Another Christmas-themed locale that I had long wanted to track down and stalk was Clark W. Griswold’s (Chevy Chase’s) dream pool from the 1989 classic Christmas Vacation. (Is it odd, by the way, that I can still remember exactly where I was and who I was with the first time I saw the flick back in middle school? But I digress.) Being that the pool had only popped up once in the movie and that a very small portion of it was ever shown, I had no clue whatsoever where it might be located or how to even begin searching for it. Then, back in February, while Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were visiting Warner Bros. Ranch, where the majority of Christmas Vacation was lensed, our lovely tour guide took us by the lot’s pool and I got an inkling that it might have been the one used in the movie. Our guide was unsure if that was the case, though, and when I re-watched the flick to make comparisons later that day, I noticed some differences in the two pools which led me to believe that they were not one and the same.
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Then, in October, I returned to the Ranch for another tour, this time with fellow stalkers Kim and Lavonna, and our guide informed us that Old Navy had just shot a series of Christmas Vacation-themed commercials (one of which you can watch by clicking below) on the premises and that, during the filming, Chevy Chase had mentioned that the lot’s pool had been used as Clark’s dream pool in the original movie. YAY! As someone who is always seeking further verification, though, I popped in my dad’s Christmas Vacation DVD while visiting my parents during Thanksgiving to see if any mention of the pool’s location was made in the commentary and, sure enough, director Jeremiah S. Chechik stated that the pool scene was filmed at Warner Bros. Ranch, just across from the house used as the Griswold residence in the film.
Clark’s dream pool, which, according to the fabulous Columbia Ranch website, was originally built in 1948, is located in the Park section of Warner Bros. Ranch, right next to the fountain used in the Friends opening credits and the Alan House from Pushing Daisies and Small Soldiers.
Mike took the photographs below during our February visit and, as you can see, a backdrop was installed around the southern portion of the pool at the time for a production that did not want it to be visible.
For the filming of Christmas Vacation, a significant amount of foliage was added to the premises to make it appear more like a residential backyard. And, as you can see below, while the lip of the pool was plain cement at the time of the shoot, it is now brick, and the metal ladder that was once affixed to the side of the structure has also since been removed.
But, thankfully, the legs of the diving board still look EXACTLY the same today as they did in 1989 when Christmas Vacation was filmed! LOVE IT!
You can check out a close-up photograph of those legs below.
And I, of course, just had to pose on the diving board like Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) while I was there. If only I had brought my skivvies that day!
The Warner Bros. Ranch pool also appeared very briefly in the Season 1 episode of The Monkees titled “The Chaperone” during their “You Just May Be the One” performance.
The pool also popped up several times in various The Partridge Family episodes, including the Season 1 episode titled “Danny and the Mob” . . .
. . . and the Season 2 episode titled “Home Is Where the Heart Was”.
And while the pool was used in the Season 1 episode of Bewitched titled “And Something Makes Three”, it was never actually shown. In the episode, Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) conjures up a pool in her backyard on a hot summer day, absolutely perplexing nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce), who can only see small glimpses of Samantha, jumping up and down on a diving board and splashing water, over their shared fence.
The Warner Bros. Ranch pool was also used significantly in the 2012 high school comedyProject X.
Stalk It: The Christmas Vacation pool is located on the Warner Bros. Ranch lot at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank. Unfortunately, the Ranch is gated and not accessible to the public.
It was rumored that Clark's rant about his boss Mr.Shirley was ad libbed. While this is somewhat true, cast members not onscreen who were facing Chevy had a sign hanging around their necks that had one word written on them. Some of these were adjectives Clark uses to describe his boss.
With incandescent bulbs burning five hours a day for a month, ComEd calculates, that display would cost the Griswolds $7,462 in today's dollars. With LED lights, the price comes down to $1,612, still a surprisingly large sum. But that's the movies.
The National Lampoon's Vacation, Caddyshack, and Fletch were his films. What was Chevy Chase's salary for National Lampoon's Vacation? Chevy earned $6 million for 1989's "Christmas Vacation". That's the same as $12.5 million in today's dollars.
Ellen calls Clark "Sparky" in all four Vacation movies. In the DVD commentary for this movie, Chevy Chase said that the nickname was Beverly D'Angelo's idea, and she still affectionately calls him Sparky.
Filming. Principal photography began on March 27, 1989, in Summit County, Colorado, with footage shot in Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Frisco. From there the production moved to Warner Bros. Ranch Facilities in Burbank, California, where the set of the Griswold family's house and street is located.
Summary. Chevy Chase was 46 when filming Christmas Vacation, but his character Clark Griswold is supposed to be in his early 40s. Chase's infectious energy brings the film to life. Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D'Angelo, is around 40 in Christmas Vacation, despite D'Angelo being 38 during filming.
The Griswold home at 727 West Kenneth Road in Glendale, CA, has an estimated home value of $3,128,300. Other estimates put the purchase price at $4.7 million, with an estimated monthly payment of $33,678, which is a bit beyond the average homebuyer's budget, with or without the 25,000 twinkle lights.
12, scores of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation aficionados crunched the numbers and came up with a consensus figure of about $20,000 in 1989 money, or about $49,000 today.
"We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tapdanced with Danny-f—cking-Kaye." —Clark Griswold (Yes, we broke Clark's wild-eyed rant into multiple quotes on this list, since everyone has their own favorite part.
So naturally, Clark whines that he's going to be in deep doo doo because he put a $7,500 deposit down on an in ground swimming pool and if his Christmas bonus doesn't come in, he won't have enough money to cover the check he wrote.
The Griswold home at 727 West Kenneth Road in Glendale, CA, has an estimated home value of $3,128,300. Other estimates put the purchase price at $4.7 million, with an estimated monthly payment of $33,678, which is a bit beyond the average homebuyer's budget, with or without the 25,000 twinkle lights.
In a thread started around Dec. 12, scores of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation aficionados crunched the numbers and came up with a consensus figure of about $20,000 in 1989 money, or about $49,000 today.
Chechik stated that the pool scene was filmed at Warner Bros.Ranch, just across from the house used as the Griswold residence in the film. Clark's dream pool, which, according to the fabulous Columbia Ranch website, was originally built in 1948, is located in the Park section of Warner Bros.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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