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Post by topbilled on Sept 29, 2023 13:23:10 GMT
Were both of these shows filmed at Universal?
I remember taking a tour of the Universal backlot and seeing where some of the Cabot Cove docks and town buildings were located. Yes! Both were shot at Universal. Both were cast by a fellow named Ron Stephenson.
I was thrilled to be able to walk around the lot. I kept thinking about when I was a kid watching Abbott and Costello and the Universal Horror films. Now here I was in the same place. I was 60 years too late but I loved it!
My father was a big fan of Columbo and we watched it all the time. I went to see Sweeney Todd on Broadway and had the temerity to say to Angela Lansbury, "I'd like to work with you one day." Some little dreams do come true.
Saw Lew Wasserman walking around one day and said hello to him. The biggest man in town and the least significant actor exchanging quick pleasantries.
BTW - In the early 90's it was possible to "sneak" on to the lot from a small entrance on Lankershim. I would walk around and eventually make my way to the park. 9/11 changed everything. I'm glad I got to experience a little of that.
Great memories. Thanks for sharing. Your comment about wandering around on the lot reminds me of something. Around 1992 or 1993, a friend of mine was a tutor...her job was to help some of the teenaged girls under contract at Warner Brothers complete their homework. These particular girls were on Sisters. You know, the show starring Swoosie Kurtz, Patricia Kalember and Sela Ward. The girls played Swoosie, Patricia and Sela in the memory flashbacks when the grown up women would recall something that happened to them as teens. It was a regular feature of the show, and these teen girls appeared in nearly every episode.
Anyway my friend tutored the girls on the lot, when they weren't needed on set. One weekend she'd lost something and was sure she had left it on one of the sound stages at Warner Brothers in Burbank. She called to ask if I wanted to go along. I said yes. Of course she had a pass to get in the front gate. This was on a Sunday afternoon when nobody else, except for the guards at the gate, were even there.
I was able to go into the soundstage where Sisters was filmed and look at all the main sets. Then on our way out, we happened to see that two other soundstages were open, so we went into those. I saw all the sets for a period drama called Homefront which was like stepping back in time to the 1940s. I really enjoyed that. I was impressed at how authentic all the props were, down to the type of toaster, waffle iron and radio they had in the kitchen set.
The other soundstage we sneaked on to was a massive set for an upcoming Batman movie. If I remember correctly, that production had completed filming and they were starting to take everything down...which is probably why the door was open, because maintenance was supposed to start hauling backdrops off to storage.
We had access to practically everything. I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy store. It was fun. A part of Warner Brothers history I was observing first-hand. I am sure gaining access to all that now, even on a Sunday afternoon, would be nearly impossible.
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Post by kims on Oct 10, 2023 6:41:54 GMT
I'm passing some time this evening with Jessica Fletcher and something just occurred to me. She was a high school teacher. When did she become close friends with people in Texas, California, New Orleans? The episode I'm watching, she's with a family who own a vineyard. She's pals with grandfather Eli Wallach, son John Saxon, and tutored a grandson. It is funny as I think of it. She always says she's from small town Cabot Cove and doesn't know about the high life, yet she's always pals with the rich and famous.
First time around of viewing, I must have been too focused on discovering the clues to the murders to notice this mystery of her background.
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Post by marysara1 on Oct 10, 2023 6:51:26 GMT
I'm passing some time this evening with Jessica Fletcher and something just occurred to me. She was a high school teacher. When did she become close friends with people in Texas, California, New Orleans? The episode I'm watching, she's with a family who own a vineyard. She's pals with grandfather Eli Wallach, son John Saxon, and tutored a grandson. It is funny as I think of it. She always says she's from small town Cabot Cove and doesn't know about the high life, yet she's always pals with the rich and famous. First time around of viewing, I must have been too focused on discovering the clues to the murders to notice this mystery of her background.
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Post by marysara1 on Oct 10, 2023 6:55:16 GMT
For one rich relatives. There was a 2 Parter about her brother-in-law hiding out in a circus.
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Post by nipkowdisc on Jan 6, 2024 4:56:09 GMT
my favorite ep of Columb0 is negative exposure with Dick Van Dyke.
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Post by yanceycravat on Jan 6, 2024 18:12:03 GMT
I'm passing some time this evening with Jessica Fletcher and something just occurred to me. She was a high school teacher. When did she become close friends with people in Texas, California, New Orleans? The episode I'm watching, she's with a family who own a vineyard. She's pals with grandfather Eli Wallach, son John Saxon, and tutored a grandson. It is funny as I think of it. She always says she's from small town Cabot Cove and doesn't know about the high life, yet she's always pals with the rich and famous. First time around of viewing, I must have been too focused on discovering the clues to the murders to notice this mystery of her background. Well if JF was a teacher then I suppose many of her students migrated to all parts of the world.
On another note... I'd be afraid of being any place where she showed up. You know SOMEBODY is going to die!!!
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