Red Studios Hollywood, formerly Desilu-Cahuenga Studios and Ren-Mar Studios, is a rental studio located at 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood, Los Angeles on premises that were formerly the home of Desilu Productions. Originally it was the site of Metro Pictures Back Lot #3 in 1920. In 1947 it was rebuilt as a 9-stage studio called Equity Pictures and became Motion Picture Center Studios a year later. It has been used for a wide variety of film and television production, and the studio has been known by many different names.

In 1953, after filming the first two seasons of the I Love Lucy TV series at General Service Studios, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were looking for a larger studio. They looked at the lot (known at the time as Motion Picture Center) and signed a ten-year lease on the property.[1] In 1955 Desilu bought the studio, and in 1959, after Desilu bought other studios in Hollywood and Culver City, the name was changed to Desilu-Cahuenga Studios[2] to avoid confusion with the other Desilu Studios.[3] Beginning in 1974, the studio was independently owned and operated for use by producers and became Ren-Mar Studios in 1984.

The Abbott and Costello Show (season 2, 1953-54), I Love Lucy (seasons 3–6, 1953–1957), The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour (1957–1960), The Lucy Show (1962-1968), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966),[4] My World and Welcome to It, Make Room for Daddy, Hogan's Heroes, The Andy Griffith Show, Barney & Friends (2002-09), The Jack Benny Program, That Girl, Seinfeld, The Golden Girls, The Golden Palace, Empty Nest, NewsRadio, Ally McBeal, Beauty and the Beast, It’s a Living, MADtv, and Lizzie McGuire are among the television series that have been filmed entirely or partially at Ren-Mar. In addition, music videos are often filmed at the studio, including those of Madonna, INXS, Michael Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne, Hilary Duff, and Britney Spears. The front (Cahuenga Boulevard) gate of Ren-Mar was used to represent the "Maroon Cartoon Studio" for the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). In 1991, the Richard Simmons exercise tape, "Sweatin' to the Oldies 3" was taped at Ren-Mar.

Shows produced at Ren-Mar were FNMTV, Monk, and Weeds.

In January 2010, Ren-Mar Studios was bought by Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. The complex was renamed "Red Studios Hollywood".[5]

References

  1. ^ Andrews, Bart (2001). The I Love Lucy Book (Revised and updated trade paperback ed.). Broadway Books. p. 119. ISBN 0-385-19033-6.
  2. ^ Ren-Mar Studios home page refers to the studio as "Formerly Desilu-Cahuenga", accessed on 31 Jan 2009
  3. ^ Sanders, Coyne Steven; Gilbert, Tom (1993). Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-11217-2.
  4. ^ Moore, Mary Tyler (1995). After All. Putnam. pp. 82 & 88. ISBN 978-0-399-14091-4.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Debra (January 17, 2010). "RED buys Ren Mar Studios in Hollywood". Studio Daily. Access Intelligence. LLC. Retrieved December 22, 2014.

External links

34°5′10″N 118°19′41″W / 34.08611°N 118.32806°W / 34.08611; -118.32806


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