After the release of the 1995 movie “Clueless” and certain other movies such as “A Night at the Roxbury”, it is likely a possibility that you might have heard of the Pismo Beach Disaster. A few weeks back when I was watching Clueless again as an adult, I was curious to know about the history of the disaster and what happened thereafter. Having gathered the information, I came here to share it with you all!
What is Pismo Beach?
Pismo Beach is a tiny central coast seaside town located in south San Luis Obispo County and is mostly seen in different movies and TV shows. The prime reason for its appearance in movies and shows is the mystery and the historical past that it holds.
The place is loaded with Tar, which is used by the natives of the place to waterproof their canoes. Since Pismo Beach has an abundance of Tar, it has been named accordingly. The name Pismo has been derived from the Chumash word “pismu” which means “Tar”.
Adding onto this, Pismo has a Monarch Butterfly Groove that is known to provide shelter to more than thousands of monarch butterflies that migrate every year. Pismo already has a Pismo Preserve that includes 10 miles of trails wherein bike riders and horse riders can have fun effortlessly.
Why California’s Pismo Beach Is Mentioned In So Many Movies?
Pismo Beach has an underlying mystery to its name that ends up making it an extremely captivating place for screenwriters to mention in their movies and TV shows. Let us discuss the movies and TV shows that gave Pismo Beach its name and fame.
Bugs Bunny (1957)
The first appearance of Pismo Beach on television was made long back in 1957 in a Hollywood cartoon “Bugs Bunny. Pismo Beach gained its due importance after the release of the television cartoon “Bugs Bunny” in 1957.
As per Mayor Ed Waage, the cartoon depicted the sudden emergence of the bug bunny from a tunnel to a place that he claimed to be Pismo Beach. The place had “clams” that the bunny could eat. The sudden appearance of Pismo Beach is still a mystery.
Dragnet 1966
Further, in 1966 another television movie “Dragnet 1966” was released in which the same clams from Pismo beach were known to cure an unhealed ailment of a police officer named Bill Gannon. The role of Bill Gannon was performed by Harry Morgan.
The movie is all about Bill Gannon, a policeman who had ulcers and had lost multiple teeth so he retired and decided to move to Pismo Beach. On the beach, the policeman was cured by the clams and it took him eight months and three weeks after which he rejoined the force and served his duty.
Clueless (1995)
Pismo Beach got its next upheaval in the 1995 movie Clueless whose writer and director Amy Heckerling says that she picked Pismo Beach to portray and show the growth of the main character of the film “Cher”.
Her part was played by Alicia Silverstone and the director wanted to keep the movie light and easy going so she chose Pismo Beach as the most suitable place for the shoot of her movie. She just needed a name of a place to go with.
A Night at the Roxbury and The Big Lebowski (1998)
After the movie “Clueless” was a success, Pismo Beach was again brought to notice by the screenwriters in two other films, “A Night at the Roxbury” and “The Big Lebowski” in the year 1998.
Here, the protagonist Donny was a man who loved to be outdoors and explore. He is seen surfing on the beaches of Southern California, such as La Jolla and Leo Carrillo, also including Pismo.
Pismo Beach’s Appearance in TV Shows
Not only is the fame and appearance of Pismo Beach restricted to movies, but the beach has also gathered a lot of importance from television show directors as well. In shows like “Robot Chicken,” “Ray Donovan” and “Futurama,” “Raging Bender,” you can easily get to see Pismo Beach.
In fact, in Raging Bender, the main character was introduced as “the gizmo from Pismo!” Thus, the mention of Pismo Beach continues to be there in several movies and television shows of the past. Wikipedia also claims the appearance of Pismo Beach in other cartoon shows thereafter. However, there is no genuine evidence for the same.
About Pismo Clams
Apart from the role of Pismo Clams in the movies and TV shows, it is another mystery that Pismo Beach has enough clams to be called the “Clam Capital of the World”. The Pismo Clams were so much in number during the 1950s that any visitor on Pismo Beach at that time could easily find one simply by digging his or her hand into the sand.
Not only this, even the hardware stores in the Pismo region had shoves and other tools to dig Pismo Clams since the 1940s. However, with the due passage of time, the population of the Pismo Clams declined, and suddenly the bigger clams disappeared which is again mystical. Although clam digging on Pismo Beach is legal at present, the size of the clam should be more than 4.5 inches.
How has Fame Affected Pismo Beach?
Even though the tiny coastal town has been seen in several television shows and movies, the beauty and significance of the place have yet not been affected after all the fame. The town is still a captivating tourist destination with a super-appealing Hearst Castle where Hearst’s guests stopped by to admire the beauty of the castle. Pismo experiences new tourists every year and it is still a support system for the Monarch butterflies.
CONCLUSION
The significance and importance of Pismo Beach lie in the mystery that has been created out of this place after the release of the television cartoon “Bugs Bunny” because of the sudden emergence of the bunny at Pismo Beach. Since then, the beach and the place continue to be appealing places for screenwriters to shoot or film their movies or television show.