Mack & Mabel). Coy Watson, Jr., who grew up in Edendale in its heyday, recalls: <blockquote> Life in Edendale was exciting. Sennett needed to produce a 12 to 15 minute long two-reel comedy every week. These were the original slapstick, belly-laugh-a-minute flickers. They made the world laugh as the dignified were made to look ridiculous. The best-dressed folks got hit in the face with the biggest pies. Fat ladies sat down on break-away chairs or fell on the funniest, littlest guy on the set. Kids watched them shoot the first fast-moving chases with horses and wagons, automobiles, fire engines, bicycles and baby buggies running wild all over Edendale and into Echo Park Lake. The Keystone Cops rode in their police patrol wagon skidding on the soaped streets. Dressed in ill-fitting New York policemen's uniforms, they hit fruit stands, popcorn wagons, telephone poles and chicken coops. They took pratfalls and lifted their knees high as they ran and took corners on one foot, waving their billy clubs over their heads. They were always called to restore law and order to some impossible, funny scene hurriedly created by the wit of Hollywood's comedy gagmen. The director had the story line in mind, but the gags came from everywhere as the shooting progressed. When the crew learned the themes of the story, each one was encouraged to come up with a funny thought or idea that might suggest an additional gag to help the picture get another laugh. Each idea gave birth to another. Those early comedy idea men set the formula for the way movies, radio and television comedy would be written for many years. Edendale became one great big background set for comedy. Early film makers didn't build street sets. To save money, they used the actual stores, shop buildings and neighborhood homes.</p></blockquote> A 1917 article in The Moving Picture World described the Keystone Edendale studio thus: When Keystone got going its rise was rapid. Today [1917] the open air stages of the Keystone Film Company cover . In addition to this are buildings of wood, brick and concrete, housing all the industries to be found in the average city of several thousand population, including a five-story planing mill and restaurant. Another feature of the Mack Sennett Keystone studios is the big open air plunge, which is electrically heated. When not in use for pictures it is at the disposal of