RIP Dom DeLuise 1933-2009

"Ghostbusters" Locations!

Here's another location I found during my New York trip in March. The Ghostbuster's Fire House.

The New York Public Library was seen in the opening of the film.

The Librarion above is the first person to encounter ghostly activity. This is the Library's reading room which has changed a little over the years.

Rosemary's Baby-Now and Then

I visited New York City last month and one of the places on my must see list was The Dakota apartment building near Central Park. Construction on the building was finished in 1884. In 1968 the exterior was used in Roman Polanski's film, "Rosemary's Baby", starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes.

This high angle shot is from the opening credits of the film.

The Upper West Side of Manhattan was quite sparse during The Dakota's early years.

Here you see Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes walking outside the building. That's Central Park in the background.
In the film, this couple, Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into the the building, called the Bramford. They befriend this older couple, the Castevets, who happen to be witches/devil worshipers. Many of the building's older residents are part of this coven. The Castevets convince Guy that he could have fame and success in his acting career if his wife conceives Satan's child.

The Dakota is also known as the home of former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono. Lennon was murdered in this entryway behind me on December 8th, 1980. He was shot several times in the back by Mark David Chapman when he was returning home for the night.

Yoko and John, outside The Dakota shortly before his murder.

This is actress Ruth Gordan, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Minnie Castevet. Some of her other films include "Harold and Maude" and "What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?". She was also a successful screenwriter, having received Oscar nominations for "Adam's Rib", "Pat and Mike", and "A Double Life".

In this scene, Mia is waiting for her friend, Hutch, outside the Time and Life building.

That's Radio City Music Hall in the background. Home of the Rockettes.

Weekend Photos From Hollywood!

Here are a few photos from this weekend's Hollywood Collectors Show in Burbank. At the show you have opportunity to meet many old time stars or look around the tables filled with all kinds of movie memorabilia. Some of the people in attendance included Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Joan Collins, Jane Withers, Bruce Dern, Paul Reubens, and Beau Bridges.

Here I am with actress Nancy Olson, star of many classic Disney films, including "The Absent-Minded Professor", starring Fred MacMurray.

She was married to famous music composer, Alan Jay Lerner. She's currently married to former Capital Records Chairman, Alan Livingston. At 80 years old, she looks pretty amazing!
Here are a few of Nancy's film roles. Top: She starred with William Holden in the 1950 classic, "Sunset Blvd", for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nomination. Below that is Nancy with Fred MacMurray in "The Absent-Minded Professor", 1961. The bottom two stills are from one of my favorite Disney films, "Pollyanna",1960, in which Nancy starred as a character named Nancy Furman, one of Aunt Polly's servants.
This is actress Elizabeth Daily, who starred as Dottie in, what else, "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure". Her distinctive voice has given her quite a successful voice over career. Some of her voices include Tommy Pickles in "Rugrats", Babe from "Babe: Pig in the City", and Buttercup from "The Powerpuff Girls".

Outside the show, this vehicle from " The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" was on display.
Back at home, I'm working on a personal project that will be shot in stop-motion animation. I'm returning to my roots!

Spahn Movie Ranch

At 1200 Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth, stands the former location of the infamous Spahn Movie Ranch.

Many Westerns were shot here, including "Duel in the Sun" and episodes of "Bonanza" and "The Lone Ranger". The old western town sets burned down in a 1970 fire.

This is George Spahn, the dairy farmer who purchased the property in 1948.

Here you can see one of the many Westerns that were shot on the property.

But Spahn Ranch is probably more well known today for being the location where the infamous Manson Family lived in the spring of 1969. On my visit there I found the location of the famous LIFE magazine photo of the Family, above. The lady third from the right is Lynette Fromme, who is serving a life sentence for attempting to assassinate President Ford in 1975.

It was from this ranch that madman Charles Manson sent out his followers on two nights of murder in the Los Angeles area.

On the night of August 9th, 1969 they went to the Benedict Canyon home of director Roman Polanski. The Manson Family members killed five people on the property, including Roman's wife, actress Sharon Tate. He was over in England working on a film at the time of the murders.

The next night, they went to the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary Labianca and killed the couple.

I could go into more details about the crimes, but it's been written about so much.
This shot is from a Police raid on the ranch. Members of the Family were picked up on a separate charge of car theft. The killers were finally charged in the Tate/Labianca murders after Manson member, Susan Atkins bragged to her cellmate about committing the crimes.

The World of Coraline at Universal Studios

Here are a few pics I snapped this weekend of the Coraline display at Universal Studios.
http://www.coraline.com/
It opens this Friday!

The film was created by Laika Entertainment in Portland, Oregon.

Here you can see the facial seam that was painted out in post production. The upper and lower parts of her face were separate replacement pieces.

More "Roger Rabbit" Locations and Stars!

Back in October, 2006 I wrote about a few locations used in the filming of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". http://kevinmaclean.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html I recently took the time to find one more spot used frequently throughout the film.

This is Hope Street in Downtown LA. It was the street used to film the scenes outside of Eddie Valient's Office and the bar where Dolores works.
Most of the buildings have been demolished, but Eddie's office was still there at the time of my visit.
It looks like it's ready for the wrecking ball.
This is Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit. During the filming of the movie, he actually dressed up as a rabbit and stood off camera, acting out his lines with Bob Hoskins. He was recently seen in "Zodiac", with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Here I am with actress Joanna Cassidy, who played Dolores in the film. She's had a long career in films including "Bank Shot" with George C. Scott and "Blade Runner".

"The Lone Ranger" Rock

Just West of Topanga Canyon Blvd, below the 118 Freeway, you'll find this famous boulder, known as the Lone Ranger Rock.
It was seen in the opening credits of the TV classic, The Lone Ranger(1949-1957). Actor Clayton Moore and his trusty steed, Silver, can be seen rearing up in front of the rock.

Me, Maggie, and the rock.

The area was once part of Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, a place where many Westerns were shot. Now there are condos surrounding the area. Nearby is the former location of the infamous Spahn Movie Ranch, once the home of the Manson Family!
Actor Clayton Moore(1914-1999) and Silver. Apparently, Mr. Moore continued to wear the mask and hat out in public after the series ended.

My trusty steed, Maggie, takes a rest on the rock.

She's exhausted after this photo shoot.