Nickelodeon On Sunset

Nickelodeon On Sunset at 6230 Sunset Blvd as the Victorious set in May 2011.

Nickelodeon On Sunset, formerly known as the Earl Carroll Theatre, is a stage facility located at 6230 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California which has housed the West Coast production of live-action original series produced for the Nickelodeon cable channel since 1997, starting with the production of the fourth season of All That.

As of 2011, 12 television series have been shot at the studios, not including minor publicity events and television pilots. iCarly and Victorious are the only Nickelodeon original series' currently known to be in production at the studios. As of September 2007, the City of Los Angeles Historic Preservation Board has worked to assure that the theater is protected.

Brief history

Nickelodeon On Sunset, as it looked from 1997 until 2002.

Nick on Sunset originally opened on December 26, 1938 as the West Coast location of the Earl Carroll Theatre. The supper club-theatre offered shows on a massive stage containing a 60-foot (18 m)-wide double revolving turntable, staircase and swings that could be lowered from the ceiling. The building's facade was adorned by a 20-foot (6.1 m)-high neon head portrait of entertainer Beryl Wallace. The sign had been long gone by the 1960s, but a recreation made from photographs of the sign is now on display at Universal CityWalk, as part of a collection from the Museum of Neon Art.

Earl Carroll Theatre, Hollywood as it looked in the 1940s.

After Carroll and Wallace died in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624 in 1948, the theater was sold. In 1953, it became the Moulin Rouge nightclub, then later the Hullabaloo Rock and Roll club, and then the Aquarius Theatre in the late 1960s. The Pick-Vanoff Company, who owned Sunset Gower Studios, purchased the property in 1983, converting it into a television theater where Star Search, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon^[1] and The Chevy Chase Show^[2] were once broadcast.

In the mid-1990s, Nickelodeon decided to move production of some live-action series' to the West Coast from Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios, after scouting soundstages for a year, the network's headlining mover All That spent a year at Paramount Pictures before Nickelodeon obtained a lease for the 6230 Sunset Blvd facility, acquiring the soundstage and rebranding it "Nickelodeon On Sunset" by 1997. Due to limited studio space, only a few series' are taped at Nickelodeon On Sunset at a time, as a result, other live-action series' produced for the network are filmed in other stage facilities throughout the Hollywood area.

Shows taped at Nickelodeon On Sunset

• Star Search - The original US series from the 1980s (not under Nickelodeon)
• All That (seasons 4-10)
• Kenan & Kel (seasons 3 and 4)
• The Amanda Show
• The Nick Cannon Show (Various soundstage production)
• The Conspiracy Zone (the series was produced for Nickelodeon's sister channel TNN, now Spike)
• Taina (season 2 only)
• Drake & Josh (seasons 1, 2 and 4)
• Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (season 1 only)
• Unfabulous
• iCarly*
• Dance on Sunset
• True Jackson, VP (season 1 only)
• The Fresh Beat Band - Various episodes for Nick Jr.
• Victorious*
• Alf's Hit Talk Show - For Nick's sister network TV Land

• *Currently in production

Specials produced at Nickelodeon On Sunset

From the studios prime opening in 1997, several shows have used Nickelodeon On Sunset to film special events, shows which have used the soundstage in such ways include:

• "All That LIVE" - The self-acclaimed "100th episode" of "All That" aired LIVE on the evening of March 6, 1999 and was the first Nickelodeon show of its kind broadcast live from Hollywood, despite popular belief, several portions of the show were taped prior to the live taping, to fit in with costume changes, etc. For example, the Backstage Tour which included Josh Server and Kenan Thompson running around backstage, checking out dressing rooms with Nick Cannon and prop house with Leon Frierson as well as the "All That Wall of Gifts" did not take place during the live segments, nor did the "Where's Danny Tamberelli?" segments or the cold open, it is quite easy to tell where the live portions were as the camera pans out into the audience straight from the sketches (i.e. "Good Burger", "Fax Ashley", "Vital Information", "Whateverrr", Inconvenience Store, etc.). Britney Spears was scheduled as a headlining musical guest but had a foot injury very close to filming and had to be replaced at the last minute by Lauryn Hill, from the Gibson Amphitheater (formerly the Universal Amphitheater), Hill was introduced by Mavis and Clavis and she quickly acknowledged the live show wishing it a "Happy 100th episode". Britney was featured in the show but only to introduce clips of "All That" sketch Detective Dan.
• All That Live also was one of the first times in the studio's then two-year history under Nickelodeon ownership that the studio's exterior was presented to the TV audience-- (shown when host Mya welcomes people on the red carpet, the exterior shots of the audience before & after commercial break and Mavis and Clavis introducing Lauryn Hill).
• Nickelodeon On Sunset was not presented on screen prior to this show, in order to not confuse the television audience with Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, which was a big tourist attraction during the time. The red carpet exterior was later used for the Tenth Anniversary Reunion Special as well, with a computer edit on the sign entry, showing no originality (however the Reunion show did have a red carpet inside the NOS lobby), the exterior was used very well creatively for the live show capturing the red carpet, big ALL THAT live entrance and hundreds of kids fans in the well hidden NOS parking lot.

• Lets Just Play 2003 & 2004 worldwide day of play

• TEENick

• "R U All That? Competition" - The "R U ALL THAT" one-hour competition finale aired prior to the summer of 2003, in which the finalists of the competition performed sketches with All That cast-members, Christina Kirkman was crowned the winner and Ryan Coleman runner-up, both joining the cast in Season 9 (Ryan, mid-season).

• "All That Tenth Anniversary Reunion Special"

References

Greater Los Angeles portal

1. ^ Gordon, William A. (1992). The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book. Toluca Lake, California: North Ridge Books. p. 156. ISBN 0-937813-03-6. 
2. ^ Entertainment Weekly article: "Err Time: Denise Richards is in good company -- look back at 10 major movie stars who flopped on TV".

Coordinates: 34°05′52″N 118°19′31″W / 34.097851°N 118.325321°W / 34.097851; -118.325321