While the Déjà-Boo crew always tries to make sure our viewers have a good enough idea of a location and/or person's history to understand what exactly we are investigating, our upcoming episode requires a bit more of an in-depth history lesson than we typically provide. Please turn off your cellphones as we begin the show, because today we're going to be taking a look into the world of Hollywood in 1950.
Ronald Reagan was a popular actor from the 1930s, and remained as such until his unfortunate death in 1950. While he was generally well-liked by audiences, he had a somewhat controversial reputation among actors, as he was elected president of SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) in 1947 only to later sell out several of his fellow union members during the Red Scare. Some of the most recognizable productions he featured in include Kings Row, Always Ended This Way, a variety of WWII propaganda films, and of course, the never-released film that tragically resulted in his death, Bedtime For Bonzo.
Bedtime For Bonzo was set to be a comedy film about a psychology professor (played by Reagan) who attempts to teach human morality to a chimpanzee. Bonzo the chimpanzee was played by a trained chimp named Peggy, one of the highest paid animals in Hollywood at the time. Peggy was apparently incredibly intelligent, knowing over 500 commands, including stunts such as opening doors, riding a tricycle and removing a necktie. Unfortunately, that last trick of hers might be what led to Reagan's death - in 1950, during the filming of Bedtime For Bonzo, Peggy was startled by a sudden electrical spark and grabbed hold of Reagan's necktie with both hands, pulling it tight. According to recounts from various witnesses, Reagan tried to back away from the chimp, but this only caused her to hold on tighter. Crew members tried to intervene, but it was too late for the actor. The film was never released, any footage that had been filmed was presumably thrown out or locked away, and very few remnants of the production exist today.
Not long after in 1951, Peggy the chimpanzee would pass away herself during a fire at the World Jungle Compound where she lived. Though she was rescued from the flames, she had sadly inhaled too much smoke and could not be resuscitated. Her skeleton was donated to the Los Angeles Chiropractic College's anatomical museum.
Today's investigation takes us to what was once a Universal Studios filming location known as Colonial Street. Built in 1927 and undergoing regular remodeling throughout the years, Colonial Street is a set of houses built on the studio's back lot with the purpose of appearing in movies and television. The street and houses often undergo construction every 20 or so years so new productions can be filmed, although in 1981 the street was moved from the northern side of the back lot to its present location.
However, we won't be visiting today's Colonial Street. No, we are going to its original, now-abandoned location, where Bedtime For Bonzo was filmed. It is rumoured that around 3-4am (supposedly the "witching hour", according to superstition) you can see the ghost of the chimpanzee chasing and tormenting the deceased Reagan throughout the set. Admittedly, the mental picture this creates is a little bit goofy and many of the ghost stories about it are similarly so, but if you have ever been face to face with a chimpanzee, then you know that they can be powerful, terrifying animals. Even I will admit that the idea of a ghost chimpanzee is scary. One variation of the story states that this haunting can only be captured on a film camera, so we will be experimenting with some old-but-new-to-us technology in our upcoming episode.
Hopefully this article has provided you all with a more in-depth view of the relevant history of our next haunting and its "ghosts." Francisco even tried to get us to watch some of the old movies Reagan was known for during his research, but I feel that is probably unnecessary and irrelevant. Be sure to tune in to our next episode "DÉJÀ-BOO: The Chimpanzee That Haunts Hollywood" to find out if the idea of the afterlife extends to chimpanzees as well as humans!
- Ethan
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