Earthquake (Universal Studios)

Airbrushed Acrylic on Illustration Board

The King Kong attraction really paved the way for Earthquake, which was another sound stage set that the tram on the Universal Studios Studio Backlot Tour would drive into. Upon entering, you would find yourself underground in a subway station, and within a moment, the ground would shake, simulating an 8.3 magnitude earthquake, causing the incoming subway train to derail, the ceiling above would come crashing down, which was just below a city surface street, and a semi-truck with a tankful of gasoline would come sliding down into the scene, catching on fire and exploding. Floodwaters would rush into the sound stage, and the tram, of course, would escape just in time.

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About the Art...

Dad did a whole lot of work for Universal Studios in the 80's and 90's, which meant he had to go there quite a bit to take reference shots. What that also meant was that he often needed models. That's where we came in.  We would get to go behind the scenes of various studios and productions, and those days usually ended with a free day at Universal.  I always loved the Backlot Tour and never grew tired of it, and so I was always so happy when we got to do that.

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For this job, my friend from school, Sammy, got to join me to act out the scenes for reference before we spent the rest of the day at the theme park. On the far left is Randy Pate, Dad's longtime rep and a fantastic guy who sadly passed away many years ago. I'll always have fond memories of Randy as he came by many, many times over the years.  Kacey is seated right next to him.

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