The other day John L. asked some questions about TAGS. I'll take them one at a time.
>>> why did Jim Nabors leave his Mayberry TAGS Role of Gomer Pyle to go >>> continue playing Gomer on "Gomer Pyle, USMC?" I'd think that just about any supporting actor would jump at the chance to star in his/her own show. I've no idea what sort of salary Jim Nabors earned while working on TAGS, but I would guess he earned at least 20 times that amount when he starred in Gomer Pyle - USMC. Someone recently mentioned Ronnie Schell's short-lived show "Good Morning, World" which co-starred Goldie Hawn. Ronnie walked away from the role of Duke Slater on Gomer Pyle - USMC to do that show, which unfortunately flopped. Luckily he was able to return to the role of Duke Slater later. >>>Did TAGS ever say how Ernest T. Bass escaped from jail? In the epilogue of Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army, Barney searches the cell and finds an old bent fork. He concludes that Ernest T. had been using the fork as a lock pick; however when Barney "locks are practically my middle name" Fife tries to open the lock with the fork, he fails. Side note: Barney claims the fork "presses against the tumblers" and in the Cousin Virgil episode, Andy concludes that the shiny, polished keys "won't turn the tumblers" anymore. I'm not a locksmith, but I do know something about locks. It is obvious by looking at the keys that the jail cell doors are simple WARDED locks, which do not have tumblers. >>>And Lastly where were the outside and inside scenes filmed and can you >>>still see the outside place or is it torn down? I heard that the outside >>>scenes were done at a place called 40 acres. Is that true? Yes, almost all of the exteriors were filmed at 40 Acres, a legendary lot in Culver City, CA which was used for many hundreds of films and TV series, notably the original King Kong and Gone With the Wind. Remember the famous shot in GWTW in front of the train depot where all of the dead and wounded soldiers were laying in the street? The same railroad depot was used on TAGS, in the episode The Legend of Barney Fife. A few other buildings scene in GWTW would be used on TAGS as well. The whole lot was bulldozed around 1976, and office and industrial buildings now occupy the site. Kipp Teague of Virginia has created an AMAZING website dedicated to 40 Acres. It oughta be required reading for every law enforcement officer, uh, I mean every Mayberry fan. http://www.retroweb.com/40acres.html The interiors were filmed a few miles away at DesiLu Cahuenga studios; as far as I know these studios are still in use today. Seinfeld was shot there (hard to believe that show is now over 20 years old). Paul Mulik _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
