STUMPTOWNBLOGGER: Randy West Collection

NBC GHOST TOWN IN BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN BURBANK

BY RANDY WEST

It's a sad ghost town with Warner Bros. about to move in...

Since this property opened 70 years ago as NBC, it has never been so empty. This is where Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore, Steve Allen, Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson and other stars, as well as hundreds of their guest stars worked.

This prestige midway parking area was never empty. Likewise for the lot at Studios 2 and 4 where the large casts of the soap operas parked. Where are the game show hosts? And their contestants? How about the local news anchors?

On the hundreds of days I worked on this lot, the old NBC, I never ever saw a sight like this. It's a sad reminder that the TV business has changed. It's not a problem, as evolution is inevitable and there is now more great television than there has ever been.

There are 600 shows feeding the new distribution channels, with dozens of fantastic dramas of all genres. It's a new golden era, and there's no turning back for the sake of nostalgia.

But I can still hear echos of the laughter and applause that leaked out of the studios while walking the hallways in this once magnificent facility. And I wish I could again feel the thrill of working here, when it still had a connection to the TV I knew as a kid when I was full of passion for a chance to play in this sandbox.

Posted by Star Stations LLC at 05:38 AM in Randy West Collection, Television | Permalink | Comments (1)

WHATS OLD IS NEW- THX RANDY WEST

Posted by Star Stations LLC at 07:18 PM in Randy West Collection, Television | Permalink | Comments (1)

CBS - STORY BY RANDY WEST

Radford, at night, tonight.

The lot is almost 100 years old, dating back to Mack Sennett's silent movie days, and later, it was home to Republic Pictures.

Starting in the 1960s, CBS shot some its greatest sitcoms here, from some seasons of Leave it to Beaver and My Three Sons, to Seinfeld, to Third Rock, to Will and Grace, all the MTM shows, and many others. Westerns, dramas, talk, and some games, as well. One game will start taping on Monday on stage 15.

Off the beaten path at the rear is the Big Brother house with some serious security around it. While I've done just about all of my voice work for the show at home over the years, I did have to visit a couple of times. I think it must be easier to get into Russia than that production area!

In the photo is CBS' L.A. broadcasting facility on a more recently developed part of the property, the former backlot where Gunsmoke had a little western set and Gilligan had his lagoon.