Club Obi Wan

www.Baronhats.com

The original thread with this data was lost. Their page has changed in the last week too, but Baron says they made hats for TOD, did Herbert Johnson ever claim to have done the hats from that movie?

Joseph C. Brandstetter

END OF LINE.

Could it be? How could be have not heard of this before....

IJ

I have always heard HJ make the claim for all three movies. I had never heard Barron make this claim until the last month or so, so this was news to me too. Regards. Michaelson

They may have made one or two hats for ToD, like Stetson did under contract, but I am skeptical. Why haven't we heard of Baron hats before? Also, they claim to have made the Crocodile Dundee hat, but they spelled Crocodile wrong.

Peace,
Cliffhanger

Baron hats has been around for a long time. I don't think those posts have been lost in the past vaults, but Rundquest and Sergei first posted about taking Feds to them for rework, and they did an excellent job. I saw one from their shop at the QM summit, so they're no fly by night enterprize...they're legitimate hatmakers, but this claim came out of left field recently. Yet ANOTHER post lost in cyberspace. Regards. Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:...they're legitimate hatmakers, but this claim came out of left field recently.

I didn't mean to bash them or anything, so maybe they can make a very good reproduction Indy fedora. It's still an odd claim though.

Peace,
Cliff

They are well established, and I have been to them several times. Before I knew about COW the current owner mentioned that Baron made hats for Temple of Doom. I never pushed to find out who contacted him or if they were actually in the film.

I think Fedora mentioned that he called them in the old thread, and they said they definately did do the hats for that movie?

I know. Sorry I made it sound like you were. You weren't. What I meant was that they've been around for quite a while...like you, I find it odd that suddenly this claim has surfaced. I thought I read recently that someone was going down there for some hat rework, and would ask? Does anyone remember who that was? Regard.s Michaelson

Right. I made that mistake with Gladhatters (let's not bring that up ), but first their site flash intro said they made THE hats for ToD, now they also say they made the hats for virtually EVERY John Wayne movie? I LOVE the Duke, and something tells me that isn't true. I dunno, perhaps one of us should contact them and ask, since all that was lost in the "Great Post Flood".

Peace,
Cliff

Edit: I just emailed them and asked them flat out if they did indeed make them...we'll find out soon enough.

I don't know if they did TOD or not, but they have alot of signed pictures on their wall of other stars, and once when I was there the son of the an actor who played Zorro in the 50's was having them make a copy of his fathers Zorro hat using photos. So they are pretty connected in Hollywood from what I have seen.

Yep, I was informed by them that they made supplied hat for TOD. And supposedly Mr Swales said that he made hat for Raiders and TLC. I think a few folks got in on the TOD film. Fedora

I thought I read recently that someone was going down there for some hat rework, and would ask? Does anyone remember who that was?

That'd be me, Dr. J, your Man in the Field. I currently have both my PB and Fed at Baron's for blocking, ribbons, etc. I spoke with Mark (the Owner) and he said that they did SOME hats for TOD. He never claimed to make all the hats for the film. He has the workorders as proof and will be posting them on his website. Mark said "Yeah, I think the original hats were from some guy in England or something". He and I agreed the hats that Baron's made could have been used for pick-up shots or something similar. I informed both Mark and the webmaster (who happened to walk in), that the website seemed to imply that they made ALL the hats for ALL the Indy movies. I also told them that the artwork used on the site was inaccurate for TOD. The webmaster said he would change the verbage and the artwork (which they've done).

Baron's is very reputable in these parts. Only, unlike Optimo, Baron's specializes in costuming and theatrical hats. They have made hats for over fifty years for movie actors such as James Cagney and John Wayne. They have handwritten notes for all their customers head sizes (some, VERY famous) and workorders for some of their more notable clients. All of this will be included on their new website under their "Museum" section.

Hopefully, this helps...

Regards,

Dr. J

Dr._J wrote: I spoke with Mark (the Owner) and he said that they did SOME hats for TOD. He never claimed to make all the hats for the film.
Dr. J

He said they made hats for the film, but did they make Indy's hat? Who knows, maybe they just made hats for extras in the Shanghai scene.
I've been to Barons a few times and it is a nice store. When I get my PB2 back from Joe Jr. (it's currently in to be reworked to fit my long oval head) It's going off to Baron's for a wider ribbon. I saw the ribbon Mattdeckard has on his PB2 and it looks very sharp.
PBG

Thank you Dr. J! That clears the air, as far as I'm concerned. High regards. Michaelson

That's what I was thinking, maybe they did some hats for extras or background characters...they might not necessarily done Indy's. At any rate, where is Baron's located? I live in LA (most of the year) and would love to stop in and have a look!

-John

Removed by author.

Baron California Hats
(818) 563-3025
1619 W Burbank Blvd
Burbank, CA

Mark is the owner.
I never followed up on it when he mentioned they did hats for ToD (a year or so ago) . . . I stop by the shop all the time for ribbon replacement and to get leather sweatbands fixed in my vintage hats, Iwas never much of a fan of their custom hats.

My question would be . . . did the person or persons wearing the hats get fitted in the shop, or were they just an order put in by a costumer working on the movie. I want to know if they were in the movie.

JohnNdy wrote:At any rate, where is Baron's located? I live in LA (most of the year) and would love to stop in and have a look!

-John

Baron's is located in Burbank.
PBG

This is the reason that fans need to keep cool. I remember when the Barron’s site and their claims were originally posted about months ago and some fans had a fit over it. Thanks should go to Dr. J for helping to expose one more piece of the puzzle. Cheers

Mattdeckard wrote:Baron California Hats
(818) 563-3025
1619 W Burbank Blvd
Burbank, CA

I was never much of a fan of their custom hats.

I would have agreed with you until recently. I saw one of their $400 all beaver custom Indy hats at the Queen Marry and it was super nice (and I mean super). I wouldn't get one of their lower quality hats though. Cheers

You're right Rundquist, we need to keep cooler heads. This is the email I received today:

Dear Rex:
Thank you for your question. Yes we do make replicas inspired by the hats we designed for "Doom", and hundreds of other movies and TV shows. And we did indeed make the hats for the Indiana Jones sequel "Doom". As for cost and all, please check back at our website: www.baronhats.com in the next three to four weeks, when we will have our new site up and operating, and you will be able to order these hats and hundreds of others right on line!

So, I am thinking, like Stetson, they were used for a few shots and maybe for stuntmen. Thanks to Dr. J, as Mark said "the original hats were made by some guy in England". Bingo, that is the answer I was looking for. Thanks once again.

Peace,
Cliffhanger

When Mark said "the original hats were made by some guy in England", he was referring to the Raiders hat.

Ok, my bad.... # . Still, his response cleared it up for me. Thanks again!

Peace,
Cliff

And we did indeed make the hats for the Indiana Jones sequel "Doom".

still leaves me wondering if they were in the movie . . . just my fanatacism showing I guess.

I'll have to see one of their new Beaver felt hats next time I stop by.

http://www.toddscostumes.com/indy/indiana_jones_hat.htm

Here are some shots of A Baron Hat.

Last time I spoke to Mark he said they had hats in Temple of Doom.

END OF LINE.

Hmm...actually not a bad looking hat. Of course, who knows what the felt is like, but the offer of several different colors is appealing. Thanks for the link, Matt.

Peace,
Cliffhanger

One of the nicest Indy hats that I've ever seen was the one that Michael Johns wore at the last Queen Mary outing last May. That one was in the $400 range. It was an awesome lid. Cheers