TV Locations – Page 75 – IAMNOTASTALKER

March 20, 2008February 13, 2009

WAT

Got a call from a family friend’s daughter last night who told me that she was called into the Principal’s office yesterday and told that not only was the TV show Without a Trace being filmed at her high school the next day, but that they would actually be filming her very locker in the scene! She is going to have a famous locker!! So this morning I got up bright and early to cruise by La Salle High School in Pasadena to do a little stalking before work.

The production location was easy to locate from the large yellow “WAT” signs posted all over North-Eastern Pasadena this morning. When TV and movie productions film on location, bright yellow signs attached to light-posts and tree trunks are used to point cast and crew members in the direction of the filming area. These signs are painted with large black abbreviations identifying the production’s title. Seeing these yellow signs posted on various lampposts is a common occurrence when you live in Los Angeles – and a great tool for any stalker. Whenever I see these signs, I pull over and do a little stalking! Film crews are generally super friendly and will not only answer any questions about the production you may have, but most will let you hang out and watch the filming. While I didn’t spot any Without a Trace stars this morning, being there reminded me of a film set I stalked a few years back.

Way back in 2000, when I first moved to LA, my mom and I happened to drive by the movie The Man Who Wasn’t There being filmed in Pasadena. I, of course, made my mom stop the car and we got out to do some stalking. The movie starred Billy Bob Thornton, who at the time was married to Angelina Jolie. Billy Bob, Angelina, and her father Jon Voight were hanging out between takes when we arrived. Angelina was fresh off her Oscar win for Girl Interrupted and, being an actress, I just had to introduce myself to her. This was long before the little home-wrecker set her sights on Brad Pitt forcing me to forever boycott Team Jolie. I must say, though, that I was completely smitten with Angelina – she could not have been more kind or friendly! I spent about ten minutes talking to her about acting and her Oscar win and she seemed genuinely interested in talking with me. Too bad she had to go and ruin it all by messing with my girl Jen! 🙂

So, next time you happen to be driving in LA and you see a yellow sign with black letters, pull over and do some stalking! You never know who you might get to meet!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: La Salle High School is located at 3880 East Sierra Madre Blvd. in Pasadena. Look for the Without a Trace episode to air in about 6 weeks. The Crane house from The Man Who Wasn’t There is located at 850 N. Chester Avenue, in the Bungalow Heaven Landmark District of Pasadena – a small area of Pasadena chock full of beautiful, historic Craftsman style homes.

March 19, 2008February 17, 2009

Donna Martin Graduates!

Can’t tell you how excited I am about Tori Spelling’s new book, sTORI Telling ! I absolutely can’t wait to start reading it!!! I love me some 90210 gossip! In honor of Miz Spellings new tell-all, I thought I’d do a little post about the 90210 gang’s alma mater, the fictional West Beverly High School, which I stalked way back when I first moved to LA. In reality, the school isn’t located anywhere near Beverly Hills. It’s called Torrance High School and it can be found in the 90501 zip code, about 25 miles south of Rodeo Drive.

I found this location thanks to my go-to stalking guide and I cannot tell you how excited I was to be there in the flesh. When 90210 was on the air, back when I was in high school, I wanted nothing more than to be Brenda Walsh. I loved her cowboy boots, her men’s ties, and (most of all) her boyfriend, Dylan. In high school, I actually changed my phone number to 34-LUKE-3 – I kid you not! (Needless to say, I didn’t have many friends in high school – lol) So, even though it was 7 years later when I finally got to see West Beverly High in person and 90210 was long past its prime, even though Brenda Walsh had long left the show and Donna Martin was no longer a virgin, I was still absolutely beside myself! I never dreamed I’d get to see West Beverly with my own two eyes.

Unfortunately, Torrance High School looks much better on camera than it does in person. It’s lost a bit of its luster since the 90210 days and it is pretty run down in person, but I loved being there just the same! We visited the school on a weekend and pretty much had free reign to walk around. While many different parts of the school are recognizable from various episodes, most scenes were filmed in the center courtyard known in real life as the Senior Patio. You’ll immediately recognize the center fountain, large archways, and long staircase from various episodes of 90210. The Hello Day, time capsule and senior portrait scenes were all filmed in or around the Senior Patio. You will also recognize the main entrance to the school, which was also featured in numerous scenes.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Torrance High School is located at 2200 W. Carson Street in Torrance. The school was also featured in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, She’s All That, Skin, Not Another Teen Movie, and Bring It On, as well as countless other productions. The Senior Patio can be found behind the main school building. I suggest visiting Torrance High on a weekend, when you will have more freedom to explore the property.

March 16, 2008February 13, 2009

Stalking Palm Springs Style

This weekend my boyfriend and I took a little road trip to Palm Springs for a relaxing weekend getaway – but there’s no resting for this stalker! Of course, I just had to do a little stalking while I was there! 🙂 Once again, the stalking gods were watching out for me, because we stayed at Desert Springs, A JW Marriot Resort and Spa in Palm Desert. Little did I know that the Desert Springs resort was an oft used filming location for Hollywood productions. While I did remember that Newport Harbor: The Real OC was filmed in the hotel a couple of years ago, I didn’t realize that The Real Housewives of Orange County, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and Saved by the Bell were also all filmed at the resort.

Chrissy and the gang stayed at the Desert Springs Marriott in the pilot episode of the Laguna Beach spin-off Newport Harbor: The Real OC. Producers used the front entrance, the lobby and the pool area for filming. You might also remember the scene in the hallway outside of Chrissy’s hotel room when she gets into big trouble with her “daddy” for being in her room with Clay alone. You can watch the full episode of Newport Harbor at mtv.com.

The Desert Springs Marriott was also used in the episode of Saved by the Bell when Jessie Spano’s father gets married. As soon as the front desk clerk told me that episode had been filmed at the hotel many, many years ago, I immediately remembered it. The resort is surrounded by a huge lagoon complete with a fleet of boats to transport guests from one end of the hotel to the other. A pivotal scene in the episode (if anything from SBTB could ever be considered pivotal) takes place between Zack and Jessie at the boat launch in the lobby of the hotel. Unfortunately, the lobby just underwent a major renovation, so it looks very different than it did in the SBTB days, but you should recognize it all the same.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Desert Springs, A JW Marriot Resort and Spa is located at 74855 Country Club Drive in Palm Desert. You can make reservations here. While the hotel is beautiful with amazing grounds and landscaping, I wouldn’t exactly recommend it as a place to go to relax. The hotel definitely has a party vibe, complete with an in-house nightclub named Costas. It is a great place to grab a drink or dinner, though. My boyfriend and I have been long time fans of the Sea Grille restaurant inside the hotel.

March 13, 2008February 13, 2009

"Welcome to Malibu, Bitch!"

Thanks to the ultimate OC stalking guide, I was able to stalk the ginormous mansion used as the home of Marissa Cooper on the second season of The O.C. In real life, the house is owned by NFL star Brian Bosworth and it isn’t located anywhere near the O.C. The mansion can actually be found on a gated road just off Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and it is every bit as beautiful (and huge!) as it looks on TV.

Even though Marissa’s mansion is located on a private road with no public access, you can still get a pretty good view of it from Pacific Coast Highway and I would definitely recommend driving by. Even for non O.C. fans (do any actually exist?), the house is definitely a site to behold! For an up close view of the house, you can always check into Promises Treatment Center, the rehab du jour for troubled celebs including BritBrit, which is located just down the road on the same gated street. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marissa Cooper’s home is located on a private road at 6375 Meadows Court in Malibu. For the best views of the home, simply drive along Pacific Coast Highway to just south of where it meets Meadows Court and look east. Although PCH is a very busy road, in that area it is fairly easy to pull over and snap a few pics of the home.

March 10, 2008February 13, 2009

Weekend in "the O.C.!"

First, I must apologize for being so remiss in my blogging last week – my best friend in the world was visiting me from Switzerland and, while we did do a little stalking during his visit, I didn’t have time to write many posts. When my friend left to return to Switzerland on Saturday morning, I was completely bummed out, so my boyfriend told me to pack a bag and we took a spontaneous little road trip with no planned destination. Well, the stalking gods were definitely looking out for me because destiny led us right to the Marriott-Manhattan Beach Hotel, which just happened to be a filming location from the first season of The O.C.! Let me tell you, that cheered me right up! 🙂

After checking into the hotel, I immediately logged onto the ultimate O.C. stalking guide, Seeing Stars, to see if any scenes had been filmed in the area. I almost fell off the bed when I realized The O.C. was filmed in the very hotel I was staying in! The Marriot-Manhattan Beach was used in the fourth episode of the very first season for the cotillion rehearsal scenes. The scenes were filmed in the Manhattan Ballroom located just off the lobby. Additional scenes were also filmed in the area just outside the ballroom, to the left of the lobby bar.

But the stalking didn’t end there! Almost directly next door to the Marriott is Raleigh’s Manhattan Beach Studios, the very studio where The O.C. was filmed. The studio looks more like an office building complex than a movie studio, but many famous productions have been filmed there, including Ally McBeal, CSI:Miami, and Medium. Ironically enough, though, the studio appears to be leasing out office space to non-industry people. How cool to have your offices located right on a movie lot! I am going to have to talk to my boss about that! 🙂

Stalk It: The Marriott-Manhattan Beach is located at 1400 Park View Avenue. If you decide to stay there, make sure to ask for the AAA rate – we got a great deal!! Raleigh’s Manhattan Beach Studios is located at 1600 Rosecrans Avenue. The main gate can be found on a side street called Redondo Avenue. Unfortunately, at this time, the studio does not offer tours. 🙁

March 9, 2008February 18, 2009

Dancing in the Friends’ Fountain!

I’ve done some pretty cool things in my life, but I must say that one of my favorite and most memorable adventures was dancing in the fountain that was used in the opening credits of Friends! Back in 2002, I attended a seminar put on by my acting school that just happened to be held on the Warner Brothers Ranch Lot. When I found out the seminar was going to be held at the Ranch I swear I almost died! I had heard sometime before that the Friends fountain was located somewhere on the Ranch and I had been trying to figure out a way to get onto the lot to see it in person. Thank you acting school!

When I drove onto the lot early the morning of the seminar, I actually went right past the famous fountain without even realizing it. Walking to the class, my eyes were one hundred percent peeled, looking in all directions for the fountain, but I couldn’t seem to find it. During class, I happened to mention to a friend that I was dying to see the fountain, but had no idea where it was, and she said “You drove right past it when you drove onto the lot!” LOL During our lunch break she led me out to the location of the fountain and we snapped a couple of pics sitting on it and dancing inside of it. Sadly, the pic of me dancing did not come out! 🙁 But we did get to eat lunch on the lawn right in front of the fountain, and I was pinching myself the whole time!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Warner Brothers Ranch Lot is located at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank. While there are, sadly, no public tours offered of the Ranch, the fountain is completely visible through the front gates to the left of the guard shack. If you walk down Hollywood Way you can peek through the main gates and snap a quick pic. 🙂

March 4, 2008December 14, 2010

The “Brady Bunch” House

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! : )

March 3, 2008February 13, 2009

Scott Baio is 46 . . . and Stalked!

All this stalking must be rubbing off on my boyfriend, because he called me Tuesday night, all excited, saying, “I found a street sign and an address in the background of Scott Baio is 46 . . . and Pregnant – we can go stalk his house this weekend!” LOL I think my boyfriend is definitely a keeper! 🙂 It looks as if he’s still got a few tricks to learn, though, ’cause after doing a bit of research I found an article suggesting that the Baios don’t really live in the McMansion on Strawberry Drive shown on the reality show, but are instead still living at Scott’s bachelor pad, which was featured in Scott Baio is 45 . . . and Single. Something on a reality TV show is fake?!?! NO – I just don’t believe it!

Fake or not fake, of course I rushed right out to stalk both houses this weekend! First I hit up Scott’s bachelor pad – I found the address on this website, which might just be a new favorite! 🙂 The house on Royal Oak Road definitely looks occupied, and I am pretty sure the Baio’s are still calling it home. The house is very stalker friendly, you can see almost all of it from the road and you will definitely recognize the 70’s style home from Scott’s reality show.

The house from Scott Baio is 46 . . . and Pregnant is a stark contrast to his bachelor pad. It is absolutely gargantuan and a total eyesore! And Real Estalker was indeed correct – the house is currently vacant and up for sale. I really don’t think the Baios ever lived in it, I think it was pretty much just used as a set for the show. You can view the house’s inside hideousness on it’s real estate website here. I am actually surprised they are not marketing it as the house from Scott Baio is 46 . . . and Pregnant. It would be the house’s only selling point – at least from my point of view. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Scott Baio’s “fake” house is located at 17100 W. Strawberrry Drive in Encino. His bachelor pad is also in Encino, just a couple of miles away, at 15901 Royal Oak Road. He lives in a really beautiful neighborhood with some gorgeous homes. I definitely recommend driving around the neighborhood, if you have the time.

March 1, 2008April 10, 2009

The Huxtable’s House

I must be in a New York state of mind this week, because here I am yet again with another NYC filming location. 🙂 One of my very favorite blocks in all of Manhattan is called Saint Luke’s Place and it just happens to be the location of a famous brownstone from TV – the Huxtable Family’s house from The Cosby Show. St. Luke’s Place consists of a one block section of Leroy Street in Greenwich Village that runs between Hudson Street and 7th Ave. Most of the gorgeous row houses on the block were built in 1852.

I found this location in my go-to New York stalking book, which describes picturesque St. Luke’s Place as one of the most photographed blocks in Manhattan. Once you visit St. Luke’s for yourself, you’ll understand why! It is gorgeous, quaint, and evokes memories of old New York. Even the antique mayoral lampposts flanking the former home of New York Mayor Jimmy Walker are still in use. St. Luke’s Place has been used as a filming location for countless photo shoots, television commercials, TV shows and movies. Many famous celebrities and artists have also called St. Luke’s their home at one time or another.

Sculptor and painter Theodore Roszak lived at 1 St. Luke’s Place, number 4 was used as Audrey Hepburn’s home in Wait Until Dark, and Mayor Jimmy Walker lived at number 6 until 1932, when he was forced to resign his position due to corruption and scandal within his administration. He eventually fled to Europe. Winesburg, Ohio author Sherwood Anderson lived at number 12, Poet Marianne Moore resided at number 14, and An American Tragedy author Theodore Drieser called number 16 home. For a short time, Will Smith lived at 13 Leroy St., just past where St. Luke’s Place ends.

Across the street from the row houses on St. Luke’s Place, you will find Walker Park, a small park frequented by Edgar Allen Poe in the 1830’s. It was also used as a filming location in the movie Raging Bull.

I highly recommend taking a stroll down St. Luke’s Place while in New York, even if you are not a stalker. The architecture and history should be compelling to stalkers and non-stalkers alike!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: St. Luke’s Place is a block-long section of Leroy St. in Greenwich Village. It is bordered by Hudson Street to the north and 7th Avenue/Bedford Street to the south. The Huxtable’s brownstone can be found at 10 St. Luke’s Place.

February 18, 2008April 28, 2010

Sydney Bristow’s Apartment

Although I am not a big Alias fan – never seen an episode, actually – I know most of America was pretty obsessed with it. And I do love me some Jennifer Garner. So when I found the address of Sydney’s Bristow’s apartment in my fave stalking book, I, of course, had to stalk it.

Sydney Bristow lived in a very cute Spanish style apartment building called the El Cadiz in Hollywood. It was built in 1936 and definitely evokes a feeling of Old Hollywood. The El Cadiz is also a City of Los Angeles declared Historic-Cultural Monument.

Now that I have stalked Alias, I think I am going to have to go rent me the first season on DVD, so I can see what all the fuss is about. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Sydney Bristow lived in the El Cadiz apartments located at 1731 N. Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood, just a half a block north of Hollywood Boulevard and a few short blocks from the Hollywood and Highland Center. In 1970, Janis Joplin died of a drug overdose just a half a block from the El Cadiz at the Highland Gardens Hotel, which can be found at 7047 Franklin Avenue.