Roddy McDowall's Rose Garden at MPTF Retirement Home
Contributed by Lori
MPTF, the Motion Picture & Television Fund, is
a comprehensive service
organization that provides healthcare, services, and retirement living for film
and TV professionals. The MPTF Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills, CA, is
where notable residents such as John Chambers and Roddy McDowall's sister,
Virginia, lived the last years of their lives.
It's also the home
of the Roddy McDowall Memorial Rose Garden, which includes the statue of Caesar
featured in the closing shots of Battle for the Planet of the Apes. The
statue was from Roddy's personal garden, and he donated it to the MPTF before
his death.
In addition to the statue, Roddy donated the gallery photos that feature some
of his celebrity friends. They are displayed in the Saban Center for Health
and Wellness, which is located adjacent to the garden.
Roddy
died on October 3, 1998.
The Roddy McDowall Rose Garden was dedicated on October 9, 2001, three years after Roddy's
death. The dedication took place at the MPTF 80th Anniversary gala event.
Videos and photos from the event can be found
on the MPTF website.
The Caesar statue is the actual statue shown in Battle. After it was
donated to the MPTF, the fund hired ApeMania to restore it for display. You can
read about that on the ApeMania
website.
On Saturday, September 28, 2019, the center held its first-ever MPTF Open House
in a fundraising effort. Lori attended the open house and took the wonderful
photos and included an excerpt of their MPTF video, which you can see below.
