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Did you recognize this famous Mayberry fishing spot in the Rifleman finale?
A quicksand scene from ''Old Tony'' also reportedly forced an actress to quit showbiz.
Hollywood has more than famous faces and an iconic hillside sign. The home of movie magic also features a particularly iconic body of water. No, not the Pacific Ocean. We're talking about Franklin Lake.
Does the name not ring a bell? How about one of its "roles," as Myers Lake in Mayberry? You know it as the idyllic fishin' hole frequented by the sheriff and his son Opie in the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show.
We've written about Franklin Lake before, detailing all the cool uses for this pond that sits high in the hills above Studio City. Star Trek beamed to its shores, the Bradys camped there, Simon and Garfunkel posed for an album cover in the park, the Creature from the Black Lagoon made waves in it, and Prince rode his motorcycle there in Purple Rain.
But today, we're going to focus on its appearance in a particularly notable piece of television. Mark McCain (Johnny Crawford) relaxed by the pond in "Old Tony," the series finale of The Rifleman. A young woman visits him there, Lorrie. Karen Sue Trent played the role. And the gig was so traumatic she quit the acting business. It was her final episode ever, too.
Trent and Crawford by Franklin Lake in ''Old Tony''You might recognize her as Penny Woods, a classmate of Beaver Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver.
In this Rifleman finale, Trent's character sinks in quicksand. Filming the scene was just as perilous. According to the site Television's New Frontier, Trent "reportedly was injured filming a scene in which her character was trapped in quicksand, which prompted her to quit her acting career."
Trent dropped off the map following "Old Tony." A Rifleman fan site did manage to track her down years later, it seems. "I did get to talk to Karen. She was a very interesting person, I could relate to most of the things she had done. I loved listening to her stories. Had I know she wasn't going to get back with me, I would have taken better notes," the blogger wrote.
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40 Comments
LGLHILLCREST
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CHANGE MY MISTAKE. DO YOU FOLKS KNOW I MEANT HILLCREST. THE STREET. THE ONE THAT MAKES THE CORNER WITH CARMELITA.
REMEMBER? YOUR BIGGEST. FAN [email protected]
You might find that it is you who are the delusional one.
I also now see this would have put Barney out of his deputy job with the Rifle Fella being available.