|
![]() |
Chaplin was a Hollywood immortal, perhaps the greatest
comic genius of our time. He was the first actor to appear on the cover
of Time Magazine (in 1925), and his life story was retold
in the 1992 movie "Chaplin" (starring Robert
Downey Jr.) Along with Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, he founded United Artists studio to distribute the films they made, after which he left this studio for that nearby Sunset lot. But his original historic studio still stands today,
albeit reduced in size from 5 acres down to the present 2.2 acres.. After
Chaplin departed the studio in 1953, CBS filmed several well-known
25 years later, in 2010, another group of stars met in this same studio to record a new version of "We Are the World", this time to benefit victims of the Haiti earthqake; included were Celine Dion, Usher, Pink, Snoop Dogg, Barbra Streisand, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Tony Bennett, The Jonas Brothers, Jamie Foxx, Josh Groban, LL Cool J, Harry Connick Jr., Lil Wayne, Brian Wilson, Natalie Cole, Carlos Santana, Jennifer Hudson, Will.i.am, Toni Braxton, and others.
Other artists A&M has had under contract include
Sting and
the Police, Amy Grant,
the Moody Blues, Eric
Clapton, Supertramp, ABBA,
Bryan Adams, the Bee Gees,
Van Morrison, Oingo
Boingo, Styx, Quincy
Jones, The Carpenters,
Joe Cocker, Bryan
Adams, Joe Jackson, Blues Traveler,
Sheryl Crow, Dishwalla,
Recently, the studio was purchased by Jim Henson Productions, the company that gave us Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the other "Muppets." In fact, they have added a wonderful statue of Kermit, dressed like Chaplin's "Littlke Tramp", standing above the main studio gate! A nice touch. And a literal tip of the hat to the studio's history. (The Academy
of Dramatic Arts has moved right next door, just to the south of the
studio.) Charlie also built his family home on the property,
up at the corner of La Brea & Sunset. (In fact, both his mother and
his son are buried at the nearby Hollywood
Memorial Cemetery). Alas, the lone entrance gate to the studio is guarded, and there are no public tours offered. So there is nothing here for the casual visitor to do except read the historical plaque or shoot a photo, and admire the eccentric Peter Pan architecture.
Looking for something in particular? Search the Seeing-Stars website! |
|
Click Here to Return to the Main Menu
Advertise
on seeing-stars.com
Copyright © 2020-Gary Wayne
All Rights Reserved
This webpage is not associated with any business
described in the article above, and does not constitute an
endorsement of this or any other business. The photos of celebrities on
this page also do not constitute
endorsements by them of any kind, and are used by the author solely to
illustrate this online article.
(Click here to read
other disclaimers)