Kennywood - Kennywood in The Media

Kennywood in The Media

Kennywood's world renowned reputation and nation-wide popularity has led to its mention and appearance in many forms of media including TV shows, movies, books, records, and has even warranted a reason to film a documentary about the park's history.

Television

• Kennywood was mentioned in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation entitled "Turn of the Screws", which dealt with a Las Vegas roller coaster derailment. CSI Supervisor Gil Grissom, who is a roller coaster enthusiast, tells the park engineer that he holds the marathon riding record on the Steel Phantom in Kennywood Park, Pennsylvania.
• Kennywood was also mentioned on an episode of Without a Trace. They showed the park, but the name of it was not the same. It had the famous Steel Phantom in the park also.
• After the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL in 2006, Steelers safety Mike Logan, a native of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, near Kennywood, made a humorous riff on the "I'm going to Disney World!" advertising campaign usually associated with the Super Bowl, saying, "Forget Disney World, I want them to open up Kennywood!"
• Singer/Actor Micky Dolenz, former drummer for The Monkees, often fondly tells audiences at his live shows that Kennywood was the location of his first ever public appearance. He appeared at Kennywood with his elephant in the 1950s when he was known as Circus Boy. The television series featured Micky as Corky, a boy who grows up on the road in a circus.
• A scene of Kennywood can be seen in the Nickelodeon TV program Zoey 101 (ep. 62: "Roller Coaster") with a sign reading "Spine Twister" on the lift hill of the Phantom's Revenge.

Movies

• In the 1993 film Striking Distance, a poster for Kennywood's Fraternal Order of Police picnic day is visible inside a Pittsburgh Police station.
• Footage of Kennywood's Musik Express was shown in the beginning of the 1994 film Only You. The Wonder Wheel was also featured in this movie.
• The 2009 film Adventureland was filmed at Kennywood.

Literature

• Kennywood also served as the inspiration for "Joyland Park" in LJ Smith's teen horror novel The Forbidden Game: The Kill.

Song

• In 1899 Kennywood commissioned the "Kennywood Park Waltz" and it was popular around the turn on the century. Kennywood would sell the sheet music in the park. It was composed by Margaretha Scandroll. It has only been professionally recorded once for the 2007 documentary "Welcome Back Riders". It was performed by the Bulgarian Tosheff Piano Duo.

• In 1987 Rock 'n roll singer Freddy Cannon recorded a slightly remade version of his 1962 hit "Palisades Park" called "Kennywood Park", featuring attractions at Kennywood . The song was released on a limited-edition 45 vinyl pressing and sold as a $1.99 fundraising item for Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital through the now-defunct National Record Mart. The record is considered by some to be a collector's item today.

Documentary

• On September 28, 1988, the local PBS station, WQED, first aired Kennywood Memories, a one-hour documentary about Kennywood. Rick Sebak narrated. Though twenty years later, many of the rides talked about are gone, the historic information about the park is still quite relevant.

• Kennywood was featured in the 2007 documentary "Welcome Back Riders".