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Originally Posted by CheriC
ok here's one for you... Someone told me that Rotonda was the location used for a celebrity game show back in the 70's... where exactly was it filmed? Supposebly Ed McMahon owned a house there as well?
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CheriC
I Remember Ed McMahon as the spokesman for Rotunda but I don't Remember the game show. As you might know Rotunda's canal dredging never made it to Placida before the January 1979 Dead line. Therefore the canals are land locked. The canals were planned to pass under 775 in Placida where the present day Fixed Bridge near the Marina is.
In the 1960's -early 1970's Rotunda brought in large Cabin Cruisers for the canals and Ed McMahon stood in front of them pitching land sales of a sea access Rotunda. McMahon actually had a house in Rotunda but lived on Uppesa Island which had a airport as did Gasprilla Island at one time. Property values sky rocketed on those Islands. The Airports had homes build on them. Mark Fuchs (sp) of Boca Grande took up the slack with his float plane. He still provides service for those island home owners like Ed McMahon.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr lived in the Condos just north of the Boca Grande Bridge and Lucile Ball had a estate on the Northern most point of Manasota Key. There are several celebrity living in that area but I will not give their names because they are still alive.
The Boca Grande Bridge is the only privately owned Toll bridge in Florida and was open in about 1958. It was finished before then but had Right way issues that had to be worked out first. Before then The Ferry service left from south of the old RR bridge and landed on 39 St on the island. There should be a Street sign still there.
