Ah Yes The Lagoon !

[CosmicCharlie]

Here is 2 Pix I found

There are stories that the Highway Ramp was right behind the filming area and often they had to wait for quiet if a truck was driving by +-

I'd love to see more pictures of where the Lagoon Beach was +-

Here is some comments I found


TV’s sunniest lagoon was… freezing. Gilligan’s Island shot its “tropical” scenes on a Studio City backlot, steps from the Ventura Freeway, and that man-made lagoon routinely dropped to around 40°F in winter. Bob Denver (Gilligan) secretly wore a wetsuit under his red shirt and sailor pants, then popped the beanie back on and pretended it was paradise. Takes were often halted because traffic and overhead planes bled into the audio, so the cast would stand there shivering while L.A. rush hour roared behind the palms. The wildest twist? During hiatus the studio drained the lagoon and used it as a parking lot—then in 1995 they paved the set permanently. Today a structure nicknamed the “Lagoon Building” sits where Gilligan once paddled. Next time you hum the theme, picture the castaways’ “island” hiding wetsuits, microphones… and after-hours employee cars.

I've read and heard many times that the lagoon was toxic from the many unknown chemicals they dumped in there to try to keep the water clear. Many people got sick from exposure to the water including all the talent that were forced to swim in it.

[cloggedmind]

Top photo isn't the lagoon used in the series. It looks like the one on the Universal lot that became Warner's. Notice the lack of soundstages to the East, the elongated Northern dock and extended section that goes under the bridge. The shape is entirely inconsistent with the Radford layout.

Gilligan's Radford lagoon was, essentially, tear-shaped and behind the common entrance or beach we always saw was part of the Gunsmoke set-- a farmhouse, barn and well used extensively in those later seasons of Gunsmoke when Gilligan was no longer in production.

If you watch some of the later, color Gunsmoke episodes you get to see a view of the Northernmost tip of the lagoon facing opposite the usual beach (almost the same view from Gilligan's vantage when The Hunter lands his amphibious helicopter), which hosts a small shack used for props, tools and other equipment. In one episode, two cowboys fight each other and end up splashing around in the water betraying the set's shallow depth of about 3 1/2 feet!

Bob Denver did try a wetsuit all of one time, but it didn't keep out the cold and the idea was quickly forgotten. While not exactly "toxic" the water was stagnant as it was not filtered in any way and often sat unattended when filming wasn't happening. When needed, the waterfall could be turned on to pump in more water from the adjacent L.A. River which, by that time, was basically a concrete channel cut along the highway.

Famously and supposedly, Alan Hale is said to have taken a bucket of water from the lagoon and put a live fish in which, of course, didn't survive long, proving that the water was unsafe for the cast. As lore has it, this prompted the studio to ensure that a fresh water change occurred each time the cast had to take a dip for the cameras.

Fascinating, too was that other shows like Wild, Wild West used the same set after Gilligan was done. Also Sherwood Schwartz' other show, It's About Time, used the same studio island sets and a slightly re-dressed lagoon for the few episodes produced, and you can see those same prop trees in Wild, Wild West.

Funny enough, the lagoon wasn't re-dressed to look "Tropical" for the cast reunion film, Rescue From Gilligan's Island, and due to scheduling issues the final shots filmed of the (mostly) original cast slogging ashore were done in shadow with all the vegetation looking drab and anything but lush and tropical.

For the next two reunion films, the lagoon set utilized was on the Paramount lot for budgetary reasons (according to accounts by Dawn Wells, Bob Denver and Russell Johnson) as, not surprisingly, the Radford lagoon was in a state of disrepair after being used for opening shots in The Muppet Movie.

While still turning up in other shows like T.J. Hooker and a few commercials, the lagoon would get one, final makeover with a lakehouse on stilts extending to the middle of the pond, and this set is last seen in an early episode of The Larry Sanders Show.

With Melody Ranch long gone by the mid-90's, and the lagoon in advanced state of disrepair and an insurance liability, it was demolished to make way for a combined office and parking structure now known as The Lagoon Building.



What you see there is, basically, the view from the closing credits of the color seasons. Sad isn't it?

Good night, Skipper!

[CosmicCharlie]

Anyone know what they used for the lagoon in the MOVIE !

[cloggedmind]

Originally Posted by CosmicCharlie

Anyone know what they used for the lagoon in the MOVIE !

Which one?

[Dude111]

[CosmicCharlie]

any or all ?

[cloggedmind]

Radford for Rescue. The second two utilized the Paramount lot.