny facility. I experienced Paramount under the grandeur that was MGM.

Memories cloak their selves with silence. Dead Men Tell No Tales around these parts. Silence is as powerful a tool as a jackhammer. Become in touch with frequencies and dimensions, they are everywhere, invisible, like electricity…soak it all in or you may miss a key road marker.

My googling leads me from Cecil B. DeMille and his family, past Don Adams tomb to Burt Reynolds. I visit each grave, and find myself connected here, almost eerily. I met these recent additions to Hollywood Forever on studio backlots. Hooper – I talked to him about stunts in real life. I also discussed them with Hal Needham. This happened while filming chariot races around the High Noon western street on the Columbia Ranch. Burt was wearing a cowboy hat that day, as he is now and for eternity.

I circle him in respect, I had no idea he was here. Close by, Don Adams’ grave is a tribute to Maxwell Smart. He is saying “Farewell” in his shoe phone. Heaven needed a good comic actor and took Agent 86 from us. I gave him a tour once at Universal. At the Flash Flood, the water jumped the retaining wall. It soaked my shoes as we all watched 10,000 gallons of recycled water reach its catch basin. Other than the 5 gallons that hit my floor pedals. My shoes got drenched. In all his wit, Don Adams, in Maxwell Smart’s voice, says, “I ruin more shoe phones that way!”

Here he is today, his gravestone forever will portray him calling the chief from his shoe. I love this guy. That series was shot close by at Sunset Bronson for four years prior to CBS. He belongs here-forever placing that call to CONTROL.

As I pass Tyrone Power, I’m suspicious of a crypt next to Mr. Power’s simple residence. The name doesn’t match, I carry on yet hear a ghost whisper… I’m drawn to this crypt like a magnet-very similar to the mysterious make up room of hers I discovered. Personal items belonging to her from as far back as the silent days. The truth is this 100-year-old horse drawn Make-up trailer would deteriorate quickly. It could become like a rotted old garden shed in just a blink of an eye. Marion’s spectacular room and all its movie history would disappear, as if it never existed. That was the fate until it called out to me, begging to be rescued. I discovered a photo that confirms who this was built for… A needle in a haystack possibility suddenly turned to 24k gold.

If that isn’t enough, it continued as a featured Make-up station for two of the biggest films ever made. These films were King Kong, released in 1933, and Gone With the Wind. Yes, the mirrors in this trailer are like the paintings Rod Serling stands in front of in Night Gallery. Laced with intrigue, you’re looking back to flapper days.

Mirrors are portals, and you feel her presence. Her original room continued to light up stars’ faces. This happened even after she moved to MGM in a new, fancier trailer. The same power that pulled me into the trailer was now magnetically tugging at me in this graveyard. Finally, after a short visit with Mickey Rooney I find the electronic clue to Ms. Marion. I leave Mickey after telling his nameplate, “I had a cool fort Mickey. It was in your Andy Hardy house in the 70’s. I grew up at MGM too…see ya Mickey”

Back to where I heard those ghost whispers- yes it’s Marion. Another obvious clue is the simple grave alongside. Charlie Chaplin’s mother, Hannah. Marion’s best friend, is buried alongside her there. His mom is located next to Marion’s crypt. Her death long preceded the building of Dorvas family crypt, meaning Marion specifically built hers alongside Ms. Chaplin. Charlie never made it, his grave in Switzerland was ransacked and he was held for ransom. How many dead people can claim a ransom, it’s usually reserved for the living. That’s immense Star Power.

Now that I’m in Marion’s resting place, I show respect and thank her for sharing this most amazing Hollywood relics still useable. I’m sure that’s the reason her spirit connected with mine, to preserve what’s left of this fabulous piece of history. My thoughts and exchanges with this legend are reciprocated through telepathy. We do this at my house too. My office- is her old Make-Up station. How cool is that!

She knows me. I think I am the most recurring face she sees now. We crossed paths in that backyard long ago. She wanted me to have this in my hands. I earned it; I won’t break up all the treasure inside it. I had my suspicions 50 years ago about that mysterious room.

Now her room, itself a star of a million magical moments of movie history, will forever be safe. Reflections of the way life uses to be stare back at the image that stands in front of it. They can also take you on a journey back in time, before sound in movies existed. Expressions ruled, they made you laugh, or cry. Silent films are like this cemetery, this place is one large silent movie. Horses not only pulled coffins around in a snapshot of history. They also hitched up movie trailers and went “On Location.”

Louis Armstrong..All Right, send us off with a little Jazz, Mr. Satchmo!

Written and lived by… Donnie Norden.

Easter Egg Hunt at MGM

March 27, 2025 Phantom of the Backlot2 Comments

The final scene from MGM’s Easter Parade 1948. I have my own special Easter celebration on MGM Backlot 2.

Easter is when the difference between Catholic School and Public School is most noticeable. The days off don’t line up at all. Catholic kids wait for the resurrection before being cut loose with days off. Public School just calls it “spring break” no morals or scruples, just colored eggs and time-off. We pray- while they play!

But on Easter Sunday…all is forgiven. We all unite as one-under the guise of a good Peter Rabbit story. This is the time east meets west, all roads lead to God.

Jews, Catholics, Muslims, even Atheists, can come together as flowers start their magnificent blooms. Today, God, in his magic, created colored eggs and chocolate bunnies. These are for kids of every age and color to unite in this small, small world. It’s amazing what candy can do…it breaks down fences and barriers.

My Easter lasted three months last year. That’s when Jimmy and I finally finished finding all the eggs. Two stubborn faded hard-boiled guys stayed hidden until around the 4th of July. Their odor and decomposition finally gave them away. They were lodged inside the steel bumper of an old Rambler that my dad has parked in our long driveway…

Odor solved; it was beginning to affect our kitchen table breakfasts. “No mom, I don’t want any eggs today or ever again.” We’ve been living off pancakes for over a month due to the foul effects of rotten eggs.

This year, my mom has encouraged me to do this elsewhere, like Jimmy’s house. She still wants to spend Saturday coloring a couple dozen fresh ones. Mom’s quite the artist. The rule this year is to hide them somewhere else.

I am walking home from Market Basket with 2 dozen eggs in tow. I also have a box full of chocolate marshmallow bunnies. I see Maureen as I turn the corner headed home for the decorating party. She is wearing a new Led Zeppelin t-shirt. We both attended the concert at the Fabulous Forum. However, we were not there together. We excitedly exchange notes: “My seats were terrible” she says, “My seats were great” I brag. “They sounded sloppy drunk” she complains but it was mind-blowing!” we agree. “What ya got there Donnie?”

“Oh yeah, eggs!” then I ask her, “do you want to sneak in MGM and hide these with me?” “You hide a dozen. I will hide a dozen at the same time. There’s no better place for a hard-boiled egg hunt than MGM.”

“Of course, what time?” she chimes. “Bright and early. I have to go to church about 11.” That was the one condition I had to agree to, to get this bag of Easter goodies.”

My mom loves MGM, if she didn’t walk with a crutch, she would come with us, I’m sure…bless her heart. In the spirit of living through her son, she has helped me decorate my eggs. We decorated them after MGM movie stars!

We are talking an Easter Parade of eggs, saluting MGM legends. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Liz Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Ricardo Montalban, Roddy McDowall, Clark Gable, Judy Garland and Laurel and Hardy. MGM’s big hitters made up and ready for their 7am backlot call times.

A Bright Easter Morning – 7am

Maureen greets me on my porch, my parents are still asleep, we sit on the stairs admiring these hard-boiled legends. My mom should work for the MGM Art Department. Fantastic stuff, mom outdid herself on these hard-boiled entertainment legends!

We know these will end up being pulverized, that’s how most our egg hunts terminate, with a Battle Royale.

We load everything in a canvas bag with handles. It’s easy to run with, just in case a whiskered easter villain with a badge interrupts us. TWA has its logo stitched on each flapped side; it fits nicely on my shoulder. I feel like a pilot. Why not? We do have a jumbo jet inside the airplane hangar. It was used in the movie Skyjacked, starring Chuck Heston.

TWA meet MGM as 4 tennis shoes hit the ground at the same time at our Grand Central Train Station. We quickly occupy a seat in the Pullman train cars to get a feel for what’s up on the backlot. I expect zero security, or a courtesy Bronco drive through at best. Maybe the White Rabbit will run by, anything can happen here. We’ll tell him a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given us the call.

The sun enters through the train windows. These windows are caked with dust patterns on the east side compartments. It shines on the eggs we are looking over one last time…Nice, mom made a Louis B. Mayer egg, and it’s gold, with round glasses!

Maureen finds a special egg in her carton… Lassie… mom painted the dog!

We love all of Lassie’s shows. I should have brought my dog Pebbles with us, that’s all that’s missing here. This is like That’s Entertainment- hard boiled!

Ok, here’s the rules…Catholic kids always have to have rules, it’s the law.

“You hide yours here, in these trains…and inside the Grand Station,” as I gesture with my arms. I will go to the cemetery behind the Romeo and Juliet sets. Your hunt will be in the graveyard.”

“Sounds fun …get out of here!” as I am pushed out the side train door back onto the cement platform. “I’ll be back after I hide these guys, you have this entire train station to work with…see you in about 15 minutes!”

Twenty – minutes later, at the depot…

There are five trains at this depot. Each train has its own long aisle with rows of seats. The seats provide hiding places.

I find my first egg, sitting proudly like the head of a movie studio would. It’s the Golden Egg, with Louis B. Mayer on it. It is in between the arm rests separating two reclining seats. His glasses are facing forward, as if he’s ready to have his ticket punched… in the first-class section.

He is the first one to go back inside the egg carton. Maureen is upset I found that one so quickly. She said, “I think he wants out of this dusty train.” He would like to head back to his clean white office as I shut the lid on this mogul.

Peter Lawford has just been located, in an overhead compartment, he is yellow and hidden properly. The initials P.L. are on this egg in case we couldn’t recognize this member of the rat-pack. One of my mom’s heart throbs. This is so fun!

Maureen says there are a few outside also… I climb down the steel steps. I examine the exterior, underneath the carriage, the train’s massive wheels, the couplers, and the air hoses. It feels like a conductor doing his pre-trip inspection. As luck and hinting would have it, Fred Astaire has been spotted on the sprouting grass between the rails. This spot is where he filmed the Band Wagon and the classic song –By Myself.

Astaire… scene from the Band Wagon, but mom has drawn him in his more familiar top hat. (Grand Central Station MGM Backlot #2).

My Easter Egg Hunt location (Grand Central Station MGM Backlot #2).

Free Range Fred Egg

Roddy McDowall is hiding around here I’m told. That hint takes me to the doorway he walked through when we both met him on Planet of the Apes. As I walk through that same door today, his egg appears, it’s on the fence cross brace in plain sight. It says Roddy on one side and is died Purple. That is a perfect color for the Bookworm.

I met Roddy McDowall for my second time on this TV series in 1974. He greeted all the kids who were watching these scenes filmed at Grand Central Station. The series wanted an abandoned look, bringing in cement fragments. The station was used in Young Frankenstein right before this and was very fancy. Both Planet of the Apes and Young Frankenstein were 20th Century Fox renting the MGM backlot. This station would get fixed up nicely for The Fortune, this deterioration is set dressing. This would become fit for a Band Wagon, once again.

The hunt begins here, we climb in where these train tracks enter the backlot.

We’re leaving the Train Station and off to the cemetery! -There is a fence in this picture laying on the ground, white and dented, a car crashed through it. It was a traffic accident, not a stunt. Imagine crashing your car on the backlot. I’d keep driving around, leave out the main gate. The studio added a replacement fence. Funny enough, it was the side of a ship. It had port holes to look into the studio. That’s the story behind this picture. Look closely, the rear of the train has a guard getting out of the Red Bronco. They patrol this area knowing this is our favorite way in.

My partner in today’s story…This picture is from Maureen’s balcony seen here holding her nephew Shad, In the background is Lot 2. Yes, she had balcony MGM seating. We watched filming from her bedroom. So much fun…Notice the fence and you will see two-port holes. That’s the replacement to the fence-the side of a ship. Only in Hollywood…

MGM Lot 2 cemetery in its glory. Site of my original Hole in the Fence. When we entered, we were scared stiff, we crawled in the high grass along these tombstones. This cemetery was moved around to different locations. NY Street used it on Soylent Green. Also, The Phantom of the Backlot used these graves at Tarzan’s Lake. Then Young Frankenstein made a graveyard below the Girls Reform School I still call Boystown. These are Styrofoam. Some are wood.

These gravestones were used in “Young Frankenstein” and seen here in transit.

A picture I took of the location of the Lot 2 cemetery. I’m peeling apart Peter Lawford as we head over to the next set. I’m hungry… it’s always fun when you can eat game pieces. The cemetery relocated for more filming.

We are done on my part of the hunt, next it’s her turn!

An egg hunt in a haunted cemetery…

“OK girl,” I kept it simple; most are in this cemetery but two are at the pool, just sunning themselves.” She scans the field of retired souls, and now slowly walks apprehensively in search of…movie eggs. Cautiously, she touches the tops of the graves, like she’s knocking on a front door. She is warming up to this macabre environment. I bet no kids anywhere are having an Easter Morning quite like this… except maybe in Transylvania.

That’s good because I hid a white egg with Red Slippers on it- inside a coffin. This coffin has weeds growing out of the partially open lid. The egg just rolled under a wad of ancient and current spider webs. We will see if these slippers can be recovered. Otherwise, Boris the Spider is the new owner of these painted on Ruby Red Slippers.

She points to the sarcophagus, looking for some reaffirmation, I blankly stare back, “Open it!”

Knowing she hates spiders -her head turns as if she’s seen a Phantom, perhaps Lon Chaney. He lurked this lot in the silent era after all… Boldly she grabs the Judy egg. “It’s cracked”, she says. Then in one smooth move as I approach her, she throws it at me sidearm.

Bullseye! She’s good… she can turn a double-play, she’s that good. The cracked egg is now pulverized as I tumble backwards alongside someone less fortunate than me. From a horizontal position, I look up at the graves as the dust settles, I slowly lift myself back up. We both bust up, “keep hunting”-as I think-your time will come!

I left this simple. A six-year-old could do it. Most of these hard-boiled movie stars are now recovered, except the two “E’s”…Elvis and Esther. Esther sits balanced on the edge of her own diving board. Skateboards have replaced swimmers nowadays. Maureen examines this blue egg with Esther on it. We agree to let her roll off the diving board. This will be her final plunge. We will leave her in the pool for eternity… Elvis, with your collar and fancy hair, you just stay seated in that metal lawn chair.

We sit next to King’s egg and talk. Just Maureen, me, and an egg painted with hair, glasses, and a collar. We decide to leave him be, “Happy Easter Elvis, if you get hungry, my mom’s having a buffet, around 2-ish”

Written and lived by… Maureen Miller and Donnie Norden

Romeo and Juliet Revisited

March 23, 2021February 8, 2025 Phantom of the BacklotLeave a comment

Today, for Valentine’s Day Week, I wish to share a story. It is from this timeless classic from my first book, Hole in the Fence.

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

First Dance goes to Dad, Ms. Maureen Miller and her father doing the” Hootenanny Hoot“

“My Turn”..10 cents a Dance–thereafter.

How Romantic is this…

I have a wonderful surprise planned for Maureen. Valentine’s Day is coming up…

Under a silvery moon…

I just happened to see the film Romeo and Juliet the other night. It was on a late-night airing. It was right after Rona Barrett signed off on her nightly entertainment updates. I often stay up later than I should if an MGM movie is advertised. When George Cukor is the Director, the film probably has scenes on the MGM backlots. Sure enough, this 1936 classic delivers the goods on the Spanish street.

I instantly recognize sets that I am “in” frequently!

I had no idea they were critical to this film. A balcony, used by Leslie Howard to serenade Ms. Norma Shearer. This section of the lot is a stone’s throw to Maureen’s apartment. I found myself seduced more by the backlot than the story. Still, I managed to follow the simple plot written by this Shakespeare guy!

Valentine’s eve…

I’m going all out tonight. Juliet will never forget this Valentine’s eve. I have two miniature boxes of Whitman’s Samplers so we can compare treats. I also got some candy hearts, the ones with those romantic nomenclatures on them. And a couple of Fortune cookies that were in a bowl on mom’s sink. Finally, outta the fridge is a box of leftover Piece O’Pizza slices, this night is really coming together!

Gotta haves;

Flowers…so, I pick a few multi colored roses from my mom’s garden.

Music… I’m making a cassette of special music from my parent’s album collection.

Mood lighting…a candle will do the trick.

Smooth dialogue… I have been practicing fancy Italian phrases all day.

Wardrobe… I want to look Italian. I’ll need a long sleeve shirt that exposes the chest just like Romeo. Like I’m ready to sword fight at any given moment. A red scarf? Too much? I think not.

I take my final look in the mirror and something is missing, some effect or personal touch…shoe polish! Perfect, we have tons of it. My dad wears polished black shoes to work. I wear it on my face when I play football and army battles on the backlot. But never like the way I have it on now. I now have a mustache with the curly ends no less. I look like a cross between Romeo, a Gondolier and a pizza guy. I think I’m ready.

I slip a rose in a vase for my mom before I leave home. I also add a box of chocolates and a note. Mom, this is for you. With much appreciation for all you do. I’m coming home late tonight most likely, but don’t worry, I’ll be safe. I beat her to the sincere motherly phrase she says every time I leave the house.

It’s decided that Maureen will sneak out of her room. She will meet me right out front here at 2300 hours. Or as kids say… 11 pm!

We start at her balcony, just across from Verona, Italy

From her stairway balcony- these buildings are a stones throw away. The sets from Romeo and Juliet.

The iconic sets from Romeo and Juliet are right behind this red Opal. That’s her sister Barbara’s car, we were too young to drive. All we had to do is cross the street and climb that fence…

Maureen’s brother has a garage band, The Millers are like-The Partridge Family. Her mom is a sheriff, and target full of strategically placed bullet holes greet those lucky enough to get inside. “Enid” reminds me of Angie Dickinson. That how this family rolls…

Romance awaits-I hope

Dong-Dong-Dong;

My princess appears, and whoa! I don’t recognize her at first as she walks out her glass front apartment building doorway. Her hair is in curlers. There are traces of cold cream on her face. I think she tried to wipe it off before our date. Hmm, I think to myself. So, this is how she looks so good in school. She multi-tasks! I realize now how complex it must be to be a young lady. It’s time consuming too! Oh well, that’s probably why they get this day called Valentine’s Day!

I scan downward from the curlers atop her head. I notice the cream on her face and the hideous plaid flannel PJ’s. Most importantly, I see her shoes. Good, she has running shoes, not slippers. She gets that part, our dates involving MGM require good shoes!

We are like animals in the zoo, examining each other. She has perfect circles surrounding each eye, like she had on cucumber sunglasses before I picked her up. We scan each other’s person, each thinking silently a million thoughts. She scans upwards as I scan downwards. Finally, there is mention of my manly mustache and exposed chest. “You look quite dashing Don Juan” she says as she flirts me a smile, “but you better button up. It’s chilly.” Thank goodness, I think, I was getting goosebumps in my effort to impress.

Maureen uses a note technique she has perfected just in case her mom realizes she’s missing. She couldn’t be any closer yet not be home. It’s like she’s sleep walking. We will use that as our excuse in this get-up.

I’ll tell security “She has this sleep disorder problem. I’m just trying to get her out of here.” She would make for a great mug shot in this get up. But then, so would I!

It’s the first time ever on the backlot a pajama’d trespasser is on the loose. She’s like having a female actress just finished with make-up. She waits her turn with wardrobe and costumes. Finally, she is needed on the set. The set tonight features the actual balconies. These were used by all the actors in the 1936 version of Romeo and Juliet. I wonder what Romeo would have done if Juliet appeared on the balcony this way…

He may have turned around and climbed up another balcony…

Puffy clouds cross in front of the moon’s big bright face as we arrive in Verona Square. It’s a place of romance both past and present.

A land of steeples, stairways and balconies…

I stop Maureen at the base of some mortar stairs, they are centrally located in this square. I ask her to sit on this ramp I’m preparing by wiping off all the eucalyptus acorns and fallen leaves. Like a waiter preparing a table for two. I hand her a rose that was quenched sideways in my mouth and stick it in her P.J top pocket. Next, it’s all on me. I go up the wooden stairway inside. I open the balcony doors above her. In my best Capella, I start to chant romantic forget me-nots. It is in Italian no less.

I don’t speak Italian normally but tonight- I am doing my best.

“Sei sempre nel miocuore” I start, having rehearsed this line throughout the day. Fortunately, I took drama at St. Augustine’s and have been in several plays, so I’m a bit of a Ham! After a prolonged silence from Maureen, I decide to follow up with the translation. I hope to ignite a spark in my actress. You will always be in my heart! – there it is in boring old English.

Good that worked. I hear the thump of her feet running up the stairs. She pushes open the rickety glass doors to join me on this balcony under the star studded moonlight. She kisses me pretty damn hard. Curlers and all, ah heck, she’s hot anyway. I press play on the cassette player. Dean Martin captures the mood this Valentine’s night…

We hear that “click.” It tells us it’s time to flip the cassette over. I notice she now has a shoe polish mustache too. And a couple of her curlers have gone rogue. That’s Amore!

I’m not sure when the last serenade played out here. I doubt it was as the clock struck midnight February 14. Luckily, security has been elsewhere. I feel mood lighting is safe since this is secluded. I light a candle that illuminates what the moonlight reflecting off the window panes does not.

At first, just the comfortable airplane seats become obvious as our eyes try to find tangible objects. These first-class seats were put up here by someone other than me. I know they are from the airplane room, which is a country mile from here. I’m impressed by all the effort it had to take getting these seats up here.

This is a perfect spot to recline, buttons on each side of a seat arm- adjust the recline. A heavily used ash tray sits top side for nervous flying folks. We’re three stories high in an Italian Village as we pretend we just boarded a Pan Am 747. Candy, flowers, pizza and music fill out the rest of this balcony scene.

“It feels so forbidden to sneak away in the middle of the night. It feels like when Romeo visited Juliet on her balcony.” Maureen speaks to me with a tone that is both bewitching and captivating. She says, “I’ve had my eye on you from across the street since we were six years old. I always knew I would make you mine.” “Me too, I confess.” We are consumed in the moment as we hold hands and stare upwards…star gazing.

The only thing missing is a glass slipper, we both have school tomorrow so our night ends sooner than later. We extinguish the candle, then disembark from the airline seats inside the balcony set. It takes two minutes to deliver her back to her unread “I’ll be back soon note” to mom. One of our Fortune Cookies promised us this tid-bit “Fun and excitement awaits you” No truer fortune cookie ever existed!