When Charlie Chaplin joined his actor friends in founding United Artists Pictures, he had committed to producing at least five pictures per year. The decentralized management of the studio meant that the partners would not build a central studio lot; rather they would leave it to their own devices to find studio space. Charlie Chaplin chose to build his own lot- The Charlie Chaplin Studios.
Located on an old citrus ranch located on LaBrea and Sunset Boulevards a couple blocks from Hollywood Boulevard, Chaplin built a mini-studio lot where he would film his biggest classics- The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights and Modern Times. Chaplin had outdoor facades, sound stages and production offices onsite. Over the years, the studio grew to fill up the entire lot. In 1942, Charlie Chaplin experienced a money crunch, a common problem in Hollywood due to the European market being shutoff to their films. Chaplin sold off one corner of the lot to Safeway, who built a grocery store. Chaplin soon lost interest in Hollywood, returning to England in 1952. He sold the storied lot to a real estate investor who planned to knock everything down and redevelop the land.
The rise of television, however, meant that there was huge demand for studio space. The lot was leased to Kling Studios who filmed the classic Adventures of Superman there. In 1960, the studio was purchased by Red Skelton who broke up the property and sold off much of the backlot. He also removed valuable artifacts from the studio, including Chaplin's cement hand and foot prints, displaying them in his Palm Springs home. He eventually sold what was left to CBS who moved production of Perry Mason to the location. Interestingly, CBS erected a sign advertising the show on the lot, in a departure from the usual studio tradition of downplaying filming locations to prevent gawkers.
At the end of Perry Mason's run, CBS sold the lot to A&M Records who had outgrown its previous headquarters. A&M converted the stages into recording studios. The legendary We Are the World recording took place there in 1985.
Having seen better days, A&M divested the studio in 2000. It then became The Jim Henson Studios and has been used for various Muppet related projects, including the 2011 film The Muppets. A statue of Kermit the Frog dressed as Charlie Chaplin stands at the front gate, a tribute to the lot's past and future.
