Historic Hollywood landmarks, including ranches and TV production sets, have been reduced to cinders in the devastating California wildfires. Among them is Paramount Ranch, a…
Historic Hollywood landmarks, including ranches and TV production sets, have been reduced to cinders in the devastating California wildfires.
Among them is Paramount Ranch, a faux Western town that serves as the backdrop for HBO’s “Westworld” in the mountains west of Los Angeles, according to local reports.
The now-decimated scenic set dates back to 1927 and was popular with filmmakers in the 1930s and 1950s TV Westerns such as “The Cisco Kid.” Only the picturesque white church on the lot survived.
Flames from the Woolsey Fire also consumed the set of the long-running TV series “M*A*S*H.”
“People don’t realize they’ve been watching movies all their lives that took place here,” Tim Johnston, a retired firefighter and park docent, told the Los Angeles Times . “Their mom’s been watching all her life. Even their grandma has been watching all her life.”
The Reagan Ranch, the former president’s property that is now part of Malibu Creek State Park, also partially succumbed to the blaze, as did the Peter Strauss Ranch, where country stars Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson performed.
“When Mother Nature wants to win, she always wins,” said California state parks superintendent Tyson Butzke.
The blaze scorched 83,000 acres as of late Sunday and was only 10 percent contained.
