Long Beach; a Warner Brothers Tour

We are now settled in here in Los Angeles, and it’s a bit different than we’re used to in The Villages. This place is really, really crowded and hectic. Last night at dusk we drove over to Belmont Shore, my old stomping grounds from 1969-1972. I was stationed on a destroyer in Long Beach during Vietnam, and several of us junior officers shared a bachelor apartment within a 30 minute drive from the ship. Belmont Shore was Party Central back then, with lots of restaurants and clubs catering to 20-somethings. I searched for my old apartment building, but they must have torn it down in response to complaints about urban blight. There are fairly new single family homes there now, and lots of families with young kids. It’s definitively more upscale these days, but there is a traffic light on every single corner. Parking was ridiculously hard to find, so we drove over to the beach to see what had changed there.This is the view from Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach; if you’ve ever wondered why it has that name, here’s your answer. 

Today we drove to Burbank (near Hollywood) and met our good friends Elizabeth Magee and Joseph Valentino from The Villages, and Joseph’s brother, Sal. Suzanne had made reservations for the Warner Brothers Studio VIP Tour, and we didn’t know Sal’s first name, so she listed him on the reservation as Brother Valentino. We were hoping he would dress as a monk, but he arrived in shorts and polo shirt. We boarded the trolley with eight other tourists and Matt the Tour Guide and we were off to tour the Back Lot. The buildings are mostly shells, with no ceilings or second floors, to allow good camera shots. Suzanne was thrilled to walk down Memory Lane and see Mr Wilson's house from Dennis the Menace. 

Matt was very funny, knowledgeable and entertaining about the history of WB. Their first big star was Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought back from World War I by an American soldier. Their first “talkie” was The Jazz Singer with Al Jolson. They have had great success with movies, such as Casablanca, Batman, Gran Torino, The Matrix, Harry Potter, and cartoons (Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, among others), but have also produced a lot of television shows, including Friends, E.R., Ellen and several others I had never heard of (we don’t watch much television).

You may recognize this set from Friends. (I didn’t...), or the Friends' couch (Elizabeth wanted to buy it, but Matt estimated its cost at $2,000,000.00, and she hadn't brought her checkbook). 

We got to visit a sound stage, the prop room, museum, and antique car garage. Joseph and Sal are admiring a beautiful Rolls-Royce from the movie Arthur.

Suzanne has always liked fast black sports cars. Here we are with the one she wanted... but the owner (in the background) didn't want to negotiate price...

I think my favorite was the General Lee, from The Dukes of Hazzard. Unfortunately, Jessica Simpson wasn't there to drive us around...

It was an interesting tour, but the best part was spending time with our friends. Fortunately, we will be seeing more of them this week.