The Flying Deuces

The Iverson family ranch, in the Simi Hills on Santa Susana Pass above Chatsworth, California, first allowed for a movie to be shot on their property in 1912, which was very likely a western called The Squaw Man. This began a long association of the ranch with Hollywood. Buster Keaton's Three Ages,... The Flying Deuces, The Fighting Seabees and Lives of a Bengal Lancer are just a few of the productions that filmed here. The rocky terrain and narrow, winding roads frequently turned up in Republic serials of the 1940s. By 1962, the ownership of the ranch was divided, with Joe Iverson, an African safari hunter married to Eva Iverson, owning the lower portion of the ranch and Aaron Iverson, a farmer married to Bessie Iverson, owning the upper part. The long running TV Western The Virginian filmed on location during these years. In 1966, the State of California began construction on the Simi Valley Freeway which cut the Iverson ranch in half. This freeway ended the use of the ranch as a viable movie location because of the high sound levels caused by traffic. In 1982, Joe Iverson sold the lower Iverson ranch to Robert G. Sherman, who almost immediately began subdividing the property. The upper Iverson is also no longer open to the public, as it is now a gated community. The location of the ranch was in the northwest corner of Chatsworth, California and was roughly where Topanga Canyon Boulevard currently exits from the 118.
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