Muscle Beach History - by Stuntmovie

[njflex]

NEXT UP GAY HOLLYWOOD AND THE COVERUP..

[stuntmovie]

My "date" with KIM!

WES! I  might have also crossed your path when they were shooting a PAL JOEY scene the night before or the night after the above ocurrrence.

Hollywood was out in force shooting a scene at the base of San Francisco's Coit Tower with Frank and Kim .. I was on a first name basis now .....

The parking area at the base of the tower was packed full of movie making equipment, trucks and vans, so if you wanted to watch the actors while the camera rolled, you had to join the crowd who could see absolutely noting about 40 yards away or so.

So I decided that this was bullshit and got determined to do whatever was necessary to get a better 'seat'.

So I picked up a huge spool of electrical wire and ddid my best to 'act' official by telling the crowd to make a hole nad let me through. And sure enough they did and the cop on duty even moved the barrier for my easy access.

So now I figured that I was part of this Hollywood movie making crew and kept on walking straight on to the camera with the Panavision lens attached ... That's how close I got while Frank and Kim were doing their thing no further than 10 feet away.

And then the director sai, "CUT!" and once again FRANK was outta there, leaving poor KIM standing all alone looking at the San Francisco Bay in the backgrtound,

That's when I dropped the wire and walked over and looked at the Bay with her. And she turned to me and said, "It's really beautiful here!"

And I most likely said something stupid which I've long forgotten, but that 'conversation' went on for a couple of minutes .... until the make-up on her face started cracking. Sort of like a Kim Novack jig saw puzzel.

And then it was time for her to go.

I left to, but with a big smile on my face.

Make-up or not.... she was a beautiful lady.

WES! Were you involved with that San Francisco shoot?

And most important ... Did you ever meet KIM?

[stuntmovie]

WES! Regarding the Westmore brothers.

During my tenure, WALLY was the main contender in the Hollywood make up arena, but I don't recall ever meeting him or one of the bros.
But I was on the set of one of the Planet of the Apes productions ... the 2001 production with Mark Wahlburg ... in which one of more of the
Westmores MAY have been  involved in the ape make up process.

In fact I sat in the make up trailer and watched the entire process while a family member was in the chair, but I honestly forget who the make-up artist actually was.

Orville Burke was also in that trailer that day going trough the ape making process.

ANd somewhere, someplace I have some great photos of me and the 'apes' involved in that day's shoot.

By the way  ... I think it was John Chambers who did the make-up work in the original Planet of the Apes production which I had a chance to be involved with but was on active duty in some foreign land at the time.

My good friend Jack Tyree told me that he sat in that make up chair for 6-8 hours during that original shoot.

I think that this was one of Wally's original creations.

[njflex]

 

[funk51]

from my experience i found most people actors and actresses were petty and insecure. i was shocked when reese weatherspoon was portrayed as an arrogant little bitch with the dui incident, she actually seemed like a geniune person in my opinion. met her on the set of how do you know. which was more than i can say of mostly the big names i met on set.

[jpm101]

Stuntmovie;  All this stuff is way too cool.

 Heard that Sinatra was a one take wonder and really never had a problem with lines. One take.....OK. A second take wanted by the director...the director was going to have a problem. Sinatra was a good street wise Sicilian gentleman, or so I have been told. Saying on many lots, "Sinatra got more ass than a toilet seat".  Walked by Frank jr once in Palm Springs...in  fact bumped his BG by accident. Though jr was going to freak...after being kidnapped and all that mess in Tahoe.

Speaking of Palm Springs: NJflex mentioned gay Hollywood coverups. Can start at Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Palm Springs, etc. That's where their playground seems to be, in SoCal at least.

A few friends of mine who do security, events and BG work got stories you wouldn't believe about that desert area. Just as much lesbian as male gay stuff...really big Hollywood and TV names. Or so I've been told. Even one well known Christian preacher makes a habit of going done there.

[stuntmovie]

JPM, FUNK, NJ  ... Thanks for liking this off topic Hollywood stuff. but I've been there and done it all and have met some damn important people along the way ... so it's fun to recall and talk about and it's only a very few miles from Muscle Beach which sort of  justifies this off topic shit.

I've written earlier about my good friend, Jack Tyree, who  also served time in the Corps. Jack died while doin a high jump stunt for THE SWORD AND THE SORCEROR  but I t hink it's worth repeating.

Jack was a very respected stuntman in the Hollywood movie industry and was often called upon by studio executives to 'handle in-house problems" which the studio wished to remain private ..... and on a couple of occasions I was invited along.

On one such occasion I was given an OSCAR to hold while Jack handled a 'situation'. I held this heavy little statue  if for a good long while so that it would not be used as a weapon in case of  major conflict within this ultra-million dollar Beverly Hills residence.

And since I was a good friend of Jack's I had free reign of the Universal Studios 'campus' and met many top performers on and off the sets in and out of the sound-stages.

Then a few years after Jack passed away, my family got into the motion picture biz and it's been lots of fun watching it from the sidelines ever since, especially when they say, "Get yur butt over here and lend a hand".

And that's when this stunt-shit started which was chapeter 8 or 9 of my very adventurous lifetime passage.

When I actually settle down, Chapter 10 may be something about all the shit I've learned about my fellow GetBiggers ... the good and the bad and the ugly and eveything in between.

Now where the hell is WES!?

OH YEA.... If you want to see a great and totally different movie ..... Go see Dhoom 3.

[njflex]

i love bbing history 60/90's and i love movies,older hollywood when stars were stars and 'walk of fame'was cary grant /gary cooper/heck i'll take clooney but britney spears ::)and the like watered down hollywood...those older actors had great slicked hair/clothes and could crossover act like a great singer dean martin could stir a cocktail and wear great suit in rat pack movies and do rio bravo as a good looking cowboy..still great films 80/90's 00's too..

[stuntmovie]

NJ, You said that well and I agree entirely.... but there's more to what you said that's hidden behind the screen.

I'm sure you are aware of this but back in them good old days the motion picture making process and the studios which controlled it all .... were completely different.

Each of the major studios and everyone who worked within that studio was under the control of one 'tyrant-type'  of individual who ensured that everyone in front of the camera, as well as those behind it and way off to the side of it, performed their particular 'job' in accordance with that tyrant's ambitious  desires.

Those 'tyrants' ensured that their Publicity Departments did their job to make all those participants you mentioned above appear as 'demi-gods' to the movie going public.

So one of that department's main jobs was to hide the participants oft-repeated 'evil deeds'  or the simple things that they may have done that the public would simply not appreciate.

Those Publicity Departments would have direct phone lines to the likes of Hedda and the other journalist whose name I have just forgotten, begging them to NOT write that story about their top star who fucked up a bit last night and offer them a better story about a lesser star or a promise of something better regarding a star who was on the verge of being fired anyway,

A lot of this behind the screen stuff was performed to turn the average actor into a movie idol who would make millions for the studio.

It takes many people to turn an actor into a movie star.

Even I, myself, helped one time ... but that help was so damn minor ... that I have long forgotten.

Some people dislike Mark Wahlburg ... but i see him as one individual who appears to have done most of it on his own..... singer, actor, producer ..... accomplishments that are somewhat rare in LA-LA Land.

[njflex]

NJ, You said that well and I agree entirely.... but there's more to what you said that's hidden behind the screen.

I'm sure you are aware of this but back in them good old days the motion picture making process and the studios which controlled it all .... were completely different.

Each of the major studios and everyone who worked within that studio was under the control of one 'tyrant-type'  of individual who ensured that everyone in front of the camera, as well as those behind it and way off to the side of it, performed their particular 'job' in accordance with that tyrant's ambitious  desires.

Those 'tyrants' ensured that their Publicity Departments did their job to make all those participants you mentioned above appear as 'demi-gods' to the movie going public.

So one of that department's main jobs was to hide the participants oft-repeated 'evil deeds'  or the simple things that they may have done that the public would simply not appreciate.

Those Publicity Departments would have direct phone lines to the likes of Hedda and the other journalist whose name I have just forgotten, begging them to NOT write that story about their top star who fucked up a bit last night and offer them a better story about a lesser star or a promise of something better regarding a star who was on the verge of being fired anyway,

A lot of this behind the screen stuff was performed to turn the average actor into a movie idol who would make millions for the studio.

It takes many people to turn an actor into a movie star.

Even I, myself, helped one time ... but that help was so damn minor ... that I have long forgotten.

Some people dislike Mark Wahlburg ... but i see him as one individual who appears to have done most of it on his own..... singer, actor, producer ..... accomplishments that are somewhat rare in LA-LA Land.

YES I remember from documenatries the old studios would lock an actor/actress to be in 10 movies and held them to it,,,one notable was judy garland and she  was crafted from the get go and then was told when to lose weight and all kinds of things,,through booze/pills/bad marriages she was very scornful and angry person in the ens ,,sad life,she was incredible singer'no homo'there is an old collection of recordings she is taped,she is drunk or stoned in them and slurring speech,incoherent at times and nasty,talks about her life,marriages,studios,how she was treated,'howard stern'played them long time ago..

[stuntmovie]

NJ, YEA! What you said about Judy Garland  was also true for Mickey Rooney whose son I had the opportunity to meet. Of all the places I could have met, it turned out to be at an MMA fight here in LV at Planet Hollywood. He was great to talk with and  even gave me his phone number in case I ever wanted to meet his dad who is still hard at work making movies.

Speaking of Judy Garland ..... My brother was a fireman in San Francisco and one of Judy Garland's daughters lived across the street from the firehouse and would sometimes do some cooking for the guys on duty. (I think it was Lisa Minelli).

One of my relations was one of the last of the studio contract stars and that is a short but interesting story which I write up if there is any interest.

The 'studio system' eventually broke up due to two Hollywood individuals.

Can you name either of them or both?

[Primemuscle]

NJ, YEA! What you said about Judy Garland  was also true for Mickey Rooney whose son I had the opportunity to meet. Of all the places I could have met, it turned out to be at an MMA fight here in LV at Planet Hollywood. He was great to talk with and  even gave me his phone number in case I ever wanted to meet his dad who is still hard at work making movies.

Speaking of Judy Garland ..... My brother was a fireman in San Francisco and one of Judy Garland's daughters lived across the street from the firehouse and would sometimes do some cooking for the guys on duty. (I think it was Lisa Minelli).

One of my relations was one of the last of the studio contract stars and that is a short but interesting story which I write up if there is any interest.

The 'studio system' eventually broke up due to two Hollywood individuals.

Can you name either of them or both?

Somehow I see Lorna as more the type to cook for some firemen....on the other hand, Liza was pretty "man crazy" when she was young....maybe she still is. Liza is 7 years older then Lorna. Lorna was born in 1952.

[stuntmovie]

PRIME, You could be right. I'll have to ask my brother who retired recently and moved to some remote part of this planet in an effort to avoid contact with various family members.

And I think I'm one of them.

Was just informed that some old time Hollywood people are reading this so I gotta make an effort to keep this as accurate as possible.

[Primemuscle]

PRIME, You could be right. I'll have to ask my brother who retired recently and moved to some remote part of this planet in an effort to avoid contact with various family members.

And I think I'm one of them.

Was just informed that some old time Hollywood people are reading this so I gotta make an effort to keep this as accurate as possible.

Nice brotherly love you two have going there. But then, what would I know, all I ever had were two sisters. 

[stuntmovie]

Nothing like that, PRIME. He just likes to be an independent loner while my sister is the complete opposite.

[wes]

My "date" with KIM!

WES! I  might have also crossed your path when they were shooting a PAL JOEY scene the night before or the night after the above ocurrrence.

Hollywood was out in force shooting a scene at the base of San Francisco's Coit Tower with Frank and Kim .. I was on a first name basis now .....

The parking area at the base of the tower was packed full of movie making equipment, trucks and vans, so if you wanted to watch the actors while the camera rolled, you had to join the crowd who could see absolutely noting about 40 yards away or so.

So I decided that this was bullshit and got determined to do whatever was necessary to get a better 'seat'.

So I picked up a huge spool of electrical wire and ddid my best to 'act' official by telling the crowd to make a hole nad let me through. And sure enough they did and the cop on duty even moved the barrier for my easy access.

So now I figured that I was part of this Hollywood movie making crew and kept on walking straight on to the camera with the Panavision lens attached ... That's how close I got while Frank and Kim were doing their thing no further than 10 feet away.

And then the director sai, "CUT!" and once again FRANK was outta there, leaving poor KIM standing all alone looking at the San Francisco Bay in the backgrtound,

That's when I dropped the wire and walked over and looked at the Bay with her. And she turned to me and said, "It's really beautiful here!"

And I most likely said something stupid which I've long forgotten, but that 'conversation' went on for a couple of minutes .... until the make-up on her face started cracking. Sort of like a Kim Novack jig saw puzzel.

And then it was time for her to go.

I left to, but with a big smile on my face.

Make-up or not.... she was a beautiful lady.

WES! Were you involved with that San Francisco shoot?

And most important ... Did you ever meet KIM?

Bill,I thought Kim Novak was simply and ourageously gorgeous..still do.

Unfortunately,I didn`t start working as Mr. Siniatras stunt double util later years....I was born in 1955,and just in case you believe me,I`m sorry for being sarcastic!  LOL 

Shit,if I did 1/4 of the stuff you`ve done,I`d consider myself a freakin` movie star! 

I only wish I could have stood within a 10 mile radius of Kim Novak,and if I did,she`d still be in trouble!

[njflex]

NJ, YEA! What you said about Judy Garland  was also true for Mickey Rooney whose son I had the opportunity to meet. Of all the places I could have met, it turned out to be at an MMA fight here in LV at Planet Hollywood. He was great to talk with and  even gave me his phone number in case I ever wanted to meet his dad who is still hard at work making movies.

Speaking of Judy Garland ..... My brother was a fireman in San Francisco and one of Judy Garland's daughters lived across the street from the firehouse and would sometimes do some cooking for the guys on duty. (I think it was Lisa Minelli).

One of my relations was one of the last of the studio contract stars and that is a short but interesting story which I write up if there is any interest.

The 'studio system' eventually broke up due to two Hollywood individuals.

Can you name either of them or both?

GOLDWYN/MAYER

[wes]

WES! Regarding the Westmore brothers.

During my tenure, WALLY was the main contender in the Hollywood make up arena, but I don't recall ever meeting him or one of the bros.
But I was on the set of one of the Planet of the Apes productions ... the 2001 production with Mark Wahlburg ... in which one of more of the
Westmores MAY have been  involved in the ape make up process.

In fact I sat in the make up trailer and watched the entire process while a family member was in the chair, but I honestly forget who the make-up artist actually was.

Orville Burke was also in that trailer that day going trough the ape making process.

ANd somewhere, someplace I have some great photos of me and the 'apes' involved in that day's shoot.

By the way  ... I think it was John Chambers who did the make-up work in the original Planet of the Apes production which I had a chance to be involved with but was on active duty in some foreign land at the time.

My good friend Jack Tyree told me that he sat in that make up chair for 6-8 hours during that original shoot.

I think that this was one of Wally's original creations.

Good stuff as usal my friend.

I have always been a huge horror movie fan,as well as just a huge fan of movies in general.

My 4 favorite genre`s are:
Film Noir
Horror
Westerns
Action/Sci-Fi (tie)

I love some of the work the make up people have done in the past...along with the special effects folks who are for the most part,sadly competing with todays computer generated imaging.

I don`t mind CGI too much if it`s done well but some of it is just hokey crap and too much of it even when done nicely,reminds me of a video game instead of a movie.

Look at the things a guy like ray Harryhausen did decades ago.....still some of his work goes unmathched to this day.

The Westmores
Jack Dawn
Ben Nye
Gordon Bau
Jack Pierce
Rick Baker

Almost all forgotten these days.  

[dr.chimps]

WES! Regarding the Westmore brothers.

During my tenure, WALLY was the main contender in the Hollywood make up arena, but I don't recall ever meeting him or one of the bros.
But I was on the set of one of the Planet of the Apes productions ... the 2001 production with Mark Wahlburg ... in which one of more of the
Westmores MAY have been  involved in the ape make up process.

In fact I sat in the make up trailer and watched the entire process while a family member was in the chair, but I honestly forget who the make-up artist actually was.

Orville Burke was also in that trailer that day going trough the ape making process.

ANd somewhere, someplace I have some great photos of me and the 'apes' involved in that day's shoot.

By the way  ... I think it was John Chambers who did the make-up work in the original Planet of the Apes production which I had a chance to be involved with but was on active duty in some foreign land at the time.

My good friend Jack Tyree told me that he sat in that make up chair for 6-8 hours during that original shoot.

I think that this was one of Wally's original creations.

Well, Perc Westmore was a legend by anyone's standards in Hollywood. And, Kim Novak, was a total beauty, although her MH got the better of her. Robert Osborne had a nice later-life interview with her. Recommended.

[The Scott]

NJ, YEA! What you said about Judy Garland  was also true for Mickey Rooney whose son I had the opportunity to meet. Of all the places I could have met, it turned out to be at an MMA fight here in LV at Planet Hollywood. He was great to talk with and  even gave me his phone number in case I ever wanted to meet his dad who is still hard at work making movies.

Speaking of Judy Garland ..... My brother was a fireman in San Francisco and one of Judy Garland's daughters lived across the street from the firehouse and would sometimes do some cooking for the guys on duty. (I think it was Lisa Minelli).

One of my relations was one of the last of the studio contract stars and that is a short but interesting story which I write up if there is any interest.

The 'studio system' eventually broke up due to two Hollywood individuals.

Can you name either of them or both?

Off the top of my head I would hazard you mean Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr., whom I believe founded United Artists?  Probably wrong but as I said, off the top of the ol' noggin' so I have not even given this question a web search.

And Kim is still a lovely woman.  One of my brothers recently had the pleasure of meeting and talking with her.  Class all 'round.

[stuntmovie]

NJ, SCOTT, Good try  but you're both incorrect although SCOTT cou ld be partially correct regarding UA which was established in 1919 for an interesting reason but way too early to have an adverse affect on the studio system.

In fact UA had its own studio system.

Actually the 'studio system' fell apart for a good number of reasons ... some say "Seven good reasons." , but most people within the industry attribute that breakup to one individual by the name of Lew Wasserman .

(Following is cut and pasted.) Lew Wasserman's great triumph as an agent was the 1950 arrangement under which Jimmy Stewart starred in the film Winchester '73 for a hefty cut of the profits rather than a flat fee.

This proved to be an epic transformation in the fiscal life of Hollywood.

Where once the studios reigned supreme during the golden age of the movies, power shifted to the stars and the big-name directors, most of whom were represented by Wasserman's agency, MCA.

One film historian wisely said .... "In effect, Wasserman was the man who put the inmates in charge of the Hollywood asylum."

So one answer to the above question is  .... Lew Wasserman and Jimmy Stewart.

[stuntmovie]

SCOTT, regarding your UNITED ARTISTS response ....

Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith were seeking to gain more financial and artistic control over producing and distributing their films. On February 5, 1919, they joined forces to create their own film studio, which they called the United Artists Corporation.

The studio system break-up ocurred roughly 30 years later.

[macos]

Cool, that's something I've wondered about.  I look forward to it!

I have a photo of my grandfather in Korea (during the war) with some guys that are more jacked than anyone at my gym.  It's something I've also wondered about.

Please post that pic Roger.

[6 Reps]

Good stuff as usal my friend.

I have always been a huge horror movie fan,as well as just a huge fan of movies in general.

My 4 favorite genre`s are:
Film Noir
Horror
Westerns
Action/Sci-Fi (tie)

I love some of the work the make up people have done in the past...along with the special effects folks who are for the most part,sadly competing with todays computer generated imaging.

I don`t mind CGI too much if it`s done well but some of it is just hokey crap and too much of it even when done nicely,reminds me of a video game instead of a movie.

Look at the things a guy like ray Harryhausen did decades ago.....still some of his work goes unmathched to this day.

The Westmores
Jack Dawn
Ben Nye
Gordon Bau
Jack Pierce
Rick Baker

Almost all forgotten these days.  

Wes:  do you have a favorite film noir?  I was thinking what might be my favorite... I think it might be Laura.

[stuntmovie]

OOOPPPPS!!!! Correction!

Somewhere up above I mentioned something about the Planet of the Apes (2001) make-up artist.(The one with Don Wahlburg in it.)

Actually the make-up artist on that set was RICK BAKER whose name I noticed when WES mentioned him in an earlier post.

ANd it was ORVILLE BURKE going through the same make-up process two chairs over. ( I think I mentioned that.)

And since we left the beach and are now in Hollywood, I once again gotta recommend "DHOOMI 3" ..... One of my favorite pictures of all time.
If you miss it, you're missing a great movie and an interesting story. Gotta see it on the big screen though.