BACKSTORY: The Movieland Wax Museum was the largest wax museum in the U.S., located in Buena Park, California. Allen Parkinson founded it on May 4, 1962 then sold it to the Six Flags Corporation in 1970. On April 1, 1985, it was sold again to Fong & Paul Associates, the owners of the world famous Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Twenty years later on October 31, 2005 The Movieland Wax Museum was closed, with many of the wax figures and sets auctioned off in March 2006.
From WINTER/SPRING 1964 VACATIONLAND MAGAZINE:
A visit to Movieland Wax Museum is an experience you'll never forget. Fantastic wax likenesses of 96 of the greatest stars in the entertainment world: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Laurel & Hardy, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Charlie Chaplin, Brigitte Bardot, Tom Mix, Barrymore. From silents to cinemascope and TV. Lavish replicas of their original costumes. 57 magnificent sets, accurate to the most minute detail. Lights! Camera! Action!—It's like visiting the major studios on their busiest days. So lavish, it cost nearly $2,000,000 to build. So perfect in detail, the figure of Gloria Swanson is adorned by a $10,000 chinchilla cape Miss Swanson herself donated to the Museum. Sophia Loren donated the dress she wore during the filming of her Academy Award winning picture, "Two Women." Real-life stars themselves, often visit the Museum. Relive your most memorable movie moments at the STARS' OWN HALL OF FAME, MOVIELAND WAX MUSEUM.
