KCET Studios

Last updated
KCET Studios
KCET Studios (old part).jpg
Administration building erected by Charles Ray in 1922
Location4401 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, California
90027
Built1912 [1]
Governing bodyprivate
Designated1978 [2]
Reference no.198
USA Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of KCET Studios in the Los Angeles metropolitan area

The KCET Studios, located at 4401 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California is the longest continuously-producing studio in Hollywood. [3] Since its establishment in 1912, [1] the studios located at the site have been the home of motion picture producers, including Lubin, Essanay, Willis and Inglis, J.D. Hampton, Charles Ray, Ralph Like, Monogram Pictures, Allied Artists, and ColorVision. Since 1970, it has been the home of public television station KCET, but in April 2011, KCET announced that it had sold the facility to the Church of Scientology. [4]

Contents

Early years

In 1912, Siegmund Lubin, a film producer from Philadelphia, built the first film studio on the site of what is now KCET Studios. Lubin's company, called Lubin Manufacturing Company, produced educational films at the site, including "An Alligator Farm" (1912) and "An Ostrich and Pigeon Farm." [5] In 1913, Lubin sold the studio to the Chicago-based Essanay Film Company. Essanay produced 20 one-reel Westerns before selling the site to the Kalem Company. [5] Kalem began operating at the lot in late 1913, and Marshall Neilan began working at the site in the Spring of 1914. The "Ham and Bud" comedy series was shot there from late 1914 through February 1917. At that time, Kalem relocated to Glendale and abandoned the Fleming Street studios. [5] In 1917, Willis and Inglis acquired the studio and rented space for use by independent producers. Wallis and Inglis build a 65-foot (20 m) by 11-foot (3.4 m) outdoor stage and a 50-foot (15 m) by 100-foot (30 m) indoor stage. During this time, The Marine Film Corporation filmed "Lorelei of the Sea" at the studios, and comedian Fay Tincher made a series of two-reel comedies there. [5]

In August 1918, Jesse D. Hampton began renting space from Willis and Inglis. And in March 1919, Willis and Inglis built another station that became known as Hampton Studio. In April 1919, a trade magazine reported: "The entire frontage along Fleming Street, heretofore adorned by a blank wall, is now occupied with a long row of offices filled with workers and other functionaries necessary to the operation of the big place." [5] Hampton made more than 25 films at the site from 1918 to 1920. [5]

In 1920, actor Charles Ray purchased the studios and built many of the red brick buildings that still survive at the site. When Ray's new soundstage was completed, Moving Picture News called it "the last word in studio construction" and noted: "Perhaps the most striking feature of the studios is the glass enclosed stage, topped by a glass roof. The sides may be removed to permit openings when the shooting of street scenes is required . . . The placing of a tank beneath the stage was a unique arrangement . . . the installation of electrical equipment will insure a wealth of sunshine for daylight pictures as well as for night scenes." [5] Ray's soundstage remains in use as KCET's Studio A. In 1922, Ray also added a Spanish-style, red brick administration building (pictured in infobox above) that is still in use by KCET. [5]

With a budget of $800,000, Ray shot his epic film, The Courtship of Myles Standish , at the site. [6] The most famed extravagance created for the production was a life-size replica of the Mayflower and a pool of water with a mechanism to rock the ship back and forth. [5] The film was a flop at the box office, and by 1923, Charles Ray Productions was bankrupt.

After Charles Ray's production company went bankrupt, the Bank of Italy became the receiver for the property and rented studio space to independent producers. The bank changed the studio's address from 1425 Fleming Street to 4401 Sunset Boulevard and renamed it the Sunset Studio. [5] Actress Jean Navelle bought the studio from the bank in 1927, but her production company ceased operations in late 1929, and the studio was returned to the Bank of Italy. [5]

Ralph M. Like

Ralph M. Like was an engineer who developed a system for recording sound on film. He leased space at the site as far back as 1926, and in 1932, he leased the entire studio for use by his company International Recording Engineers. Like built a new soundstage, the present Stage B, in 1932. In 1933, Like's mother bought the studio from the Bank of Italy. [5] Through the 1930s, many westerns were shot at the studio. In 1937, John Ford directed "Hurricane)" there. [6] The studio facilities were improved in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and adjoining land was acquired to build dock sets, a city street set, a third sound stage, and a costume department. [5]

Monogram Pictures and Allied Artists

Brick soundstages built in the 1920s KCET Studios.jpg
Brick soundstages built in the 1920s

Monogram Pictures began renting space at the studio in the late 1930s and bought the property from Like in 1943. Monogram Pictures was a small studio that made B-Movies. Monogram's features included film series featuring "Charlie Chan," the "East Side Kids," "The Bowery Boys," "Bomba, the Jungle Boy," "Joe Palooka," "The Range Busters," and "The Cisco Kid," and westerns featuring Tex Ritter. [1] [7] Allied Artists followed Mongram at the site, where it produced both motion pictures and television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. The motion pictures filmed at the Sunset Boulevard studios during the Mongram and Allied Artists years include the following:

In 1964, financial difficulties forced Allied Artists to cease production activities and to become a film distribution company. [1] The company moved its operations to New York, and the studios were used mostly for production of television program and commercials from 1964 to 1967. [1] [6] In 1967, ColorVision purchased the studio and continued to rent space for independent productions. [1] ColorVision itself went bankrupt in 1969. [1] [7]

KCET

In July 1970, the 3.5-acre (14,000 m2) site was purchased by Los Angeles public television station KCET for $800,000. [7] In November 1971, KCET dedicated its renovated $3.2 million studio facilities. At the time, the studios were the largest in public television and were intended to be used as the West Coast production center for public television. [8] In 1975, KCET announced plans to build a new $1.5 million brick administration building on the site. [1] KCET has used the Sunset Boulevard studio facilities to create numerous productions, including Carl Sagan's acclaimed series Cosmos , Steve Allen's Meeting of Minds , the children's program The Puzzle Place , California's Gold , and Visiting...with Huell Howser .

In 1979, while demonstrating a karate kick, a KCET employee kicked a hole in the wall. A maintenance manager assigned to repair the hole noticed an arched brick wall and column behind the wallboard. The wallboard was removed and uncovered the ornate exterior of a little theater built in the 1920s. The exterior, consisting of two brick facades and six columns, had been built in the silent era and was later covered with wallboard to improve the acoustics for screening sound pictures. [6]

In March 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that KCET was in negotiations to sell the studio to the Church of Scientology. [9] On April 25, 2011, KCET confirmed the sale, at an undisclosed price, and with an expectation that KCET would relocate to other production facilities in about one year. The Church of Scientology said that it expected to use the facilities to produce videos and internet content, and would use its satellite uplink facilities for high definition video transmissions. [4] [10]

Aside from its own programming, KCET Studios was the filming location of two lottery game shows, The Big Spin from the California Lottery, and Powerball: The Game Show from the Multi-State Lottery Association, both produced by veteran game show producer Jonathan Goodson, son of legendary game show creator Mark Goodson.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Fox Film Corporation was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attraction Company.

The Motion Picture Patents Company, founded in December 1908 and terminated in 1915 after conflicts within the industry, was a trust of all the major US film companies and local foreign-branches, the leading film distributor and the biggest supplier of raw film stock, Eastman Kodak. The MPPC ended the domination of foreign films on US screens, standardized the manner in which films were distributed and exhibited within the US, and improved the quality of US motion pictures by internal competition. It also discouraged its members' entry into feature film production, and the use of outside financing, both to its members' eventual detriment.

KCET is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV. The two stations share studios at The Pointe in Burbank; KCET's transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biograph Company</span> Defunct American film studio

The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over 3000 short films and 12 feature films. During the height of silent film as a medium, Biograph was the most prominent U.S. film studio and one of the most respected and influential studios worldwide, only rivaled by Germany's UFA, Sweden's Svensk Filmindustri and France's Pathé. The company was home to pioneering director D. W. Griffith and such actors as Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, and Lionel Barrymore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Selig</span> American film pioneer

William Nicholas Selig was a vaudeville performer and pioneer of the American motion picture industry. His stage billing as Colonel Selig would be used for the rest of his career, even as he moved into film production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monogram Pictures</span> American film studio

Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios in the golden age of Hollywood, generally referred to collectively as Poverty Row. Lacking the financial resources to deliver the lavish sets, production values, and star power of the larger studios, Monogram sought to attract its audiences with the promise of action and adventure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television City</span> Television studio complex in Los Angeles, California

Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, United States. The facilities are located at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Charles Luckman, Television City opened in 1952 as the second CBS television studio complex in Southern California, following CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of the San Fernando Valley, which continues to house additional production facilities and the network's Los Angeles local television operations. Since 1961, Television City has served as the master control facility for CBS's west coast television network operations which were previously based at CBS Columbia Square. In 2018, CBS sold Television City to the real estate investment company Hackman Capital Partners while continuing to exclusively lease its space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBS Columbia Square</span> Historic radio and television studio in Los Angeles, California

CBS Columbia Square was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. Located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, the building housed the CBS Radio Network's West Coast facilities, as well as CBS's original Los Angeles radio stations, KNX and KCBS-FM. KNXT-TV, Channel 2 moved into the complex in 1960, and the CBS's West Coast operations were based there until it moved to the larger CBS Television City in November 1952. After its purchase by CBS in 2002, KCAL-TV moved to the Square from studios adjacent to CBS's corporate sibling Paramount Pictures. Between 2004 and 2007 all of these operations moved to other facilities in the Los Angeles area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radford Studio Center</span> Television and film studio in Los Angeles

Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The lot has 18 sound stages from 7,000 to 25,000 square feet, 220,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. The triangular site is bisected by the Los Angeles River. In 2021, ViacomCBS sold Studio Center to real estate investment companies Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lubin Manufacturing Company</span> American silent motion picture production company

The Lubin Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture production company that produced silent films from 1896 to 1916. Lubin films were distributed with a Liberty Bell trademark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago film industry</span> Film industry in the US city of Chicago

The Chicago film industry is a central hub for motion picture production and exhibition that was established before Hollywood became the undisputed capital of film making. In the early 1900s, Chicago boasted the greatest number of production companies and filmmakers. Essanay Studios founded by George K. Spoor was one of the earliest successful studios to produce movies in Chicago, employing stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Gloria Swanson. Actor and co-founder of Essanay Studios, Broncho Billy Anderson gave birth to the western genre. Early film companies such as Essanay Studios produced multiple silent films every week and rented viewing equipment to showcase the latest cinematography to the public. This rental culture gave birth to the popularity of Nickelodeons up until the Great Depression. However, due to the high demand for motion pictures during this time, a black market for films and equipment developed. The Motion Picture Patents Company, established in 1909 as a conglomerate of the major studios, sought to eliminate all illegal use of patented film equipment. As a result, independent ventures entered the film scene. Independents drove the film industry to the west to avoid legal trouble with the trust of major film companies united under the Motion Picture Patents Company. The west offered fairer weather and scenery that better accommodated film making. Not until the 1980s and early 21st century has Chicago experienced a film production revival. Blockbusters, such as Blues Brothers, Sixteen Candles, and The Dark Knight, have rejuvenated the Chicago film scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunset Gower Studios</span> Television and movie studio in Hollywood

Sunset Gower Studios is a 14-acre (57,000 m2) television and movie studio at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Gower Street in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1912, it continues today as Hollywood's largest independent studio and an active facility for television and film production on its twelve soundstages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Warner Brothers Studio</span> United States historic place

The Old Warner Brothers Studio, now known as the Sunset Bronson Studios, is a motion picture, radio and television production facility located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The studio was the site where the first talking feature film, The Jazz Singer, was filmed in 1927.

A film studio is a major entertainment company that makes films. They may have their own privately owned studio facility or facilities; however, most firms in the entertainment industry have never owned their own studios, but have rented space from other companies. The day-to-day filming operations are generally handled by their production company subsidiary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Carroll Theatre (Los Angeles)</span> Former theater and TV studio in Hollywood, California

The Earl Carroll Theatre was a historic stage facility located at 6230 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built by showman Earl Carroll and designed in the Streamline Moderne style by architect Gordon Kaufmann in 1938. The theatre has been known by a number of names since, including Moulin Rouge from 1953 to 1964 and the Aquarius Theater in the 1960s and 1970s. From 1997 to 2017, it was officially known as Nickelodeon on Sunset, housing the West Coast production of live-action original series produced for the Nickelodeon cable channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Artists International</span> American movie studio and motion picture distributor

Allied Artists International, Inc. (AAI) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment corporation headquartered in Glendale, California, United States, producing and distributing motion pictures, recorded music, broadcast television, online streaming, video games, and other media products. The company is the successor to Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. In the year 2000, AAI divided its media products into three distinct wholly owned divisions, Allied Artists Film Group (AAFG), Allied Artists Music Group (AAMG) and Allied Artists Music & Video Distribution (AAMVD). Then, around 2020, AAI reorganized itself into four divisions: Allied Artists Music Group, Allied Artists Film Group, Allied Artists Films & Monogram Pictures, & Allied Artists Broadcasting & Allied Artists Music & Video Distribution. Allied Artists Pictures is known for having produced and released such historic motion pictures as Cabaret, starring Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli; Papillon, starring Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen; and The Betsy, starring Laurence Olivier, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, and Katharine Ross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Henson Company Lot</span> Film and recording complex

The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as Charlie Chaplin Studios from 1917 to 1953, which later earned the site designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. 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. From 1966 to 1999, it was the headquarters for A&M Records and the location of A&M Recording Studios. Since 2000, it has been the headquarters of The Jim Henson Company, including the Henson Soundstage and Henson Recording Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank</span> Filmmaking studio owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment

Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, formerly known as First National Studio (1926–1929), Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Studios (1967–1970) and The Burbank Studios (1972–1990), is a major filmmaking facility owned and run by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. in Burbank, California. First National Pictures built the 62-acre (25 ha) studio lot in 1926 as it expanded from a film distributor to film production.

Tremlet C. Carr was an American film producer, closely associated with the low-budget filmmaking of Poverty Row. In 1931 he co-founded Monogram Pictures, which developed into one of the leading specialist producers of B pictures in Hollywood.

Scientology Network is an American television network and streaming service launched by the Church of Scientology in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Dick Turpin (1975-08-10). "KCET Will Build Administrative Plant: $1,548,000 Program Awaits Awarding of Contract Later This Month". Los Angeles Times.
  2. "Historic – Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments". Los Angeles Department of City Planning. February 28, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
  3. "KCET Studio Tour". Seeing Stars.com.
  4. 1 2 Villareal, Yvonne (2011-04-25). "KCET-TV sells studio to Church of Scientology". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2011-04-26.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "History of the KCET Lot". KCET. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sam Kaplan (1979-05-06). "Remnant of Old Hollywood". Los Angeles Times.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dan Knapp (1970-07-27). "Allied Artists Studio Purchased by KCET". Los Angeles Times.
  8. "$3.2 Million Studio Dedicated by KCET-TV: Noncommercial Station Plans $800,000 Addition to Facility at Old Movie Lot". Los Angeles Times. 1971-11-19.
  9. Vincent, Roger; Scott Collins (2011-03-30). "KCET-TV said to be in talks to sell landmark studio to Church of Scientology". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  10. Miller, Daniel (2011-04-25). "L.A.'s KCET-TV Sells Landmark Hollywood Studios to Church of Scientology". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2011-04-26.

34°05′50″N118°17′05″W / 34.097322°N 118.284745°W / 34.097322; -118.284745