Universal Studios, August 1966
Many of you know of my love of Universal Studios, California (back then, it was the only one!). I scanned a batch of slides from August, 1966 - I'll share half of them with you today.
First up is this nice view taken from the top of the hill at Universal City - those who don't know might be surprised to learn that Universal Studios Hollywood is on very hilly terrain - there is an upper lot and a lower lot - the soundstages and much of the backlot is on the lower area. As you can see here, the famous Prop Plaza is at the bottom of this image, with some backlot stuff beyond that, and then Lakeside Golf Club past that. You can also see some Grade A smog.
Zooming in to the left side of the Prop Plaza, we can see such things as some vintage vehicles, including a fire engine and what looks like a gangster's car. Above those is at Stagecoach that guests could climb aboard, and the backdrop (on rollers) would pass behind it. Toward the middle are some trees surrounded by foam rubber boulders. And, something I have never seen before, a very large space capsule, because we all went to orbit in 1966.
Continuing to the right, we see more vehicles, another smaller capsule, a WWII fighter plane, and PT-73, the Navy PT boat from McHale's Navy. And we can just see the end of a Glamor Tram!
Here's a nice shot of some kids aboard the previously-mentioned stagecoach.
Elsewhere along the tour, kids get to experience MOVIE MAGIC by standing in an artificial snowfall. But don't worry, it's just safe, warm asbestos. Three of the kids have their own cameras, including what might be a Polaroid (to the right).
Everyone loved to take pictures of the wild west stunt show, especially when a lilly-livered varmint got plugged full of lead and plummeted to his death. I'm kind of surprised to see that guests could stand so close to the landing zone. This stunt still looks pretty dangerous to me!
And lastly (for today), here's a tropical lagoon, with a small native village right on the sandy shore. Could that be another PT boat behind the branches to the right? Maybe the studio was able to acquire several of the real thing after WWII? It's possible, although I've read that most were destroyed after V-J Day.
Zooming in doesn't reveal a whole lot of useful details, but we can see some dugout canoes, round thatched huts, and a few larger huts that would now sell for $1.2 million in Southern California. Come for the pictures, stay for the sassy commentary!
Stay tuned for PART II of this series from Universal Studios!
10 comments:
Major-
The young lady has a Kodak Brownie Starmite Camera, with a 'built-in flash'. The fella in the center has a Kodak Flashfun 2 Hawkeye Camera.
And the young gentleman on the right has a Polaroid Swinger camera: "... Swing it up... It say YES. Take the shot... Count it down... Zip it off-!"
Thanks, Major.
Looks like the foam boulders have been scattered all around the area, including by the space capsule. I wonder if the guests tossed them around or if the employees placed them there?
The Tram looks to be almost empty. Maybe it stopped there to let the guests get out and explore the Prop Plaza... and to toss fake rocks around.
There's a "Wet Paint" sign next to the kid's foot on board the Stagecoach. Was there really some wet paint there or is that just part of the scenery?
Definitely a Polaroid on the right; a "Swinger", I believe. [Yay, Nanook confirms it!] The kids don't look too thrilled to be covered with all that "movie magic"... even if it IS just harmless warm asbestos.
That's a nice action shot of the stuntman ("lily-livered varmint") falling off the building. I suppose the most dangerous part of the stunt is avoiding getting impaled by the rifle as you land.
I seem to recall that McHale was friends/trading partners with the king/chief of a nearby Polynesian village in the series. (It's been decades since I've watched it.) Maybe this is that village?
These are nice photos of Universal Studios, Major. They give a sense of actually being there. Thanks.
It looks like that stuntman is really eyeing the mat, to make sure that he hits his target. Although, I suppose once you are airborne, there isn't much you can do to change course. Maybe flapping your arms would help.
I know this is a long shot, but McHale's Navy did end it's four season run in 1966. Perhaps they were filming the series finale in that last shot? You know, the episode where the Professor finally came up with a way to successfully get McHale and the other castaways off of that uncharted desert isle.
Those aren't just any space capsules, by gum, they're Gemini cspsules! You can tell by the twin hatches and the name inside of their underwear.
The aircraft is a P-51 Mustang- which is what the Ford car was named after, even though the car logo is a horse. Confusing, huh?
Great pics, Major!
These pics were just before my (only) visit, in 1969, I think.
I vividly remember the snow scene, exactly as shown here. It was semi-outdoors and looked perfectly snowy. The flakes were bits of translucent plastic film, very light shreds. There was a wire mesh drum up behind the wall frame, out of sight, turned with a chain and gear mechanism so the plastic shreds sifted out like, well, snowflakes.
In the 1920’s, my dad lived on a farm just below these hills. He and his brother wanted to be caddies at that golf course, but grandad wouldn’t permit them to do it. That course and the exclusive Toluca Lake development were brand new at that time and all the rage with the Hollywood Smart Set.
JG
Major, thanks for these pics, stirs some memories to be sure.
JG
Nanook, from now on I want you to refer to me as “Flashfun”. I feel sorry for the kid with the Polaroid - a fun concept that resulted in crummy photo prints.
JB, I’m sure that the boulders were carefully placed here and there first thing in the day, and then they’d have to be relocated. That foam rubber was actually pretty hefty, much denser than a Nerf ball. You might be right about the Tram, I wish I had better recollections of the old Tram Tour. We did it several times and I remember bits and pieces. “Wet Paint” - looks legit. I watched “McHale’s Navy”, but haven’t seen it for decades, and like the Tram Tour, only remember flashes of things. It had Joe Flynn, though - The sexiest man in America.
TokyoMagic!, if I was falling that distance, I’d be eyeing the mat too. I’m sure that the stuntman can turn his body to some degree, making for a softer landing. My brother would get so mad that you could see the stuntmen falling on mats, as if he really wanted them to be killed. McHale’s Navy had ended by the time these slides were taken - or rather when they were printed. Maybe the photos were actually taken six months earlier, in which case your hypothesis could be correct!
Stu29573, I have to assume that those Gemini capsules were used in a movie or TV show, I’d love to know the specifics! I suspected that the airplane was a Mustang, but was too lazy to do further research. Typical Major Pepperidge stuff!
JG, my older brother and I were so intrigued by the fact that Alfred Hitchcock himself used to do commercials for the Universal Studios Tour, and that parts of the tour emphasized mummies (from “Mexican catacombs”), the makeup department (with monster heads on display), and the Munster house. I was joking about the asbestos, though I know that the mineral was used for fake snow back in the 30’s and 40’s. Just sprinkle it around the Christmas tree! Yes, the wire mesh drum was overhead, operated by a push-button. You mentioned that your dad had a farm in the Toluca Lake area, amazing! Glad you enjoyed these photos.
Tokyo!, I seem to recall seeing Robby the Robot in that last episode as well. And as we all know, the Professor's plan fell apart at the last minute when Gilligan and Ensign Parker tripped over the cord, and Samantha Stevens had to 'twitch' them off the island.
I know there was at least one McHale's Navy movie. Perhaps the movie(s) was made just after the series ended?
August 1966 - an epic TV season was just about to start.
I always wanted to ride on a stagecoach like those lucky kids. I used to site in the woodbox and pretend it was a covered wagon, but for some reason we didn't have a cyclorama backdrop in the kitchen.
The snow-capped kids will have to split today's Vintage Fashion Award four ways. Kids' clothes were so cute in the Sixties.
JG, so cool about your family's farm being that close! Such a bummer that your Dad and uncle had to miss out on those caddy jobs. They might have schlepped for all sorts of famous people. My mother was offered a secretarial job at the FBI out of high school, but her parents talked her out of taking it. She could have been Deep Throat's secretary!
I remember the Prop Plaza! Somewhere, I have a pic of me as a kid (barely) holding up one of the boulders. The Major is right that they were actually very heavy foam rubber. I also remember giant checkers (like from a game board) that one could pose with or climb on.
To be honest, the Prop Plaza confused me. Similar to the walk through the sound stages, Universal would make all the guests leave the trams, wander around this unusual place for a while, and then wait in a line to re-board another tram, losing our perfect seats in the process. And then it seems this all suddenly disappeared. I'm not even sure what took it's place.
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