The 90-year-old RMS Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach, remains a glamorous floating time capsule, enchanting visitors with its Hollywood history and period charm.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Docked in Long Beach, a 90-year-old ocean liner no longer goes anywhere — but it still has a way of taking people just about everywhere.
The RMS Queen Mary, once known as one of the fastest and most glamorous ways to cross the Atlantic, is now a floating time capsule filled with Hollywood history.
First Officer Danny Rangel said the ship drew “celebrities, royalties, dignitaries… everybody from Winston Churchill to JFK… Clark Gable, Cary Grant.”
Back in its heyday, Rangel said, the Queen Mary was not just transportation. It was a destination.
“When I say you rubbed elbows with the stars, you truly did,” Rangel said.
Passengers crossed the ocean in style, surrounded by ballrooms and lounge spaces that could feel like a movie set.
“They used to put a blank sheet in your menu so that if you met a celebrity, you could get an autograph,” Ranegel said.
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Over time, the ship actually became a movie set.
The Queen Mary has appeared in dozens of TV shows and films, including the 1972 classic The Poseidon Adventure and the Robert Redford baseball movie The Natural.
“And what’s interesting about movie magic is Robert Redford is in a ballroom in Long Beach, and then when he exits the space through one of these doors, all of a sudden he’s on Fifth Avenue in New York,” Rangel said.
Older films were not the only productions to use the Queen Mary. Modern productions continue to film there.
“For Being the Ricardo’s, this was Lucille Ball’s office. This was also used in Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a couple of scenes. This is also seen in the TV show Quantum Leap with Scott Bakula,” Rangel said.
Rangel said the ship has a certain magic. One minute, visitors are in Long Beach. The next, they are in Hollywood, 1930s New York or out at sea.
“Yeah, so if you want a period piece, you want something that’s high scale. Or honestly, if you’re going to shoot something out on the ocean, but you don’t want to have to worry about weather or waves or anything like that. Why not come to an iconic vessel that just doesn’t go anywhere anymore?” Rangel asked.
During World War II, the Queen Mary served a different role. Because of her speed, she was used to move troops across the ocean.
“Top traveling speed was 34 knots, which registers around 40 mph. For a ship that’s over 1,000 feet long and weighing 80,000-plus tons, that’s lightning,” Rangel said.
The Queen Mary was moved and permanently docked in Long Beach in 1967, but her legacy is still stealing scenes 90 years later. Current day visitors can experience what past celebrities did by spending a night in one of the ship’s newly remodeled rooms or dine at the same restaurants where A-list actors once ate.
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