A film crew from the History Channel filmed segments Friday along Route 66 in Southern California that may be included in a program titled “101 Objects That Changed the World,” reported 66-to-Cali owner Dan Rice in Santa Monica.
The crew spent time shooting near the “End of the Trail” Route 66 sign on the Santa Monica Pier, then at the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville.
Rice provided some details in an email:
Last week, they called to say they hadn’t found a location they liked yet, so I suggested the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville. They were open to the suggestion, so I called Betty Halbe there and she signed a location release immediately to make it happen. Wednesday night, I called Paul Chassey to ask if maybe we should have a classic car or two for the History Channel folks in case they wanted some of that classic car ambience. Paul has been such a help to me with the car rallies for the birthday celebrations I’ve put together at the pier, and lo and behold, in just a few hours, he got 12 cars together from “Cruzin’ Buddies of Apple Valley,” a local car club for our shoot that took place this morning, Friday, December 9.
The producer and I rode up together from Los Angeles and he was floored by the presentation that the folks in Victorville had waiting for us, right down to buying the film crew pizza for their trouble of driving the distance. If there has ever been a definition of volunteerism and class on Route 66, all the amazing folks at Victorville more than fit that description. The producer was so impressed with their welcome that he decided to incorporate one of the vehicles, a beautiful 1958 Pontiac Chieftain into the segment with me behind the wheel. Though I’d never met Roger Glenn, the Pontiac’s gracious owner before, he was more than happy to get involved, so in 2012, he’ll have some nice footage from the History Channel of his baby cruising along on Route 66 for the segment. […]
Overall, a good time was had by all I think, and it was a true, true team effort…but the big star of the day turned out to be Route 66 as it should have been. Come next year, she’ll get some great coverage on a network that reaches a lot of people. It’s a short segment, but every little bit helps the folks out on Route 66, and the Producer left with the idea that doing something more and longer later might be a great project to put in the que. We’ll see what happens.
More photos from the History Channel’s day at the museum can be found here.
UPDATE 12/13/2011: Here’s a story in the Victorville Daily Press. Excerpts:
The historic cars served as a natural backdrop for a segment on Route 66’s famed sign, which JWM Productions is filming for the History Channel special “101 Objects That Made America Great.”
“I looked at the website and I fell in love with it,” Walter Gottlieb, producer and writer for the “101 Objects” series, said of the museum in Old Town Victorville. “I said, ‘This is the place we have to shoot.’ ”
The crew filmed for four hours Friday to generate a 11⁄2-minute segment, set to air in late spring or early summer. […]
Gottlieb said the segment will focus on the significance of Route 66 in America’s history, using its iconic shield sign to represent the country’s move west and decades of glamorized travel down the “Main Street of America.”
Actually, there’s a small correction here. We didn’t shoot at all near the “End of the Trail” sign or even in Santa Monica. I did approach the folks in charge at the pier, but they weren’t interested in the History Channel’s promotion of 66 unless the producers were willing to pay them. When I called Betty in Victorville, she jumped at the opportunity and offered me to bring them to the museum for free which ended up being better because, ironically, it gave me a chance to do with the History Channel what I do best at the pier…promote the places all across Route 66! So I did that and took the Producer and the film crew to Victorville instead. Since the Victorville folks and many people across Route 66 don’t always get the attention they deserve, that’s what I give them at the pier by promoting them to customers who may be just learning about all the fun places on Route 66. In this case, the History Channel folks were amazing and they understood why the drive out from L.A. was worth it. By the end of the day, everybody was happy with the final result and Santa Monica’s loss was Victorville’s gain.