Muppets In Tinseltown Jim Henson Company Lot (Formally A&M Studios)

Before I tell its tale, I would like to start with a pop quiz. What is going to be mentioned in this article? Is it A-Charlie Chaplin, B-SuperMan, C-A&M Records, D- Muppets  E- Ghosts, or F-All of the above. If you answered all the above congrats, you get a gold star! 

So after the Death Museum and my hike back to the tour bus, it drove a little further down Hollywood Blvd. The bus turned down a street to Jim Henson’s Company Lot. 

Perched atop the main gate is a statue of Kermit the Frog with a cane tipping his hat to greet passersby. The tour guide told us that Richard and Karen Carpenter recorded their hits when the studio was still A&M. 

Charlie Chaplin Studios was founded by silent film star Charlie Chaplin in 1917. It is where many of his famous films were filmed, including 1921’s The Kid and The Limelight (1952), when sound was implemented in movies. This was also when things went in a different direction from the studio. 

In 1952, Charlie Chaplin left the United States after his political views received negative attention. He made some comments that criticized capitalism and being the time of the Red Scare, he was under much scrutiny. Actors who shared similar beliefs to Chaplin were automatically blacklisted in Hollywood. The studio would then be sold off. 

The studio was renamed Kling Studios, where in 1955, it would be used as a television set for Adventures of Superman—the television star George Reeves. 

In 1967, the studio became A&M Records when Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss purchased the lot. 

Aside from the Carpenters, many musicians would go on to record there. These included John Lenon, Carole King, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Pink Floyd, and The Doors. In 1999, many more stars recorded hit albums until it happened. 

The Muppets decided to do a hostile takeover in 2000 when Jim Henson’s children purchased the studio. Lisa Henson admired the unique nature of the studio lot, which was the motivation behind the purchase. A statue of Kermit was constructed at the top of the gate, and he was dressed like Charlie Chaplin to pay homage to the original studio owner. 

As there were many studio owners over the years, ghost stories would appear from the woodwork. I first heard about ghost stories from there when I was 14, watching an episode of Ghost Hunters in which they visited the studio. According to the employees, they would hear voices coming from the catwalk.  They caught a woman phasing through a door. Most articles just talk about Ghost Hunters visiting the studio or have brief information about the same ghost sightings. I will leave it up to you to determine if it’s haunted or not. 

The most recent news on this lot is that an article posted on July 2nd stated that the Jim Henson Company is to sell the lot due to the limited space they have for storage. Hopefully, the next studio tenants will preserve the legacy of the studio lot. If not, at least the ghosts will be around to remind them. This Wandering Oddball article was brought to you by the letters A and M.