The emphasis on Medford, Oregon is hilarious - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Guitar · 07-27-2017, 02:01 AM

I'm re-watching the first season for the first time since I was a small child. There were two cases of two big time multi-millionaire (which was an even BIGGER deal in the '80s) con artists who were operating out of Medford-- the sports hall of fame museum and collectibles dude and the fraudulent money investor guy. Then last night I saw a case of a guy who moved from Medford to L.A. lol... I'm not saying that the cases aren't fascinating, but I get the feeling that one of the producers was from there. I stayed in a hotel there once when I drove from L.A. to Seattle. That's my only connection to it. I would never guess that it makes for such rich stories.

justins5256 · 07-27-2017, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitar

I'm re-watching the first season for the first time since I was a small child. There were two cases of two big time multi-millionaire (which was an even BIGGER deal in the '80s) con artists who were operating out of Medford-- the sports hall of fame museum and collectibles dude and the fraudulent money investor guy. Then last night I saw a case of a guy who moved from Medford to L.A. lol... I'm not saying that the cases aren't fascinating, but I get the feeling that one of the producers was from there. I stayed in a hotel there once when I drove from L.A. to Seattle. That's my only connection to it. I would never guess that it makes for such rich stories.

I would guess that during that first season the budget was more limited so possibly they tried to get more bang for their buck by profiling several cases from one geographic area. That way they could film several segments during one visit.

Semi-OT but I recently saw the 1944 film Double Indemnity starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck (really awesome film noir if you like that kind of stuff). One of the characters in the film is from Medford, Oregon, and it is mentioned several times, as well as him being a "Medford Man." I just found it amusing as I think those are the only times I have heard of Medford, Oregon in the media, in relation to UM and then in the movie. The movie is kind of a murder/detective story so could fit with UM too.

Hops3098 · 07-28-2017, 11:18 AM

Also... Matthew Chase was FROM Medford, Oregon. And John "Thumper" Brown was tracked to a Meth Lab in Medford. The re-enactment showed a shootout, but I don't believe he was caught at that time.

It is interesting how certain semi-obscure places pop up multiple times in UM. Another one that sticks out to me is San Angelo, TX with at least 2-3 cases.

I've gotten the hunch over the years that somewhere in the research phase, the UM staff would look for new story leads by asking detectives profiled for a segment if they knew about any OTHER mysterious or interesting cases.

Drown Soda · 08-20-2017, 05:24 PM

I'm from Oregon (the Portland area, specifically), and my interest was always of course piqued by cases that happened in my home state. The highest-profile case that happened around here was probably the D.B. Cooper case. They found his money just north of Vancouver, Washington, which is across the Columbia River from Portland. The Carolyn Killaby disappearance also happened in Vancouver.

As far as Medford goes, it is one of the smaller towns in Oregon, though certainly not the smallest. I'm not familiar with it, but I have a friend from that area and she has never had particularly great things to say about it.

Other Oregon cases I recall were the Michael Francke murder and the Sherry Eyerly disappearance, which both happened in Salem (the state capitol). The Eyerly disappearance was always extremely sinister to me—she was a pizza delivery driver whose delivery car was found idling on a country road with several pizzas lying on the ground next to the open door. Turned out the address she was delivering to was to a house that didn't exist. Sounds like something out of a horror movie.

scarfish · 03-09-2018, 06:31 AM

I find it amusing that there was the guy Eugene Richmond and Eugene is a city in Oregon.

07-27-2017, 02:01 AM	#1
Guitar Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 27, 2017 Posts: 43	I'm re-watching the first season for the first time since I was a small child. There were two cases of two big time multi-millionaire (which was an even BIGGER deal in the '80s) con artists who were operating out of Medford-- the sports hall of fame museum and collectibles dude and the fraudulent money investor guy. Then last night I saw a case of a guy who moved from Medford to L.A. lol... I'm not saying that the cases aren't fascinating, but I get the feeling that one of the producers was from there. I stayed in a hotel there once when I drove from L.A. to Seattle. That's my only connection to it. I would never guess that it makes for such rich stories.

07-28-2017, 11:18 AM	#3
Hops3098 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 17, 2011 Location: Florida Posts: 275	Also... Matthew Chase was FROM Medford, Oregon. And John "Thumper" Brown was tracked to a Meth Lab in Medford. The re-enactment showed a shootout, but I don't believe he was caught at that time. It is interesting how certain semi-obscure places pop up multiple times in UM. Another one that sticks out to me is San Angelo, TX with at least 2-3 cases. I've gotten the hunch over the years that somewhere in the research phase, the UM staff would look for new story leads by asking detectives profiled for a segment if they knew about any OTHER mysterious or interesting cases.

08-20-2017, 05:24 PM	#4
Drown Soda Superstitious cinephile Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 02, 2016 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 103	I'm from Oregon (the Portland area, specifically), and my interest was always of course piqued by cases that happened in my home state. The highest-profile case that happened around here was probably the D.B. Cooper case. They found his money just north of Vancouver, Washington, which is across the Columbia River from Portland. The Carolyn Killaby disappearance also happened in Vancouver. As far as Medford goes, it is one of the smaller towns in Oregon, though certainly not the smallest. I'm not familiar with it, but I have a friend from that area and she has never had particularly great things to say about it. Other Oregon cases I recall were the Michael Francke murder and the Sherry Eyerly disappearance, which both happened in Salem (the state capitol). The Eyerly disappearance was always extremely sinister to me—she was a pizza delivery driver whose delivery car was found idling on a country road with several pizzas lying on the ground next to the open door. Turned out the address she was delivering to was to a house that didn't exist. Sounds like something out of a horror movie.

03-09-2018, 06:31 AM	#5
scarfish Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 02, 2017 Location: charleston, sc Posts: 89	I find it amusing that there was the guy Eugene Richmond and Eugene is a city in Oregon.