“RoboCop 2” will go down in film history as no more than a cursory note regarding misguided sequels. Still, the 1990 film stands out in one way: it united Houston in the efforts to attract Hollywood productions.

The film resulted in cooperation between the city and various businesses, including the Theater District, located in a downtown partially depressed after the oil-boom bust of the late 1980s.

“In 1989, downtown was different; there was not much activity after workdays, much less the weekend,” says Rick Ferguson, current executive director of the Houston Film Commission who then was a location coordinator.

Ferguson initially guided producers Jon Davison and Patrick Crowley, along with director Irvin Kershner, in search of location in July 1989, with the film set to shoot that October on a 76-day schedule.

Like its predecessor, “RoboCop,” which was shot partially in Dallas, “RoboCop 2” depicts a futuristic, dystopian Detroit beset with criminals that need to be thwarted by the man-machine known as RoboCop, played by Peter Weller. In this world, a highly addictive drug called “nuke” is the drug of choice and its manufacture is overseen by the evil Cain, played by Tom Noonan.

Houston boulevards were reimagined as dark streets painted with DayGlo graffiti. Abandoned factories and hospitals were converted to drug labs and gang hideouts.

Ferguson recalls showing the producers Jefferson Davis Hospital, which had recently been closed. In the 19th century, the land beneath was a municipal cemetery. The abandoned structure on Allen Parkway, which some of the people we spoke to called “spooky,” was converted to the film’s nuke laboratory and police station offices.

“I had driven into the parking lot from the front, and they didn’t like the look and we went to the next place,” says Ferguson, who knew it was a good location. “After a day of driving around Houston, I told them I had another place in mind, and I approached the hospital from the rear. Then they loved it.”

The anecdote fits in with why producers chose Houston over other cities in the first place. “Other than the extensive cooperation from Houston, much of the decision was location based. The director was totally sold on the look of the Wortham, Alley Theatre and the George R. Brown Convention Center,” says Ferguson. “At that time, downtown Houston was not the thriving place at night and on the weekend that it is today. It allowed for a great deal of flexibility in accommodating the production. During that time, there were numerous industrial areas that were in decay and offered the types of visuals they were looking for.”

Theatergoers hit the deck

One of the first locations to be shot was outside both the Wortham and the Alley Theatre at the corner of Smith Street and Texas Avenue. The company would shoot from dusk until dawn for two weeks.

“RoboCop 2,” with an estimated budget of $35 million, was “the biggest thing shot in Houston at that point,” says location manager Craig Busch.

The Alley was in the middle of performances of “Measure for Measure,” and Busch would call the stage manager to find out when the play had lowered its final curtain in order to relate to assistant directors that they could start filming loud scenes with guns and explosions.

Teresa Forrester Gladden, who worked at the Alley at the time as public relations manager, remembers leaving the play one night. “A few of us were in the parking garage when we heard what sounded like gun shots, and we all hit the concrete!,” she recalls. “Once we drove out and saw the blocked off street, we realized it was part of the filming.”

Filming downtown brought other issues for scenes with gunfire and explosions. “The tall buildings and narrow streets with hard surfaces created pingpong wall-to-wall concussions,” says John Sheeren who was a camera operator. “Car alarms went off for several blocks.”

John Troncale was a local hire as a production assistant on the crew. One of his duties was walking out the tall “RoboCop 2” cardboard mock-up that was placed in the shot so the crew and actors would know where to look.

“We would shoot around the main unit, which meant waiting around a long time,” says Troncale. “After I wrapped my three weeks on that crew, the production coordinator offered me another job being Weller’s assistant. I regretfully turned it down because I thought I was going to get another job paying more on a commercial.”

“Weller would go way up in the Wortham and practice (his) trumpet,” Troncale recalls.

But that was time well spent, as the day after the world premiere in Houston, Weller appeared on “The Tonight Show” playing his horn in Doc Severinsen’s house band.

Heart of sugar glass

Brandon Smith, who played a thief, recalls how a scene filmed on Prairie Street between Travis and Main that takes seconds to transpire on screen, required multiple days to shoot.

In the sequence, a police car blows up and spins in the air, landing on its tires. Only according to Smith: “First it landed on its back, then it landed on its left side. It took hours for them to reset each scene. On the third try, it flipped and landed on the right side.”

The fourth attempt resulted in a smooth transition where the car landed perfectly.

After each night of shooting, the art department would sweep up the sidewalk strewn with broken glass, or sugar glass in the parlance of the profession. The following morning, while dressing the set, the art department would liberally apply the sugar glass on the sidewalks.

“We came out with our arms loaded with guns, but then I slipped on the glass because it was like stepping onto ball bearings,” says Smith, who fell and superficially injured his knee. On a union film if an actor scratches his knuckle or gets bit by a mosquito there’s the possibility the set will shut down.

“I didn’t want to be that guy,” says Smith, “So the stunt men made a wall in front of me while they got me back onto my feet.”

River Oaks premiere

The premiere was held at the River Oaks Theatre on June 20, 1990. There were two screenings, with tickets priced at $100. Red carpet graced the outside sidewalk and across the street was a VIP tent that welcomed local celebrities. The money raised went to The Orange Show and the Citizens Environmental Coalition.

Forrester,who had worked at the Alley during filming,was now working for a firm handling publicity for the premiere. “I wore a silver-gray jumpsuit with a thick silver metal belt and big cuff bracelets, and several of the guests in the tent commented I was definitely dressed robo chic,” she says.

Weller brought his mother to Houston for the premiere. At an interview earlier that day, I spoke to Weller and Kershner for a local weekly paper. “He’s a sad cat, really. This second film shows a more brutal version of science,” said Weller. “They ripped this guy’s life out of him. He’s a gentle beast.”

In the end, from the city’s point of view, all the make-believe death and destruction was worth it. Says Ferguson, “RoboCop 2” pumped $8,106,853 into the local economy.”