Comments on: Prop Spotlight: The Signpost http://www.mash4077tv.com Wed, 23 May 2012 10:10:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Griffdawg http://www.mash4077tv.com/features/prop_spotlight_signpost/#comment-45022 Griffdawg Wed, 16 May 2012 01:49:43 +0000 http://www.finest-kind.net/wp/?page_id=107#comment-45022 Most of you sound like confirmed MASHophiles so I have one comment for you. Take a trip to Malibu Creek State Park above Pepperdine. I was able to visit there last summer and the site was exactly as I had imagined it! It's a 2+ mile hike into the park from the parking area but the Park Rangers have a wonderful guide book with a map in it. You've all given me the idea of making the MASH signpost for my backyard! Thanks! Most of you sound like confirmed MASHophiles so I have one comment for you. Take a trip to Malibu Creek State Park above Pepperdine. I was able to visit there last summer and the site was exactly as I had imagined it! It’s a 2+ mile hike into the park from the parking area but the Park Rangers have a wonderful guide book with a map in it. You’ve all given me the idea of making the MASH signpost for my backyard! Thanks!

]]> By: Mike http://www.mash4077tv.com/features/prop_spotlight_signpost/#comment-44954 Mike Tue, 15 May 2012 00:04:33 +0000 http://www.finest-kind.net/wp/?page_id=107#comment-44954 6779/9412 I thought it impossible that the Decatur was in Illinois. There was a sign for "Indianapolis" (6779 miles) and Decatur (9412 miles). Illinois is not 2633 miles from Indianapolis.....lol 6779/9412

I thought it impossible that the Decatur was in Illinois. There was a sign for “Indianapolis” (6779 miles)
and Decatur (9412 miles).
Illinois is not 2633 miles from Indianapolis…..lol

]]> By: MASHGuy http://www.mash4077tv.com/features/prop_spotlight_signpost/#comment-42628 MASHGuy Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:31:06 +0000 http://www.finest-kind.net/wp/?page_id=107#comment-42628 I wish it was still in the Smithsonian. I wish it was still in the Smithsonian.

]]> By: Debra Stoutenbough http://www.mash4077tv.com/features/prop_spotlight_signpost/#comment-27714 Debra Stoutenbough Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:56:28 +0000 http://www.finest-kind.net/wp/?page_id=107#comment-27714 I believe the Decatur was in Illinois because the first Col was an Illini fan which of course is in Champaign,IL. I believe the Decatur was in Illinois because the first Col was an Illini fan which of course is in Champaign,IL.

]]> By: Larry Lee Moniz http://www.mash4077tv.com/features/prop_spotlight_signpost/#comment-20591 Larry Lee Moniz Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:39:42 +0000 http://www.finest-kind.net/wp/?page_id=107#comment-20591 I always found it odd that in the early episodes, they had multiple signs for the same city, rather than just having more different cities! My best guess for this is that maybe they wanted some cities to always be seen no matter what the angle of the shot. Of course, in the picture above with the 2 Tokyos, they are both seen from the same angle! In the first season of M*A*S*H they actually had 2 Tokyos, 2 San Franciscos, and 2 Seouls! Later they took some of these down (thank God!). At one point in the 10th season, I counted 3 Seoul signs! One after Boston, One behind Toledo (Toledo was later removed), and one under Decatur! When I made my signpost replica (back in 1983), I decided to go with the configuration in the final episode. In most of the last season, they only had one board per city. Mine is long since gone. If you watch the first several scenes of "Goodbye Farewell and Amen", you can see an entirely different signpost in the begining of the movie that was originally created for the indoor set in season 9. They intended to use it because it was newer and less worn (figuring it would look nicer in close-ups). The lettering didn't look as interesting as the older signpost or quite match the original... in fact, coney island was even cut differently. the older one was relegated to the ranch location for the outdoor shots. They swapped them for the last episode. That newer signpost was destroyed, along with the rest of the original ranch set in a wild fire that occured during filming. They were forced (to my delight) to use the older, more familiar signpost for most of the movie. when you see the last scene of everyone running up to "take their hometown home", the signs are very worn, with many nail holes and flaws from all the reconfiguring of the boards. It looks a lot more authentically real and makes the scene work better (in my opinion). It's a good thing they had a spare! When the series went off the air, set decorater Bert Allen gained possesion of the original signpost used in the production of M*A*S*H. The Smithsonian Institute then wanted many of the props and set pieces for display as iconic articles of television and pop culture history. Producers had a replica made up to donate, as the original was unavailable. Although they claim it is a set piece, it is clearly not authentic in many ways, and some of the signs don't even look close to the originals (check out Boston, Seoul and Coney Island for example). This was proven when in 2004, the "Profiles in History" auction had the original M*A*S*H signpost from Bert Allen up for bid. Despite it's poor conition, it fetched approx. $24,000! To this day, I am still considering recreating another M*A*S*H signpost. Thanks to the pictures and information in the Profiles in History auction, and the Box set of DVDs, I could make it even better than the one once on display in the Smithsonian! I always found it odd that in the early episodes, they had multiple signs for the same city, rather than just having more different cities! My best guess for this is that maybe they wanted some cities to always be seen no matter what the angle of the shot. Of course, in the picture above with the 2 Tokyos, they are both seen from the same angle! In the first season of M*A*S*H they actually had 2 Tokyos, 2 San Franciscos, and 2 Seouls! Later they took some of these down (thank God!). At one point in the 10th season, I counted 3 Seoul signs! One after Boston, One behind Toledo (Toledo was later removed), and one under Decatur!

When I made my signpost replica (back in 1983), I decided to go with the configuration in the final episode. In most of the last season, they only had one board per city. Mine is long since gone.

If you watch the first several scenes of “Goodbye Farewell and Amen”, you can see an entirely different signpost in the begining of the movie that was originally created for the indoor set in season 9. They intended to use it because it was newer and less worn (figuring it would look nicer in close-ups). The lettering didn’t look as interesting as the older signpost or quite match the original… in fact, coney island was even cut differently. the older one was relegated to the ranch location for the outdoor shots. They swapped them for the last episode. That newer signpost was destroyed, along with the rest of the original ranch set in a wild fire that occured during filming. They were forced (to my delight) to use the older, more familiar signpost for most of the movie. when you see the last scene of everyone running up to “take their hometown home”, the signs are very worn, with many nail holes and flaws from all the reconfiguring of the boards. It looks a lot more authentically real and makes the scene work better (in my opinion). It’s a good thing they had a spare!

When the series went off the air, set decorater Bert Allen gained possesion of the original signpost used in the production of M*A*S*H. The Smithsonian Institute then wanted many of the props and set pieces for display as iconic articles of television and pop culture history. Producers had a replica made up to donate, as the original was unavailable. Although they claim it is a set piece, it is clearly not authentic in many ways, and some of the signs don’t even look close to the originals (check out Boston, Seoul and Coney Island for example). This was proven when in 2004, the “Profiles in History” auction had the original M*A*S*H signpost from Bert Allen up for bid. Despite it’s poor conition, it fetched approx. $24,000!

To this day, I am still considering recreating another M*A*S*H signpost. Thanks to the pictures and information in the Profiles in History auction, and the Box set of DVDs, I could make it even better than the one once on display in the Smithsonian!

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