10/21/12

TARA!


Culver Studios, Culver City is said to be one of the most haunted studios in Hollywood. The studio was build by Thomas Ince in 1918. Ince was a talented actor and businessman who is known more today for his strange death than his contributions to film. Ince was aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht the Oneida, when he suddenly took gravely ill and was rushed off the ship and back to his home, where he died (of acute indigestion, according to the Hearst's tabloids of the day. The rumor, of coarse, is that Heart's actually shot Ince, mistaking him for Charlie Chaplin, whom he was extremely jealous of, as he knew Chaplin had the hots for lovely Marion Davies. The story goes that Hearst saw Davis and Ince sitting close and talking and mistook him for Chaplin.
 At any rate, Culver Studios is said to pay host to Ince's spirit. The first to encounter him were two workmen who looked up to see a man in an odd, bowler-type hat watching them from the catwalks above Stage 1-2-3. When they spoke to him, he frowned and then turned and walked into the second floor wall.


There are a hundreds more stories like this about this historic studio. Housed in a grand colonial mansion, the Culver Studios is a true witness to film and cinema in Hollywood. The world-renowned Gone With The Wind, (the main entrance façade was used as Tara) Tom Sawyer as well as other major productions were shot at this very studio. Over the years, it has been a steppingstone for the likes of Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and Fred Astaire. Feature films, television, commercials, music videos and rehearsals have all been shot at this facility.
Its staff claims that late at night a spirit of Gloria Swanson roams the studio's halls.

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