Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles that has become known as a filming location for many films and television series, especially Westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to the present.
Bronson Canyon is located in the southwest section of Griffith Park near the north end of Canyon Drive, which is an extension of Bronson Avenue. In 1903, the Union Rock Company founded a quarry, originally named Brush Canyon, for excavation of crushed rock used in the construction of city streets–carried out of the quarry by electric train on the Brush Canyon Line. [1] The quarry ceased operation in the late 1920s, leaving the caves behind. The caves became known as the Bronson Caves after the nearby avenue and a hill of that name, giving the area its more popular name of Bronson Canyon. The same street may have indirectly provided the stage name for actor Charles Bronson, as the former Charles Buchinsky is believed to have chosen that name in 1954 after seeing it on a street sign in Hollywood.
The craggy quarry remains are pockmarked by what appear to be cave openings, and therefore create an ideal backdrop for filming scenes meant to take place in a lonely southwestern wilderness. Scenes of the main cave entrance are normally filmed in a manner that shows the entrance at an angle because the cave is actually a very short tunnel through the hill, with the rear opening easily visible in a direct shot. The most well-known appearance of the tunnel entrance is likely its use as the entrance to the Batcave in the 1966–68 Batman television series. [2]
Many films, in practically every genre, have been filmed there over the last 100 years, that the impression of a wide mountainous area has been created in film viewer's minds; when in fact the canyon, with the caves in the middle apex, is actually a V-shape no larger than two city blocks.[ citation needed ]
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal residence, Wayne Manor.
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the American West, the Griffith Observatory, and the Hollywood Sign. Due to its appearance in many films, the park is among the most famous municipal parks in North America.
Denver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, as Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985, as Mad Jack in the NBC television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and as the titular character's father, Buck Webb, in CBS's The Doris Day Show. In many of his roles, he portrayed either authority figures, or gruff, demanding father figures, often as comic relief. Perhaps his most memorable film role was that of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), as the lawman who relentlessly chased down and finally killed the notorious duo in an ambush.
Wayne Manor is a fictional mansion appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the home of Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Enterprises, who is also the superhero Batman.
Jewel Franklin Guy, known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. During a career that spanned more than 60 years, he performed not only in feature films but also in scores of television series, as well as appearing on various country music programs and talk shows. Television audiences, however, perhaps most closely associate Best with his role as the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the action-comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard, which originally aired on CBS between 1979 and 1985. He reprised the role in 1997 and 2000 for the made-for-television movies The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! and The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood (2000).
Richard W. Sprang was an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on the superhero Batman during the period fans and historians call Golden Age of Comic Books. Sprang was responsible for the 1950 redesign of the Batmobile and the original design of the Riddler, who has appeared in film, television and other media adaptations. Sprang's Batman was notable for his square chin, expressive face and barrel chest.
Many works of fiction have featured UFOs. In most cases, as the fictional story progresses, the Earth is being invaded by hostile alien forces from outer space, usually from Mars, as depicted in early science fiction, or the people are being destroyed by alien forces, as depicted in the film Independence Day. Some fictional UFO encounters may be based on real UFO reports, such as Night Skies. Night Skies is based on the 1997 Phoenix UFO Incident.
John Arthur Doucette was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he proved equally adept at portraying characters in Shakespearean plays, Westerns, and modern crime dramas. He is perhaps best remembered, however, for his villainous roles as a movie and television "tough guy".
Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as The Searchers and the TV series The Lone Ranger.
RKO Forty Acres was a film studio backlot in the United States, owned by RKO Pictures, located in Culver City, California. Best known as Forty Acres and "the back forty," it was also called "Desilu Culver," the "RKO backlot," and "Pathé 40 Acre Ranch," depending on which studio owned the property at the time. For nearly 50 years it was known for its outdoor full-scale sets, such as Western Street, Atlanta Street, and Main Street and was used in many films and television series.
Dan White was an American actor, well known for appearing in Western films and TV shows.
Richard DeHart Crockett was an American television and film actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, producer, and director, best known for his work with director Blake Edwards.
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: Dick Tracy Returns, G-Men vs. the Black Dragon, Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion, and Drums of Fu Manchu. Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued working until 1982.
Perry Lopez was an American film and television actor. His acting career spanned 40 years.
Don Carlos Harvey was an American television and film actor.
The Lone Ranger is a 1956 Western film based on The Lone Ranger television series starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. The Lone Ranger was the first of two theatrical features based on the series; it was followed by The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold in 1958.
Batman Adventure: The Ride is the name for a series of Batman-themed motion simulator rides installed at various Warner Bros.-branded parks around the world. The ride was first installed at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia in 1992, before being installed at Warner Bros. Movie World in Bottrop, Germany and Parque Warner Madrid in Madrid, Spain in 1996 and 2002, respectively. The installations in Australia and Spain later closed in 2011 and 2014, respectively. The ride is still operating today at the German park, but has been rethemed to Time Riders after the park lost its Warner Bros. licenses in 2004.
Francis Edward Herron was an American comic book writer and editor active in the 1940s–1960s, mainly for DC Comics. He is credited with co-creating Captain Marvel Jr. and the Red Skull, as well as such characters as Cave Carson, Nighthawk, and Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid. Herron spent the bulk of his time in the comics industry writing for such characters as Green Arrow, Superman, and the Western character Tomahawk.
34°07′22″N118°18′56″W / 34.12287°N 118.31550°W
Places adjacent to Bronson Canyon | |
|---|---|
