Ever since I saw the “Silver Platters” episode of The Brady Bunch about 25 years ago and watched Marcia, Greg and the gang do their “Keep On Groovin'” dance, I was absolutely hooked on the show! I still find myself getting sucked into episodes every now and then if I happen to catch them on TBS. So when I first moved to LA, I ran right out and stalked The Brady Bunch house in Studio City. This was long before my boyfriend was around, so I dragged my poor mom (not at all a Brady fan) to this location.
The house still looks straight out of 1960 and I half expected to see Alice waving from the doorway when I drove up! The only real differences between the Studio City house and the house seen in TV Land are a fence that has been built around the perimiter and the obvious lack of a second story window. The fence, according to my fave Hollywood tour book, was built to change the appearance of the home and deter stalkers. Even 35 plus years later fans and tour buses still stalk the house daily! The missing second story window never actually existed on the real house – it was installed by producers to make the split level home appear to have two stories. Apparently, location scouts chose to use the Studio City house long after the sets – which depicted a two story home – had already been built. The producers propped up a fake window on the real house and, voila! – The Brady Bunch house was born. Major Brady fans might be interested in this article which tells the complete history of the home.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The Brady house is located at 11222 Dilling Street in Studio City. Just a couple of blocks away, at 11604 Dilling, is the former home of Robert Blake. This is the home he lived in with Bonnie Lee Bakley. The restaurant the two dined at the night of her murder, Vitello’s, is also in the same neighborhood, at 4349 Tujunga. And, if you haven’t yet, I really must recommend reading Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg – it is FABULOUS! : )
I was at the house a couple of days ago.
It is a nice house in a nice neighborhood.
It still looks the same as it did in the Brady Bunch except for a couple of small changes.
Thanks for sharing this.
George Vreeland Hill
With my disability it’s tough to get around, but I promised myself I’d head north from Oceanside, California, to Los Angeles to visit The Brady Bunch house in Studio City as I’ve never seen the actual property’s buildings there. Question: Do some of the cast members visit the house these days?
First, I want to say you are indeed a lovely lady! Puns aside, I share with you the same affection for the Brady Bunch- and the house! Every time I’m in L.A visiting friends and family, I HAVE to make a pilgrimage to the Dilling Street house. And, of course, every time I see the house on TV I shout: “I WAS THERE!!!!!!” I want to share my flickr page with you, because it features CAD renderings of the set, as well as the Dilling st. house. For the actual house, I did a little studying, as well as some foot work, and came up with some composites for what the actual interior probably looks like. Anyway, it’s corny, but it’s been real fun. In the last several years the renderings have been online, I’ve gotten to speak with dozens of fans of the show who, like me, are fans of the house as well. Have a look, and let me know what you think!
Blessings,
Scott
Here’s a story. A true story. In 1984 at the age of 19 while living in the San Fernando valley, I read somewhere that Mike Lookingland grew up there. So I figured that with a surname as unusual as Lookinland, a check of directory assistance would possibly reveal the actual actor….if not a close relative of the actor. And sure enough a Lookinland was listed. I called the number and the nice lady answered and said she was his mother. I lied and told her that I went to school with him. Surprisingly she actually believed me and gave me his phone number which was somewhere in Utah if I’m not mistaken. May have been Oklahoma but I’m sure it was Utah. I called his number and he answered. I couldn’t believe I was about to speak to Bobby Brady lol. I wanted to be original and not like a typical boring fan; because I wanted to talk to Bobby Brady for as long as I could…. So as soon as he said hello I yelled loudly into the phone: “Peter the doorknob’s busted”!..just the way he did in a Brady episode when he was trapped in a closet. He said “what”?..so I yelled it again: “Peter the doorknob’s busted”! He said ” what are you talking about.,. And who is this”? I I responded “don’t u remember when Peter pushed you in the closet and closed the door on you and the handle broke off and you couldn’t get out”? It must have jogged his memory cause he responded with a slightly exasperated sigh: ” oh THAT’S so old”! We talked for about 15-20 mins …he was nice and friendly. I asked him if he knew where the Brady bunch house was located. He said that he didn’t think it actually existed…that it was a facade on a studio lot somewhere. That disappointed me because I always believed it was a real property.. In 1984 there was no internet and the majority of Brady bunch fans had no idea where the house was located So I got the bright idea to call up a realtor. I gave the realtor a false story about my father being wealthy and wanting to buy the house for me if it was for sale . After a week or so she told me that she had contacted people at Paramount studios (or whatever studio produced it) and most of the people she talked to there told her that the house didn’t actually exist. That it was a facade on a studio lot somewhere. But thankfully the realtor didn’t give up and one day she called me and said she had found the house and even talked to the owner about selling it. The owner said that she loved the house and wouldn’t part with it for less than a million dollars. She gave me the address of the house and when I found it I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was. It looked exactly the same as it did on television. ..except in person you cannot see the hills behind the house. Apparently the shot of the house was taken on some sort of lift.