SoCal Trip: Universal Studios

12 March 2011

HOLLYWOOD is the historical center of movie studios and movie stars.  We had no interest in acquiring a map and searching out the homes of the stars, but we thought it might be fun to visit a studio lot — specifically, Universal Studios.

Here’s some information I posted in my photo album at the time … source unidentified:

The biggest and busiest movie studio in the world, Universal Studios is situated on more than 420 acres (170 hectares).  In March of 1915, film pioneer Carl Laemmle bought property in North Hollywood, and began to convert what had been a remote chicken ranch into a major film-making mecca.  The more than 15,000 people who attended the opening ceremonies had to hike seven miles (11 km) through the Cahuenga Pass to reach the site.

Laemmle was also the first to instigate the tours of the lots.  The first tour patrons hiked over Universal’s hills to an area known as Six Points, Texas, where they were allowed to cheer and hiss while actors and technicians filmed, at times, as many as six feature films simultaneously.  That was during the era of silent movies.  With the advent of sound into video, the Laemmle tours became impractical … silence on the set had become golden.  In 1964, the tours were begun once more, letting patrons view sets from behind the scenes, and attractions designed to illustrate movie-making technology.

Welcome to Universal!

The tour will take us to the backlot behind and below me.

Loaded into a tram, which was open on either side, we went exploring around the backlots of Universal.  Even though we had only one celebrity sighting, we enjoyed our day.

KITT, the talking car of Knight Rider fame.
(inset shows Edward Mulhare and David Hasselhoff with kitt.)

Ernest Borgnine on the set of Airwolf. 

Taking ET for a ride.

I'm probably one of the few people of our generation who hasn't seen Jaws.

Once inside Battlestar Galactica ...

… We experience a laser show and a close encounter with a cylon.

The parting of the Red Sea ... the mystery revealed.

Anywhere Europe!

Avalanche is all about special effects as the tram goes through the tunnel.

Watch out! We're about to be swept away.

Bomb Run — what looks like a big ocean in the movies is just a small pond on the set.

Me and my friends — Andy Panda and Woody Woodpecker.

Last, but not least, meet Universal’s newest starlet.  Her wide-ranging talent allows her to play roles such as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, and Red Sonja in Conan, the Barbarian!

Interestingly, according to a Wikipedia article I found on the Internet, of the six major film studios, 2009 statistics have Universal in last place with 9.2% of the movie market.