Charlie Chaplin Studios
Encyclopedia
Charlie Chaplin Studios is a motion picture studio built in 1917 by silent film star Charlie Chaplin
just south of the southeast corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
After being sold by Chaplin in 1953, the property went through several changes in ownership and has served at various times as Kling Studios, the Red Skelton
Studios, the shooting location for the Adventures of Superman
and Perry Mason
television series, and as the headquarters for A&M Records
and Jim Henson Productions. In 1969, it was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
.
Chaplin purchased the site from R.S. McClellan who lived on the site and had a large grove of old orange trees on the property. The lot had 300 feet (91.4 m) of frontage on Sunset and 600 feet (182.9 m) on La Brea, extending south to De Longpre. Chaplin announced he would make his home on the northern part of the property, and build his own motion picture plant on the south part of the property, cornering at La Brea and De Longpre. Chaplin's plans for six English-style buildings, "arranged as to give the effect of a picturesque English village street," were published in the Los Angeles Times in October 1917. The plans were prepared by the Milwaukee Building Company (Meyer & Holler
), and the total investment was estimated to be approximately $100,000. The layout of the buildings was described by the Los Angeles Times in 2002 as a "fairy-tale cottage complex." Another writer has described the style as "eccentric Peter Pan architecture."
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The location was at that time a residential neighborhood, and Chaplin's application for a building permit was opposed by area residents, some of whom complained that it was too near the Hollywood High School
. However, the City Council voted 8-1 to approve Chaplin's permit. Chaplin reportedly built his "English cottage-style studio" in three months beginning in November 1917, at a reported cost of only $35,000. The DVD collection titled "Chaplin Collection" includes Chaplin's 1918 film, How to Make Movies, which depicts the studio's construction in time-lapse photography.
Construction of the studios was completed in approximately 1919. Chaplin preserved a large existing residence on the northern (Sunset Boulevard) end of the property, and planned to live there, but never in fact did. Various studio personnel lived there over the years, including his brother Sydney Chaplin
. The "english cottages" along La Brea served as the facade for offices, a screening room, and a film laboratory. The grounds included stables, a swimming pool and tennis courts. The central part of the property, which was originally an orchard, became the backlot, where large outdoor sets were constructed. The two large open-air stages used for filming were constructed on the southern end of the property, and the rest of the facility consisted of dressing rooms, a garage, a carpenter's shed, and a film vault. 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).
The studios saw a number of changes over the next 20 years. The two open-air stages were converted to closed soundstages in the mid-1930s, before the filming of Modern Times, and a smaller stage was also built over the site of the studio swimming pool at this time. Stage 2 had previously been seriously damaged by a fire during production of The Circus in 1927. Also, the expansion of La Brea Avenue in 1928-29 forced the physical movement of the buildings adjacent to the street back 15 feet (4.6 m) from their original locations.
Chaplin filmed many famous visitors at his studios on La Brea, including Winston Churchill
, Helen Keller
, Lord Mountbatten, and Henry Lauder.
In October 1943, Chaplin's studios were opened up for the first time to be used to shoot an outside production, Curly, produced by Columbia Pictures
. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that the Chaplin Studio "has been more or less sacrosanct, in the sense that outsiders were practically never permitted to work there." However, studio manager, Alfred Reeves told the Times was emphatic that the Chaplin organization was "not going into the space rental business," and the use of the studios by Columbia would not create a precedent.
In 1949, the studios were reportedly the site of Greta Garbo
's last screen test.
In 1953, a New York real estate investor bought the studio from Chaplin, who had left America permanently in October 1952, for $650,000. The new owner had planned to tear down the studio, but it was leased to a television production company and became known as Kling Studios. Starting in 1953, the property went through a succession of owners who used the studios to shoot television series. In 1953, the Adventures of Superman
television series starring George Reeves
was shot there. Beginning in 1959, Red Skelton
shot his television series at the facility, and in April 1960 Skelton purchased the studio. From behind a desk in the office once occupied by Chaplin, Skelton said:
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. Skelton also removed a block of sidewalk on the studio grounds which Chaplin had signed and pressed his footprints into in 1918 for display at his Palm Springs
home.
Skelton sold the studio to CBS in 1962, and CBS shot the Perry Mason
television series there from 1962-1966.
From 1981 to 1984, Soul Train
taped at The Chaplin Stage.
and Jerry Moss
purchased the studio from CBS to serve as a headquarters for A&M Records
. A&M Records had grown from $500,000 in revenues in 1964 to $30 million in 1967. Alpert and Moss reportedly "astonished the big network by having their bank deliver a cashier's check for more than $1 million, the full amount." A&M converted two of the old soundstages and Chaplin's swimming pool into a recording studio. A 1968 profile on Alpert and Moss described their renovation of Chaplin's old studios:
In 1985, the hit single and video, We Are the World
was recorded in A&M's Studio A by a cast that included Michael Jackson
, Bob Dylan
, Kenny Rogers
, Stevie Wonder
and Bruce Springsteen
. Many of the recording industry's greatest stars have recorded albums and videos at the studios, including Styx
, the Carpenters
, The Police
, the Moody Blues, Oingo Boingo
, Soundgarden
, and Van Morrison
. Music videos filmed at the lot include "Every Breath You Take" by the Police and Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters."
The elderly Chaplin briefly revisited his former studio in 1972, when he made his only return trip to America to accept an honorary Academy Award. A&M Records had hoped to welcome him back with a ceremony, but instead he chose to avoid the attention and arranged to drive by the studio gates on a weekend.
.jpg)
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. The 80000 square feet (7,432.2 m²) facility was leased to The Jim Henson Co. under a ten-year lease.
Henson's daughter, Lisa Henson
, said, "The buildings are a lovable hodge-podge of quirky, unusual spaces. There are unexpected elements in some of the offices like original vaults and fish tank-like bathrooms. It's not your typical corporate space, but it's ideal for the Muppets." The landmark A&M recording studios were retained and became Henson Recording Studios
. At a ceremony in June 2000, the Henson Company unveiled a 12 feet (3.7 m) color statue of Kermit the Frog, dressed as Chaplin's "Little Tramp," above the studio's main gate. Henson's son, Brian Henson, said at the time, "When we heard that the Chaplin lot was for sale, we had to have it. It's the perfect home for the Muppets and our particular brand of classy, but eccentric entertainment. When people walk onto our lot, they fall in love with Hollywood again."
In 2007, the Sci-Fi Channel series "Ghost Hunters
" shot an episode at the studios, reporting on ghost stories told for years by employees working on the lot.
On February 1, 2010, "We Are The World" was re-recorded in the same studio as the original to benefit victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Recently, the lot was used as the set for the old and abandoned Muppet Studios in the upcoming Muppet film.
. At the time, Carl Dentzel, the President of the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board said the property was one of the few locations from old Hollywood that retained a complete early-day production layout. Dentzel also noted, "His studio was one of the first to be established here and by some quirk of fate continuity from the movies' earliest times to today's television and recordings demands has persevered." The studio was only the second entertainment-related building to receive the Historic-Cultural Monument designation. (Grauman's Chinese Theater was the first.)
In April 1989, the organization, "Hollywood Heritage" celebrated the 100th anniversary of Chaplin's birth with a rare screening of Chaplin's 1918 documentary How to Make Movies and The Kid, both shown at the Chaplin Stage at A&M Records. Chaplin's son, Sydney, received a plaque at the screening honoring his father's achievements.
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
just south of the southeast corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
After being sold by Chaplin in 1953, the property went through several changes in ownership and has served at various times as Kling Studios, the Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
Studios, the shooting location for the Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
and Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
television series, and as the headquarters for A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
and Jim Henson Productions. In 1969, it was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
.
Charlie Chaplin Studios
In October 1917, Charlie Chaplin announced plans to build his own motion picture studio at the southeast corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard. In his autobiography, Chaplin described the decision as follows:"At the end of the Mutual contract, I was anxious to get started with First National, but we had no studio. I decided to buy land in Hollywood and build one. The site was the corner of Sunset and La Brea and had a very fine ten-room house and five acres of lemon, orange and peach trees. We built a perfect unit, complete with developing plant, cutting room, and offices."
Chaplin purchased the site from R.S. McClellan who lived on the site and had a large grove of old orange trees on the property. The lot had 300 feet (91.4 m) of frontage on Sunset and 600 feet (182.9 m) on La Brea, extending south to De Longpre. Chaplin announced he would make his home on the northern part of the property, and build his own motion picture plant on the south part of the property, cornering at La Brea and De Longpre. Chaplin's plans for six English-style buildings, "arranged as to give the effect of a picturesque English village street," were published in the Los Angeles Times in October 1917. The plans were prepared by the Milwaukee Building Company (Meyer & Holler
Meyer & Holler
Meyer & Holler was an architecture firm based in Los Angeles, California noted for its opulent commercial buildings and movie theatres, including Grauman’s Chinese and Egyptian theatres, built during the 1920s...
), and the total investment was estimated to be approximately $100,000. The layout of the buildings was described by the Los Angeles Times in 2002 as a "fairy-tale cottage complex." Another writer has described the style as "eccentric Peter Pan architecture."
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
. However, the City Council voted 8-1 to approve Chaplin's permit. Chaplin reportedly built his "English cottage-style studio" in three months beginning in November 1917, at a reported cost of only $35,000. The DVD collection titled "Chaplin Collection" includes Chaplin's 1918 film, How to Make Movies, which depicts the studio's construction in time-lapse photography.
Construction of the studios was completed in approximately 1919. Chaplin preserved a large existing residence on the northern (Sunset Boulevard) end of the property, and planned to live there, but never in fact did. Various studio personnel lived there over the years, including his brother Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin was an English actor. He was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager, and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
. The "english cottages" along La Brea served as the facade for offices, a screening room, and a film laboratory. The grounds included stables, a swimming pool and tennis courts. The central part of the property, which was originally an orchard, became the backlot, where large outdoor sets were constructed. The two large open-air stages used for filming were constructed on the southern end of the property, and the rest of the facility consisted of dressing rooms, a garage, a carpenter's shed, and a film vault. Many of Chaplin's classic films were shot at the studios, including The Kid
The Kid (1921 film)
The Kid is a 1921 American silent dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, and features Jackie Coogan as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie...
(1921), The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush is a 1925 silent film comedy written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The film also stars Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite....
(1925), City Lights
City Lights
City Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
(1931), Modern Times
Modern Times (film)
Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
(1936), The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was...
(1940), Monsieur Verdoux
Monsieur Verdoux
Monsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charles Chaplin. The supporting cast includes Martha Raye, William Frawley, and Marilyn Nash.-Plot:...
(1947), and Limelight (1952).
The studios saw a number of changes over the next 20 years. The two open-air stages were converted to closed soundstages in the mid-1930s, before the filming of Modern Times, and a smaller stage was also built over the site of the studio swimming pool at this time. Stage 2 had previously been seriously damaged by a fire during production of The Circus in 1927. Also, the expansion of La Brea Avenue in 1928-29 forced the physical movement of the buildings adjacent to the street back 15 feet (4.6 m) from their original locations.
Chaplin filmed many famous visitors at his studios on La Brea, including Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, Lord Mountbatten, and Henry Lauder.
Television production
In 1942, Chaplin sold the northern portion of the property, the portion containing the residence, tennis courts, and a portion of his backlot, to Safeway Stores. The house was destroyed, and a shopping center was built in its place.In October 1943, Chaplin's studios were opened up for the first time to be used to shoot an outside production, Curly, produced by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that the Chaplin Studio "has been more or less sacrosanct, in the sense that outsiders were practically never permitted to work there." However, studio manager, Alfred Reeves told the Times was emphatic that the Chaplin organization was "not going into the space rental business," and the use of the studios by Columbia would not create a precedent.
In 1949, the studios were reportedly the site of Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
's last screen test.
In 1953, a New York real estate investor bought the studio from Chaplin, who had left America permanently in October 1952, for $650,000. The new owner had planned to tear down the studio, but it was leased to a television production company and became known as Kling Studios. Starting in 1953, the property went through a succession of owners who used the studios to shoot television series. In 1953, the Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
television series starring George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
was shot there. Beginning in 1959, Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
shot his television series at the facility, and in April 1960 Skelton purchased the studio. From behind a desk in the office once occupied by Chaplin, Skelton said:
"I'm not the head of the studio. I'll be president and just own the joint. ... Seriously, I couldn't be a studio executive because I'm not qualified. ... I've got a nice enough racket trying to make people laugh and don't intend to foul that up. And, besides, that's harder than running a 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. Skelton also removed a block of sidewalk on the studio grounds which Chaplin had signed and pressed his footprints into in 1918 for display at his Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...
home.
Skelton sold the studio to CBS in 1962, and CBS shot the Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
television series there from 1962-1966.
From 1981 to 1984, Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
taped at The Chaplin Stage.
A&M Records
In 1966, Herb AlpertHerb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
and Jerry Moss
Jerry Moss
Jerome S. "Jerry" Moss is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert....
purchased the studio from CBS to serve as a headquarters for A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. A&M Records had grown from $500,000 in revenues in 1964 to $30 million in 1967. Alpert and Moss reportedly "astonished the big network by having their bank deliver a cashier's check for more than $1 million, the full amount." A&M converted two of the old soundstages and Chaplin's swimming pool into a recording studio. A 1968 profile on Alpert and Moss described their renovation of Chaplin's old studios:
"The old sound stages are in the process of being completely rebuilt into what must be the most luxurious and pleasant recording studios in the world. Chaplin's cement footprints are one of the few reminders of the past."
In 1985, the hit single and video, We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
was recorded in A&M's Studio A by a cast that included Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
and Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. Many of the recording industry's greatest stars have recorded albums and videos at the studios, including Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
, the Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
, The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, the Moody Blues, Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
, Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, and Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
. Music videos filmed at the lot include "Every Breath You Take" by the Police and Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters."
The elderly Chaplin briefly revisited his former studio in 1972, when he made his only return trip to America to accept an honorary Academy Award. A&M Records had hoped to welcome him back with a ceremony, but instead he chose to avoid the attention and arranged to drive by the studio gates on a weekend.
Jim Henson Productions
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's children purchased the studio for $12.5 million to serve as the new home of The Jim Henson Company. The 80000 square feet (7,432.2 m²) facility was leased to The Jim Henson Co. under a ten-year lease.
Henson's daughter, Lisa Henson
Lisa Henson
Lisa Henson is a television and movie producer who has been involved in television shows such as Sid the Science Kid and blockbuster movies Lethal Weapon and Batman...
, said, "The buildings are a lovable hodge-podge of quirky, unusual spaces. There are unexpected elements in some of the offices like original vaults and fish tank-like bathrooms. It's not your typical corporate space, but it's ideal for the Muppets." The landmark A&M recording studios were retained and became Henson Recording Studios
Henson Recording Studios
Henson Recording Studios was established in 2000 at the former A&M Studios. The remake of We Are the World was recorded at Henson Recording Studios in February 2010 to benefit the Haiti earthquake victims....
. At a ceremony in June 2000, the Henson Company unveiled a 12 feet (3.7 m) color statue of Kermit the Frog, dressed as Chaplin's "Little Tramp," above the studio's main gate. Henson's son, Brian Henson, said at the time, "When we heard that the Chaplin lot was for sale, we had to have it. It's the perfect home for the Muppets and our particular brand of classy, but eccentric entertainment. When people walk onto our lot, they fall in love with Hollywood again."
In 2007, the Sci-Fi Channel series "Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
" shot an episode at the studios, reporting on ghost stories told for years by employees working on the lot.
On February 1, 2010, "We Are The World" was re-recorded in the same studio as the original to benefit victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Recently, the lot was used as the set for the old and abandoned Muppet Studios in the upcoming Muppet film.
Designation as a Historic-Cultural Monument
In February 1969, the old Chaplin Studios were designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural MonumentLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
. At the time, Carl Dentzel, the President of the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board said the property was one of the few locations from old Hollywood that retained a complete early-day production layout. Dentzel also noted, "His studio was one of the first to be established here and by some quirk of fate continuity from the movies' earliest times to today's television and recordings demands has persevered." The studio was only the second entertainment-related building to receive the Historic-Cultural Monument designation. (Grauman's Chinese Theater was the first.)
In April 1989, the organization, "Hollywood Heritage" celebrated the 100th anniversary of Chaplin's birth with a rare screening of Chaplin's 1918 documentary How to Make Movies and The Kid, both shown at the Chaplin Stage at A&M Records. Chaplin's son, Sydney, received a plaque at the screening honoring his father's achievements.
See also
- Henson Recording StudiosHenson Recording StudiosHenson Recording Studios was established in 2000 at the former A&M Studios. The remake of We Are the World was recorded at Henson Recording Studios in February 2010 to benefit the Haiti earthquake victims....
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood