Movieworld - Cars of the Stars was a museum in Buena Park that showcased custom cars and hot rods painted up by famous artists like Von Dutch and others. It doesn't exist anymore.
OCThen reader Sean writes asking if anyone had more information about it, and offers up some of his memories...
I was looking for some info on Movieworld - Cars of the Stars in Buena Park on your site, but noticed it was not on the list of Attractions. I went there when it first opened and all of the exhibits (movie props and celebrity/movie cars) were just laid out on the floor in a large warehouse in rows. It was not the fanciest why to display them (it looked like a flea market), but it was still really cool, especially if you were a movie buff.Click on "Post a Comment" and let us know if know you anything.
I remember hand painted signs describing some of the props and what movie they came from.
Years later, I went again and it had been transformed more into a museum with false walls which led visitors on a specific path (like Movieland Wax Museum), more dramatic lighting, and a snack bar in the middle of the museum. I also remember TV commercials which featured Billy Barty promoting the museum and sliding down a tube slide which was also in the middle snack bar area.
I have not seen much about this museum on the Internet although it seemed to be a decent attraction in Buena Park at the time. Is there any other information on it and what happened to the collection? I think I saw some of the cars at the Peterson Museum in L.A. but the movie props were the most interesting part of it for me and I often wonder what happened to them. Some of them included movie miniatures like ships, trains, and submarines. The most memorable prop was the miniature of King Kong shackled on display (near the end of the 1933 movie) which Willis O'Brien used in the stop motion animation.
When the Von Dutch clothing and hats were popular a few years ago, I did see something mentioned in an article about Von Dutch living in the parking lot of this museum in a bus. Other than that, I have not seen or heard anything else and I am wondering if anyone else has any memory about this place.
Keep up the great work. I just found your site and have a lot of exploring to do still on it!
Cheers,
Sean
P.s. I wonder if you remember the religious wax museum that was connected to Movieland Wax Museum too? It had a replica of Michelango's Statue of David in front of the entrance.
I'm a blogger and internet marketer, motorcycle rider, and craft beer lover.
Movieworld was owned by the Brucker brothers during the late 60s-70s. When the museum closed the items were placed in a warehouse/airplane hanger for years. Portions of the collection have been sold over the years but there was a major auction in May of 06 put on by RM Auctions in California. I believe most of the collection was sold at this time including; cars, props, airplanes, original artwork by Robert Williams, Von Dutch, Ed Roth and portions of the late Steve McQueen's estate. All the items went for 2-3 times the estimated bid amount! I think the entire collection is in private hands now but you might still be able to buy an illustrated catalog from RM Auctions to see many of the items. You can also buy a book called Kustom Kulture which has information and pictures of the museum.
ReplyDeleteJosh
We have a few brochure type items from this museum and will try to post something on our blog this week - check us out by Friday. Deal? Outsidetheberm.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to the auction with pictures....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rmauctions.com/AuctionResults.cfm?SaleCode=BC06&SortBy=LN&View=Normal&Category=Memorabilia#
In the mid 70s I went to the Movieworld, and thought it was the best museum I had ever been to, and saw the treasures of a lifetime. Was really an awesome place. Thanks Bruce Donaldson
ReplyDeleteI remember going to that place with my Dad when I was a kid. They started a horror section with a alien dentist (sick) and an exhibit of who was seated at the Devil's dinner table, like Hitler, etc.
ReplyDeleteLots of cools cars like the bat mobile and Robby the Robot on display.
Pretty wild stuff, just outside of Disneyland.
I lived in Buena Park in 1977-1979 and went with a friend one night to see a really loud band play there, Today they call them VanHalen, It was Loud ! I wish I knew what I was seeing back then I would have got some Pic's I tell people and they say, "Yeah Right" But it happened for real
ReplyDeleteHenry
As a kid Movieworld was great to walk through but now, anything similar I fear, wouldn't hold the magic it did for me then.
ReplyDeleteThere was a glass blowing artist there who would teach you how if you had the time.
Great memories of Movieworld, Movieland Wax Museum, and the area across from Knott's with the jungle island, row boats, mule ride, carousel, and live steam train.
In the early 70's I was ten years old and allowed to walk to the museum and spend all day there.
ReplyDeleteAfter paying to get in several days in a row they finally just let me walk in for free. I spent all my time there. Ed Roth and his son Charlie were there a lot, at the time I had no idea how cool that was. Roth painted a lot of those signs that explained the displays. I too have seen some of the pieces on display at the Peterson. Some of the signs have ended up on Ebay. That was a great experience.
I used to take the bus from Huntington Beach as a young teen and spent hours hanging out in that museum. I'm a huge film buff and it was like magic being so close to the props and cars used in films. There was a cable controlled vulture I remember playing with and seeing the cars from The Great Race and miniatures from Tora Tora Tora and King Kong were a huge highlight. Everytime I went back, something always changed. I remember a very creepy wax museum of torture which was cool but very disturbing. I have fond memories of the place and wish there was a similar place around.
ReplyDeleteI met Ed Roth in the lobby of the museum. The Rat Fink was sitting in the lobby and displays were still unfinished.
ReplyDeleteI so remember cars of the stars and planes of fame. I was a young impressionable girl who liked fast cars and motorcycles. I LOVED this place and frequented it often and was just fondly remembering what happened one day. They contacted my father because we owned several collectible cars including one they were interested in.. Audie Murphy's Lincoln Continental...a '64 ? It had gold metal flake paint, suicide doors, mirrored opera windows, bullet proof glass, and black leather interior with a 4/8 track player. This car was so cool...my dad surprised my mom with it as a gift for his being in the doghouse. When we would go shopping we always came out to a crowd gathered around it. It was a real beauty. Cars Of The Stars wanted it but my dad eventually sold it ot one of his bartenders and she filled it with whiskey dents and such. Too Bad. Wish I had it today but only photos are left for the memories of this fine ride. Had mags too. I loved growing up in LaPalma...it is rocked to be form O.C.
ReplyDeleteWow, the memories. I lived nearby beginning in 1971 and went to the museum a number of times, mostly to the car side (east of lobby/ gift shop) and only once to the plane side (west side). The tickets were sold separately. One time the ticket taker for the car side was Ed Roth, who was in good humor and quite friendly.
ReplyDeleteLet's see... there was John Lennon's psychedelically painted Rolls Royce. A recording of Beatles songs (including "It's only Love) cycled endlessly on a nearby speaker. A BMW Isetta grabbed my attention (I owned and restored one a short time later). Herbie the Love Bug was a major exhibit, as the movie was fairly recent. There was a full size manikin of Rod Steiger as The Illustrated Man. As I recall, one of those hand painted signs explained that the manikin served to help the makeup artists properly illustrate Steiger for each day's filming. There were many Roth and (I believe) Barris custom cars like the Munsters car and the Batmobile. I should remember more specifics as the place was huge inside and it took at least a half hour to walk around and see everything.
On my single visit to the plane side, I was impressed by the original VW Kubelwagen on display; the fiberglass bodied, Mexican built "The Thing" homage had just debuted in VW showrooms at the time. Could there have been a Schwimmwagen amphibious vehicle as well? Maybe, or perhaps I had just read about it at during the same time period. There were lots of neat planes on display, but they were not really my area of interest.
Museums full of truly wonderful stuff like custom hot rods tend to be ephemeral, as few of them are self-sustaining. Not many people will pay enough ticket money to keep a roof on a place that houses someone's collection of fantastic yet hyper-specialized stuff. Governments will forever pay to house dusty stuffed animals or Etruscan artifacts, but, in general, will not pony up for anything really worthwhile or interesting. When something magical like Cars of the Stars manages to hover above the tedium of a Buena Park dairy lot, one must seize upon the opportunity like there is no tomorrow. Usually, there isn't!
Useless trivia: In early 1974 I bought a leftover new 1973 Mazda RX-2 coupe for $2925 from Buena Park Mazda, around the corner on Knott Avenue from the museum. The first of the 1970s gas shortages was in full swing and 17 MPG small Japanese cars were a tough sell; they had a lot full. The young dudes with the lowered Hondas these days have no idea how uninspired and derivative their cars are compared to the fire breathing, seven grand redline Mazda rotary engined "family cars" of the 1970s. Jeez, I wish I still had mine!
It was right next to Hufs Hut. I remember they had the miniature of the boardwalk/Ferris wheel from the movie 1941, also a big round spinning disk on the floor with day glow paint. I went quite a few times, it was always pretty empty and the place was huge, I am sure it couldn't sustain itself.. Timing is everything, it would probably do very well now since the custom car scene has become so huge. Dammit, someone find me a time machine!
ReplyDeleteMy husband played in the band that opened for Van Halen on opening night. The band was called channel 3, does anyone have any photos from that day?
ReplyDeletecontact : srodgers@mdsla.com
I grew up in Buena Park and remember Movieworld. I was a kid at the time. I also was a huge movie buff, so I was more into the “Cars o’ the Stars” side of the house as opposed to the “Planes of Fame”. Aside from the truly wonderful vehicles, I absolutely loved the movie memorabilia. I remember they had a set of Mr. Spock’s pointed ear tips from “Star Trek TOS”. There was an actual model of King Kong used in the 1933 classic movie (the scene where Kong is chained in NYC; the display contained info on the inner skeletal mechanics of the model). I also recall the heavily tattooed mannequin of Rod Steiger as Carl, his role from the “Illustrated Man” (probably because it freaked me out).
ReplyDeleteI loved looking at all the cars, but my favorite was the exhibit from Blake Edwards’ “The Great Race” (I LOVE that flick). Of course, there was “The Leslie Special” (a beautiful “auto-mo-beel”), but Professor Fate’s Hannibal 8 was the BEST (if I remember correctly, Movieworld had two Hannibal 8’s; one was on of the versions that was “uplifted” via its classic lazy tong mechanism). They also had the Professor Fate submarine set---schweet.
Another fun memory I have from Movieworld is that they had a special event where they were promoting this new TV show called “Happy Days”. The show was in its infancy and I was a fan, so I went down to meet the cast. It was a blast. Everyone got a chance to personally meet and spend a few minutes chatting with the actors.
I remember the Museum quite well ...
ReplyDeleteI grew up just on the other side of the 91 Freeway on Blackhawk circle ... It was a favorite haunt of my brother and I .... We'd spend hours there during the summer ... I bought a few models from the hobby shop that was in the lobby area as well ...
I went there many, many, times in the mid 70's. Never thought to look for Ed Roth, and I was & still am a huge Roth fan. I probably walked right by him or Von Dutch, as I do remember seeing someone painting signs there. Anyone remember the Ed Roth tombstone in the museum, there on display? It was polished black granite with the Ed "Big daddy" Roth name on top and the Rat Fink in the middle, with the inscription "Won a few, lost a few" and his birth date. When he died his family didn't use it as I have seen his quite plain tombstone where he is buried. I did buy quite a few Rat Fink key chains from their gift shop then, in all the colors, and still have them today along with a few Rat Fink slot cars unbuilt that are worth quite a bit now. Sure miss the Big Daddy and Movieland....
ReplyDeleteI used to go to that place often. My late wife used to work in the little outdoor restaurant area. She learned to make a great guacamole there, must have beeen about '74.
ReplyDeleteJust back from the Portland Roadster show, where they had a hand painted Von Dutch van from Movie World... The one he slept in? Looks lime it might fit the bill... 15" clear glass eyeball graphic on the front, tons of tasty hand done type.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading the memories of this special and fleeting place....!
Jelly Helm
This is so very cool. I bought a 1955 Studebaker President State Sedan from a woman in 1983. She said that its claim to fame was that it had been owned by Cars of the Stars in California. She drove it daily. After sitting in fields, barns and an extra garage for 27 years I am getting around to making it into a weekend driver.
ReplyDeleteI was looking through the paperwork that she gave me and it was registered to a gentleman in Buena Park, CA in 1974 and 1975. A certificate of compliance - motor vehicle pollution control dated 11-1-75 for the car shows the name of the registered owner to be Cars of Stars.
The fact it was at Cars of the Stars mean it was formerly owned by a star? What color is the car? Very cool!
ReplyDeleteIts original color is Sonora Beige over Saginaw Green. It had been completely reupholstered in maroon velour. Headliner, carpet, seats, door panels – everything! I did not like the green exterior with the maroon interior so am in the process of changing the green (so far the underside of the hood and the engine compartment) to Tilden Gray which I think goes with the interior so much better.
ReplyDeleteThe gentleman whose name is on the ’74 &’75 registration is Mitchell Anthony Patrick, 6920 Orangethorpe, Buena Park, CA. I doubt if there is anyway I can fill in the 1954 to 1974 period unless the state of California has registration paperwork going back that far.
Wow, I grew up in So. Cal. and was beginning to wonder if I'd ever find a site that would verify my memories of this place! Even Wikipedia doesn't seem to know about it. (It shows some Australian park by the same name - could they be related?)
ReplyDeleteI remember most of what everybody else is recalling here, plus I remember once there was a WWII-themed area with tanks and ammo and a little area set up like a battle-zone. There were toy land mines on the floor you could step on and they'd all play loud sound effects to sound like you were blowing up.
What got me thinking about it is that today Boing-Boing has a story on those coin-op Mold-O-Rama machines:
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/22/those-wonderful-mold.html
And Movie World was the only place I remember had one. I think I recall I got a Frankenstein head there.
BTW, Movie World's location was actually about a block from both Knott's Berry Farm and Movieland Wax Museum. Together with the Buena Park Mall, this made for an awesome neighborhood.
Only trouble was, you couldn't find anybody from out of town who'd give it a chance! Every time I had friends or relatives from another state, I'd suggest the Buena Park attractions and would get outvoted "No way! Disneyland!" I got so *sick* of Disneyland! But I guess the Buena Park attractions were for the locals, which was cool because they were never as crowded.
We use to ride our bikes there as kids in the early seventies. They had a real nice hobby shop where we would buy airplane and car model kits. I remember the guy that worked there and the souvenir shop his name was Lenard. The planes that were there belonged to the Planes of fame museum, now at the Chino airport.
ReplyDeleteHello : I went to that museum a long time ago. What happened to Robbie the Robot I hope he is not razor blades by now .
ReplyDeleteAs a young boy in the early 70's my mom took my brother and I to see this very cool movie museum. “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” played as re-runs during the time period we went so seeing the Seaview submarine perched a few feet from my gaze left me awestruck. It was like seeing a movie star. The other display that is deeply embedded is from my favorite movie “Forbidden Planet.” That display is Robby the Robot on his electric chariot. Now, I have to admit that I was deathly afraid of robots as a child, but there was something about Robby that put those scared feelings to rest. After seeing the movie for the first time I understood why I liked Robby. Who wouldn’t like him? Overall I enjoyed Movie World and wish there was something similar out there I could take my son to. Thanks for posting this blog so old geeks like myself can post some happy memories.
ReplyDeleteLooking for photos of the Roman movie prop standards that were
ReplyDeleteon display at the Brucker Buena Park Movieword that were purchased in the FoxI/II auctions in 1971.
www.MovieFlags.com
yes i remember cars of the stars and planes of fame,i too grew up in Lakewood,California and we went there many times after it opened like when all the rides were closed at knotts berry farm, i really miss those memories of my childhood living there i moved away in 1977 after high school to alabama, and havent been back since. sad to heaar it's gone. james lovett
ReplyDeleteMy Mom took me to Cars of Stars - Planes of Fame a couple times in '73 or '74. My favorite piece in the museum was a huge model of the Graf Zeppelin hanging from the ceiling. It had lights in it, and was just fascinating to look at. It had a small tear in the fabric covering, probably from someone either throwing something at it, or it got damaged during transport. I wonder where that thing ended up?
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear it's gone,, besides the Harris car museum(also gone) it was the greatest collection I have ever seen, Laural and Hardy's car movie, The cars from the Great Race move, Bonnie and Clyde's death car with bullet holes. It was just amazing, The museum itself was very cheesy, Collection amazing. There needs to be a book on it
ReplyDeleteThe Lamay collection is the last of the mega collections, 3000 cars. Right now a museum is being built in Tacoma, WA
I have read various things about how many cars will be on display At first the Museum would have all of them making it the center of the universe in car collecting, Recently I have read that it's only showing part of the collection maybe just 500.
This brings up the point how long will it be until the collection is parted out, Why own that many cars and show only part of it? When the economy turns I am sure someone will realize there are millions to be made, Just like they did with the Harris collection.
I tried sneaking in without paying the very first day Movieworld opened. I was 12 years old at the time and I ended up getting caught by old man Brucker and he made me dust every car. Best thing that ever happened to me; ended up working there until I was 18. So many great people and so many great memories.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Creature from the Black Lagoon? Or all the Little Rascal Props??? This place was the Greatest when I was a child.I never could get enough of that huge tube slide inside the building..I was always in awe of Robie the 7ft robot..I was beginning to think this place was only in my mind..I've searched everywhere for news on this place to No avail.Finding people with the same great experiences at this place,restores my sanity..Thank You Guys sO much....GOOD TIMES!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember the Monkeemobile being there, as well as the Batmobile and other George Barris creations. I never saw Ed Roth there, but did meet him once at Ascot in about 1967 at the Sprint Car races. I used to ride my bicycle over from Cypress on occasion.
ReplyDeletemy name is tiny will people know me by that name. i worked security there and a lot of fun. when i was there mom and pop brucker had it when they retired there son jimmy took over. i still have some pic's of the stars that was there when they had car auctions.they had so much going on there.i remember when dutch moved his bus in the back area. i still see the inside.i thank god i got to work there.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few pictures of the signs from the museum, that were sold at the Brucker Auction in 2006
ReplyDeletehttp://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss293/64crump/Misc/MovieWorld.jpg
http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss293/64crump/Misc/05-06179.jpg
I was caught sneaking into Movieworld the day the museum opened by old man Brucker. He made me dust every car in there; turned out to be a great thing however, ended up working there until I was 18. Later I would take the Happy Days and Walton cars to the studios for the shoot; pick them up afterwards and return them to their sets in the museum. Ed Roth, Von Dutch, and Hawkeye the museum mechanic (greatest guy ever) I had the opportunity of a lifetime to be mentored and to my shame never took advantage. I have some great memories and even better experiences because of that place.
ReplyDeleteMy family drove down to Disneyland from San Jose in the summer of 71 and we stumbled across the Cars of the Stars / Planes of Fame after a visit to the nearby wax museum. Money was tight so I was surprised when my parents paid for our family of five to go in. My brothers and I were into cars of course but WWII was big with us as well so we enjoyed much of the Planes of Fame side as well. I remember I bought a souvenir bomb site, I think it was a legit training aid, I still have it along with the glossy full-color brochure for the attraction somewhere in my catacombs. The car side didn't have any heavy hitters at that time like the Batmobile but we enjoyed the customs and we had seen The Great Race so it was fun to see those vehicles. I do remember Lennon's RR as others have mentioned. Anyone have a listing of the cars on display?
ReplyDeleteIt was a frequent stop for my early birthdays. Most of the time we went to the Planes of Fame side but we hit the Cars of Stars too.
ReplyDeleteOne of them had a recreation of the crashed B-25 from the movie "Sole Survivor".
There was a fuselage of a B-50 that had been cut in half so you could see the inside of the entire airplane.
The "Great Race" vehicles (two Hannibal 8s), the Great Leslie's car, Professor Fate's submarine and bicycle powered blimp. I think they even had Fate's "acoustic torpedo" complete with garish paint job and Victrola horn.
The Batmobile, the Monkeymobile, John Lennon's car, and the Bonnie and Clyde "death car" are all fond memories.
I remember thinking how small King Kong was and didn't believe it was the one in the movie (until my father explained how it was done).
Creature from the Black Lagoon, one of my favorite monsters as a kid.
Robby the Robot, I didn't know about "Forbidden Planet" then, but I had seen him on "Lost in Space".
The large model of the SSRN Seaview (I think it was hanging from the ceiling).
At some point there two "tanks" out front. One I think was a M4 Sherman ARV. The other one might have been a M4 Sherman or a M7 Priest.
I didn't know about Von Dutch, but I remember my dad commenting on the talent the guy who did the signs had (my dad had painted his fair share of signs early in his life).
I knew about Big Daddy Roth, but I never did see him.
I remember one day driving down there with my dad and brother to find the museum had closed...
Yesterday I took my son to the Planes of Fame airshow in Chino and it was awesome!
I have often wished I could have taken my kids to that old museum on Orangethorpe Ave... despite their interests in video games and such I know they would have enjoyed it.
Does anyone here have any memory of seeing the motorcycle from "then came Bronson" at the museum? Or at any other museum back in the day?
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