Goonies Day All Quiet in Astoria, Cannon Beach; Yet Still Ways to Celebrate on Oregon Coast

Published 06/08/22 at 1:05 AM PST
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Astoria, Oregon) – This time around, there was no fanfare, no star-studded celebrations, no makeshift fan convention with people yelling “Goonies Never Say Die!” Goonies Day, honoring the 1985 movie that became a massive cult hit worldwide, had typically been a big deal in the north Oregon coast town of Astoria. Granted, the big shindigs were always held in five-year increments anyway. Still, something was usually done in some way or another no matter the year, held in and around June 7 – known as Goonies Day. (Photo above: a filming site of the movie, Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Yesterday (June 7), marked the 37th anniversary of the kooky flick's release. It starred future big names like Corey Feldman, Sean Astin and Josh Brolin (who recently put in a remarkable performance in the series Outer Range), and Robert Davi (later known for a nemesis in Stargate: Atlantis). It marked the first time Cyndi Lauper was in a movie, it helped cement director Richard Donner's career and it was another feather in the cap for Steven Spielberg.

Goonies Day in Astoria finally did say “die,” at least for now. In 2020, the big event was canceled due to COVID, turned into a virtual event, and in 2021 the Astoria Chamber of Commerce announced it would retire the shindig. However, earlier this year the chamber's Regina Wilkie told Oregon Coast Beach Connection the reins on any Goonies Day happenings have been passed on to the Clatsop County Historical Society and the Oregon Film Museum, so all hope is not lost for the future.

Meanwhile, the celebration of The Goonies went on around the country with individuals whooping it up over the film's influential existence.

On the Oregon coast, honoring the movie is more spread out as a year-round thing, with the chamber and other local organizations doing all they can to promote the various Goonies filming sites around the area, which include Cannon Beach. Signage points out these spots all over both towns. You can get your own guided tour here.

Filming the movie in '84, courtesy Oregon Film Museum

You can still celebrate the movie in your own way just by coming to the north Oregon coast on any day and dropping in on the Oregon Film Trail.

All this Goonies talk leads to some interesting finds Oregon Coast Beach Connection has made over the decades, with one being a rather exclusive discovery for awhile.

The Fratelli's Band Connected To The Movie. For a good few years, this was unknown. In fact, local experts didn't think that the Scottish neo-blues indie band The Fratelli's were named after the baddies in The Goonies. However, Oregon Coast Beach Connection contacted the band's tour booking agent Tony McGill back in 2010, who worked with The Fratelli's until their break-up that year (they've since reunited).

Via email the discovery was made:

The Fratelli's hideout above Cannon Beach, courtesy Oregon Film Museum

“Yes, they got the name from the Fratelli family in ‘The Goonies,’ “ McGill said. “You may have read various stories about them being brothers, using the surname of one member of the band etc, etc. But the truth is they’d never met each other before they placed ads in a shop window looking for band members, and they decided to take their name from the film and adopt it as their surnames (in a ‘Ramones’ styleee!).”

Other Funky Goonies Facts

Goonies Rock in Cannon Beach was not actually used in the movie in the keyhole scene (which actually happened in northern California). But the name has stuck anyway for whatever reason. SEE MORE ABOUT GOONIES ROCK

The Fratelli's hideout at Ecola State Park was a specially-built facade and fake building. Initially, Oregon State Parks fought the permits for this construct, and it almost did not happen. History would be different.

Filming took place in '84, and the studios gave the movie only seven weeks to prep for filming. Normally, movies get seven months to prepare for that. However, studio bigwigs had already booked the theaters for the summer of '85, which meant they had to begin shooting earlier than usual. It was an intense pressure for those behind the scenes.

Actor Robert Davi (one of the Fratelli family) was born in Astoria – Astoria, New York, that is. Both towns are named after members of the same wealthy industrialist family.

In the '80s, Oregon's Department of Economic Development had a large hand in promoting the state to Hollywood filmmakers. The Goonies was originally supposed to be set on the east coast, but Oregon officials convinced producers to make it here. MORE Filming The Goonies on N. Oregon Coast: at Astoria, Cannon Beach

Afterwards, filmmakers were taken with the state, partially because California towns had become rather greedy: they demanded money for productions to take place there. Oregonians did not. Hotels in Astoria - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours

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Goonies Rock, Cannon Beach

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