The Chaplin Studios…A Mega Magical Place In Time

It is hard to know where to start, because we have a rare opportunity to see this historic landmark as is is now, and as it was when it was first built at 1416 N. La Brea Avenue in Hollywood.

I’ve written a short history here which comes to life in these three videos.

In 1919, construction was completed on the land bought in 1917 by silent screen icon Charlie Chaplin, including his personal residence on the site. Many of Chaplin’s classic films were shot at the studios, including “The Kid” (1921), “The Gold Rush” (1925), “City Lights” (1931), “Modern Times” (1936), “The Great Dictator” (1940), “Monsieur Verdoux” (1947), and “Limelight” (1952).

This remarkable video shows the studio site in 1917, when it was just an orange grove and includes a rare time lapse of the studio being built. It continues with Chaplin “making a movie” which gives us a look at almost every part of the lot, including his office, the sound stage, The Barn, film lab and much more…even Fatty Arbuckle plays a part. This is fascinating!!

For comparison, here is a recent tourist video that kind of gushes, but is none the less quite detailed and shows us some things verified in the first video, like the door Charlie used, which is not a door anymore. 

In that in the tourist video we didn’t see inside the sound stage, here is a KABC story on the property from a few years back that takes is inside. 

Now…back to our history.

In 1953, a New York real estate investor bought the studio from Chaplin, who had left America permanently in October 1952. The new owner had planned to tear down the studio, but instead, leased it to a television production company and it became known as Kling Studios. This is where the first couple of years of “The Adventures Of Superman” were shot. When the series went from B/W to color, the production moved.

In 1959, Red Skelton began producing his CBS television series at the facility, and in April 1960 Skelton purchased the studio. Skelton also purchased three large mobile units for taping color television shows, making a total investment estimated at $3.5 million. Skelton had a large “Skelton Studios” sign erected over the main gate on La Brea Avenue. Here is an article on the Skelton Studios color mobile unit on page 18.
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RCA-Broadcast-News/RCA-110.pdf

Skelton sold the studio to CBS in 1962, and CBS shot the Perry Mason television series there from 1962–1966.

In 1966, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss purchased the studio from CBS to serve as a headquarters for A&M Records.

In 1985, the hit single and video “We Are the World” was recorded in A&M’s Studio A.

From 1981 to 1985, Soul Train taped at The Chaplin Stage.

In February 2000, Jim Henson’s children purchased the studio for $12.5 million to serve as the new home of The Jim Henson Company.

There is a lot here to take in, but I hope you will take the time to see all the attached video and read the articles. It is not often that you get a chance to really understand the history of such important places, and this is one indeed sacred ground in the world of entertainment. There is more at the links below. 

http://patch.com/california/echopark/historic-chaplin-studio-still-stands-in-hollywood-e7630558

http://dearoldhollywood.blogspot.com/2009/02/chaplin-studios.html

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