Airwolf the-trip Mk4b

MARK and CLARK on

THE TRIPAUGUST 2004

CAST • CREW • LOCATIONS • ORIGINA L PROPS

MARK J. CAIRNS CLARK VAN HOTEN

Airwolf buddies CLARK VAN HOTEN and MARK J. CAIRNS’Airwolf trip of a lifetime through nine USA states wherethey met and interviewed Airwolf Cast, Crew; visitedactual Airwolf filming locations and reunited originalAirwolf Props with their full-size counterparts. READ ON…

First port of call, our good buddy and huge, long-timeAirwolf fan (who has previously owned the original Airwolfbody parts and other original props), ROY NELSON:

The Three Amigos (L~R):CLARK VAN HOTEN

MARK J. CAIRNSand ROY NELSON

(Above): ROY NELSON

(Below):MARK wearing one of the Original Airwolf Crew Jackets owned byROY NELSON as well as holding the very first, fully-functioningunit off the production line of the fantastic, all-new, 3rd SeasonAirwolf Helmet Replicas by STEVEN W. STULL

(Right):MARK wearing STEVEN W. STULL’s new Replica Helmet. Great fit!

ROY NELSON still has quite a few original Airwolf piecesincluding an original helmet and one of the glass WingSponson Landing Lights from the actual Airwolf helicopter:

(Right):ROY’s 3rd Season

Original Airwolfhelmet (LEFT) with its

original control boxfor the visor and

electrics with thefantastic, all-new,

fully-functioning 2004replica (RIGHT) by

maverick prop-makerSTEVEN W. STULL

(Above):Original Wing SponsonLanding Light from full-size Airwolf helicopter.

We then visited popular Airwolf Guest Star LANCE LeGAULTat his ranch in California. A superb host and entertainer!

TO SNARE A WOLF • SWEET BRITCHES • WILDFIRE

READ THE FULL STORY IN THE ALL-NEW AIRWOLF MAGAZINE, “THE WOLF’s LAIR” — From January 2005

“In “SWEETBRITCHES”, I wasdriving the Chevy 4x4over that desert terrainwith my foot to the floortrying to catch that son-of-a-bitch stuntman onthe motorcycle, withDon Bellisario yellin’ inmy ear from the cameraship to drive faster!My old bones ached atthe end of that shoot.I really got into thatpart. It was a lot of funplaying Bogan.”

“QUOTE”

READ HIS FULL & EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW in a future issue ofthe all-new colour Airwolfmagazine, “THE WOLF’s LAIR”.First issue out 22 January 2005

lance legault

(Above):LANCE LeGAULT was highlyimpressed with STEVENSTULL’s Replica Helmet

(Left):CLARK VAN HOTEN, MARKCAIRNS and ROY NELSONwith Airwolf Guest StarLANCE LeGAULT on hissuperb Californian ranch

SPECIAL NOTE — Lance’s surname is pronounced “Luh-Goh” and not “Luh-Gault” as in the word ‘fault’

Next port of call was The Firm’s Headquarters in theWestlake area of Thousand Oaks, California. We’d access tothe entire grounds now owned by the ‘Baxter’ corporation.Fantastic feeling walking where angels don’t fear to tread!

Visiting Firm Headquarters on aSunday was great as the entireplace was empty and we’d full

access to the entire grounds bothfront and rear. The building is

actually made from hugered granite slabs and has an

extensive car park [parking lot] tothe rear where the main entrance

is located beside a pool area

We obtained high-security passes to do a walkabout on theUniversal Backlot & Soundstages (Tour Tram doesn’t allowtourist folks off!). We found the original Airwolf soundstage(now just a store for set walls) and some other famous sets.

CLARK on what little’s left of theBack To The Future square set onthe Universal backlot.

MARK on the New York setused in ‘ONE WAyEXPRESS’

Six Points western set used for‘ANNIE OAKLEy’episode in the 3rd Season

Original Sound-stagelocation whereAirwolf mock-upused to be shot

Original Sound-stagelocation whereAirwolf mock-upused to be shot

RED RING shows extent of NBC-Universal Studios, with Burbank and Warner Bros Studiosimmediately in the background [above YELLOW RING]. Note Universal’s new “STUDIO WALK”[YELLOW RING] theme park, iMAX and restaurant facilities has swallowed about 80 per cent ofthe original backlot from the 1980s. Everything’s gone now but a small part of the “JAWS” setand some of the locations in the smaller photos below

Full vista panoramic shot from Mulholland Drive ofthe entire Hollywood area in San Fernando Valley,to the North of Los Angeles (off to the left in thedistance). It’s all smaller than you’d think!


“The bomb run in “TOSNARE A WOLF”was crazy! Alan Levi designedit and I don’t know how thehell he got away with it;it made no sense; it wassuperfluous; there was nological reason to do it butDon Bellisario showmanship.It was out in Oil country,in virgin territory so theGovernment was involved,there were rattlesnakes, fireconcerns and then you’ve thiscrazy Special FX guy, WhiteyKrumm who was certifiable!When Whitey blew things up…they blew! When I heardWhitey and Levi were doingthat stunt I said, “Get the f**kaway from me!” [Burtonlaughed] I was afraid we’d allgo jail on that one. I grabbedThom Blank and said, “Takeme home! Get me the f**koutta here!”

Burton Armus

One of the real highlights and huge information sources ofthe trip was ex-New York Cop and Airwolf’s 1st SeasonProducer & Writer BURTON ARMUS. He entertained usfor an entire afternoon at his fabulous villa.

(Above):And They Were Us…CLARK, BURTON ARMUS and MARK

(Left):Outside BURTON’s beautifulSpanish villa on Mulholland Drive

(Far Left):Airwolf’s 1st Season Producer andWriter, BURTON ARMUS

“QUOTE”


“With regard to the‘guns-in-guns-out’bloopers plaguingmany episodes, it wassimply overlooked;by me, by Don, by thenetwork… everybody!We were under so muchpressure from CBS tocut costs and deliverthe final reel on timeall the time, it wassimply a case of havingso many stock shots toremember that I simplyoverlooked it due totime pressures.”

“QUOTE”

READ HIS FULL & EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW in a future issue ofthe all-new colour Airwolfmagazine, “THE WOLF’s LAIR”.First issue out 22 January 2005

leon ortiz-gil

We’d dinner at Universal’s Studio Walk facility withAirwolf’s Film Editor and Associate Producer LEON ORTIZ-GILwh0 was Don’s “Action Editor” on the show and responsiblefor every aerial battle during the first 3 seasons!

CLARK with Airwolf’s Film Editor and Associate Producer, LEON ORTIZ-GIL

As we stayed in the Van Nuys area ofLos Angeles for a couple of days we couldn’tleave the area without visiting Kevin LaRosaand the mk2 version of Jetcopters’ hangar.

(Above):JetCopters’ new hangar and offices in Van Nuys.

(Right):The P-51 Mustang, owned by KEVIN LaROSAused in 3rd Season episode, ‘EAGLES’.

(Below):MARK andCLARK withJetcopters’owner andpilot fromAirwolf,KEVIN LaROSA

“In the early 1990s, I wasapproached by a Japanese TVproduction company whowanted the Airwolf helicopterfor a TV commercial back inJapan. They didn’t realise theoriginal chopper no longerexisted [after the crash inGermany] but they insisted theywanted it, so they came up withthe cash and we rebuilt Airwolfwith the original body partsusing the ‘Redwolf’ 222!I got the Airwolf flight suit on,the helmet, everything and allthey wanted me to do washover it about 3-feet above theground. I never got to see thecommercial though so I don’tknow how it turned out.”

“QUOTE”

Kevin LaRosa

(Right):As soon as one

exits the lift on thetastefully minimalist

4th floor offices,you’re immediately

greeted by thishuge, framed resin

Belisarius sign madefamous at the end of

the closing credits

We knew DONwouldn’t be intown when wevisited butmeeting hisgracious P.A.,PATTY and hiseldest sonMICHAELwas cool

As we were driving through theintersection at Sunset & Gower inH0llywood, a sign on the side of a buildingcaught our eye… Belisarius Productions.


“After I wrote“MOFFETT’SGHOST”, I polished a fewscripts for the show andmid-season Don asked me tocome in and take over the lastthirteen and run the show.I’d inherited three scripts bythen so we’d only to work onten more to end the season.My mandate from CBS was totake Airwolf from being aninternational spy showagainst the ‘Red Menace’ (stillaround in those days) andmake it more a domesticproblem solver within the US.I don’t think Don liked that;he saw it as a spy show, asuper thriller because youhave to have a credible threatagainst Airwolf. When I leftthe next season they snappedback doing international bigvillain-type stuff so I guess itdidn’t really work.”

T.S. Cook

Straight after Belisarius Productions’ offices we’d arrangedto meet Airwolf’s 2nd Season Producer & Writer T. S. COOK.A total gent, the creator of ‘MOFFETT ’S GHOST’amongst others, was a mine of information.

(Above):‘The Big Bad Wolves HaveCome Down From The North’ —CLARK, TOM S. COOK and MARK

(Left):CLARK wearing TOM’s crew jacket

(Far Left):Airwolf’s 2nd Season Producerand Writer, TOM S. COOK

“QUOTE”

Our next literal port of call was the Queen Mary linerbeside San Pedro Pier, in Long Beach, California.

(Above):MARK recreating the famous shot in‘DESPERaTE MONdAy’ whereDom appears in The Lady from behind thebow to shadow Hawke and the kidnappersin the escaping Huey

(Left):The full view of the QueenMary with the Russiansubmarine to its right.

(Below):Now a floating hotel the Queen Mary liner

brought back memories of the Zebra Squadstorming it in ‘DESPERaTE MONdAy’

Whilst in Long Beach we caught the Catalina Expresshigh-speed catamaran service out toSanta Catalina Island [‘San Remo’in ‘SINS OF THE PAST ’].

(Right):The famous William Wrigley-built Casino,now a cinema [movie theatre], fitness cluband focal point on Santa Catalina island

(Above):The street where Hawke tries to escape ona moped from Darius’ two hoods

(Top Right):MARK and CLARK just down from the spoton the stoney beach where Hawke washedashore, half drowned from his midnightescape from Darius’ men on the boat.

As we left Calfornia we headed overnight to the dry heatof Arizona and Utah to experience the spiritual home ofThe Lady, Monument Valley. We found that The Lair actuallyconsists of shots from 4 separate locations within the area.

(Above from L~R):A vista of the famous ‘LeftMitten’, ‘Right Mitten’, ‘MerrickButte’ and the main formations ofMonument Valley to the rightwhere most of Airwolf’s “Valleyof the Gods” stock footage wasshot on two separate occasions— December 1983 and July 1984

(Left):One of the Lairs used in‘THE HUNTED’… inreality, ‘Thunderbird Mesa’

(Right):The Lair that the

Santini Air Jeep drove to…‘Rain God Mesa’

Whilst in Monument Valley, we re-united the originalminiature Airwolf body parts with their spiritual home.

(Left and Below Right):We were transporting the original “working” soundstageAirwolf miniatures of the ADF pod, Chain Gun [only oneever existed!] and Sunburst Ejection Pod back to Floridato join their full-size counterparts off the real chopper atClark’s home. But first we felt we should bring them totheir original spiritual home in the “Valley of the Gods”and especially the ‘Rain God Mesa’. The entire area isaccessible through a 17-mile dirt road looping rightthrough Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

(Right):Used for

ascending shots,the rear walls

of the ‘Rain GodMesa’ [LEFT OF

IMAGE] providedanother

magnificentbackdrop


“One of the things I didn’t likeabout that job [Airwolf ] wasthat I really wanted to BEArchangel! At the end of theday I didn’t get to go home ina white limo, driven by somebeautiful babe; I went home tomy own little existence. Part ofthe charm of the character wasthe mystique; you didn’t knowmuch about him. I loved that!Oh, for the record, my birthdayis actually May 3rd, 1933[and not August 3rd, 1931as everyone thinks!]”

Alex Cord

Half way across the States, we had the joy over two daysof the company of ‘Archangel’, ALEX CORD with his angelwife, SUSANNAH on their ranch in sunny Northern Texas.The most gracious and likeable couple on earth!

(Top):MARK and CLARK with ALEX on his ranch

(Middle Left):The CORDS… ALEX and wife SUSANNAH

(Left):ALEX CORD training ‘Cloud’, one of hisquarter horses in an exercise arena

(Above):Retired actor and real-life cowboy,ALEX CORD twenty years afterplaying ‘Archangel’ on Airwolf

“QUOTE”

(Top Right):CLARK VAN HOTEN proudly holds the Nose Scoop from the originalAirwolf helicopter with other Body Parts and miniatures around him

(Above):MARK J. CAIRNS sits amongst the VAN HOTEN AIRWOLF COLLECTION

Back in Florida and we finallyreunited the original workingminiatures with their full-sizeAirwolf Body Parts, now proudlyowned by Clark Van Hoten

Airwolf’s full-sizejet exhausts —inside and out!

Airwolf’s full-sizejet exhausts —inside and out!

(Left):The workingChain Gunminiatureoperatedby sliding asimple broomhandle andspring wires!

The Van Hoten Airwolf Collection has an amazing array ofAirwolf wonders including the full-size parts & Arcade game

(Left):CLARK and MARKhad a few games onthe full-size AirwolfArcade game

(Far Left):CLARK VAN HOTENholding the workingSunburst EjectionPod miniaturebeside the full-sizeoriginal. Note thedifferences in scale!

(Inset Above):The same keyboard thatDom typed on

(Inset Above):The same keyboard thatDom typed on

(Below L+R): Full-size Airwolf Body Parts, Chain Gunsand Nose Scoop, Dom’s computer keyboard, workingSunburst Ejection Pod miniature, working ADF podminiature and working Chain Gun miniature

THE TRIP

Some other touristy highlights alongthe route included a visit to DALLAS,Texas where we visited SouthforkRanch, home of the Ewings; as wellas Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot.

(Above):MARK outside the real Southfork, northof Dallas, home of the fictional Ewingfamily during the ‘DALLAS’ Supersoap’s13-year run during the 1970s and 1980s.The Lorimar production company wereonly allowed to shoot here by its actualowner for 3 months in the year. Only theexteriors were filmed on location, theinterior of the mansion was a soundstageset in Culver City, Calfornia.

(Left):Dealey Plaza in Dallas where lonegunman, Lee Harvey Oswald killedPresident John F. Kennedy in Nov. 1963from the 6th Floor window of the TexasBook Depository (as it was then known).

THE TRIPAll Photos, Interview Quotes and Text are Copyright

MARK J.CAIRNS and CLARK VAN HOTEN © 2004

No part of this PDF document may be reproduced!

READ ALL THESE EXCLUSIVE NEW AIRWOLF CAST & CREW INTERVIEWS IN THE ALL-NEWFULL-COLOUR AIRWOLF MAGAZINE, “THE WOLF’S LAIR” — From 22nd January 2005

SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS & ON-LINE ORDERING ARE AVAILABLE VIA — www.airwolf.tv

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Airwolf the-trip Mk4b