Gower Gulch
Encyclopedia
Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard
and Gower Street
in Hollywood, California. Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios (on the north-west corner) during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the south along Gower Street. Western films at both studios were extremely popular, especially from the 1930s through the 1950s, and actual working cowboys would come to Hollywood hoping to find work in the movies. They would congregate at that particular street corner, which is how it acquired its nickname. Legend has it the Columbia Drug Store, which stood on the south-east corner for several decades, lent the phrase "drug store cowboys" since many western film extras dined at its soda fountain and lingered reading magazines at its large outdoor newsstand in hopes of finding work, knowing the casting agents from the studio could find them there. Indeed, John Wayne
, Gene Autry
and Roy Rogers
all got their start in this neighborhood as did director John Ford
. Columbia Studios was filming western films about every ten days for a time. The cowboy extras stood at the corner already dressed in their Stetson hats, boots, and bandannas, ready for saloon scenes, as cattle rustlers or as members of a posse. The pay was about $5 a day or $10 for a minor speaking role.
Charlie Chaplin
made some of his first movies in this area. As of 2010, a modern strip mall
sits at the south-west corner bearing that name painted on the side of a vintage western medicine show wagon.
The name Gower Gulch also appears in a Warner Bros.
cartoon "All a Bir-r-r-rd
". It is the name of a western-looking town Tweety
's train passes through. In another Warner Bros. cartoon, "Drip-A-Long Daffy
", Porky Pig
sings a Michael Maltese
song entitled "The Flower of Gower Gulch". In yet another Warner Bros. cartoon, "Nelly's Folly", Nelly the Singing Giraffe (voiced by Gloria Wood) sings a different version of that song.
A B-movie was released in 1950 called The Kid from Gower Gulch starring Spade Cooley. In the film, singer Red Murrell sings a song called "Gower Gulch is Home Sweet Home".
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
and Gower Street
Gower Street (Hollywood)
Gower Street is a street in Los Angeles, California that has played an important role in the ongoing evolution of Hollywood, particularly as the home to several prominent Poverty Row studios during the area's Golden Age...
in Hollywood, California. Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christie Studios (on the north-west corner) during the 1920s, then later, Columbia and Republic Studios to the south along Gower Street. Western films at both studios were extremely popular, especially from the 1930s through the 1950s, and actual working cowboys would come to Hollywood hoping to find work in the movies. They would congregate at that particular street corner, which is how it acquired its nickname. Legend has it the Columbia Drug Store, which stood on the south-east corner for several decades, lent the phrase "drug store cowboys" since many western film extras dined at its soda fountain and lingered reading magazines at its large outdoor newsstand in hopes of finding work, knowing the casting agents from the studio could find them there. Indeed, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
and Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
all got their start in this neighborhood as did director John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. Columbia Studios was filming western films about every ten days for a time. The cowboy extras stood at the corner already dressed in their Stetson hats, boots, and bandannas, ready for saloon scenes, as cattle rustlers or as members of a posse. The pay was about $5 a day or $10 for a minor speaking role.
Charlie Chaplin
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...
made some of his first movies in this area. As of 2010, a modern strip mall
Strip mall
A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...
sits at the south-west corner bearing that name painted on the side of a vintage western medicine show wagon.
The name Gower Gulch also appears in a 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,...
cartoon "All a Bir-r-r-rd
All a Bir-r-r-rd
All A Bir-r-r-d! is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon featuring Tweety, Sylvester and an unnamed bulldog, who would later became known as Hector the Bulldog...
". It is the name of a western-looking town Tweety
Tweety
Tweety Bird is a fictional Yellow Canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being a typical English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds...
's train passes through. In another Warner Bros. cartoon, "Drip-A-Long Daffy
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
", Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
sings a Michael Maltese
Michael Maltese
Michael "Mike" Maltese was a long-time storyboard artist and screenwriter for classic animated cartoon shorts.-Career:...
song entitled "The Flower of Gower Gulch". In yet another Warner Bros. cartoon, "Nelly's Folly", Nelly the Singing Giraffe (voiced by Gloria Wood) sings a different version of that song.
A B-movie was released in 1950 called The Kid from Gower Gulch starring Spade Cooley. In the film, singer Red Murrell sings a song called "Gower Gulch is Home Sweet Home".