Category: TV Locations

Phil’s Diner from “The X-Files”

When I was in L.A. last week, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I spent two full days stalking. Our adventures took us from one end of Los Angeles to the other. At one point, while in North Hollywood, we passed by Phil’s Diner at 5230 Lankershim Boulevard and stopped to snap some pics. I figured the historic-looking restaurant had to have appeared onscreen at some time, so I did a quick Google search on my iPhone and just about fell over when I learned that the eatery had been used in my very favorite episode of The X-Files EVER, Season 2’s “Humbug.” (“I’ve seen the future and the future looks just like him!”) Talk about a lucky twist of fate!

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Phil’s Diner was constructed in 1926 for the J.F. Phillip restaurant chain (hence the name). It was designed in a train-car style by Charles Amend and originally stood (according to this article) near the intersection of Ventura and Lankershim Boulevards. The eatery was relocated at some point to 11138 Chandler Boulevard, where it spent the bulk of its years. (There are several online articles which state that the café was moved countless times throughout its history, once sitting on Crenshaw Boulevard, near the corner of West Adams. I am fairly certain that information is incorrect, though. I believe that storefront was a different Phil’s outpost – one that is no longer standing.) You can check out some fabulous early photographs of Phil’s at its Chandler Boulevard location here.

For over two decades, beginning in the 1970s, Phil’s Diner was run by Charles and Wendy Hong, a native Korean couple who served up no-fuss American comfort food with an Asian flair. The restaurant flourished under their leadership. Then, in the mid-90s, nearby MTA Red Line construction and tunneling caused a severe downfall in patronage and in 1997 the couple was forced to shutter the café. While it was purchased by a man named Casey Hallenbeck the next year, it stood abandoned for the following decade. The structure was eventually moved to a vacant lot in 2009, where it sat on blocks in a sad graffiti-covered state.

While sitting abandoned, Phil’s vintage signage was stolen and never ended up being recovered. The sign that currently stands in front of Phil’s is a replica.

In 2011, Phil’s was moved to its current location and plans were made to reopen it as part of the new NoHo Commons complex. After a $1.1-million restoration, the eatery opened in April 2011, but sadly only lasted eight months. By December, the restaurant, which is California’s oldest dining car and the only surviving outpost of the Phil’s chain, was shuttered. It remains closed to this day.

Though closed, I managed to snap a few photographs of Phil’s interior through the windows.

As you can see, despite being out of operation for several years, the eatery is still in great shape. The wood-detailing is simply gorgeous! And what I wouldn’t give to catch a close-up glimpse of those headshots lining the ceiling!

Thanks to its historic look, Phil’s Diner has been featured in numerous productions over the years. Phil Everly, of the Everly Brothers, shot the cover of his 1974 solo album, aptly titled “Phil’s Diner,” in front of the eatery.

The diner was visible in the background of a 1977 informational video for the Emergency Medical Service titled “Life or Death,” which you can watch here.

Phil’s Diner briefly appeared in 1986’s Night of the Creeps, in the scene in which Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) raced to a death scene.

In the Season 2 episode of The X-Files titled “Humbug,” Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) travel to Gibsonton, Florida to investigate a murder that took place in a rural community of sideshow circus performers. Upon first arriving in town, the duo head to a local café to speak to Sheriff Hamilton (Wayne Grace) about the killing. Phil’s Diner was used for the establishing shot of that café.

Interior filming took place elsewhere, though – somewhere in Vancouver where the series’ first five seasons were lensed. As you can see below, the interior of the diner that was used was substantially larger than the interior of Phil’s.

Phil’s Diner was also featured in episodes of Baretta, The Millionaire Matchmaker, Hart to Hart and The White Shadow, and in one of the Friday the 13th movies. I am unsure of the particulars of those productions, though, but if any of my fellow stalkers have information on the filmings, please fill me in.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Phil’s Diner, from the “Humbug” episode of The X-Files, is located at 5230 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. The restaurant is currently closed.

June 4, 2014
The Girls United Group Home from “The Fosters”

In April, a fellow stalker named Ashley asked for some help in locating the Girls United group home from both the television show The Fosters and its web series spin-off, The Fosters: Girls United. I had never heard of either production before, but through a bit of Googling came across this Wikia article about the house. The stunning property immediately piqued my interest and I spent the next few minutes trying to track in down. It turned out to be an easy find, too, thanks to a Foursquare page that stated the dwelling was located on East Kensington Road in Angelino Heights. From there, it was only a matter of seconds before I found the unique pad via Google Street View at 766 East Kensington.

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In real life, the seven-bedroom, two-bath, 4,070-square-foot house was built in 1908 and sit on 0.28-acres of land. It last sold in October 2001 for $515,000.

The home’s fabulous detailing and double-peaked roofline are very reminiscent of the residence used in House Bunny (which I blogged about here).

Besides being architecturally stunning, the place also boasts some pretty amazing views of downtown L.A.

In The Fosters, Callie Jacob (Maia Mitchell) is sent to live at the Girls United group home, which is operated by Rita Hendricks (Rosie O’Donnell), after she is caught running away from her foster family in the Season 1 episode titled “House and Home.” The residence also appeared in the Season 1 episodes titled “Things Unsaid,” “Family Day” and “Us Against the World.”

The property’s actual address number of 766 was shown in the “House and Home” episode.

I am fairly certain that the real life interior of the residence was also used in the filming, but I was not able to find any interior photographs of the place to prove that hunch.

The house also appeared in the five-part web series spin-off of The Fosters titled The Fosters: Girls United.

You can watch the first The Fosters: Girls United web series episode, titled “Run Baby Run,” by clicking below.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Ashley for challenging me to find this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Girls United group home from The Fosters and The Fosters: Girls United is located at 766 East Kensington Road in Arlington Heights.

May 27, 2014
Viva Cantina from “The Girls Next Door”

Each May, my girl Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, and I have a standing lunch date to celebrate her birthday. We usually hit up Sizzler (‘cause we’re fancy like that!), but this year she requested to dine at Viva Cantina in Burbank – a place I had long wanted to stalk thanks to its appearance in a Season 3 episode of The Girls Next Door. So I, of course, happily obliged.

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Viva Cantina, also known as Viva Fresh, has been around since 1962. Surprisingly though, I could find no information whatsoever about its history online or in any of my books about Los Angeles (and believe me, my collection is extensive).

What I can report on, thanks to my experience dining there earlier this week, is that the food is delish! Pinky and her husband, Mr. Keith Coogan from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead fame, love the place so much that they eat there almost weekly, in fact.

In the Season 3 episode of The Girls Next Door titled “May the Horse Be with You,” Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson, Bridget Marquardt, and a few of their Playmate friends visited Sunset Ranch and took part in their famous Dinner Tour horseback ride (something the Grim Cheaper and I have always wanted to do).

The Dinner Tour, which costs $100 per person, is comprised of a four-hour, five-mile evening ride through Griffith Park with a mid-way meal stop at Viva Cantina. Um, count me in!

During their visit, Holly, Kendra, Bridget and the girls ate in Viva’s red-leathered back room.

Pinky and I also ate in the back room, which is pictured below.

And while I could have sworn that an episode of Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica was also lensed at Viva Cantina, I scanned through my DVDs of the series while researching this post and did not see the eatery pop up anywhere.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Viva Cantina, from the “May the Horse Be with You” episode of The Girls Next Door, is located at 900 West Riverside Drive in Burbank. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center, from Beverly Hills, 90210 and Pretty Woman (which I blogged about here), is located right next door at 480 West Riverside Drive. You can visit the Equestrian Center’s website here. And Pickwick Bowl, from Parks and Recreation (which I blogged about here), is located across the street at 1001 West Riverside Drive. You can visit the Pickwick Bowl website here.

May 23, 2014
Leo’s Apartment Building from “Relativity”

During my recent Relativity location-finding fest, I also managed to track down the apartment building where Leo Roth (David Conrad) lived with his quirky roommate, Doug (Adam Goldberg) – who was actually my favorite character – on the show. I really could kick myself over this one, though, because I began searching for the property while watching the third episode of the series, which was titled “First Impressions”, and did not have many clues to help with the hunt. Had I waited until the fifth episode, “Moving,” in which Leo’s address was literally spelled out, it would have been a much quicker find. Instead, I spent a ridiculous amount of time scanning the background of “First Impressions,” looking for readable signage on storefronts near Leo’s place and then Googling to see if said businesses were still in existence. Thankfully, after numerous searches, I finally found one that was.

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In “First Impressions,” a sign reading “Asia Auto Center” was visible across the street from Leo’s apartment. An internet search led me to a listing for an Asia Auto Center at 3700 West Pico Boulevard in Arlington Heights. Sure enough, when I looked at the address via Google Street View, there was Leo’s building right across the street.

In reality, Leo’s building is located at 1310 4th Avenue, just south of West Pico Boulevard. So when I watched the “Moving” episode a few nights after finding the place and heard it mentioned several times that Leo lived near “Pico and 4th Avenue,” I had a major face-palm moment. D’oh!

Pictured below are a few of the many neighborhood signs that I had tried to read and do Google searches for. As you can see, it was not the easiest of tasks.

It is said several times on the series that Leo’s neighborhood is a bit sketchy and I can attest to that fact being true in real life, as well. Just as I pulled into a parking space near the building, a man hopped over the fence of the business across the street, opened the dumpster located there and began throwing its contents onto the sidewalk. Yeah, I pretty much could not wait to get out of there, hence the limited number of photographs I have for this post.

The full exterior of Leo’s building is never actually shown on Relativity – at least not in any of the episodes I have re-watched up until this point. Typically, tight shots of the doorway and balcony are all that appear onscreen.

Thanks to that doorway, with its ornate casing, and balcony, with its wrought-iron detailing, the building has a very New Orleansy-feel.

The structure still looks very much the same today as it did when Relativity was filmed 18 years ago. As you can see below, not even the address plate has been altered since 1996! Love it!

The Arlington Heights building was only used for exterior filming on the series. The ramshackle interior of Leo and Doug’s loft existed only on a studio soundstage.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Leo’s apartment from Relativity is located at 1310 4th Avenue in Los Angeles’ Arlington Heights neighborhood.

May 19, 2014
Haskell’s Ice Cream Hut from “The Brady Bunch”

I have been a The Brady Bunch fanatic since I was about three years old. Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to be Cindy Brady (Susan Olsen) and don blonde pig tails on a daily basis. Too bad my hair was brown, curly and far too short for pig tails. As an adult, I still love the show and in recent years have stalked many of its locations. Being that the vast majority of the series was shot on the Paramount backlot, though, and that very few non-studio locales were used, I figured I had pretty much visited them all ages ago. So I was floored when a fellow stalker named Michael recently alerted me to a new one – Haskell’s Ice Cream Hut from the Season 5 episode titled “Marcia Gets Creamed.”

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In “Marcia Gets Creamed,” Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb) and Peter (Christopher Knight) get jobs at the local ice cream shop. A rather tight establishing shot of the parlor, in which the signage was cut off, was the only view of the exterior shown in the episode, so, try as he might, Michael could not figure out where filming had taken place.

Then fate stepped in. While randomly watching the Season 7 episode of My Three Sons titled “TV or Not TV” a few weeks back, Michael spotted the very same exterior. This time, though, the sign, which read Cherry House Ice Cream, was fully visible.

As it turns out, Cherry House was a real ice cream parlor/coffee shop located at 13701 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. The establishment has long since been shuttered, but the building that once housed it still looks very much as it did when it appeared on The Brady Bunch in 1973. The site is currently home to an amplifier and guitar store named the Amp Shop.

Shockingly, I cannot find any information about Cherry House Ice Cream parlor online, other than the fact that it was established sometime in the 1950s. You can check out some photographs taken of the shop in 1952 here.

Only the exterior of Cherry House was used on The Brady Bunch. The pink-hued interior of Haskell’s Ice Cream Hut was a set built inside of a soundstage at Paramount. You can watch the “Marcia Gets Creamed” episode – in which Marcia fires Peter for being a “Capital G Goof Off” – here.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Michael for telling me about this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Amp Shop, aka the former Cherry House Ice Cream parlor, aka Haskell’s Ice Cream Hut from The Brady Bunch, is located at 13701 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.

May 16, 2014
The “Relativity” House

Back in 1996, the Bedford Falls Company, the production company behind fave show My So-Called Life, debuted a new dramedy named Relativity. I was hooked on the series from the get-go. Sadly, it suffered the same fate as My So-Called Life and was cancelled after a solitary season. Unlike MSCL, though, which prospered in syndication, Relativity was not really ever heard from again. So when I recently found some episodes online, I just about flipped my lid. The Grim Cheaper happened to be out of town at the time and I proceeded to indulge in a rather long Relativity binge-watching session. I also, of course, spent some time tracking down several of the show’s locations, including the architecturally unique home where the Lukens family – David (Cliff De Young), Eve (Mary Ellen Trainor), Jennifer (a very young Poppy Montgomery) and Isabel (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) – lived.

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First a little background on the show, being that I am guessing most of my fellow stalkers have never heard of it. The storyline centered around the relationship of Isabel and Leo Roth (David Conrad), two twentysomethings from Los Angeles who meet randomly while on vacation in Italy. It is love at first sight. The only caveat is that Isabel has a longtime boyfriend, Everett (Randall Batinkoff), back home – a boyfriend whom she flew to Europe to get some distance from. Upon returning to California, Isabel promptly breaks up with Everett, much to the dismay of her family. The series then follows Isabel and Leo’s blossoming relationship and all of the tribulations that come along with it. Of choosing Relativity as the title, producer Marshall Herskovitz is quoted in a 1996 Entertainment Weekly article as saying, ”Obviously, we’ve borrowed the notion of Freud’s that whenever two people go to bed, there are six people in the room, because their parents are also in the room.”

I tracked down the location of the Lukens home thanks to the fact that a street sign reading “1200 N. Corsica Dr.” was visible in the background of a scene featured in the episode titled “First Impressions.” From there, I just did a Google search for “1200 North Corsica Drive” and, though it took me longer than I’d like to admit, finally found the residence at 1269 Corsica Drive in Pacific Palisades.

The exterior of the Lukens home was only shown a few times on Relativity and very briefly at that. What was shown, though, was spectacular! I am in love with the unique slatted roofline!

In real life, the 1960 property features four bedrooms, four baths, 3,496 square feet of living space and 0.39 acres of land. It last sold in September 2001 for $1,875,000.

Virtually none of the exterior (which reminds me a bit of The Brady Bunch house) has been changed since Relativity was filmed on the premises 18 years ago.

I am fairly certain that the interior of the Lukens home was just a set and not the interior of the actual house.

On a Relativity side-note – a couple of years ago, while doing some stalking of an event that was attended by Lisa Edelstein (who played Leo’s sister, Rhonda), Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, and I discovered our mutual love of the series. At the time, I had never met anyone else who had even heard of Relativity before, so the fact that she not only knew of it, but was just as in love with it as I was amazed me. Sometimes I really feel like the two of us share a brain. After discovering our mutual Relativity obsession, we had a fabulous fan girl moment with Lisa in which we both absolutely spazzed out. Lisa was shocked when we brought up the show, which isn’t surprising because I am fairly certain that Pinky and I were the only two people who ever watched it.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Lukens family’s home from Relativity is located at 1269 Corsica Drive in Pacific Palisades.

May 14, 2014
The Open Houses from “Hidden Away”

I know what you’re probably thinking after reading today’s title – she sure has stalked a lot of locations from a movie she professes not to have liked. And you’re right. But what can I say? The fact that there are filming locales in my current hometown that have yet to be unearthed is like an itch that has to be scratched. As I’ve said before, unknown locations are like kryptonite to this stalker. Which is why I recently found myself searching for the two residences that real estate agent Alexandra (Emmanuelle Vaugier) was trying to sell in Hidden Away, the ridiculously terrible Lifetime Original Movie that first aired last July.

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The first open house scene appears towards the beginning of Hidden Away, as the flick jumps ahead ten years to show Alexandra, who has moved to Palm Springs and changed her identity in order to escape her abusive husband Andrew (Ivan Sergei), in her new life as a real estate agent.

I tracked down the property thanks to an address number of 1075 that was visible on the curb in the scene. From there, I searched blocks bearing addresses in the 1000-range near downtown Palm Springs, where I figured the residence was most likely to be located, and fairly quickly found the right spot at 1075 East Via Colusa in the Movie Colony neighborhood.

In real life, the 1971 home features four bedrooms, four baths, a whopping 4,168 square feet of living space and a 0.38-acre plot of land. It last sold in December 2001 for $900,000.

The second open house scene takes place the following day in the movie. In it, a private investigator named Sloan (Melrose Place’s Thomas Calabro), who was hired by Andrew, crashes Alexandra’s latest listing in order to gain intel on her.

Thankfully, an address number – of 1020 – was visible on the curb in this scene, as well. Because it was also in the 1000-range, I had a hunch the property might be located close to the first open house. So I did a quick Google search for 1020 East Via Colusa and, sure enough, it was the right spot!

The home, which was built in 1974, boasts three bedrooms, two baths, 2,097 square feet and a 0.41-acre plot of land. It last sold in March 2003 for $510,000. Sadly though, not much of the place can be seen from the street.

The residence also pops up in a second scene in Hidden Away in which Alexandra’s partner, Lynn (Elisabeth Rohm), is kidnapped at gunpoint by Andrew.

The interior of the house was used in the filming, as well.

The backyard was also utilized, but it masqueraded as the backyard of the 1075 East Via Colusa home, oddly enough.

As you can see, the shape of the pool and the large white gazebo of the backyard that appeared onscreen match those of the home at 1020 East Via Colusa, which is pictured below via aerial views.

The backyard of the 1075 East Via Colusa home, which is pictured below, does not match the backyard featured in Hidden Away.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The first open house from Hidden Away is located at 1075 East Via Colusa in Palm Springs’ Movie Colony neighborhood. The second open house is located across the street at 1020 East Via Colusa.

May 9, 2014
Winnie Cooper’s Second House from “The Wonder Years”

UPDATE – The Wonder Years is coming to DVD for the first time ever in October! The 26-disc boxed set includes all six seasons of the show, plus a cast reunion segment, over 15 hours of bonus footage, a collectible metal locker, two production booklets packed with behind-the-scenes information, a replica yearbook, and Wonder Years magnets. Sets can be pre-ordered here.

I am still currently in the process of binge-watching The Wonder Years on Netflix. The Season 3 finale, titled “Moving,” in which Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar – who is completely ROCKING IT on Dancing With the Stars! LOVE her!) relocates to a new home located four miles away from longtime love Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage), absolutely broke my heart. Come to think of it, every episode breaks my heart. Prior to this recent re-watching, I didn’t remember the series being so sad, but yikes! I bawl during pretty much every episode. I am a nostalgic person by nature and the sentimentality of the show tugs at all of my heartstrings – but in a good way. So when I found the address of Winnie’s new house on this website, I ran right out to stalk it.

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During the first three seasons of The Wonder Years, Winnie and her family lived in a home (which I blogged about here) located right across the street from the Arnold residence (which I blogged about here). While the Cooper family sold that abode in “Moving,” their new dwelling did not actually appear onscreen until the Season 4 opener, which was titled “Growing Up.” It is said in the episode that the Cooper’s new pad is located four miles away from their previous one, but in reality it is located right around the corner.

The property continued to be utilized throughout the remaining three seasons of the The Wonder Years.

I actually find the residence to be an odd choice for use on the series for two reasons – it is substantially larger than the Cooper’s first home and it doesn’t really have a 1960s-feel to it.

Thankfully though, the property has not changed much since its Wonder Years days.

According to Redfin, the 1950 home boasts two bedrooms, two baths, and 1,896 square feet. It actually looks to be much larger than that, though, so I am not sure if the listed measurements are correct.

Whenever I think of the Cooper’s second residence, I am reminded of the Season 4 episode titled “The Accident,” in which Kevin climbed onto Winnie’s roof, peeked through her window and mouthed “I love you” to her. Ironically enough, though, after re-watching the scene, I do not believe it was actually shot at the house. As you can see below, the roof that Kevin climbs in the episode has two side-by-side dormer windows. Winnie’s residence does not have any such windows, so I am guessing that producers either filmed the scene at a different property or, in a more likely scenario, had a prop roof built on a soundstage for the shoot.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Winnie Cooper’s second house from The Wonder Years is located at 501 Tufts Avenue in Burbank. Winnie’s first home from the series can be found right around the corner at 525 University Avenue. Kevin Arnold’s residence is located diagonally across the street from Winnie’s first home at 516 University Avenue.

May 5, 2014
The “Hidden Away” House

As I mentioned in my post about Azul Tapas Lounge, I was not a fan of the 2014 Lifetime Original Movie Hidden Away, which was filmed largely in Palm Springs. I was a huge fan of the ultra-modern abode where the main character, Stephanie/Alexandra (Emmanuelle Vaugier), lived with her daughter, Rachel (Allie Gonino), in the flick, though, and became a bit fixated on tracking it down and stalking it. And while I did manage to find the dwelling quite easily, because it is located inside of a gated community, I was only able to stalk the front gates and, unfortunately, never got to see the actual home in person.

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Tracking down the property was a quick endeavor thanks to this 2013 article, which stated that the home was located in Palm Springs’ Alta neighborhood, and the fact that the number “245” was visible on the exterior of the residence in several scenes. From there I just looked at aerial views of all houses in the Alta community bearing that number and it wasn’t long before I found the place at 245 Patel Place.

After faking her death to escape her abusive husband and collecting on her own $250,000 life insurance policy, Stephanie changes her name to Alexandra, flees to Palm Springs, and settles into the stunning modern-style home pictured below. Now I realize that $250,000 is a considerable amount of money and, if invested wisely, could lead to an even more considerable amount, but I still found it a bit laughable that a woman who left everything behind and changed her identity could afford such a massive property. (RealEstate.com currently estimates the home’s value at $1.485 million.) Plus, wouldn’t someone living on the run be trying to keep a low profile?

The interior of the residence (which you can see photographs of here) was used quite extensively in the filming. Shown onscreen were the entrance (the front door is uh-ma-zing!);

kitchen;

living room [that’s Alexandra’s abusive ex-husband, Andrew (Ivan Sergei), pictured below setting up cameras all over the house in order to spy on her];

one of the bedrooms;

and backyard. As I said, the dwelling is absolutely stunning!

In real life, the house, which was built in 2006, features 4,000 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, five baths, a gourmet kitchen, two dishwashers (because one is just never enough), a double oven, seven (!) plasma TVs, including a 50-inch outdoor screen, an infinity pool, a hot tub that can hold up to 14 people, two fire pits, an outdoor gas fireplace, an in-wall espresso machine (um, yes please!), and ten-foot “disappearing” sliding glass walls and doors.

Outside of the front gate, though, there isn’t a whole lot to see, sadly.

You can watch a YouTube video showing interior photographs of the house by clicking below and you can check out the residence’s vacation rental website by clicking here. The pad currently rents for $1,300 to $2,000 a night!

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Alexandra and Rachel’s house from Hidden Away is located at 245 Patel Place in Palm Springs. The home is inside of a gated community and is not visible from the street.

May 2, 2014
Dr. Daniel Pierce’s House from “Perception”

For nearly two years now, I have been on the hunt for the house where Dr. Daniel Pierce (Eric McCormack) lives with his long-suffering assistant, Max Lewicki (Arjay Smith), on the TNT series Perception. Due to the fact that the residence is typically only ever shown at night in rather tight establishing shots, with no clues such as street signs or address numbers visible in the background, I had a tough time tracking it down. While I did have an inkling that, thanks to its Craftsman-style architecture, the dwelling was most likely located somewhere in Pasadena, my numerous searches of the Crown City left me empty-handed.

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It wasn’t until I recently re-watched the Season 2 episode titled “Brotherhood” that I realized my mistake. Several scenes from “Brotherhood” were actually shot on location at the home and a view of the neighborhood was briefly shown – a neighborhood that looked decidedly South Pasadenan. So I did some online sleuthing for Perception filming in SP and eventually came across this South Pasadena Patch article which stated that the show had done some filming on the 1800 block of Diamond Avenue. Sure enough, I would up finding the house right where the article said it would be – 1800 Diamond Ave.

Daniel’s house pops up regularly on Perception, typically in tightly-angled or dimly-lit night shots, as I mentioned above.

Only rarely is a full or semi-full view of the exterior shown.

I was shocked to discover how different the residence looks in person. As you can see in the screen capture as compared to the photograph pictured below, the house currently has much more foliage surrounding it than what is depicted on Perception. In real life, the dwelling is almost completely shielded by trees. In fact, when I first showed up to stalk it, I drove right by the place, missing it completely!

The trees are so abundant that they even hide the fact that the home has a second story!

In real life, the 1919 residence features four bedrooms, two baths, 1,866 square feet, and 0.17 acres of land. The pad last sold in August 1991 for $326,000.

I am absolutely in LOVE with the covered patio. How great would it be to sit out there, sipping on a Starbucks iced latte?

Only the exterior of the home is used on Perception. The interior of Dr. Pierce’s house exists on a soundstage at Los Angeles Center Studios where the series is lensed. Because the pilot was shot on location in Toronto, a different interior was shown in that particular episode – the interior of what I believe is an actual residence in Canada. As you can in the screen captures below (taken from the pilot and the second episode titled “Faces”), the two residences are quite a bit different.

I would guess that the set of Daniel’s home was based on the real life interior of the Diamond Avenue house, but, try as I might, I could not find any photographs with which to verify that hunch.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Dr. Daniel Pierce’s house from Perception is located at 1800 Diamond Avenue in South Pasadena.

April 29, 2014