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On
Location: California's T.V. Land Part II
By Arthur Handy
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How do those movie people find those amazing movie places?
Well, we scout out and search, and search, and search,
and search. Let’s put on our Hollywood location
scouting hats as we go in search of yesteryear. So hold
on, don’t change that dial, we’re going back,
On Location, to T.V. Land Part II! |
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Marshall,
Will and Holly were plunged down a thousand feet below
to Sid and Marty Kroffts Land of the Lost. The show ran
on Saturday mornings from September 1974 to December 1976.
It
was a land that time forgot featuring prehistoric dinosaurs
(Grumpy, Dopey, and Alice), Sleestak (giant lizard dudes),
Pylons filled with crystals, and of course a little monkey
boy named Chaka.
When
the family wasn’t camping out in their cave-made
home, they checked into their tree house suite.
That
tree house still stands, in Descanso Gardens, which
also doubled as the jungle landscape. It’s located
at 1418 Descanso Drive, in the city of La Canada/Flintridge
California, northwest of Pasadena.
If
you enter the Land of The Lost, look out for the Marshals
and the modern movie re-make crew. Rumor has it that
when the reviews came out, the writers went the way
of the pylon express and hasn’t been see since.
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Smiles
everyone, smiles. Welcome to Fantasy Island!
So
began the 7 seasons on the ABC network.
Each week guests would come to the Island to fulfill some
fantasy or impossible wish and end up in a twisted, Dorothy
dream like lesson with a slipper clicking life-changing
revelation. The
Mysterious host, the debonair and suave white-suited
Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke and Herve Villechaize
as the diminutive “Tattoo” would greet,
host, and toast all with the brightest of smiles.
For
seven seasons, viewers believed that they were being
whisked away to a secluded oceanic Garden of Eden when
they tuned in on Friday nights to FANTASY ISLAND. In
reality, the famous opening sequence, which transported
couch adventurers high above a tropical island for a
breathtaking bird's eye view of powerful waterfalls
bursting forth from lush greenery, was the only true
taste of the islands that FANTASY ISLAND could offer.
In fact, all but the opening montage and two season
premiere episodes, were filmed just 25 short miles from
the bright lights of Hollywood, at the Arboretum in
Arcadia, California.
Featured
in every opening credits of the show, as Tattoo rang the
bell and shouted “De Plane”…. is the
Queen Anne Cottage, at the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia.
The Arboretum is approximately 15 miles from Downtown
Los Angeles. On Location will feature Arboretum in a future
edition.
One
more thing, keep those Island fantasy’s rated
P.G. Boys and Girls!
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Central….
This is L A - 7 Mary 3 and 4 Patrolling
the highways and byways, city streets, mountaintops,
and sandy beaches of Los Angeles, two brave knights,
a ride their mechanical steeds, protecting, saving lives.
Of
course I’m talking about CHP Officer Frank “Ponch”
Poncherello and CHP Officer Jon Baker and the rest of
the “CHiPs” cast.This great series was first
telecast on NBC on September 15, 1977 and ran for 6 seasons,
entertaining and introducing young audiences to the City
and County streets of Los Angeles before running itself
into the ground.
There
were so many L.A. locations featured it’s hard to
pinpoint just a few. Filming locations were generally
in the San Fernando Valley of California. Freeway crashes
(pipe rams, flips, slow-mo anti gravity stunts) were done
on recently constructed highways that were about to open
to the public. For the first season, the Glendale Freeway
(Highway 2) in Montrose, California was used. After the
first season, the intersection of the Foothill Freeway
(Interstate 210) and the Simi Valley Freeway (Highway
118) in Sylmar, California were used.
This
call box locations was one featured in which phony 911
calls were made from by a wannabe fire fighter. It’s
one of a Zillion call boxes that a line the California
super highways (aka: freeways). Can you identify the
call box location? How about the episode? I know and
I’m not telling!
Chips
also stared Robert Pine as Sergeant Getraer and featured
stars like Bruce Jenner, Paul Linke (Grossman), Randi
Oakes (Officer Bonnie Clark), Lou Wagner (Harlan) and
the future Star Trek Klingon of all Klingons, Michael
Dorn (Officer Turner). Point of Trivia: Throughout the
entire show there was only one instance where a gun
was drawn and it was by Brodie Greer (Officer Baricza).
On who? Who else but Danny Bonaduce.
The show finally took a wrong turn allowing Wilcox,
my favorite, to leave the show. Without “Jon”,
Ponch was left with wannbie Bakers and the show never
recovered, canceling out in 1983.
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Love,
exciting and new…come on board, we’re expecting
you.
Set
aboard the Pacific Princess, a luxury cruise ship that
embarked each week on a romantic, sentimental, and often
hilarious voyage across tropic seas.
Three
or four stories told on each telecast were interwoven
and often involved the ship's crew, who were seen on the
show every week. Famous movie and TV stars were delighted
to accept guest roles on The Love Boat's floating sound
stage, combining work with travel to exotic locations.
The first voyage and telecast took place on September
24th, 1977. Most of the episodes were filmed on two real
cruise ships, the Pacific Princess and the Island Princess,
during their regular voyages from the Virgin Islands to
Alaska. Paying passengers were invited to participate
as extras.
Famous movie and TV stars of the past and present were
always a part of the floating sound stage, combing work
with travel to exotic locations. Among the many famous
names were: Dick Van Patten, Jane Wyman, Steve Allen,
Greer Garson, Don Adams, Janet Gaynor and Helen Hayes.
Charo was around for the recurring role of singer-guitarist
April Lopez.
Want
to see the real "Love Boat", take a love cruise,
and find a new romance? Scout out the Los Angeles Harbor
at San Pedro. These Princess "fun ships" dock
regularly at the cruise terminal just beneath the Vincent
Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.
While your there, check out the S.S. Lane Victory, featured
in the movie Radio Silence, Out Break, The X-Files,
and A Thin Red Line. |
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tuned in next month for On Location |
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