77 Sunset Strip / Hawaiian Eye, etc. (3 Viewers)

[criblecoblis]

Trader Joe's is a staple here in Indy. I go there to buy frozen langostinos. Can't get them anywhere else. I use them as a garnish for my parmesan-crusted cod. Great prices on cheese, too.

Since Randall brought up Bob's and Baskin-Robbins, I should mention that Trader Joe's started right here in Pasadena. on Arroyo Parkway. The Trader (as those in our circle have always called it) was such an essential part of my twenties, with their $2.50 a sixer San Miguel, their excellent shrimp, and their inexpensive, superb coffee. Plus, an old friend was manager of the La Crescenta store, and he gave me the employee discount when buying cases of canned fish for my cat.

And speaking of Bob's, as far as I know there's only one left hereabouts, in Burbank. The chain was literally not the same after Bob Wian sold it to Marriott in 1967. Nonetheless, the chain thrived here for years, until they over-expanded and collapsed of their own weight.

Oh, and regarding Baskin-Robbins, in the screencap I posted recently from "Lovely Alibi," Stu had just passed the first store to sport the "31 Flavors" rubric. I think it was the main store for many years.

EDIT: Come to think of it, there was a predecessor to Trader Joe's, Pronto Markets. These were small outlets, about the size of a 7-Eleven. Founder Joe Coulombe revamped the concept, expanding the store size and product line, and called it Trader Joe's, with the first outlet of the new concept opening in Pasadena in 1967. The Pronto stores abided for decades, but I believe they have all been replaced by full-size Trader Joe's.

 

[Sky King]

Hi All,

While I haven't made any contributions to this thread, I've thoroughly enjoyed it from day one.
I'm amazed how long its lasted also. Very interesting info on a great show.
One thing I've noticed from some of these screen caps is how much those old cars leaned going around corners. Without seat belts, how did the driver not slide right across those bench seats ?

John

 

[Flashgear]

Randall, an excellent post, with lots of tasty screencaps. It's great seeing Glendale and Atwater from that time, and kudos for figuring out the precise locations by address. Being a big Peter Breck fan, I really want to see that episode now!

Thanks Rob for that. But I can't quite take all the credit for finding the actual street addresses of these location shots...a fine book about Broderick Crawford by Ralph Schiller goes a long way to establishing many of those locations, and some fan has also itemized some of the shooting locales for various episodes on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)...but I also drew some of them from my own travels in the LA area, and favored sites that I loved when I first saw them in the '60s and '70s...and it helps that the Highway Patrol episodes were remastered from original 35 mm film vault elements and thus you can actually read the old street signs often enough, when the camera happens to capture it.

I agree about Peter Breck, I look forward to seeing him in his frequent vintage TV appearances, both in the WB constellation of detective and western shows and his later starring roles in Black Saddle and Big Valley. When he was allowed the opportunity to shine, he often displayed a real talent for sarcastic wit in his semi-comedic roles...I recently got him on DVD in the newly released season one of Mr. Novak (the James Franciscus/Dean Jagger high school drama series, 1963-65) where Peter Breck makes for a hilariously conceited and sarcastic doctor who needles Mr. Novak relentlessly. He really is memorable in that one, which he did about the very same time as his equally memorable appearance on Outer Limits in the superb episode O.B.I.T. in the fall of 1963. Below is a screen cap I took from the Novak episode, A Feeling for Friday...this one shot really conveys what his character is all about in this excellent episode...

And in Highway Patrol S4, Hostage...

Luckily, this episode and many more are available for viewing on Youtube...although in lesser picture quality.

 

[Flashgear]

As promised, here are some more screen caps I took from my Highway Patrol DVDs...of late 1950s Los Angeles and area, the real world beyond the studio gates that our fictional heroes of 77 Sunset Strip would have inhabited...

The city on a somewhat smoggy day as viewed from the vantage point of Grove's overlook, 16501 Mulholland Dr.,...a great place to dump a body, but probably one of Kookie's favorite make-out with the girls spots as well...

From the same episode, Hillhurst Ave. at Kingswell...

Figueroa Terraces in 1958-59...

Glendale Blvd.,

Santa Monica Blvd. at Palm Ave. (?)

The ultra rare 1958 DeSoto Firesweep...

For fine dining...Myrt's hot dog stand at 7300 Melrose Ave...Melrose market across the street...this is the rustic and earthy LA...I'm sure that Roscoe and Kookie were regular patrons at Myrt's...perhaps Stu and Jeff as well, just after barely making another month's rent at 77 Sunset Strip...

 

[criblecoblis]

While I haven't made any contributions to this thread, I've thoroughly enjoyed it from day one.
I'm amazed how long its lasted also. Very interesting info on a great show.

Thanks for checking in here, John! Make it a habit! We do have fun here.

One thing I've noticed from some of these screen caps is how much those old cars leaned going around corners. Without seat belts, how did the driver not slide right across those bench seats ?

Not that I'm old enough to remember cars without seat belts (cough, cough), but I am young enough that I was always required to wear one by my parents, so I hope others with, shall we say, broader experience will check in with more informed responses.

Still, I can tell you that the driver had the steering wheel to hang on to. I can also tell you that bench seats served as quite a spur to romance, and any sweeping right hand curve was commonly known as "Opportunity Curve" to local swains.

Of course, if you had bucket seats and a four-on-the-floor, there was always third gear. . . .

But I too have noticed how pronounced the body roll tends to be in the cars seen in motion on 77 Sunset Strip, and I do wonder how my parents found any joy in driving much the same cars as Stu and Jeff drove.

By contrast, the original Kookiemobile is striking in its utter lack of body roll. Man, that must have been an awesome machine!

 

[criblecoblis]

...a fine book about Broderick Crawford by Ralph Schiller goes a long way to establishing many of those locations, and some fan has also itemized some of the shooting locales for various episodes on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)...

That reminds me that there is reportedly a book on 77SS coming out soon, as has been mentioned here. I'm eagerly awaiting it. Also, I suppose I should put the shooting locations I have found on IMDb too.

...but I also drew some of them from my own travels in the LA area, and favored sites that I loved when I first saw them in the '60s and '70s...and it helps that the Highway Patrol episodes were remastered from original 35 mm film vault elements and thus you can actually read the old street signs often enough, when the camera happens to capture it.

These shows do constitute important historical documents of the built environment of their times, and it's fortunate that Highway Patrol used so many location shots. It's also fortunate that Chrysler provided the cars during a very interesting period for their makes.

Of course, 77SS didn't do much location shooting because they didn't need to; it was far cheaper and quicker to use their extensive backlot sets. And it is impressive what they could do with shooting angles and focal lengths to make, for example, the "Embassy" building look so different from one appearance to the next.

I recently got him on DVD in the newly released season one of Mr. Novak (the James Franciscus/Dean Jagger high school drama series, 1963-65) where Peter Breck makes for a hilariously conceited and sarcastic doctor who needles Mr. Novak relentlessly.

I remember Mr. Novak from its network run well enough to know that it is what established my fondness for both Franciscus and Jagger as actors. Beck's expression is priceless in that screencap!

I wonder whether I can talk my wife into getting that DVD set?

 

[criblecoblis]

I was watching S1E4 "Casualty" the other day, and I think I may have spotted an exterior shot of the house that was used for the interior of the house in "Pasadena Caper." Let me show you what I found.

The first screenshot is from "Pasadena Caper," of Kookie entering.

The second screenshot is of Jeff ringing the doorbell at "5580 South Orange Grove" (a fictitious address):

While the balustrade fills don't quite match, the leaded pattern of the sidelights does, as do the patterns of the wooden dadoes underneath.

This strongly suggests that the house used for the interior of the "Pasadena Caper" house is a backlot house. I'll have to keep my eye out for other appearances of this house.

EDIT: Looking a bit deeper, the houses do not match in other essential ways. Still, the similarities in the sidelights are striking. I guess we'll never figure this out.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

As promised, here are some more screen caps I took from my Highway Patrol DVDs...of late 1950s Los Angeles and area, the real world beyond the studio gates that our fictional heroes of 77 Sunset Strip would have inhabited...

The city on a somewhat smoggy day as viewed from the vantage point of Grove's overlook, 16501 Mulholland Dr.,...a great place to dump a body, but probably one of Kookie's favorite make-out with the girls spots as well...
View attachment 60260
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From the same episode, Hillhurst Ave. at Kingswell...
View attachment 60265

Figueroa Terraces in 1958-59...
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Glendale Blvd.,
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Santa Monica Blvd. at Palm Ave. (?)
View attachment 60270

The ultra rare 1958 DeSoto Firesweep...
View attachment 60271
View attachment 60272

For fine dining...Myrt's hot dog stand at 7300 Melrose Ave...Melrose market across the street...this is the rustic and earthy LA...I'm sure that Roscoe and Kookie were regular patrons at Myrt's...perhaps Stu and Jeff as well, just after barely making another month's rent at 77 Sunset Strip...
View attachment 60273
View attachment 60274

Since Randall brought up Bob's and Baskin-Robbins, I should mention that Trader Joe's started right here in Pasadena. on Arroyo Parkway. The Trader (as those in our circle have always called it) was such an essential part of my twenties, with their $2.50 a sixer San Miguel, their excellent shrimp, and their inexpensive, superb coffee. Plus, an old friend was manager of the La Crescenta store, and he gave me the employee discount when buying cases of canned fish for my cat.

And speaking of Bob's, as far as I know there's only one left hereabouts, in Burbank. The chain was literally not the same after Bob Wian sold it to Marriott in 1967. Nonetheless, the chain thrived here for years, until they over-expanded and collapsed of their own weight.

Oh, and regarding Baskin-Robbins, in the screencap I posted recently from "Lovely Alibi," Stu had just passed the first store to sport the "31 Flavors" rubric. I think it was the main store for many years.

EDIT: Come to think of it, there was a predecessor to Trader Joe's, Pronto Markets. These were small outlets, about the size of a 7-Eleven. Founder Joe Coulombe revamped the concept, expanding the store size and product line, and called it Trader Joe's, with the first outlet of the new concept opening in Pasadena in 1967. The Pronto stores abided for decades, but I believe they have all been replaced by full-size Trader Joe's.

Great screenshots, Randall (and very interesting background on Trader Joe's and other L.A. stores, Rob)! You guys in this thread always have lots of cool info to impart...makes for good reading, even for a 77SS newb.

 

[criblecoblis]

Luckily, this episode and many more are available for viewing on Youtube...although in lesser picture quality.

Thanks for the link, Randall! I'm watching it now.

 

[criblecoblis]

Randall, I enjoyed "Hostage." I noticed another 77 SS alumnus in Wayne Heffley, who played the dispatcher, Officer Dennis. He played Andra Martin's brother Red in S1E20 "Lovely Alibi." He lived in my longtime home base, Montrose.

 

[Flashgear]

Yes, it is great to be able to get them in 720p. It makes a big difference. I just wish they didn't crop them. . . or edit them, for that matter.

I have a few DVD copies sourced from the recent MeTV airings too. The definition and contrast values are definitely superior to most of my 77 Sunset Strip collection, mostly derived from the old Goodlife network showings, (Goodlife seemed to have mostly aired complete and unedited, although timesped by the usual 4%, much as they also did with 12 O'clock High and Combat!), and more of my collection is derived from 16mm film chain circulation prints. Some films were pretty beat up, although some of my film copies could hardly be exceeded in quality by Warner themselves, had they actually released it on DVD. I wish I knew the back story about how an enormous hoard of WB TV episode 16mm films suddenly appeared in film trading and collecting circles in the early '90s. Literally a warehouse load of them...majority or nearly complete runs of 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6, Cheyenne, Maverick, Sugarfoot, Bronco and Lawman...sadly, little or nothing at all of Colt .45, The Alaskans, Roaring 20s, and The Islanders were in that motherload of choice, classic WB TV shows.

Randall, I enjoyed "Hostage." I noticed another 77 SS alumnus in Wayne Heffley, who played the dispatcher, Officer Dennis. He played Andra Martin's brother Red in S1E20 "Lovely Alibi." He lived in my longtime home base, Montrose.

Wow, great eye there Rob! That Youtube source has an irritating video generated "bug" logo in the lower corner. I didn't do a more thorough search on Youtube for better sources than that. Other users may have uploaded better quality sources, I don't know. Last time I checked, seasons 2 to 4 of Highway Patrol on the TGG DVD sets were still available in reasonable prices, I have season one also, which was released by MGM MOD years earlier, and much pricier. TGG (God bless 'em) also released the other ZIV shows, Sea Hunt, Bat Masterson, and Ripcord in their entirety on beautiful DVDs. Timeless released other great ZIV shows like Science Fiction Theatre, Tombstone Territory, Mackenzie's Raiders, West Point and Harbor Command on beautiful DVDs...each and every one of those shows features stunning location filming, with West Point actually filmed on location at the academy and along the beautiful upper Hudson river valley to boot! Our Roger Smith of 77 Sunset Strip starred in a 1956 episode of West Point, perhaps I could post screen caps from that episode, which is a great spectacular action story set at West Point and the Korean War. Chuck Connors, Steve McQueen, Leonard Nimoy and Clint Eastwood were in other episodes as young unknowns. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the great ZIV shows, pretty much as I'm a fan of the great WB shows!

 

[Flashgear]

Great screenshots, Randall (and very interesting background on Trader Joe's and other L.A. stores, Rob)! You guys in this thread always have lots of cool info to impart...makes for good reading, even for a 77SS newb.

Thanks Jeff! I hope you can find the time to view some episodes of 77 Sunset Strip from Uncle Earl's Classic TV on FB or Dailymotion...we would love to hear your impressions of the series, as anyone who has roamed the "What did you watch on classic TV" thread can attest to the engaging quality of your very interesting and insightful reviews there, along with Russ, Doug and others. I've learned about a lot of other great shows previously unknown to me, courtesy of your very diverse interests and frequent posts!

 

[criblecoblis]

Great screenshots, Randall (and very interesting background on Trader Joe's and other L.A. stores, Rob)! You guys in this thread always have lots of cool info to impart...makes for good reading, even for a 77SS newb.

Thanks, Jeff! While I realize that I am flirting with wandering off-topic, I figure a little local color doesn't hurt occasionally.

 

[MartinP.]

Because of all the shaking going on around here the last two days, I was wondering if 77 Sunset Strip ever had an episode that included anything about an earthquake.

 

[Rustifer]

Because of all the shaking going on around here the last two days, I was wondering if 77 Sunset Strip ever had an episode that included anything about an earthquake.

Hey-- I was thinking about that, but more from the standpoint that hopefully none of your bottles of fine liquor fell to the floor and broke. Tragedy.
I don't remember any episodes depicting shaky ground.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Thanks Jeff! I hope you can find the time to view some episodes of 77 Sunset Strip from Uncle Earl's Classic TV on FB or Dailymotion...we would love to hear your impressions of the series, as anyone who has roamed the "What did you watch on classic TV" thread can attest to the engaging quality of your very interesting and insightful reviews there, along with Russ, Doug and others. I've learned about a lot of other great shows previously unknown to me, courtesy of your very diverse interests and frequent posts!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Randall! I'll try to get to an episode of 77SS or two at some point...have TV rips of several episodes hanging around here someplace, just haven't got to them yet. Might feel a little intimidated about posting my first impressions in this thread full of expert fans, though...

Because of all the shaking going on around here the last two days, I was wondering if 77 Sunset Strip ever had an episode that included anything about an earthquake.

Hope all L.A.-residing board members are fine and didn't suffer any serious injury or damage in the recent quakes.

 

[criblecoblis]

Because of all the shaking going on around here the last two days, I was wondering if 77 Sunset Strip ever had an episode that included anything about an earthquake.

Hey-- I was thinking about that, but more from the standpoint that hopefully none of your bottles of fine liquor fell to the floor and broke. Tragedy.
I don't remember any episodes depicting shaky ground.

Right, Russ. Earthquakes only intrude upon the Angeleno's consciousness about every 20–25 years or so. Putting ourselves in the time frame of 77SS, the last quake hereabouts was the Tehachapi quake in 1952, and we're not going to have another one until the Sylmar quake in 1971.

Earthquakes were the furthest thing from the local mind in 1958–1963.

Hope all L.A.-residing board members are fine and didn't suffer any serious injury or damage in the recent quakes.

These were not significant events here in the Bungalow Heaven area of Pasadena, but we are on a huge granite shelf here, which does suppress earth movement considerably. I will own that the 7.1 event caused considerable anxiety because it was so long; I've been in quakes where it rolls gently for 20 seconds, and then the real ride begins. This rolled for about a half-minute, then stopped. The pets hardly even noticed.

The whole event was enough for us all to review the state of our earthquake preparedness measures, which is a good thing.

 

[MartinP.]

Hey-- I was thinking about that, but more from the standpoint that hopefully none of your bottles of fine liquor fell to the floor and broke.

The martinis have been secured.

 

[Rustifer]

The martinis have been secured.

Olives across this country are dancing in joy.

 

[criblecoblis]

Hey-- I was thinking about that, but more from the standpoint that hopefully none of your bottles of fine liquor fell to the floor and broke. Tragedy.

Russ, we store the spirits low to the ground precisely to prevent such a catastrophe!