Thank You To Richard Poemape For Figuring Out Where Levander Williams Apartment Building Once Stood
- (0:04) Racquetball Court / Still Searching For This Location
- (0:06) Molly McGrath's House / 1328 W. Chestnut Street, Chicago
- (0:11) Central High School / Pace Shipping Building; 2540 W. Polk Street, Chicago (Note: To The Best Of My Knowledge This Was Never A High School)
- (0:15) Central's Football Field / A Vacant Lot Between W. Polk Street And W. Taylor Street, Chicago (Note: It Is Just A Half A Block Southeast Of Where The High School Is)
- (0:42) Coach Returning The Goat To Jackson High School / Smyth Elementary School; 1059 W. 13th Street, Chicago (Note: The Scene Took Place On The W. Maxwell Street Side Of The Building)
- (0:48) Levander Williams Apartment / 5656 S. Calumet Avenue, Chicago (Note: This Building Has Since Been Torn Down But The Building With The Different Colored Bricks Seen Right Next To It In My First Screen Shot Is Still There)
- (0:49) Coach McGrath Searching For Levander At The Pool Hall / Still Searching For This Location
- (0:52) The Alley Where The Guys Claim They Are Trying to Get Into His Mother's House And They Hide In A Dumpster From The Police / E. 5th Street And Werdin Place, Los Angeles (Note: The Camera Is Looking South)
- (1:27) Prescott High School Football Field For The Final Game / Lane Technical High School; 2501 W. Addison Street, Chicago
Racquetball Court is Chevy Chase's personal court from his old home in LA
ReplyDeleteI was the assistnat director on the second unit and many of the general football plays WERE shot as you mentioned at Lane Tech. One day we were filming and the script supervisor pointed to one of the extras (who was portraying a referee) and said (asked): "Do you know who that is?" As it turns out it was Willie Gault who was then with the high-flying Bears team! I never really talked with him and wonder why he was even there - probably just as a lark. I'm not even sure he can be seen in the final movie!
ReplyDeleteCouple of other things-
I didn't see it directly but I was told that, when they were clearing that vacant lot, they found two bodies - I think in a dumpster. I also heard that they had Chicago police watching the security guards because they were suspected of stealing stuff (I don't know what). Sure enough they were caught doing exactly that.
Let's see-- that's about it. Oh yes, the crew stayed at that hotel (can't remember the name) that was just souuth of where the Kennedy and Dan Ryan merge and I think just north of the Eisenhower (I live in Indiana now and haven't been up there for a while).
Oh and I worked on Adventure in Babystitting next to the freeway for a few days as well-- but that is a different (funny) story-- If you ever list locations for adventures in Babysitting I will try to add a few things. But enough
Skip Surguine DGA retired
Carmel Indiana
skips@indy.rr.com
Hi, thank you for the neat story. Sorry for the late reply.
DeleteSkip, thats an awesome story! Im a regular on the site and have helped out on a Chicago location myself, unfortunately Im just a guy who has worked all around Chicago doing telecommunictions the past 10+yr so I dont have any behind the scenes stories like yours! LOL
DeleteThough being a lifelong Bears fan I can definitely help corroborate your story on Willie Gault, it was no secret that Speedy Willie wanted to get into acting after his football career and started to look at doing so while he was still playing. When he left the Bears after the 1987 season it was no secret one of the factors that was taken into consideration
about wbere he would land was his acting career...and where did Willie sign??? With the then Los Angeles Raiders!!! Willie has done a few tv shows and a couple movies that Im aware of as a matter of fact! Fun fact, another 85 Bear caught the acting bug, in The Fugitive the guard that opens the gate for Harrison Fords Richard Kimble while bes being processed is none other than 85 legend/pro bowler Otis Wilson! Wilson also left and signed with the LA Raiders in 1988!
We were going to join as extras at the Lane Tech scenes. We lived a few blocks away at the time. We got up that Saturday morning to head over in parkas (the game was supposed to be December). It was almost 90 that day so we stayed home. I was not going to sit sweating for 10 hours.
DeleteCorrection. I was an ASSISTANT director, not an assitnant director. Ha!
ReplyDeleteLevander Williams Apartment is on the corner of East 48th Street and South Calumet Avenue. Approximately 4756 South Calumet Avenue
ReplyDeleteI have looked at that building in the past and I don't believe that is the right building. If you see this could you let me know your reasoning on why you think it is plus could you e-mail me as I would love to discuss some more things with you.
DeleteI updated the site with your other info about the other school.
Thanks as I appreciate all that you contributed.
This is a cool idea of a site. 4756 South Calumet Ave. is definitely NOT not the same place. The one in the movie had rounded contours, darker bricks, etc. Also, the raised tracks in the background had 3 support beams in the movie suggesting a 2-way track system, instead of one. If you can find an area nearby with tracks running both directions, you might get lucky. Although Google's street view of South Calumet shows MANY of the original buildings are gone, and most are the lighter bricks with rougher, hard angled contours instead of being rounded, which suggests they were built later on as the craftsmanship isn't as nice and the lighter, orangish bricks were more common in the early 1900's. Good luck!
DeleteMy brother and I were football player extras in Wildcats. My father used to be Director of Facilities for the entire Chicago Public School system and was the "go to" person when features were shot in the schools. One day production was delayed at Lane Tech High School because of rain. Suddenly, Ira the Location Manager starting desperately yelling "Where are the Banks Boys?!" . Everyone was looking around including Director Michael Ritchie. I replied nervously "Over here?" Ira continues "We need your old man to give the ok for us to shoot inside Lane Tech, where is he?" I answered "Vacationing on the beach in Michigan." To make a long story short, this simple football extra prevented Wildcats from losing a day of production. I got a CU of me growling for Prescott that made the final cut.
ReplyDeleteI was in the stands at Lane for the filming, which was quite a thrill. Its funny thinking about it now as I eventually became a producer in Los Angeles.
ReplyDeleteHi. I remember the main football game was like 95° that day. Is that right??
DeleteThis page claims that some filming was done at Washington Middle School in Pasadena, though, I'm unable to confirm. Maybe a hall way or office scene during re-shoots? http://www.pasadenaalumni.org/history.htm
ReplyDeleteWow, that's great, thank you for sharing this movie blog.
ReplyDeleteThe racquetball court is the Omni plea in Deerfield
ReplyDeleteOmniplex in Deerfield IL is the raquetball court
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