After Howard Hughes had bought, mismanaged, and bankrupted RKO studios on Melrose Ave, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s company bought it and rebranded it Desilu Studios Inc. That transaction happened in late 1957, so this aerial shot was probably taken not long after (perhaps early 1958) when locals were still marveling that a former chorus girl and her business-savvy Cuban husband had bought the studio. In the lower left corner, we can see the huge concrete globe from the RKO logo that sat (and still does) at the corner of Melrose Ave and Gower St. (Source: glitteratitours.com)
Lou L on Twitter said: “Hughes sold RKO in December 1955 to General Tire’s broadcasting subsidiary, which was mostly interested in acquiring the film library. After several months of trying to revive the moribund studio, they sold it to Desilu.”
This is roughly how that view looks these days.
Great pix, Martin. Best thing Lucy and Desi did was buy the studio. It would have went out of business completely. They kept lots of good people on the payroll, and that’s what its all about. There’s many strange stories about Hughes management style. He simply lost interest, and that’s dangerous. I did not know he sold it to General Tire, Then Lucy and Desi bought it.
Many years later Lucy bought out Desi’s share when they divorced, which was a smart move, and then Paramount bought her out. Bottom line, Lucy kept the place going for years, and yes, she worked there in the 30s as chorus girl in many of the Fred Astaire Ginger Rogers musicals. She also worked with the Three Stooges over at Columbia in the 30s. We all love those early career stories. She was also a terrific dramatic actress, what many fans don’t know.
I agree, Lucy was a wonderful dramatic actress! She is one of my favorite movie stars. Such a talented and beautiful lady.