Sunset Gower Studios

Sunset Gower Studios is a 14-acre television and movie studio at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. It continues today as Hollywood's largest independent studio and an active facility for television and film production on its twelve soundstages. Sunset Boulevard (officially known as West Sunset Boulevard, except in Beverly Hills) is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. ... Gower Street is a street in Hollywood, California, which marks the start of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which runs east to west on Hollywood Boulevard. ... ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

The studios were originally founded by Columbia Pictures Studios movie mogul Harry Cohn in 1921 in the Poverty Row area of Hollywood. Poverty Row was the area bound by Sunset Boulevard on the North, Gower Street on the West, and Beachwood Drive on the East. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891–February 27, 1958), sometimes nicknamed King Cohn, was president and production director of Columbia Pictures. ... Poverty Row is a slang term used in Hollywood from the late silent period through the mid-fifties to refer to a variety of mostly short-lived small studios, many clustered in the area of Los Angeles, USA known as Gower Gulch, near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower...

It was a ragtag collection of small warehouses and vest pocket offices where the independent film makers gathered to buy “short ends” of film from the major studios, in order to create their “great American dreams”. On January 10, 1924 Columbia Pictures Corporation was born. By 1929 the familiar image of the lady with the torch was beginning to make an impact on the Hollywood scene. January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The Sunset Gower Studios lot, the home of such classics as Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night” in 1934, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in 1936 “Funny Girl” and “The Caine Mutiny,” has continued to produce top new films such as “The Good Shepherd” and “The Good German”. The NBC-TV hit series, "Heroes" and Showtime Network’s series,“Dexter” also occupy several sound stages as have “Deal or No Deal,” “Six Feet Under,” “JAG,” “Married With Children,” “Soap,” and “I Dream of Jeannie.” This article is about the film director. ... It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her fathers thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). ... Jefferson Smith redirects here. ... Original cast album Funny Girl is a semi-biographical musical based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. ... The Caine Mutiny, a 1954 movie directed by Edward Dmytryk, and based on Herman Wouks Pulitzer Prize-winning (1951), best-selling novel and subsequent stage hit (The Caine Mutiny Court Martial), provided Humphrey Bogart with the next-to-last great role of his acting career and a spectacular comeback... The Good Shepherd is a nautical novel by CS Forester, the author of the novels about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower. ... The Good German is a 2006 feature film adaptation of a novel by Joseph Kanon. ... NBC (an acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... This article is about the type of character. ... Showtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States. ... Linda de Mol host of Miljoenenjacht (and the sister of Endemols founder), enters the game shows set. ... Six Feet Under is an American television drama created by Alan Ball that was originally broadcast from 2001 to 2005. ... JAG (the American Military acronym for Judge Advocate General) is a popular American adventure and drama television show, that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television. ... Married. ... I Dream of Jeannie was a popular American sitcom with a fantasy premise. ...

In 1958 at age 66 Harry Cohn died. His Memorial service was held on stages 12 and 14 here on the lot. (There is no stage 13).

Without the guidance of the Cohn Brothers, Columbia Picture Corporation was not the profit-making company it once was. Between 1970 and 1972, Columbia moved from the 14 acre lot, and joined forces with Warner Bros. in Burbank. Its “back lot” on which all the great Columbia westerns were made on Hollywood Way in Burbank became the property of Warner Bros.

Columbia Pictures Corporation, renamed Columbia Pictures Industries, Incorporated, became a film entity without real estate. A large list of successful films were produced during this time, and in 1982 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. was sold to Coca Cola in a cash and stock deal valued between $700 an $800 million. Coca-Cola is a cola (a type of carbonated soft drink) sold in stores, restaurants and vending machines in more than 200 countries. ...

The lot, in the meantime, sat fallow. In 1977 the property was purchased by the Pick Vanoff Company for $6.2 million. The name was changed to Sunset Gower Studios and the lot became a rental facility for independent film companies. It was also used in the seventies as a music rehearsal facility catering to such music greats as Elton John, Ringo Starr, Frank Zappa, and Olivia Newton John. For a time stages 12 and 14 became indoor tennis courts. Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE [2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is a multiple Grammy and Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. ... Richard Starkey, MBE (born 7 July 1940 in Liverpool),[1] known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer and actor, best known as the drummer of the Beatles. ... Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. ... Olivia Newton-John (born September 26, 1948) is a British-born Australian singer and actress. ...

In November 2004, Sunset Gower Studios was purchased by GI Partners for an estimated $105 million, and in 2006 began construction on a six-story building for Technicolor.

References

• Porter, Gerald (March 06, 2007). Hollywood’s Legendary Sunset Gower Studios Is Reborn: Multi-Million Dollar Remodeling and New Construction Underway. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
• Wooley, Peter (2006). A Thumbnail History of Sunset Gower Studios. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
• Fritz, Ben (December, 2004), "Sunset-Gower indie studio space sold.", Daily Variety 
• Fixmer, Andy (October 4, 2004), "Investor nears deal to purchase Sunset Gower Studios", Los Angeles Business Journal 

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ...

External links

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Sunset Gower Studios

• Sunset Gower Studios website