PORT TOWNSEND — The Key City became a part of celluloid history in 1981 when Hollywood rolled into town, then rolled the cameras.
After two months of extensive filming — May to early July — at Fort Worden State Park and key Port Townsend locations, “An Officer and a Gentleman” was born.
Port Townsend’s visual, small-town charms were captured in the film directed by Taylor Hackford.
The blockbuster romance starring then-up-and-coming Hollywood actors Richard Gere and Debra Winger won Oscars in 1983 for best supporting actor, Louis Gossett Jr., and best song, “Up Where We Belong,” by Joe Cocker, joined in a duet with Jennifer Warren.
Gossett played the tough Marine drill Sgt. Emil Foley in his award-winning performance.
At least 10 scenes were filmed at Fort Worden and at least as many more at different locations around Port Townsend.
The movie was filmed at Fort Worden because U.S. Navy officials thought the script was too trashy, according to information provided by the Jefferson County Historical Society Museum’s “Port Townsend Goes Hollywood” exhibit, now on display at the museum at 540 Water St.
It’s a good place to start a tour of the locations of scenes in the movie.
$1 million in economy
The Navy’s loss was Port Townsend’s gain. The film crew pumped nearly $1 million into the Jefferson County economy over two months in 1981.
Off-duty sailors and Marines from Whidbey Naval Air Station were allowed to ride the ferry across Admiralty Inlet to take jobs as extras in the movie.
Manresa Castle, the landmark Port Townsend hotel, became Paramount Studio’s headquarters during the filming, and offices were also rented in the red brick Building 16 on Officer’s Row at Fort Worden.
Film crew members competed with Rhododendron Festival visitors for the city’s remaining accommodations.
Set at fictional Fort Ranier (sic), “An Officer and a Gentleman” portrays many of Port Townsend’s quaint scenes like a postcard, with much of the action shot at Fort Worden locations.
Scenes at the state park were filmed at the Parade Grounds, Fort Worden Beach, military batteries, and at the Fort Worden USO Club, where Gere and Winger’s characters meet.
A map and more information about where to see Port Townsend locations of the filming appear in the Friday/Saturday edition.