I was looking for information on that most famous of redneck TV vehicles, the General Lee from 80s favourite The Dukes of Hazard, when I stumbled across the Veluzat brothers.
Apparently the family was involved for a few years in the wholesale destruction, sorry, I mean creation, of a couple of hundred bright orange 1969 Dodge Chargers, hand built for the stunt men to jump off ever increasingly large ramps.
Thrown into the description of their motion picture and TV handiwork was mention of the brothers buying up Gene Autry’s old Melody Ranch Studios out in Saugus, California some 30 miles north of Hollywood.
Autry had owned the ranch from 1952 up until 1990 when his horse Champion passed away. Appropriately enough, the ranch had been the location for countless classic western movies from the earliest days of the studios and boasted an impressive western street featuring hotels, a church, bank and jailhouse.
If you visit the website for the Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch today the history just jumps out at you:
experience a page torn from history on the street where famous westerns were made such as The Lone Ranger, Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, Hopalong Cassidy, Annie Oakley, Rin Tin Tin, The Cisco Kid and Deadwood
If you like exploring film locations like the folk at movie-locations.com then the two Veluzat websites are well worth a visit, featuring pictures and virtual tours of some classic western wooden building architecture.
Sure the original western street was destroyed back in 1962, but let’s thanks the owners for investing in a new town that can boast over 65 different storefronts to help future western moviemakers bring new life to the genre.
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Tags: California | Movies | TV | Western Icons | Westerns
