Category: This and That

Marilyn Monroe’s Catalina House

The most important item on my Catalina Island stalking list was the home where a very young Marilyn Monroe lived with her first husband James Dougherty during the years 1943 to 1944. This was long before Miss Monroe became a Hollywood icon and household name, back when she was just a girl who was known simply as Norma Jeane Baker.  Norma married James in 1942 at the tender ago of 16. Yes, you read that right – 16!!! The family who was taking care of her at the time was moving out of state and rather than take Norma with them, opted to basically marry her off to one of the neighbor boys. After only one short year of marriage, James was shipped off to Catalina Island to begin his basic training with the Merchant Marines. Marilyn moved to Catalina with him and remained on the island for about a year and a half. So, as you can probably imagine, I was absolutely busting at the seams to find her former home – a task that proved to be much easier than I had anticipated.

While waiting at the Catalina Island taxi station yesterday, I happened to notice a flyer for a movie called Hollywood’s Magical Island: Catalina with a picture of Marilyn on it posted on a wall. So, of course, I just had to ask the taxi operator if he knew anything about the movie, which he, sadly, didn’t. So, I said, “Shoot! I was hoping it might have information about where Marilyn’s Catalina house was located.” Well, lo and behold, the cab operator got this funny look on his face and said “I know where her house is – it’s at 310 Metropole Avenue!” I totally thought the guy was pulling my leg, as what would be the odds that the very first person I ask about her house would know its exact location??? Well, I must have some seriously good stalking karma because the guy really did know the correct address. He told me that just about a year ago a Japanese film crew had descended on the island to make a documentary about the starlet and they actually filmed part of it at her house! Turns out the taxi guy knew the location, because it’s located just three blocks up the street from his little taxi stand and he saw the filming!   Honestly, what are the odds????? 🙂

So, of course, I immediately dragged my parents and my fiance right up the street to stalk Marilyn’s former residence. 🙂 Marilyn’s house is an adorable little beach bungalow that looks pretty much exactly like I pictured it would! So darn cute!!!!  The home is actually a duplex, I believe, rather than a single family residence, as there seem to be two separate front doors, as you can see in the above photograph.

But, being the overly-anal person that I am, I just had to ask around town for further verification that the house I had just stalked was definitely Marilyn’s former home. I hate putting information on my blog unless I know with absolutely certainty that that information is correct. And all I had to go on for this one was the word of a random cab operator. So, I wanted further verification. Well, as it turns out there are COUNTLESS stories floating around out there as to where the starlet’s former house is located. While most locals I talked to had no idea that Marilyn had even lived on the island LOL LOL LOL, those few that did had differing stories. I heard everything from “She lived somewhere on Whitley Avenue” to “No, no, no, her house is on Descanso Avenue between Beacon and Third Streets” to “Marilyn Monroe lived here?  Are you sure?”   And that last one came from a guy who WORKS AT THE CATALINA ISLAND MUSEUM! LOL LOL LOL Needless to say I was just a tad bit frustrated over all of the differing theories. I mean, come on people! This is Catalina history! Someone should know where MM lived!!!! Finally, I ended up locating two different books about the history of the island, both of which said Marilyn’s former home was located on Metropole Avenue – just like the cab guy had said! 🙂 So, while I can’t say with absolute certainty that Marilyn Monroe did at one time live at 310 Metropole Avenue on Catalina Island, I am going to go out on a limb here and trust the word of two history books, a local taxi operator, and a Japanese film crew. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marilyn Monroe’s Catalina house is (most likely) located at 310 Metropole Avenue in Avalon.

August 28, 2009
Catalina’s Pavilion Lodge

This morning my family and I traveled to Catalina Island for a little summer vacay. We’ve been planning this trip for quite some time now and, let me tell you, I could not have been more excited to finally arrive!  Ever since my grandmother gave me Robert Wagner’s autobiography, Pieces of My Heart: A Life, for Christmas last year, I have been dying to do some Catalina stalking! : )  For those of you not in the know, actor Robert Wagner and his movie star wife Natalie Wood were vacationing on Catalina Island the night of her mysterious drowning. So, the first item on my stalking agenda? Pavilion Lodge, the hotel where Natalie Wood spent her last night alive.

There has always been a shroud of mystery surrounding Natalie Wood’s death, but according to Robert’s book, the story is as follows. Natalie and Robert were frequent visitors to Catalina Island. The two owned a yacht, named “Splendour” in honor of Natalie’s 1961 movie Splendor in the Grass, and would often sail from Los Angeles to Avalon to spend a few nights on their boat.   On the weekend of November 27th, 1981, Natalie invited Christopher Walken, with whom she was filming the movie Brainstorm, to spend the weekend with her and Robert off the coast of Catalina on their yacht.   Robert was a little uncomfortable with Natalie and Walken’s blooming friendship and was fearful that an affair between the two co-stars might be brewing. Things got a bit heated between the three during their first night together, and, rather than spend the night on the boat with her husband, Natalie had the ship’s captain take her ashore where she booked a room at the Pavilion Lodge.

The following day, Natalie returned to the ship and made up with her husband. And here’s where the mystery comes into play. On the night of November 28, 1981, after a full day and night of drinking (and arguing) with Wagner and Walken, Natalie disappeared from the Splendour. No one knows when or why the actress left the yacht, but early the following morning she was found dead, floating in a cove, drowned at the tender age of 43.   Numerous theories abound as to what happened to Natalie that night. Some think she was pushed overboard by her jealous husband, others guess she accidentally fell off the ship while trying to travel ashore to spend yet another night alone in a Catalina motel room.  The world will perhaps never know the full story, as Robert says that not even he is sure of what happened that night.   And, until Pieces of My Heart was published late last year, neither Walken nor Wagner had ever spoken publicly about Natalie’s death, nor has Wagner ever returned to the island where his wife met her untimely end. Such a sad story!

So, one of my first stops after arriving on Catalina Island this morning was, of course, the Pavilion Lodge, where Natalie spent her final night, the night of November 27, 1981. I was actually shocked to find that the place was still in existence! And it’s a LOT bigger than I had anticipated. While most hotels on the island are fairly small, the Pavilion Lodge property seems to just keep going and going and going. It’s HUGE! It is, however, by no means fancy and I was very surprised that Natalie, one of the biggest movie stars of her day, would have chosen to stay there. But because it is located directly across the street – and within walking distance – from Catalina’s pier, I am guessing it was the first place she happened upon after arriving on the island that night.

And while I would have much preferred to stay at the Pavilion Lodge as it would have made for a much more interesting blog post, sadly, my family opted to book a room elsewhere. LOL  But from what I saw today, the Lodge looks like a very nice place to spend a few nights.  It is located directly across the street from the beach on a large piece of property, with a nice cental lawn area, and a perfect view of the ocean.

And I absolutely fell in love with their retro-fabulous sign. 🙂

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For those who haven’t yet read Pieces of My Heart, I HIGHLY recommend it! Robert really dishes up some good Hollywood dirt in it! So LOVED it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Pavilion Lodge is located at 513 Crescent Avenue in Avalon on Catalina Island.

August 27, 2009
The “Rumor Has It” House

Out of the blue last week, fellow stalker Owen and I became a bit obsessed with finding the white clapboard colonial style home used in the 2005 Jen Aniston movie Rumor Has It. For some extremely odd reason, neither Owen (who is also a HUGE JA fan) nor I had ever tried to locate the house before. I didn’t especially love the movie, though, in spite of the fact that it starred my girl Jen, so that’s probably why I never sought it out. But, last week, when Owen mentioned the movie to me, we both got the exact same thought in our head at the exact same time – “We have GOT to find that house!” LOL And find it, we did! Well, he did, actually!

Even though the movie supposedly takes places in Pasadena and even though the house looks like a very typical Pasadena area home – there’s a white clapboard colonial on practically every corner here – I was convinced that, in typical Hollywood fashion, the house would most likely be located elsewhere.  Because Pasadena stands in for pretty much every city in pretty much every state in pretty much every movie LOL, it seemed only fitting that when a production called for a Pasadena area home, the location scouts would find it in a city other than Pasadena. LOL

So, imagine my surprise when Owen texted me to let me know that he had found the house exactly where the movie said it would be.   While searching the IMDB Rumor Has It message boards he found a thread entitled “White Colonial In Pasadena Used As Movie Set” where a man had written the following entry: “It was quite a shock seeing Rumor Has it while flying back to Boston. I suddenly recognized the home my grandfather built in Pasadena at 717 South Hudson Avenue in 1920 and that I lived in briefly in 1946-47 while my father built a new home near the Annandale golf course. Not often that one sees one’s childhood home used as a movie set — and sees Shirley MacLaine walking out the front door or Kevin Costner arriving.”   So, Owen googled the address and, sure enough, it was the house!!    THANK YOU, IMDB!

So, of course, as soon as I had the address, I immediately ran right out to stalk the house! 🙂   Surprisingly enough, I had actually parked RIGHT in front of the Rumor Has It house just two weeks prior while stalking the Dickie Roberts house, which is ironically located just two doors down!!!!    I felt like such an airhead for not recognizing the house at the time, but, in my defense, it actually looks quite different in person than it did in the movie. The paint color has been changed from white and forest green to more muted tones and, sadly, the house just isn’t as charming in person as it was in Rumor Has It.  Don’t get me wrong, the house is cute, it’s just not AS cute as it was in the movie. But there was also something else that looked quite different to me that I just couldn’t put my finger on – until I got home.

In person, the house seemed much smaller than it did in Rumor Has It and I couldn’t figure out why until I was able to compare screen captures from the movie to the photographs I had just taken. As you can see in the above screen capture, producers actually put large hedges over the real driveway of the home and extended the curb and grass area on the sidewalk in front of the driveway, making the front yard appear much larger than it actually is.

In the scene when Jen Aniston’s father pulls up to the house, he actually parks in the real life home’s neighboring driveway (pictured above)!  LOL Why go to all of that trouble just to give the illusion that the house is larger than it actually is? Why not just film at a bigger house? As I mentioned above there are houses similar to this one on practically every Pasadena street corner.   LOL Ah, the magic of Hollywood!

But even though the house looked quite different in person than it did in the movie, I was still absolutely floored to be stalking it! It was soooo exciting to think that my girl Jen – and Shirley MacLaine and Kevin Costner – had once stood on the very same sidewalk that I was now standing on. 🙂 LOVE IT!

Had to do it! 🙂

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Rumor Has It house is located at 717 South Hudson Avenue in Pasadena, just two houses down from the home used in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

August 10, 2009
Madame Tussauds Hollywood

This past weekend, while out stalking in Hollywood, my fiance and I walked right past the new Madame Tussauds wax museum and I just about had a total meltdown right there on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard! The museum, which was supposed to open to the public on August 1st, was hosting a special preview event when we walked by and was absolutely booming with people!   I’d been awaiting the unveiling of the new Madame Tussauds location ever since hearing the news months ago that one was being built in Hollywood!!!   I had never been to a Madame Tussauds before, but had heard amazing things about the place and was absolutely DYING to visit one. So, I, of course, BEGGED my fiance to let me stalk it!

Well, as you can probably guess, the Grim Cheaper wasn’t too keen on shelling out the $20-a-piece special preview admission fee to gain entrance to the museum, but I took one look at the Marilyn Monroe figure they had posed outside – dressed in the EXACT same outfit she wore to her Hand and Footprint Ceremony back in 1953, no less – and that was it!! I was NOT taking no for an answer! We were GOING to Madame Tussauds!!!! 🙂

As Madame Tussauds themselves are quick to point out, the facility is not so much a museum per se, but, rather, an attraction. At a museum, visitors walk around simply looking at different items. Touching those items is usually a rather big no-no. At Madame Tussauds, however, not only are you encouraged to touch and feel the figurines, but the place is set up so that you can actually interact with them, as well!!!! In the American Idol room, not only can you sing a karaoke song and get judged by Simon Cowell himself, but you can actually sit in the judges booth . . . .

. . . or get interviewed post-song by none other than Ryan Seacrest. 🙂

You can also share a breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn;

take a Psycho-style shower with Alfred Hitchcock directing,

seduce Dustin Hoffman;

have a red carpet interview with Joan Rivers;

re-enact a scene from The Godfather;

strike a pose with Marlene Dietrich,

and sit on Forrest Gump’s bench! Oh, and did I mention that Madame Tussauds also has a myriad of wigs, costumes, and props on hand to enhance your whole experience???

The vast majority of the figures on display in Madame Tussauds’ new 40,000 square foot, $55 million “attraction” are incredibly realistic looking! So realistic looking, in fact, that my fiance was even slightly creeped out by the whole thing!  Each figure takes about six months to contruct at a cost of approximately $300,000.   Madame Tussaud founded her unique wax sculpting technique over 200 years ago in London. She got her start by sculpting political figures of the day and taking them on the road as part of a traveling attraction.  Her first standing museum was established in 1835 at the Baker Street Bazaar, where curiosity seekers paid a sixpence to see figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Sir Walter Scott, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Today there are nine different Madame Tussauds (spelled without an apostrophe) locations stretching all across the globe, from places like Berlin and Shanghai to New York and Las Vegas.   The celebrities themselves pose for Madame Tussauds’ artisans, in a detailed photography and measurement sitting which can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to four hours. Most sittings are done at Merlin Studios in London, but due to the demanding schedules of some of the featured celebrities, artisans have had to take measurements and fittings as far East as Mumbai, India to the Ivy Restaurant in Hollywood. I’m not kidding! Madame Tussauds’ artists use hundreds of measurements and photographs and go to painstaking lengths to ensure that the height, proportion, look, feel, and spirit of each figure is exactly precise. Oftentimes the celebrity will donate their own clothing, jewelry, and even shoes for their counterpart to wear. For those few times when a celebrity does not donate their own outift, exacting replicas are made. So, pretty much every single aspect of every single wax figure displayed at Madame Tussauds is authentic! So cool! You can read more about Madame Tussauds incredible waxing technique here.

My personal favorite figurine of the entire attraction was, of course, my girl Jen, who sadly was one of the least realistic-looking. 🙁

By far, the most realistic looking figurine was that of Miss Britney Spears. Hers was truly unbelievable! I couldn’t take my eyes off of it!

And I was AMAZED at the height of both John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. To give you a frame of reference, I am 5’4″”, which makes these two absolutely GINORMOUS!

Other stars on hand at the attraction include Cameron Diaz,

Carrie Underwood,

Justin Timberlake,

Eddie Murphy,

Robert Redford and Paul Newman,

George Burns and Bob Hope,

Jim Carrey,

Sarah Michelle Geller,

Steven Spielberg – also one of the most realistic looking,

James Dean,

George Clooney,

Zac Efron,

and the subject of my girlhood crush, Leo DiCaprio – sigh!,

who was far too tall for me to kiss! LOL

Ostensibly missing from the attraction was a figurine of the King of Pop, which I found especially odd since I knew he had posed for one in the past as I saw a replica of it on display when I visited the Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions this past April.   When I asked one of the workers about it, she said that because of his recent passing, Madame Tussands is currently in the process of sculpting a brand new tribute statue. 🙂 Thankfully, though, his hand cast – along with those of several other celebrities – was on hand for all of his fans to appreciate.

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Needless to say, I had an absolute BLAST at Madame Tussauds!! I loved every single minute of it! It was just SO MUCH FUN! I’m even pretty sure that my fiance, who could care less about anything having to do with Hollywood, had a good time. 🙂   I really can’t recommend stalking Madame Tussauds enough!!!!!   The attraction also features a sports section – which I, of course, zipped right through without a second glance LOL – for those who aren’t into the whole Hollywood thing.    🙂   Oh, and please accept my apologies for being in pretty much EVERY SINGLE picture featured on this post, but I just couldn’t help myself!!!!! I was like a kid in a candy store and just HAD to pose with ALL of the figures! 🙂

Oh, and there was also a certain celebrity couple on hand that I just had to give a piece of my mind to! 🙂   Felt SO good! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Madame Tussauds is located at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, right next door to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.   Madame Tussauds is open daily from 10am to 8pm. During the summer months, they remain open until 10pm. Tickets are $25 per adult, $18 per student aged 13 to 18, $15 per child between the ages of 7 and 12, and children under the age of 7 are free. You can visit their website here.

July 30, 2009
The Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Special

I know, I know – it was just last week that I promised not to let my blog go on Michael Jackson overload, but I’m sorry, this one was a must-post! 🙂 The other day, while reading one of the many Michael Jackson tribute magazines that have been published since the pop star’s death – and yes, I bought them all 🙂 – I came across an article that just about made me pass out from excitement! The column, which was featured in the July 13th, 2009 issue of People Magazine,  stated that Michael Jackson’s iconic – and now legendary – “Billie Jean” performance from the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special had been filmed at none other than the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Now I have lived in Pasadena for over nine years and until that article came out had absolutely NO idea whatsoever that what is arguably Michael Jackson’s most famous stage performance EVER was filmed right in my own backyard. WHY IN THE HECK IS THIS INFORMATION NOT MORE WIDELY KNOWN????   I mean this is HUGE!! Absolutely HUGE! It was on the Auditorium’s stage on a March night in 1983 that THE most definitive moment of Michael Jackson’s adult career took place – it was here that he introduced the world to his now-infamous signature dance move – the Moonwalk. What an amazing piece of history! If I ran the place, I’d have a freaking 80 foot by 80 foot banner put up telling everyone it was here that Michael Jackson made musical history!   🙂

I can still remember watching that iconic performance with my parents the night it aired on May 16, 1983, almost two months after it was filmed. I was six years old at the time and I can still picture us all sitting in front of the television and my dad telling me that I was about to witness something really extraodinary.   And it was, it truly was! We actually taped the Motown special that night and years later my dad and I were still re-watching it. So much so, in fact, that the VHS tape eventually wore out.  So, we were absolutely floored when my mom found a DVD of the Motown special for sale on Amazon about five years ago and immediately purchased it. I was still living with my parents at the time, and whenever a friend would come to visit my dad would invariably ask “Have you ever seen Michael Jackson’s Motown 25 performance?”   Shockingly, most of my friends had no idea what he was talking about, so my dad would lead them into the TV room and show them Michael’s history making dance. It was absolutely fascinating to watch my friends see this performance for the very first time, their eyes absolutely glued to the TV and filled with wonderment. Pretty soon it got to be a thing at my house – anyone visiting would ask my dad to see the Motown 25 performance and he would happily oblige. It’s fascinating to me that 26 years later that performance still has the ability to awe and inspire. You can read a great article about Michael’s Motown 25 performance written by a man named Christopher Smith who actually witnessed it firsthand here.

Michael was actually nominated for an Emmy Award for his Motown 25 performance, but did not win.  Michael said his real award came the morning after the performance aired when dancing sensation, and his former neighbor, Fred Astaire called him up screaming, saying it was the best performance he had ever seen!  Fred said he had taped Michael’s routine, watched it twice, and was absolutely mesmerized. He also said “Michael, you put them on their *ss! You’re a hell of a mover! You’re a hell of a dancer!”   Love it!

The Pasadena Civic Auditorium, which was built in 1931, has also been featured in the movies 10 and Red Dragon and episodes of Last Comic Standing, Alias, Lie To Me, and American Idol. The auditorium has also hosted countless awards shows, including the 2008 ALMA Awards, numerous People’s Choice Awards, and the Emmy Awards from 1977 to 1997.

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I went to stalk the Auditorium today under the assumption that it is open to the public and was really dissappointed to find out that isn’t the case. 🙁 Because of that, I can’t say that I’d really recommend stalking it. The manager of the place is also a TOTAL jerk, which only added to my dissapointment. 🙁 Nevertheless, it was still very exciting to be standing in front of the very spot where Michael Jackson made musical history just a little over twenty-six years ago!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special took place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, which is located at 300 East Green Street in Pasadena.

July 17, 2009
James’ Beach Restaurant

This past weekend, I dragged my fiance out to stalk a restaurant named James’ Beach that was featured in the 2009 romantic comedy I Love You, Man.    In the movie, Sydney Fife (aka Jason Segal) and Peter Klaven (aka Paul Rudd) have their very first man-date at the Venice Beach area restaurant, which Sydney alleges serves up the “best fish tacos in the world”. So, of course, I just had to try the place out for myself, especially since tacos are pretty much my favorite food!

James’ Beach has actually been at the top of my must-stalk locations list ever since the movie first premiered this past March, but because I rarely make it out to the Venice area, I had yet to visit the place. Until this past weekend, that is. And I have to say that the restaurant was well worth the wait!  Being that I am the pickiest eater known to man and also not a big fan of fish, I opted not to try the restaurant’s world famous fish tacos, but instead ordered up their tofu version. And I am happy to report that the James’ Beach tofu tacos were so good that I couldn’t stop eating them -even after I was far past full! Really, it was pathetic! LOL James’ Beach taco plates are served in a build-it-yourself style and come with black beans, AMAZING guacamole, homemade salsa, and flour tortillas.   And, even though the tofu tacos I ordered were fabulous, looking back now I really wish I had tried the fish tacos, as I think they would have been simply amazing. Oh well, it looks like I’ll just have to stalk the restaurant again! 🙂

The owner of James’ Beach truly could NOT have been nicer to us and answered all of my silly questions about movies that had been filmed at the restaurant and celebrities that had dined there. He told us that while numerous productions have actually been filmed on the premises (including three episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm), none had brought him as much attention as I Love You, Man. At the time of the filming, the owner had no idea that the name of his restaurant would be mentioned in the movie or that Jason Segal would proclaim that his place serves up the world’s best fish tacos. 🙂 So, it was a very pleasant surprise for him when moviegoers started stalking his establishment. 🙂 Pictured above is the restaurant’s plaque commemorating the filming of I Love You, Man.

The movie is also mentioned on the James’ Beach menu. Love it! 🙂

I Love You, Man was filmed on the restaurant’s outdoor patio area. Unfortunately, since the DVD of the movie is not being released until August 11th, I was not able to make any screen captures of the scene which was filmed at James’ Beach.   Ironically enough, though, I was able to get the above pic from a New York newspaper article about I Love You, Man and the author’s quest to find the “world’s best fish tacos” out on the East Coast.   LOL According to the owner, I Love You, Man took two full nights to film, during which time the restaurant had to be closed to the public. When I asked if Paul Rudd and Jason Segal were nice, the owner told me they were both “absolutely wonderful”. 🙂

Besides being a filming location, James’ Beach is also a big time celebrity hot spot. 🙂 Stars like Alfre Woodard, Peter Berg, Muhammad Ali, Meg Ryan, Tea Leoni, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, tap dancing king Gregory Hines, and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas have all been spotted at the restaurant at one time or another.   So, of course, I just had to ask if my girl Jen had ever eaten there. And I was floored to find out that she had!   Not only was a scene from Jen Aniston’s 2006 movie Friends With Money filmed at James’ Beach (pictured above), but my girl also held a premiere party for her 2004 documentary Growing Up Grizzly 2 at the restaurant, with none other than George Clooney in attendance. Growing Up Grizzly 2 is an adorable documentary about the lives of two orphaned grizzly bears named Bart and Honey-Bump who were adopted by a human family. If you haven’t seen it, you definitely should – it’s adorable!

James’ Beach is a SUPER cute little restaurant and I really can’t recommend stalking it enough! The food was FABULOUS, the service was excellent, and the ambiance is just plain fun! It’s the perfect place to grab a bite to eat after spending a day on Venice Beach, which is located just a stone’s throw away from the restaurant.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: James’ Beach is located at 60 North Venice Blvd. in Venice. You can visit the James’ Beach website here.  Its sister restaurants, Canal Club Wood Grill & Sushi Bar (pictured above) – where Jen Aniston has also dined – and Danny’s Venice Beach Bistro & Bar, are also located in Venice, at 2025 Pacific Avenue and 23 Windward Avenue respectively.

July 14, 2009
Vincent Price in Thriller

At the risk of this site dwelling far too excessively on the recent sad passing of pop star Michael Jackson, I just had to write one more blog post about him. Or, rather, about his legendary music video Thriller and one of its main filming locations.

I received an email last night with the above photograph attached from fellow stalker Marlon, who happened to be driving by the Palace Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles and noticed the words “Michael Jackson Starring in Thriller” posted on the marquee. It seems that in honor of MJ’s passing, the historic theatre restored its marquee to how it appeared in the iconic music video that was filmed there just over twenty-six years ago. Well, sort of. What the Palace marquee actually spelled out in the Thriller video were the words “Vincent Price Thriller” – Vincent Price, of course, being the notable horror film actor who lent his voice to the rap portion of Michael’s famous song. Maybe someone over at the Palace should have watched the video before restoring the marquee! Sheesh! You know, if they had me on staff they would have gotten it right. 🙂 Anyway, let me tell you that after seeing Marlon’s photograph I just about died!!! And, even though it was about 11 O’clock at night, I begged my fiance to run me right over there to see the marquee for myself. He, of course, denied that request, so I had to wait until this morning to make the trek out to Downtown Los Angeles.

Apparently, though, another fastidious MJ fan had informed the Palace of their marquee faux-pas, because by the time I got there they had fixed the wording to read “Vincent Price in Thriller”. Now, I don’t mean to be nit-picky or anything, but for the record in the video there was no “in” written on the marquee. It simply stated “Vincent Price Thriller”, but I guess I have to just let that one slide. 🙂 Extraneous “in” or not, I was still SO excited to see that marquee in person! For a filming locations buff and huge MJ fan, seeing the Palace marquee brought back to the way it was when Thriller was filmed was . . . well, a thrill! 🙂 I could not have been more excited! And what an amazing tribute to Michael!

The Los Angeles Theatre, which did not have a cameo in the Thriller video, but is located right across the street from the Palace, also put up a marquee memorial to Michael.

While stalking the Palace, I managed to snap some photographs of its beautiful Florentine Renaissance style entrance. The theatre’s antique ticket booth, which can be seen in the background of Thriller, has sadly since been removed, but you can see some great photographs of it here.

According to fellow stalker and the author of one of my very favorite stalking books, Harry Medved, the loft area of the Palace was used as Christian Bale’s magic workshop in 2006’s The Prestige and as Jeff Bridge’s art studio in 1998’s The Big Lebowski and the theatre’s back door was used as the entrance to Club Silencio in David Lynch’s oddball movie Mullholland Drive. To learn more about the Palace and its nearly one hundred year history, you can check out the post I wrote about it last October here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Palace Theatre is located at 630 South Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles. The theatre is currently closed to the public, but you can certainly stalk its exterior. I am not sure how long the Michael Jackson memorial marquee will be left up, but in this stalker’s opinion it should remain there forever. 🙂

July 10, 2009
The Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica

I don’t know about you all, but for the past few Sunday nights I have been absolutely glued to my television set watching Season 2 of the Ryan Seacrest produced Denise Richards: It’s Complicated.   And while I admit that the girl is an absolute train wreck and that her laugh is like fingernails on a chalkboard, for some incredibly odd reason I just can’t stop watching! LOL   So, since I was in the area recently, I just had to stalk the hotel Denise moved into at the beginning of this season.

Wanting a “fresh start” after the past “difficult year”, Denise decided to sell her Hidden Hills home and move closer to her daughters’ school and her “work” – whatever that means. I didn’t realize Denise had a full time job. LOL Anyway, until her former home sells, the Richards Family, including Denise, her father Irv (no, that’s not a typo, that’s actually his name!), and daughters Lola and Sam, are calling the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica home.    The hotel shows up quite often on this season of Denise’s reality show, especially the bungalow area where her family lives . . .

. . . and the hotel’s onsite fitness center, where she works out daily with her trainer/sometimes date Ray.

The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows was originally the private home of John P. Jones, a former Nevada senator and one of the founders of the City of Santa Monica. John built a mansion on the site in 1889 and dubbed his property “Miramar” which means “view of the sea” in Spanish. In 1912, the Jones Family sold their home to King C. Gillette, founder of the razor company of the same name and the King Gillette Ranch where TV’s The Biggest Loser is filmed. Nine years later, in 1921, Gillette sold the property to hotel entreprenuer Gilbert Stevenson, who turned it into an upscale seaside resort. In 1924, to make room for more guests, Stevenson added a large brick building to the property and also, sadly, had the original Jones’ mansion torn down just a few years later. In 1959, the hotel added yet another tower. Forty years later, the current owner, investment group Maritz, Wolffe & Co. purchased the hotel, started a $16 million renovation process, and brought in the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts company to manage the property. All these years later it is still a truly beautiful place and I highly recommend stalking it! 🙂

Denise Richards is not the first celeb to check into the Miramar. Over the years numermous stars have stayed there, including Cary Grant, Greta Garbo (who lived at the hotel for close to three years), Doris Day, JFK and Jackie O., Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, my girl Marilyn Monroe, Rosa Parks, Denzel Washington, Quincy Jones, Hugh Hefner, Anthony Hopkins, Arnold Schwarznegger, Steven Spielburg, Shaquille O’Neal, and Hilary Swank, just to name a few.

The hotel has been featured in countless movie and television productions over the years. In the Season 5 episode of Entourage entitled “First Class Jerk”, the Miramar stood in for a Hawaiian resort where Vinnie and the boys hung out.

The large Moreton Bay Fig Tree which stands at the entrance to the Miramar and quite closely resembles a banyan tree gives the hotel somewhat of a tropical feel, so it’s no surprise that Entourage producers chose to film there instead of shooting on location in Hawaii. The fig tree was planted way back in 1879 – yes, 1879 – by Senator Jones, the original owner of the propety.  It measures a whopping 80 feet high and 120 feet wide!

The hotel also showed up as the location where Anthony Hopkins’ wife carried out her affair in 2007’s Fracture.

It was also the hotel where Helen Mirren and her friends stayed during their L.A. visit in the Disney movie Calendar Girls. Please excuse the horrific YouTube screen captures pictured above!    LOL In the 1962 Cary Grant and Doris Day comedy That Touch of Mink, the Miramar was used as a West Indies resort. The hotel has also been featured in Along Came Polly and the television series Simon & Simon.

And last, but definitely not least, the night before her surprise wedding to KFed, Britney Spears threw herself a Bachelorette party in one of the Miramar’s bungalows. KFed partied with his boys, aka “The Pimps” right across the street at Houston’s Restaurant (pictured above).  Both, I’m sure, were classy affairs! 😉 At the time, Kevin was living with Britney in her nearby oceanside pad in the 1221 Ocean Avenue condomium complex.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows is located at 101 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. You can visit their website here. Houston’s Restaurant, where KFed held his bachelor party, is located across the street at 202 Wilshire Boulevard.

July 9, 2009
Neverland Ranch

Since we were in the area this past weekend celebrating the Fourth of July, I just had to drag my fiance out to Neverland Ranch yesterday to stalk pop star Michael Jackson’s former home. I had actually stalked the Ranch once before, back in November of 2007, but I wanted to stop by once again to see what sort of pandemonium would be taking place there due to the pop star’s recent death. Even though MJ hadn’t lived on the property since 2005, the home has been a mecca of sorts for the music legend’s fans ever since his sudden passing on June 25th. Michael purchased the 2,600 acre property, which at the time was known as Sycamore Valley Ranch, from resort and golf course developer William Bone in 1988. It was on this land that Jackson built his fantasy home, comprised of two railroads, a zoo, a ginormous swimming pool, a lake, a ferris wheel, a carousel, bumper cars, numerous other amusement park rides, an arcade, a private movie theatre, and a whopping twenty-two buildings. He dubbed the property Neverland after the home of his favorite storybook character, Peter Pan, aka the boy who wouldn’t grow up. In 2005, after being acquitted of child molestation charges, Jackson vacated the property and vowed never to return. He said that during the police investigation, the officers who searched his property for evidence had “violated” it and he no longer felt at home there. The property narrowly escaped foreclosure a few years later in May of 2008 when Jackson sold his loan and a part of his property rights to an investment company named Colony Capital LLC for about $35 million. The land is currently owned jointly by both Colony Capital LLC and Michael’s estate. At this point it is not known what is to become of the King of Pop’s former home, but there are talks of turning it into a sort of Graceland/Michael Jackson museum, which I think would be absolutely incredible to visit!  But, yesterday, I had to settle for just stalking the Ranch’s exterior.

On the way to Neverland, I started to get a little nervous that due to massive crowds we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near the property. About four miles away from the Ranch, the above traffic sign was posted which blinked the warnings “Slow Traffic Ahead” and “Caution: Congestion Ahead”.

The city had also placed countless “No Parking” signs along the five mile stretch of rural road which leads to MJ’s former home.

Thankfully, while there were a lot of people paying their respects at Neverland Ranch yesterday, we were still able to stalk it quite easily. As you can see in above photograph, there were a ton of media vans and reporters on site staked out to cover the goings-on at the Ranch. Police were also on duty, patroling the area.

The media crews were camped out in front of the property to stake out their section of land , much like was the case over at Forest Lawn Memorial Park where Michael is set to be buried.

Also much like at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, CNN had apparently decided that they didn’t need to actually physically be on site to stake out their claim on a section of land, but that a set of cones would do. LOL I was so tempted to move their cones! 🙂

In anticipation of the many visitors to the Ranch, numerous porta-potties had been set up by the city, which I was very grateful for.

A few entrepreneurial individuals were actually selling Michael Jackson memorabilia, like t-shirts and buttons, out in front of his former home. What’s even more amazing to me is that people were actually buying the stuff! Nice, huh?

The entrance to Neverland Ranch looked much different yesterday than when I visited it in 2007. In an ironic juxtaposition, while the last time I visited the Ranch when Michael was still alive, the property was quiet and almost barren, yesterday it was full of life and absolutely crawling with people.    I’m guessing there were about fifty fans outside of the Neverland gates who had come to pay their respects to the singer.   While there, my fiance spoke to two gentlemen from Spain who had flown all the way to California just to visit the Ranch and pay their respects to Michael! Not everyone was there for the pop star, though.  At one point, a man in an SUV drove up to where my fiance was standing and asked him what all the commotion was about. My fiance was like “Um, this is Michael Jackson’s house.” The guy, who had obviously been born under a rock, had absolutely NO idea that he was driving past one of the most famous celebrity homes on earth. LOL LOL LOL

Practically every square inch of the Ranch’s front entrance was covered over with personalized signs, balloons, stuffed animals, and flowers that people had left for Michael. Signs had even been hung from the trees! It was absolutely incredible to see!

As I mentioned the last time I stalked the place, unfortunately there isn’t a whole lot of Neverland to see from the road. But my fiance managed to snap a few pics through the entrance gate. There seemed to be quite a few people on duty at the Ranch, including gardeners, security guards, and what looked to be ranchers of some sort.

Because the perimeter of Neverland isn’t really fenced in, floodlights had been set up to ward off nighttime trespassers.

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Los Olivos, the sleepy town where Neverland Ranch is located, is no stranger to the spotlight. The tiny town, which is made up of only one main street that stretches four short blocks, stood in for Mayberry in the 1986 made-for-TV movie Return to Mayberry.   And a small local restaurant named Los Olivos Cafe was the spot where Miles, Jack, Maya, and Stephanie shared a romantic meal in the 2004 movie Sideways.

The town is something of a celebrity hotspot, as well. A few years ago, my fiance ate lunch next to Jennie Garth and her husband Peter Facinelli at Los Olivos’ Panino restaurant. But while I’ve been to Los Olivos quite a few times, sadly I’ve never encountered a celeb there. 🙁

The above sign, which I spotted in a gift shop window yesterday morning, pretty much perfectly sums up the tiny, sleepy town. 🙂

For those fans who would like a more in-depth view of Neverland, you can read an AMAZING article and see some INCREDIBLE pictures taken by a photographer named Jonathan Haeber who snuck into the Ranch back in December of 2007 here. TMZ also posted some great pics of the interior of Michael’s actual home which was located on the Neverland Ranch property. Matt Lauer also gave viewers an indepth tour of Michael’s home just a few days after his untimely death, which you can watch here. And finally, you can see a video Larry King posted of the Neverland property here. My dad and I had the pleasure of stalking the Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions earlier this year. My photos of the exhibit, which included all of the pop singer’s Neverland Ranch furniture and much of his music memorabilia, can be viewed here.

It was very nice to be able to pay my respects at the Ranch yesterday, especially since I was not one of the chosen few who received tickets to Michael’s memorial at Staples Center. 🙁   I had so been hoping to win those. So, instead I will be watching the event live at home, along with the rest of the world.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Neverland Ranch is located off of the 154 Highway at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road in Los Olivos, about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara and about five miles Northeast of central Los Olivos .

July 7, 2009
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills

I was all set to publish a blog post today about the Old School house, but a drive through Burbank yesterday evening caused that plan to go awry. At around 7 p.m. last night, after running a random errand in Hollywood, I drove home via Forest Lawn Drive in Burbank and practically had to stop my car right in its tracks due to a virtual circus that was taking place out in front of Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Over fifteen news vans were parked on the side of the road and countless media personnel were milling about on the sidewalk in front of the Burbank area cemetery. I had heard rumors that Michael Jackson’s funeral might take place at Forest Lawn early next week, but I didn’t believe reporters would be setting up already. So, of course, I just had to pull my car over to find out what was going on!

According to the reporters staked out at Forest Lawn, there are numerous unconfirmed reports that Michael Jackson’s family is planning to bury the King of Pop in a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. I asked one of the reporters why so many media vans were there if the funeral reports were not yet confirmed and he informed me that the cemetery, which goes by the full name of Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, is their “best guess as to Michael’s funeral location”. Apparently, the reporters are camping out in teams for the next FOUR days until the funeral takes place. It is absolutely incredible to me that they are willing to actually camp out for over NINETY-SIX hours on the side of the road on the off-chance that Michael’s funeral might take place nearby! Unreal! Only time will tell if the funeral actually will take place at Forest Lawn, but if the media is willing to camp out there for FOUR full days, I am guessing they must have a pretty solid tip to go on. And I can only imagine what the place is going to look like in the days to come!

It seemed yesterday that pretty much every single news outlet imaginable was already on duty in front of Forest Lawn. Even Telemundo was there!

Apparently, CNN thought they could simply tape off a piece of the road to reserve their spot, in lieu of having their reporters camp out on-site. LOL If I was reporter for a competing station I’d so stand there and be like, “Um, sorry! You snooze, you lose!” 🙂

Most of the news vans on-site already had GINORMOUS satellite equipment set up so that they could broadcast live. It was absolutely incredible to see!

And although I have yet to stalk the inside of Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, I promise to do so in the near future so that I can write a more complete blog post about the cemetery. Forest Lawn has long been popular with the rich and famous and Michael Jackson is hardly the first celeb to be buried there. Forest Lawn is also the final resting place for Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Ozzie Nelson, Freddie Prinze, Liberace, Telly Savalas, John Ritter, Sandra Dee, Steve Allen and the recently deceased David Carradine. Apparently, the Forest Lawn staff is remiss about divulging the location of star’s graves, but thankfully the Seeing-Stars website provides a plethora of information about the cemetery including a virtual map!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in Burbank. Do not confuse this Forest Lawn cemetery with their other location named Forest Lawn Glendale, which is located just a few miles away at 1712 S. Glendale Avenue in Glendale.

July 3, 2009