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September 30, 2003
‘West Wing’ heads farther west
SAN PEDRO: Community stands in for a tornado-struck Oklahoma town in an episode of the popular NBC drama.
By Larry Altman
Torrance (CA) DAILY BREEZE
Starstruck fans of “The West Wing” could walk away with one thing Monday after spotting Martin Sheen at the show’s shoot in San Pedro: President Bartlet gets his job back.
Sheen — and cohorts Allison Janney as press secretary C.J. Cregg and Dule Hill as aide Charlie Young — could be spotted here and there working in front of the cameras as “The West Wing” crew filmed an episode in the community’s downtown.
“Oh wow!” said Maywood resident Luann Hernandez when a spectator pointed out Sheen. “There he is. He’s coming our way.”
The old buildings and a parking lot on Seventh Street between Centre and Palos Verdes streets served as a double for an Oklahoma town devastated by a tornado. Buildings were ravaged, windows were shattered, brick walls lay in pieces, clothes hung from trees, and cars and trucks rested on their sides and roofs. And there was President Bartlet surveying the damage in his casual jacket and pants.
“It’s interesting to watch this,” said Pearl McIntyre of Harbor City. “My God, it’s a lot of hurry up and wait. You don’t realize how many people are involved in filmmaking.”
In current episodes, Sheen’s character, Bartlet, has invoked the 25th amendment, temporarily giving up his job as president while his youngest daughter is held by terrorists. But if Monday’s taping is a harbinger of things to come, Bartlet will make a return to the Oval Office.
About a dozen people stood on Centre Street on Monday afternoon, straining their eyes to see the actors, kept away from the set by security guards who became upset if anyone took photographs.
An NBC publicist said Sheen, Janney and Hill were the most notable names on the set, but she had not heard the rumor circulating among the spectators that Charlton Heston was due to arrive. Moses wasn’t on any of her official lists.
“I watched Martin Sheen grow up and all his kids,” McIntyre said. “It’s a real privilege to get a little sight of him.”
Cries of “Rolling!” and “Action!” incited Janney and other actors in business suits to walk along Seventh Street in front of the presidential limo parked amid the debris. A wind machine blowing from across the street tousled their hair.
Hill occasionally walked back and forth talking on a cellular telephone — not for the camera.
A number of police officers watched, but it wasn’t clear which ones were real and which were actors. The ones wearing state trooper hats definitely were actors playing Oklahoma officers because no LAPD officer would ever don one of them.
The tornado show has not been given an official air date, the spokeswoman said. Although some onlookers said they heard shooting would continue for a couple more days, the publicist said she believed it was to finish up Monday night.
Some spectators planned to stay right to the end.
“I wish that they’d let us get (Sheen’s) autograph,” said Libby Strouthard, who is from Florida and enjoyed watching the Hollywood scene in San Pedro. “They won’t even let us take pictures.”
Publish Date:September 30, 2003
Posted by Jo at September 30, 2003 04:18 PM