Michael Jackson’s Thriller Zombie Dance Location

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Dangerous Incorporated

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Last week, while cyber-stalking I read that the final dance sequence in the video was filmed on a street in Los Angeles named Union Pacific Avenue. Unfortunately, Union Pacific Avenue is a very long street and the two of us had no idea where the exact spot was that Thriller was filmed.


I was EXTREMELY excited to see that the street looks EXACTLY the same today as it did back in 1983 when Thriller was filmed! The wall that MJ and his fellow zombies dance in front of is still standing and looks just the same as it did in the Thriller days. Using Google Maps Street View, we went up and down Union Pacific Avenue on his computer looking for the wall, hoping it was still standing. And it was! I am absolutely amazed (and thrilled!) that the wall is still there for us stalkers to appreaciate all these years later.​
It also looks like the very same company that inhabited the building where the dance sequence took place twenty five years ago, is still, in fact, stationed there. As you can see in the above screen captures, the company signage is still in the exact same spot and looks pretty much identical to how it did in the video.
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I can’t tell you how excited I was to be standing in the exact spot where MJ danced twenty-five years ago! There were a few workers standing around eating breakfast at a food truck while my dad and I were taking pictures and they thought we were absolutely crazy! They were looking at me while I was doing my Thriller poses as if I was stark raving mad. LOL Love it!​
The Thriller main dance sequence location can be stalked at 3701 East Union Pacific Avenue in Los Angeles, just outside the City of Commerce. The area is highly industrial and not in the safest part of town, so please exercise caution – especially if you visit it at night.​
 
Michael Jackson’s Thriller is, in my humble opinion, the best music video ever created.​
So when I found out that the movie theater used in Thriller is located in Downtown Los Angeles, I just had to drag my dad out to stalk it. The theatre is named the Palace and it was designed by G. Albert Landsburgh in 1911 for the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit company. The theater was originally named “The Orpheum”, but when a new, and larger, Orpheum theater was built on the same street in 1926, the original Orpheum’s name was changed to the Palace. The Palace is the oldest remaining Orpheum theater still standing in the United States. Numerous celebrities have performed at the Palace in the past, including Harry Houdini, Bob Hope, the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, and Will Rogers. After the decline of Vaudeville, the Palace was turned into a regular movie theater showing first run features. Sadly, though, the theater closed down in the mid 1990’s and is currently only used for special events and as a filming location. Besides Thriller, the Palace Theater was also used in the movie Dreamgirls. And, in an interesting bit of trivia, while the Palace was used for all of the exterior theatre scenes in Thriller, the interior scenes were actually filmed at the Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena.​
I could not have been more excited to see this location in person, especially during the Halloween season. And, of course, I just had to bust out a little bit of the Thriller dance while there (which my dad captured in one of the above photos). The people standing outside the theater thought I was absolutely crazy, but that’s just because they didn’t realise that they were in the midst of a landmark filming location! How great would it be to rent this place out for a huge Halloween party.​
 

I received an email with the above photograph attached from Marlon, who happened to be driving by the Palace Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles and noticed the words “Michael Jackson Starring in Thriller” posted on the marquee. It seems that in honor of MJ’s passing, the historic theatre restored its marquee to how it appeared in the iconic music video that was filmed there just over twenty-six years ago. Well, sort of. What the Palace marquee actually spelled out in the Thriller video were the words ”Vincent Price Thriller” – Vincent Price, of course, being the notable horror film actor who lent his voice to the rap portion of Michael’s famous song. Maybe someone over at the Palace should have watched the video before restoring the marquee! Sheesh! You know, if they had me on staff they would have gotten it right. :) Anyway, let me tell you that after seeing Marlon’s photograph I just about died!!! And, even though it was about 11 O’clock at night, I went right over there to see the marquee for myself.
Apparently, though, another fastidious MJ fan had informed the Palace of their marquee faux-pas, because by the time I got there they had fixed the wording to read “Vincent Price in Thriller”. Now, I don’t mean to be nit-picky or anything, but for the record in the video there was no “in” written on the marquee. It simply stated “Vincent Price Thriller”, but I guess I have to just let that one slide.
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Extraneous “in” or not, I was still SO excited to see that marquee in person! For a filming locations buff and huge MJ fan, seeing the Palace marquee brought back to the way it was when Thriller was filmed was . . . well, a thrill!
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I could not have been more excited! And what an amazing tribute to Michael!​
The Los Angeles Theatre, which did not have a cameo in the Thriller video, but is located right across the street from the Palace, also put up a marquee memorial to Michael.​
While stalking the Palace, I managed to snap some photographs of its beautiful Florentine Renaissance style entrance. The theatre’s antique ticket booth, which can be seen in the background of Thriller, has sadly since been removed.​
According http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0312308566, Harry Medved, the loft area of the Palace was used as Christian Bale’s magic workshop in 2006’s The Prestige and as Jeff Bridge’s art studio in 1998’s The Big Lebowski and the theatre’s back door was used as the entrance to Club Silencio in David Lynch’s oddball movie Mullholland Drive.


The Palace Theatre is located at 630 South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. The theatre is currently closed to the public, but you can certainly stalk its exterior. I am not sure how long the Michael Jackson memorial marquee will be left up, but in this stalker’s opinion it should remain there forever.
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Thriller on location? I tell you where Thriller is............
In my heart thats where! :):wub:
Excuse my random post, but thats how I feel!
MJ we love you most! :sc_imbad:
 
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