Columbia Ranch
Encyclopedia
Columbia Ranch is located in Burbank, California
and is now called Warner Ranch (owned and operated by Warner Bros.
Studios).
It was the backdrop for many of the Columbia Pictures movies and Screen Gems television shows, including Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show
, High Noon
, The Wild One
, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
, The Three Stooges, The Monkees
, Bewitched
, Here Come the Brides
, The Partridge Family
and Hazel
, just to name of a few.
The Ranch started in 1934, as a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) plot purchased by Harry Cohn
, head of Columbia Pictures Corporation. The Studio, with its headquarters located at Sunset & Gower, in Hollywood, made numerous movies, but had to rent neighboring movie studios 'Back-lots' for outdoor shooting due to the lack of space at the Sunset lot. By the end of 1934 this problem was solved as Columbia had acquired a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) lot on the other side of the Hollywood Hills in Burbank, at the corner of Hollywood Way and Oak Street, on what is said to have been the Burbank Motion Pictures Stables. It was the perfect "Back-Lot" as it was still rural enough to be landscaped as the studio needed it to be.
From the start, Columbia Pictures used the Ranch as a backdrop for almost all their outdoor scenes required. Many serials such as the original "Batman", "Superman", "Captain Midnight", "Blondie" and "The Three Stooges" were filmed right there on the lot.
In the 1960s, the Ranch was booming with business. Not only were movies being filmed on a regular basis, but with the new dawn of Television sets in almost every home by now, more and more shows were being shot on the Ranch as well. Shows like "Father Knows Best", The Donna Reed Show", "Dennis the Menace", "Here Come The Brides", "Hazel", "The Farmers Daughter", "Our Man Higgins", "Gidget", "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Flying Nun", "The Monkees", "Route 66" and many others were part of the daily order at the Ranch.
In 1970, a catastrophic fire destroyed a quarter of the lot. Half of the Western set, the Colonial/European set and parts of Blondie street burned down, including Blondie house itself. Although quickly rebuilt, another fire in April, in the same area, and another fire in August of that year, destroyed much of what was original to the Ranch.
By mid 1971, Columbia and Warner Bros studios decided to combine their forces in order to combat the financial troubles either one encountered and formed a merger under the name The Burbank Studios. In doing so, the Ranch became a true "Back-back Lot" as Warner Bros already had a massive backlot.
In 1990, Columbia Pictures separated itself from Warner Bros, and left Burbank, leaving the Ranch completely. Warner Bros.
gained ownership of the lot and renamed it Warner Ranch. The ranch, which now contains additional soundstages, is still in active use. Its permanent fountain was seen in the opening credits of Friends
.
For a complete overview and more detailed explanation, please go to The Unofficial Columbia Ranch site
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
and is now called Warner Ranch (owned and operated by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Studios).
It was the backdrop for many of the Columbia Pictures movies and Screen Gems television shows, including Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
, High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
, The Wild One
The Wild One
The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...
, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role...
, The Three Stooges, The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
, Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, Here Come the Brides
Here Come the Brides
Here Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970...
, The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
and Hazel
Hazel (TV series)
Hazel is a Screen Gems television series about a fictional live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in primetime from September 1961 until April 1966...
, just to name of a few.
The Ranch started in 1934, as a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) plot purchased by Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures.-Career:Cohn was born to a working-class German-Jewish family in New York City. In later years, he appears to have disparaged his heritage...
, head of Columbia Pictures Corporation. The Studio, with its headquarters located at Sunset & Gower, in Hollywood, made numerous movies, but had to rent neighboring movie studios 'Back-lots' for outdoor shooting due to the lack of space at the Sunset lot. By the end of 1934 this problem was solved as Columbia had acquired a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) lot on the other side of the Hollywood Hills in Burbank, at the corner of Hollywood Way and Oak Street, on what is said to have been the Burbank Motion Pictures Stables. It was the perfect "Back-Lot" as it was still rural enough to be landscaped as the studio needed it to be.
From the start, Columbia Pictures used the Ranch as a backdrop for almost all their outdoor scenes required. Many serials such as the original "Batman", "Superman", "Captain Midnight", "Blondie" and "The Three Stooges" were filmed right there on the lot.
In the 1960s, the Ranch was booming with business. Not only were movies being filmed on a regular basis, but with the new dawn of Television sets in almost every home by now, more and more shows were being shot on the Ranch as well. Shows like "Father Knows Best", The Donna Reed Show", "Dennis the Menace", "Here Come The Brides", "Hazel", "The Farmers Daughter", "Our Man Higgins", "Gidget", "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Flying Nun", "The Monkees", "Route 66" and many others were part of the daily order at the Ranch.
In 1970, a catastrophic fire destroyed a quarter of the lot. Half of the Western set, the Colonial/European set and parts of Blondie street burned down, including Blondie house itself. Although quickly rebuilt, another fire in April, in the same area, and another fire in August of that year, destroyed much of what was original to the Ranch.
By mid 1971, Columbia and Warner Bros studios decided to combine their forces in order to combat the financial troubles either one encountered and formed a merger under the name The Burbank Studios. In doing so, the Ranch became a true "Back-back Lot" as Warner Bros already had a massive backlot.
In 1990, Columbia Pictures separated itself from Warner Bros, and left Burbank, leaving the Ranch completely. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
gained ownership of the lot and renamed it Warner Ranch. The ranch, which now contains additional soundstages, is still in active use. Its permanent fountain was seen in the opening credits of Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
For a complete overview and more detailed explanation, please go to The Unofficial Columbia Ranch site