It’s a bit startling to be strolling through the idyllic grounds of the Motion Picture and Television Fund (the “Old Actors Home”) in Woodland Hills and suddenly come across a life-sized statue of an ape in human clothes. That would be Caesar, the character the late Roddy McDowall played in the 1973 feature, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. This statue actually appeared in that film and now resides in the Roddy McDowall Memorial Rose Garden.
I’m pretty sure that’s a sacred scroll that Caesar’s holding, and not a rolling pin. Below is another shot of the Rose Garden– you can see the statue through the center of the gazebo. There’s another statue of Roddy, this one as a young boy, on the rim of the fountain, to the left of the sprinkler.
As far as I know, you won’t find a half-buried Statue of Liberty anywhere on these grounds.
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Allee Willis
Wow, wow, WOW! Never have been to the “Old Actors Home” in Woodland Hills but have always thought it was such an incredible idea to have a place like that and that everyone there must be really happy that, if they have to be someplace like that, it’s there. But now seeing that there are little settings like this all around, and especially this Planet of the Apes statue, makes me think that it’s even a better place than I originally thought.
I was actually friends with Roddy McDowall. In fact, about 12 years ago he was over at Willis Wonderland for a Sunday barbecue with Doris Roberts and he shot two hours of video of the place and everything in it. I have to dig out the video because it’s an incredible timepiece of what my collection was like at that time.
Is there anything else on the grounds of the Old Actors Home that’s outstanding like this garden? Is this where you teach a course?