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Ambassador College from “That Thing You Do!”

All historic structures in the Los Angeles area with the word “ambassador” in their name seem to be doomed. The famed Ambassador Hotel, which once stood at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, was razed in 2005. And the former Ambassador College, at 131 South St. John Avenue in Pasadena, was largely demolished beginning in 2013. Coincidentally, both sites were featured in the 1996 film That Thing You Do! I never got to see the Ambassador Hotel in person while it was still intact, sadly, but I did visit Ambassador College on many occasions during the time I lived in Pasadena. Though a frequent filming locale, for whatever reason, I never blogged about the place. Until now, that is.

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Ambassador College was originally established by radio evangelist/Worldwide Church of God founder Herbert Armstrong in 1947. Upon moving his church’s headquarters to Pasadena, Armstrong decided to create a four-year university on the premises that would teach the religious institution’s ideals. He purchased several neighboring homes and mansions on Orange Grove Boulevard and began transforming them into a school.

Over the years, Armstrong acquired more nearby residences and plots of land, and his school, which he dubbed Ambassador College, eventually encompassed a large 4-block, 48-acre area consisting of outcroppings of mansions, gardens, and buildings.

In 1963, he employed the Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall (DMJM) architecture firm to devise a cohesive design for the haphazard site.

The group’s creation was a mid-century modern masterpiece.

DMJM hired architect Peter J. Holdstock to design many new campus buildings, including three that became a focal point – the Ambassador Auditorium;

the Hall of Administration;

and the Student Center;

all of which surround a reflecting pool and fountain . . .

. . . that is capped off by a towering sculpture of egrets taking flight designed by David Wynne.

Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall also bought in landscape architect Garrett Eckbo to overhaul the campus’ sprawling grounds.

The result was a dazzling array of colorful gardens, picturesque vistas, and sparkling fountains. You can see some fabulous photos of the school shortly after the redesign project was completed here.

Sadly, virtually none of it remains. Armstrong passed away in 1986 and Ambassador College faltered in his absence. The school, a four-year, liberal arts institution, was not without its fair share of controversy, which didn’t help matters. I won’t get into the details, but tales from disgruntled alumni can be found all over the internet, most describing the Worldwide Church of God as a cult. The campus was shuttered in 1990 and students and teaching staff were transferred to a sister facility in Texas. The Pasadena site remained vacant for almost a decade before being put up for sale in 1999. The property was finally sold off in 2004 to three different entities – Harvest Rock Church, Maranatha High School, and the Sares-Regis Group. The latter made plans to turn their 11-acre portion of the campus into a mixed-use development.

As part of the project, Sares-Regis tore down many of the school’s historic structures. Today, Ambassador College is a shell of its former self.

My most recent visit to the school took place last month and I was shocked to see that the campus was virtually unrecognizable. Thankfully, the Ambassador Auditorium still stands.

The fabulously honeycombed Hall of Administration is long gone, though.

Fortunately, I managed to snap a photo of its interior during a previous visit in August 2015.

Ambassador College was featured at the end of That Thing You Do!, in exterior shots of the supposed Santa Monica City of Broadcasting, where The Wonders filmed their The Hollywood Television Showcase segment.

The Ambassador Auditorium’s dressing room . . .

. . . and a campus bathroom were also utilized in The Hollywood Television Showcase scene.

That Thing You Do! is hardly the only production to have been lensed at Ambassador College, which should come as no surprise. The school’s clean lines and striking architecture transfer beautifully to both the big and small screen.

The campus has been such a hotbed of filming activity over the years, in fact, that it would be impossible for me to chronicle its entire resume here. But a list of some of the highlights can be found below.

In the Season 1 episode of The Incredible Hulk titled “Life and Death,” which aired in 1978, Ambassador College masked as the hospital where Dr. Stan Rhodes (Andrew Robinson) worked, though not much of it was shown.

The school popped up once again on The Incredible Hulk later that same year, this time as a psychiatric institute at the University of Hawaii in Season 2’s “Married.”

The campus’ Hulett C. Merritt mansion is where Dr. David Banner (Bill Bixby) married Dr. Carolyn Fields (Mariette Hartley) in the episode.

James ‘Thunder’ Early (Eddie Murphy) drops his pants during a live televised performance being shot in the Ambassador Auditorium in 2006’s Dreamgirls.

George (Colin Firth) taught at Ambassador College in the 2009 drama A Single Man. Of shooting at the school, an Interiors article states, “The filmmakers searched for a lecture hall that fit the time period; while most colleges had updated their lecture halls and buildings, this college in particular had been left untouched, for the most part. There was some modification and adjustments done in the interior spaces, such as painting and the removal of modern accoutrements, such as replacing whiteboards with blackboards, as a way of making the space more appropriate for the period.” Sadly, the Fine Arts Building, where filming took place, was one of the buildings lost to development, demolished in 2013.

2009 was busy for Ambassador College. That year, the interior of the Hall of Administration portrayed an immigration office in the Season 1 episode of Lie to Me titled “Depraved Heart.”

That same year, Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton) attended a gala at the Ambassador Auditorium in the Season 1 episode of Leverage titled “The First David Job.”

The Hall of Administration popped up – as a museum – in the Leverage episode that followed, as well, titled “The Second David Job.”

The Hulett C. Merritt mansion also served as temporary safe house for Nathan and his team in the episode. Both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the property were utilized in the shoot.

The Hall of Administration portrayed the FBI office where Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) worked in Fast & Furious, also in 2009.

President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) was shot outside of the Ambassador Auditorium in the Season 2 episode of Scandal titled “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” which aired in 2012.

That same year, the school appeared in one of my favorite commercials of all time, the Microsoft Surface “Movement” ad directed by Jon Chu. You can watch it here.

The campus was featured extensively in the first season of the reality competition series King of the Nerds, which aired in 2013.

In 2014, Jennifer Jareau (A.J. Cook) was kidnapped from outside of the Ambassador Auditorium at the end of the Season 9 episode of Criminal Minds titled “The Road Home.”

That same year, the interior of the Hall of Administration masked as the interior of Golden Fang Enterprises, Inc. Corporate Headquarters in Inherent Vice.

Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) fights Andrew Garner (Blair Underwood) in the Hall of Administration’s lobby in the Season 3 episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. titled “Chaos Theory,” which aired in 2015.

And in 2016, Ambassador College masked as the Japanese National Archives in Tokyo in the Season 3 episode of The Last Ship titled “Legacy.”

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The former Ambassador College site, from That Thing You Do!, is located at 131 South St. John Avenue in Pasadena.

September 15, 2017
Community Church at Holliston from “That Thing You Do!”

Many moons ago, around the time I first moved to Los Angeles in early 2000, the Pasadena Historical Society hosted a special exhibition about filming in the area. I, of course, attended and, along with learning that Dylan McKay’s (Luke Perry) house from Beverly Hills, 90210 was located just down the street from Casa Walsh, I also gleaned that fave movie That Thing You Do! had been lensed at two Crown City locales – the now largely defunct Ambassador College (at 131 South St. John Avenue) and the Holliston Avenue Methodist Church, now Community Church at Holliston (at 1305 East Colorado Boulevard). Though I visited both sites many times over the years, I have somehow never done a blog on either. So I figured it was time to change that. A write-up on Ambassador College will be coming soon, but today I thought I’d cover the Community Church.

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Community Church at Holliston has an interesting history – one that involves a move. Yes, the structure was actually moved from one location to another. But more on that in a bit.

The parish was originally built in 1887 at the southeast corner of East Colorado Boulevard and South Marengo Avenue (where the Pacific Southwest Trust & Savings Bank building stands today). The Gothic-style structure, then known as the First Methodist Episcopal Church, was razed after its tower and roof were blown off during a bad storm in 1891. A replacement church was subsequently constructed on the site in 1901.

The new church, Richardsonian Romanesque in style, was designed by architect John C. Austin, who was also responsible for giving us the Theodore Groene/Bahn Jewelry Store building in Ventura and the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park. You can see photos of the church during its early days here, here, and here.

In 1923, it was decided that the congregation needed more land and a larger worship space, so the First Methodist Episcopal Church was taken apart – literally – and moved piece by piece to its current location at the corner of East Colorado Boulevard and South Holliston Avenue, where it was rebuilt with a few alterations. It re-opened to the public in December 1924.

The sanctuary boasts a façade consisting of Sespe-covered-bricks which, along with the gothic-style windows, apses, and crenelated roofline, gives the church a very castle-like appearance.

The large inner courtyard is especially reminiscent of a castle.

The parish has undergone several name changes over the years, becoming Holliston Avenue Methodist Church, then Holliston Church, and finally Community Church at Holliston, as it is known today.

In That Thing You Do!, the Community Church at Holliston was the spot where The Oneders recorded their first single, for their soon-to-be-hit song “That Thing You Do.”

The reason their inaugural record was laid down in a church? That’s all thanks to Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott). When the idea of recording an album first comes up, Guy informs the group that he has a relative in the record industry. Well, sort of. As Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn) explains, Guy’s uncle, Uncle Bob (Chris Isaak), “records church music, choirs, favorite sermons, stuff my mom listens to.” Uncle Bob does indeed help The Oneders, though, recording their first single in what is supposedly a locale Eerie, Pennsylvania church. In the scene, you can see the sanctuary’s E.M. Skinner pipe organ.

Sadly, when we showed up to stalk the church, mass had just ended and the interior was packed with people. Though we did get to see the inside, I did not snap any photographs of it due to the crowds. I was able to take pictures of the courtyard area, though, thankfully. You can check out some images of the Community Church at Holliston’s interior here.

I used to live not far from Community Church and happened upon the filming of a Cold Case episode on the premises one day. Or actually, episodes. The locale appeared in Season 6’s special two-parter, titled “The Long Blue Line” and “Into the Blue,” both of which aired in 2009. For the shoot, the church was transformed into the Pennsylvania Military Institute.

Though I couldn’t venture onto the property to watch the filming, I could see a few of the courtyard scenes being shot from the street, all of which involved military formations and marching. It could not have been more cool to witness!

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Community Church at Holliston, from that Thing Thing You Do!, is located at 1305 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

September 13, 2017
New York’s Paley Park

New York has no shortage of “secret” places. I blogged about one – Grand Central’s Whispering Gallery – on Friday. Another that the Grim Cheaper and I are fond of is Paley Park, located in NYC’s Midtown East neighborhood. We happened by the site while wandering along 53rd Street during our very first visit to the Big Apple in 2004 and were so struck by its beauty that we had to pop in for a closer look. We now make it a point to stop by at least once during every trip. Though not a filming location (at least that I know of), Paley Park is such a stunning spot, I decided it was most definitely worthy of a blog post.

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Paley Park is one of many pocket parks or vest-pocket parks, i.e. small landscaped spaces open to the public, located on the island of Manhattan.

The pocket park concept was first proposed by landscape architecture firm Zion & Breen Associates during a 1963 Architectural League of New York exhibition. A couple of years later, broadcast giant William Paley submitted a spot to built the prototype – a 40×100-foot plot of land he owned that formerly housed one of New York’s most preeminent nightclubs. Sherman Billingsley’s Stork Club, as it was known, stood at 3 East 53rd from 1934 to 1966 and, during its heyday, played host to such guests as Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Lucille Ball, John Barrymore, Charlie Chaplin, Carmen Miranda, Judy Garland, Ernest Hemingway, Tallulah Bankhead, Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Grace Kelly, Ronald Reagan, Spencer Tracy, and Elizabeth Taylor. The Stork was shuttered in October 1965 due to financial losses from a longtime labor dispute and the building that once housed it was razed the following year after being purchased by Paley. Soon after, plans got underway to construct the park.

Designed by Zion & Breen partner Robert Zion, along with input from Paley, the miniscule park is situated on a scant 1/10 of an acre (only 4,200 square feet!) that is set back from 53rd Street in a tucked away spot surrounded by buildings on three sides. The east and west sides, covered in English Ivy, were dubbed “vertical lawns” by Zion.

At the rear of the park stands a 40-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall waterfall that pumps 1,800 gallons of water per minute. The white noise it creates completely drowns out the din of 53rd Street which sits just steps away. The result is a peaceful oasis – a tiny and unexpected respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. The idyll also features moveable tables and chairs (designed by Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia, respectively), 12 honey locust trees, and a small café, all set atop granite paver flooring.

Named in honor of William’s father, Samuel Paley, the park opened to the public on May 23rd, 1967.

Paley Park is easily one of the most beautiful spots on the island of Manhattan. As such, I was certain it had to have been featured onscreen numerous times. Try as I might, though, outside of William H. Whyte’s 1980 documentary The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, I could not find one single instance. The Stork Club did pop up in a couple of movies, however, including 1947’s Daisy Kenyon and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 noir The Wrong Man (pictured below).

Located just a half a mile away, at 217 East 51st Street, is another gorgeous pocket park that the GC and I only discovered on our most recent trip to Manhattan last April. Known as Greenacre Park, the bucolic spot was designed by Sasaki, Dawson, DeMay Associates in 1971.

The 60×120-foot park also boasts a waterfall, this one rising 25 feet. Sadly, no photographs are allowed at the site, so I was only able to snap a few from the street.

On a stalking side note – my good friend Kerry (you may remember her from her fabulous guest post about the farmhouse from All of My Heart) has just started her own filming locations blog, I’ve Scene It On Hallmark. As the name suggests, she will be chronicling locales featured in the popular Hallmark Channel movies and series. Her guest post really resonated with so many of my readers and I know her new blog will, too! So, go check it out! Congratulations, Kerry!

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Paley Park is located at 3 East 53rd Street in New York’s Midtown East neighborhood. Greenacre Park can be found at 217 East 51st Street, also in Midtown East.

September 11, 2017
Grand Central Terminal’s Whispering Gallery

New York is a magical place. I always describe it as such. It is not just the abject filming locations, gorgeous architecture, and surplus of history that make the city so majestic, but the little, notable things that seem to be tucked around every corner. Take for instance the Whispering Gallery at Grand Central Terminal. On the lower level of the landmark train station is a small alcove framed by four pillared archways. Commuters and tourists rush through it everyday, hurriedly passing underneath the tiled bows, taking no note of its symmetrical beauty or its acoustic secret. Linger a few minutes in the 2,000-square-foot chamber, though, and you will undoubtedly see friends enter together, wander to opposite corners, turn to face the pillars, and then either immediately proclaim “How cool!” or start giggling. Their exuberance is due to the fact that the curvature of the Gallery’s ceiling provides a seamless path for low-level sound to travel up one side and down the other, arriving in the ear of a listener 50 feet away.

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I first read about the phenomenon shortly before my inaugural visit to New York in 2004. The guidebooks I purchased in preparation for the trip didn’t specify exactly where in Grand Central the Whispering Gallery was located, though, and I somehow got the impression that it was part of the Main Concourse. So, on our first sojourn to the station, the Grim Cheaper and I excitedly headed to opposite corners of the grand room, turned and faced the walls, and, like a couple of idiots, proceeded to whisper to each other. Neither of us heard a peep, outside of the hustle and bustle of commuters, and walked away from the experience thoroughly confused, I am sure drawing quite a few laughs from Manhattanites in the know. Thinking the Whispering Gallery was a hoax, we never re-visited the search on any of our subsequent trips to the Big Apple. I did not even think about the site until years later, in fact, when I happened to mention our failure to fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, during our first meet-up, which took place in NYC in 2009. Owen was quite familiar with the Whispering Gallery, knew of its exact location, and assured us it was real. While he wanted to show it to us that day, unfortunately we ran out of time. But he vowed that on our next visit, he would take us there. Though it took 7 years for that visit to materialize, Owen made good on his promise.

As he showed us, the Whispering Gallery is located on Grand Central’s lower level, in the Dining Concourse, just outside of the iconic Oyster Bar.

The rotunda, which is actually a convergence of three commuter corridors, was constructed, along with the rest of Grand Central Terminal, in 1913. The vaulted space was designed by Rafael Guastavino and his son, Rafael Guastavino, Jr., of the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company. The duo, who also created domed masterpieces at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the City Hall subway station, and the Bronx Zoo Elephant House (just to name a few), utilized their signature technique to create the Gallery. As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority website explains it, “Guastavino’s method of arch construction uses layers of thin, glazed terracotta tiles set in mortar in a herringbone pattern. The tiles are naturally fireproof and as strong as steel or wooden beams but weigh much less.”

The result is a dazzling display of gilded masonry.

And yes, a scientific curiosity. Thanks to the laws of physics and the Gallery’s parabolic-curved ceiling, two friends can stand at opposite corners of the room, face the wall, whisper to each other, and those whispers will magically be heard. The GC and I tested it out, with Owen acting as our guide, and I am happy to report that the phenomenon is absolutely real – and so incredibly cool.

There are differing beliefs as to whether or not the Guastavinos intended the effect. The New York Times quotes architect Frank J. Prial, Jr., who worked on the 1990s restoration of the terminal, as describing the acoustical occurrence as “a happy coincidence.” Apparently, during the restoration project, Prial’s firm, Beyer Blinder Belle, did not come across any evidence that the sound effect was deliberate. But author Lisa Montanarelli states in her book New York City Curiosities that the Guastavinos “designed the whispering gallery based on architectural principals that have been used for centuries worldwide – from the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing to the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur, India.” Regardless if the phenomenon was accidental or intended, the Whispering Gallery is a fabulous “secret” site, one that I cannot more highly recommend visiting and testing out for yourself.

The Whispering Gallery is also a filming location! In the 2011 remake of the movie Arthur, Naomi (Greta Gerwig) shows the unique spot to Arthur (Russell Brand) during their first date and he proceeds to officially ask her out – via whisper, of course – while there.

My friend Katie, who runs Matthew Lillard Online, let me know that Cereal (Lillard), Dade (Jonny Lee Miller), Kate (Angelina Jolie) and the gang skated through the Whispering Gallery at the end of 1995’s Hackers. Thanks, Katie!

The Gallery is also said to have been featured in the 1996 romcom Breathing Room, but unfortunately I could not find a copy of it anywhere with which to make screen captures for this post.

The Oyster Bar, also designed by the Guastavinos, has been featured in a couple of productions, as well. Though we did not venture inside the historic eatery during our Whispering Gallery stalk, I figured it still bears mentioning here. The restaurant popped up a couple of times in the 2016 thriller The Girl on the Train.

That same year, Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling) dined there with Dr. Hunter Aloysius ‘Hap’ Percy (Jason Isaacs) in the Season 1 episode of The OA titled “New Colossus.”

Though a scene in the Season 1 episode of Mad Men titled “Red in the Face” was set at a supposed New York City oyster bar, the specific oyster bar wasn’t mentioned. Countless websites state that filming of the segment took place at Grand Central, but that information is erroneous. The AMC series was shot almost in its entirety in Los Angeles and the “Red in the Face” scene was lensed at Musso and Frank Grill in Hollywood, as detailed in this post. Being that Musso’s (as the eatery is commonly called) looks nothing like Grand Central’s Oyster Bar (as you can see below), I am unsure of how the confusion came to be.

Another “secret” spot in Grand Central that we checked out while in New York last April was a section of dirty ceiling in the Main Concourse. When the room’s massive rooftop mural was cleaned in the mid-90s (a job that took 6 months to complete at a cost of $1 million!), the John Canning Company, the group that performed the restoration, left one small 9×18-inch patch tainted. That patch can be found near the crab’s claw in the hall’s northwest corner. While most websites (and even Grand Central tour guides) claim that the dirt was caused by nicotine tar from the hundreds upon hundreds of commuters who puffed in the Concourse before cigarettes were banned, JCC disputes this fact, stating that the grime, which boasted a 2-inch thickness in some spots, was actually created by air pollutants, including car and truck exhaust and soot emissions from area industrial plants. JCC left the small patch of dirt intact for future study. According to the company’s website, such patches “provide the complete environmental history of the building’s interior.”

Though the dirty ceiling patch was referenced in Arthur, it wasn’t shown. A close-up view of it can be seen below, though.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to my friend/fellow stalker Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for showing me this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Grand Central Terminal is located at 89 East 42nd Street in the Midtown East area of New York. The Whispering Gallery, from Arthur, can be found just outside of the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, which is on the Lower Level in the Dining Concourse. The dirty ceiling patch is located near the crab’s claw in the northwest corner of the Main Concourse.

September 8, 2017
The Southern Hotel from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” Music Video

The Grim Cheaper often accuses me of beating a dead horse. While I typically don’t agree with him, today’s post is pretty concrete evidence that he’s right, because here I am yet again with yet another article about the diner from Michael Jackson’s 1983 “Beat It” music video. Today actually marks the fourth time I’ve written about this particular locale, making it the most covered spot ever featured on IAMNOTASTALKER. (To be fair, I’ve also written about the Walsh house from Beverly Hills, 90210 – my very favorite filming site – on four occasions, though one of the posts was a mash-up of several places from the Fox series.) This location has also been the most puzzling I’ve ever covered. I am happy to report, though, that the mystery surrounding it has finally, finally been put to rest thanks to a reader named Dave, who sent me an email in early July that just about made me fall off my chair.

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For those who haven’t been following along since the beginning, my coverage of the “Beat It” café started back in March 2010 when I wrote about the Monte Carlo Restaurant located at 109 East Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles. I first came across the eatery via Google Street View while on a cyber-stalking mission to track down the locale and was struck by its resemblance to what had appeared onscreen. With its half-green/half-cream walls and curved counter, the Monte Carlo, which is still in operation today, looks like it was ripped straight out of the video. It is also located smack dab in the middle of Skid Row, where I knew “Beat It” had been lensed.

Despite those seeming connections, though, upon visiting the restaurant in person, I started to have doubts that it was the spot where MJ filmed. Not only is the Monte Carlo interior much smaller than that of the “Beat It” café, but an address number of 416 could also be seen in the video (it’s denoted with a pink circle below), which does not gibe with the Monte Carlo’s 109 address.

A sign reading “Special Café” was also visible in “Beat It,” as you can see via the pink arrows in both the screen capture and the photograph below, which was taken from Todd Gray’s book Michael Jackson: Before He Was King.   (Please disregard the additional markings on the photo. They were added in reference to a since-solved mystery that my fellow stalkers were discussing in the comments section of my first Monte Carlo post). While it was entirely possibly the eatery’s name had been changed from “Special Café” to “Monte Carlo Restaurant” since filming took place, the discrepancy still gave me pause. So I opened the quest up to my fellow stalkers, asking for their opinions on the matter. Many chimed in, sharing their thoughts, but those thoughts didn’t lead to any sort of definitive conclusion. I re-stalked and re-blogged about the Monte Carlo later that same month in the hopes of clarifying things, but unfortunately, my second visit and post only provided more doubt and confusion – and more conversation amongst readers. Still though, no one was able to say with any sort of certainty whether or not we had found the right spot.

Cut to March 2013. An MJ fan named Justin, who had been following the hunt since the beginning, posted a comment on my original Monte Carlo post in which he shared a link to the 1955 photograph below.   He came across the image via the USC Digital Library archives while searching for historic pictures of Skid Row and East Fifth Street and was floored to happen upon one of a restaurant with signage reading “Special Café,” located next door to a property with a 414 address number – all of which lined up with what was seen in “Beat It.” The windows and doorway of the eatery in the photograph were also a match to what appeared in the video.

Shortly thereafter, I learned how to search through old digitized Los Angeles phone records and found a listing for the Special Café at 416 East Fifth Street, which seemed to cement everything. Justin had solved the mystery! (Or so we thought – but more on that in a bit.)

As Justin informed me (incorrectly, as it turns out, but, again, more on that later), the café had been razed shortly after filming took place, much to my chagrin, and, after being utilized as a parking lot for close to three decades, a building was finally constructed on the site in 2013. I immediately ran out to stalk the locale and did a write-up on it, but, unfortunately, that post led to even more confusion thanks to the Historic Aerials website.

When I pulled up 1972 and 1980 views of the Special Café site while researching for the post, Historic Aerials showed that no building was located there during those years. Since I knew that the eatery was around from at least 1955 (the year the photograph Justin found was taken) to 1983 (the year “Beat It” was filmed), the building’s absence on Historic Aerials was absolutely mind-boggling! As my friend/fellow stalker David from Spain stated in the comments section of that post, “Oh my god, that’s a case for Mulder and Scully.”

Thankfully, Dave, an eagle-eyed fellow stalker from across the pond, figured things out. In his July email, he said, “Check out the attached image of the Southern Hotel, captured from the 1982 Charles Bronson movie Death Wish II. Compare it with your recent-ish photo of the site, paying particular attention to the red panels on the right hand side, i.e. the lower left of the Southern building. Everything should be clear! Do you see it?” Yes, I did see it – and just about fell out of my chair upon doing so!

As Dave’s email went on to explain, “The Special Café was never demolished as such – it’s still standing, and forms part of the main Southern building (which it always did). The storefront windows have been replaced with the red paneling and the door (or at least, a door) is still there, although it’s walled off with railings now.”

To say that I was in utter shock over Dave’s revelation would be an understatement. The Special Café site still stands? Say whaaa?

He broke things down further, pointing out, “As per the Death Wish II screencap: the doorway/entrance to the Southern Hotel was originally on the right-hand side of the building and classed as No. 412, the Café – on the left hand side of the building – was No. 416, the storefront in the middle – aka the ‘Church on Wheels Heartreach Mission’ – which has now been remodeled into the main entrance to the Southern, would have originally been No. 414.”

In researching the Southern Hotel, I learned that it had been completely gutted in 2000 – taken down to the studs, “its bones on display like a clanky skeleton,” according to a Los Angeles Times article – before being transformed into a 55-room apartment complex for homeless veterans. Despite that remodel, though, the building, which was originally constructed in 1920, is surprisingly still recognizable from Death Wish II.

In the movie, architect Paul Kersey (Bronson) books a room at the Southern while on the hunt for the five men who killed his daughter and housekeeper.

As Dave informed me, Death Wish II isn’t the first Charles Bronson movie to feature the hotel.   Ten years earlier, the actor, playing the role of Arthur Bishop, walked on Fifth Street just west of the Southern in the 1972 thriller The Mechanic.

Dave also filled me in on, sent me links to, and provided screen captures of a myriad of the hotel’s other onscreen appearances and pop culture connections. As he informed me, photographer Sam Cherry snapped a picture of famed author Charles Bukowski on Skid Row standing across the street from the Southern in 1970. You can see the hotel, as well as the Special Café, on the right-hand side of the image below.

Chester (Harvey Gold) and Cooper (Jason Miller) walk by the Southern at the beginning of the 1974 drama The Nickel Ride. The Special Café exterior can even be seen in the second screen capture below.

In the Season 3 episode of Starsky & Hutch titled “The Heroes,” which aired in 1977, Det. Ken ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (David Soul) and Det. Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) drive by the Special Café.

The eatery and hotel were also briefly seen in the Season 4 episode of Starsky & Hutch titled “Starsky vs. Hutch,” which aired in 1979.

When Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Adrian (Talia Shire) arrive at the Hotel Lorane (which, as Dave pointed out, is still intact!) in 1982’s Rocky III, the Southern is visible in the background.

The hotel is seen, briefly once again, in the opening montage of the Season 1 episode of Miami Vice titled “Glades,” which aired in 1984.

And in 1984’s Repo Man, the Southern and the Special Café are just barely visible from the window of Otto’s (Emilio Estevez) car during a driving scene.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big, huge THANK YOU to fellow stalker Dave for finally putting an end to the “Beat It” café mystery, for doing all of the research for this post, and for providing the many screen captures!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Southern Hotel is located at 412 East Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles. Special Café, aka the diner from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” music video, was formerly situated in the eastern portion of the building’s ground floor, but is no longer there. This locale is not in the best of areas, so if you visit, please exercise caution.

September 6, 2017
Happy Labor Day!

I would like to wish a happy Labor Day and three-day weekend to all of my fellow stalkers. I am taking today off in honor of the holiday, but will be back on Wednesday with a new post – one I am really, really excited about. So stay tuned!

September 4, 2017
The Francis F. Palmer House from “Gossip Girl”

A Gossip Girl tour of New York wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Constance Billard School for Girls/St. Jude’s School for Boys, the elite preparatory academy attended by Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), and the rest of “Manhattan’s elite” teenage set on the CW series. The only problem is that four different locations (yes, four!) actually portrayed the learning institution. I visited (and blogged about) the most recognizable of the bunch, the Museum of the City of New York, while in NYC back in 2009. And while I desperately wanted to stalk the second-most recognizable spot, the Francis F. Palmer House, aka the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (try saying that one five times fast!), I wasn’t able to get around to it on that trip. So there was no way I was missing it during my latest Big Apple vacation last April.

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The Francis F. Palmer House was originally constructed from 1916 to 1918 on a corner plot of land located at East 93rd Street and Park Avenue that was once the site of an 1847 residence built by Winfield Scott, a war hero who served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861.

Commissioned by wealthy banker Francis Palmer, the Georgian Federal-style estate was designed by the Delano & Aldrich architecture firm, who employed brick and Tuscan marble in the construction. At the time of its inception, the five-story pad boasted a Mansard roof, a Juliet balcony, a library, a myriad of fireplaces, and a large formal garden courtyard situated on its west side.

When Palmer passed away in 1926, his widow sold the residence to George F. Baker, Jr., the son of a well-to-do banker. Baker snatched up three surrounding properties, as well, razed them and hired Delano & Aldrich to build a garage with servants’ quarters and a large secondary wing complete with a ballroom in their place. The new structures were all situated around the garden courtyard, making it the focal point of the dwelling.

In 1959, Baker’s widow sold the sprawling mansion to the Synod of Bishops (aka the administration of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia), who transformed it into their headquarters. While the property underwent a few modifications to make it functional as a workplace, not much was altered, thankfully, and the changes that were made honored the original design. As part of the transformation, the Synod opened up the large brick wall surrounding the central courtyard (allowing it to be visible from the street) and added a gorgeous wrought iron gate. A towering Imperial staircase was also installed at the rear of the courtyard in order to grant easier access to the second floor. Today, the site is comprised of an administration building and two churches, the Cathedral of the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign and St. Sergius Church.

The Francis F. Palmer House was only utilized as Constance Billard School for Girls/St. Jude’s School for Boys during a portion of Gossip Girl’s inaugural season, first appearing in the episode titled “Poison Ivy.”

The site’s 93rd Street exterior . . .

. . . as well as its courtyard and stairwell made numerous appearances during Season 1 and should be immediately recognizable to GG fans.

Eagle-eyed viewers undoubtedly know that a second school courtyard was also featured during Season 1 and throughout the end of Season 2. That spot cannot be found at the Francis F. Palmer House, though. It was actually just a set built on a soundstage at Silvercup Studios in Queens where the series was lensed.

Most interior school scenes were also shot on a studio-built set at Silvercup.

The inside of the Palmer House did pop up a few times as the interior of Constance Billard/St. Jude’s during Season 1, though, including in the episodes “Poison Ivy” and “A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate.”

“A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate” was actually the last time the Palmer House made an appearance on Gossip Girl. For whatever reason, beginning with the episode that followed, titled “The Blair Bitch Project,” the Museum of the City of New York started standing in for the gang’s school and the Palmer House was never to be seen again.

Then, inexplicably, at the beginning of Season 2, locales shifted once again – this time to The Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, though establishing shots of the Museum of the City of New York were still often utilized.

Despite the Palmer House’s rather brief stint on Gossip Girl, it is still, in my opinion, one of the most recognizable locations from the show, not to mention a gorgeous example of New York’s early 20th Century architecture. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

The Palmer House also stands in for The Briarton School, where Jamie Burns (Matt Bomer) teaches, on the third season of The Sinner.

And it popped up as the home of Nicholas Endicott (Dermot Mulroney) in the Season 1 episode of Prodigal Son titled “Like Father . . . “

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Francis F. Palmer House, aka the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, aka Constance Billard School for Girls/St. Jude’s School for Boys on Gossip Girl, is located at 75 East 93rd Street on New York’s Upper East Side. The other locations utilized as the gang’s academy on the series are the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue, also on the Upper East Side, The Packer Collegiate Institute at 170 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn, and Silvercup Studios at 42-22 22nd Avenue in Long Island City.

September 1, 2017
The Empire Hotel from “Gossip Girl”

My friend Mikey, from the Mike the Fanboy website, always teases me for being a huge fan of “Hollywood randoms,” i.e. stars he has never heard of. One of my favorites of the so-called randoms is Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl. Out of all the male TV characters I’ve ever come across, Chuck is hands-down my most-loved. (Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock runs a close second.) The Grim Cheaper and I were obsessed with Gossip Girl when it was on the air, but haven’t seen the CW series since it wrapped in December 2012. Out of the blue, he put on the pilot last night and I can’t tell you how great it was to once again hear that famous intro speech narrated by Kristen Bell. You know the one – “Gossip Girl here – your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.” Watching the episode got me to thinking about the Empire Hotel, which was owned by Chuck on the series and which I stalked while in New York last April. Somehow I had never gotten around to blogging about the place. So here goes.

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The Empire’s history dates back to 1893 when construction began on a large 7-story lodging at the corner of West 63rd Street and Broadway on New York’s Upper West Side. The Hotel Casa Alameda, as it was set to be called, was never completed, though, and the property went into foreclosure. It was eventually sold, the construction finished and, in 1889, re-opened as the Empire Hotel. Nine years later, the Empire was purchased by Herbert DuPuy, who had lofty goals for the site. He had the building razed in 1922 and replaced it with a new, larger, 15-story hotel. The re-imagined Empire opened to the public on December 5th, 1923.

Its now iconic rooftop sign was erected at the same time.

Though Hotel Online states that the sign is “one of the first ever and longest standing neon billboards in the United States,” according to Curbed New York, it was actually replaced in the 1960s. I am unsure which site’s information is correct, but, regardless, the “Hotel Empire” sign makes for some amazing photo opportunities, as you can see here and here.

In December 2003, the Empire was shuttered after being slated for a condominium conversion project, but the plan was halted by a group of permanent residents who filed complaints with the city.

Instead, the hotel underwent a massive 3-year renovation, re-opening in August 2007.

The interior of the 413-room property was reimagined by interior design firm Goodman Charlton.

The result of their efforts is a very Old Hollywood-esque tapestry of golds, blacks, oranges, and the occasional zebra print.

The sweeping two-story lobby is marked by swaying curtains, tall cushy sofas, and a massive staircase.

It is not at all hard to see how the Empire wound up on Gossip Girl. Its design is so very, very Chuck Bass.

The site first showed up in the Season 3 episode of GG titled “The Lost Boy,” in the scene in which Chuck announces to his longtime girlfriend Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) that he has cashed in all of his Bass Industries stock in order to purchase the Empire.

The hotel’s next appearance on the series was in “How to Succeed in Business,” also from Season 3, in which Chuck opens a speakeasy on the premises.

The Empire then went on to be featured regularly in both establishing shots . . .

. . . and in various on-location shoots throughout the remainder of the series’ 6-season run.

The penthouse suite Chuck called home was just a set, though, located on a soundstage at Silvercup Studios East in Queens, where the show was lensed.

According to a January 2010 CNN Entertainment article, the Empire saw a 5-10% increase in bookings and a 50% increase in website traffic due to the filming – at a time when most hotels were experiencing a decrease in numbers. John A. Fox, a senior vice president at hospitality consulting group PKF, noticed the spike in bookings, but “had not thought to attribute it to the hotel’s guest appearance in a television show.” Um, hello! Thankfully, David Bowd, president of the hotels division of Amsterdam Hospitality, the company that owns the Empire, had more foresight. Of his reasoning behind the decision to allow filming on the premises, he said, “I think that teenagers can dictate where their parents stay over vacation and we saw a lot of that over the Thanksgiving holiday and into the bookings for Christmas and New Year’s.” Serious kudos to the Empire! So many hotels, restaurants, and businesses I’ve come across consider filming a nuisance and aren’t too keen on broadcasting their onscreen appearances, which I’ve never understood as cinematic stints can be such a massive draw for potential customers.

Gossip Girl is not the only production to have utilized the Empire. In the 2010 flick Sex and the City 2, the after-party for the premiere of Smith Jerrod’s (Jason Lewis) new movie is held in the property’s lobby, though the hotel is not mentioned by name. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) simply describes the place as “the VIP room at the after-party.”

It is in the Lobby Bar that Carrie catches Mr. Big (Chris Noth) flirting with the Senior Vice President of the Bank of Madrid, Carmen Garcia Carrion (Penelope Cruz).

As its name suggests, the Lobby Bar is located in a tucked-away corner of the Empire’s lobby.

In the Season 1 episode of Power titled “Not Exactly How We Planned,” which aired in 2014, James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) and Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) met with Felipe Lobos (Enrique Murciano) at the hotel.

The Empire masked as the Wooster Hotel, where SVU detectives Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) and Dominick Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino) investigated the rape of aspiring Olympic pole vaulter Jenna Miller (Kim Morgan) in the Season 18 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled “Heightened Emotions,” which aired in 2016.

The Empire was also supposedly featured in the Season 2 episode of The Equalizer titled “Solo,” which aired in 1987, but I could not find a copy of it anywhere to make screen captures for this post.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Empire Hotel, from Gossip Girl, is located at 44 West 63rd Street on New York’s Upper West Side. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

August 30, 2017
Jewel’s Catch One from “Pretty Woman”

They say that Lady Luck makes for a fickle mistress, but she was certainly smiling on me earlier this month. Not only did I track down the Campbell residence from Soap and the original Mama’s Family house during the first week of August, but fellow stalker Chas, from It’s Filmed There, sent me a text saying that he had finally, finally located the interior of The Blue Banana from the 1990 romcom Pretty Woman, a place I had been looking for for ages. I was shocked to learn that Vivian Ward’s (Julia Roberts) favorite hangout was actually Jewel’s Catch One, an oft-filmed site that also appeared in another of my favorite movies, Girls Just Want to Have Fun. The Arlington Heights hot spot shut its doors in July 2015, unfortunately, after 44 years in business. It crushed me to realize that up until two summers ago, the venue was still in operation and I could have stalked it! Knowing the transient nature of nightclubs, in all my years of searching for the locale, never in my wildest dreams did I think it would still be in business, intact, or even remotely recognizable 27 years after filming took place. But a Google search of images of Jewel’s Catch One showed me that, up until the closure, the lounge still looked exactly as it did in Pretty Woman. Another Google search told me that the site now housed a different nightclub named Union. I happened to be in L.A. when I received Chas’ text, so I headed right on over to stalk the venue. And there was Lady Luck once again at my side. Union was closed when we stopped by, but while I was taking photos, one of the booking managers happened to walk out. I asked if there was any way he might show me the interior and he could not have been more happy to do so! I literally just about hyperventilated from excitement. That excitement only heightened when I saw that, despite the change in ownership, the interior of the club is still very recognizable as The Blue Banana!

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Before I delve into that, though, a little history on the site. Jewel’s Catch One was founded in 1973 by Jewel Thais-Williams, an African-American lesbian who had long been growing weary over the difficulty she was having getting in to the popular West Hollywood gay clubs of the era due to her skin color and gender. Recognizing the need for a safe haven for minority members of the LGBT community to dance, party and let loose, Jewel took matters into her own hands and purchased a neighborhood bar located on the ground floor of a three-level 1923 building that once housed the Diana Ballroom. She transformed the small space into Jewel’s Catch One, a welcoming nightclub that offered the ultimate in privacy and discretion for its patrons. It quickly caught on, becoming so popular that Jewel was able to expand into other areas of the building, eventually purchasing and taking over the entire 7-room property.

Jewel’s Catch One attracted people of all races, genders, and sexual orientation. Thanks to the privacy the club afforded, it wasn’t long before celebrities started popping in, as well. Just a few of the stars the lounge played host to include Sammy Davis Jr., Gregory Hines, Warren Beatty, Ali MacGraw, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Sade, and Pink.

In 1985, the club suffered a massive fire in its top-floor disco room. Despite having to shut down for two years to rebuild, Jewel’s prevailed, coming back stronger than ever.

Thais-Williams could be found on the premises nightly, mixing drinks and mingling with her customers. She was so much more than just a nightclub owner, though. Jewel quickly found herself in the position of trailblazer, community leader, and humanitarian. When the AIDS epidemic first hit, she held fundraisers and offered her support to those afflicted. She helped local addicts get clean. She operated a soup kitchen out of Catch One’s parking lot to provide food to those who couldn’t afford to feed themselves. She co-founded countless community organizations, including the Minority AIDS Project, the Unity Fellowship of Christ Church, the Imani Unidos Food Pantry, and Rue’s House, a living facility for women and children with HIV. She didn’t stop there, though. After sitting through an appointment with an inefficient doctor in the ‘90s, Jewel decided to go back to school to study Eastern Medicine. She graduated in 1999 with a Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine – at the age of 60 no less. Two years later, she opened the Village Heath Foundation next door to Catch One. The free clinic, which is still in operation, provides medical services to the community’s less fortunate. Today, Jewel can even add “producer” to the long list of her accomplishments, having served as one on a 2016 documentary about her club titled Jewel’s Catch One.

Sadly, Catch One saw a decline in patronage in recent years. As Jewel explained in a 2014 The Neighborhood News Online interview, “The need [for the club] isn’t there anymore. The population was gay and lesbian for most of the years — though everybody came, including straight people and stars — but now the community can go anywhere they want to. And now, even when I come out on a Saturday night, no one’s dancing, no one’s talking. They’re all standing on the edge of the room and all you see is white lights, screens.” In July 2015, she decided to shutter the site, put it up for sale, and instead focus her energies on running the Village Health Foundation. The space was purchased by Mitch Edelson in November of that year and re-opened as Union in February 2016. I love that the club’s original signage was left intact, despite the changeover.

Today, the venue boasts six dance areas known as the Disco, The Loft, Jewel’s Room, Circle Bar, Noise Room, and Tavern. Jewel’s Room (pictured below) is the space that appeared as The Blue Banana in Pretty Woman and is the area of the club most often featured onscreen. It is not very hard to see why producers choose to use it regularly. It definitely has a retro aura, even with the modernizations made by Edelson when the site became Union.

As I walked into Jewel’s Room, I just about passed out from excitement.

I was in awe at how recognizable it still is from Pretty Woman, as you can see above and below.

I was most excited to see the stairwell leading to the mezzanine, which Vivian walked down in the movie. The white metal railing has since been swapped out for a modern glass and metal railing (which bummed me to no end), but I was thrilled to finally be laying eyes on the stairs nonetheless.

Never thought I’d be posing for this photo! Finally! (Due to the room’s low lighting, my pictures came out a bit hazy, unfortunately – some worse than others. My apologies.)

Jewel’s Room’s mezzanine was referred to as the “Poor Room” in Pretty Woman. When I mentioned that factoid to our tour guide, he asked if I wanted to head upstairs to see the space in person. It was about that time that I completely lost my cool. (Again, I’m sorry about the poor quality of my photos here.)

When I saw that the mezzanine area boasts an air hockey table in real life, I was ecstatic. Not quite the pool table seen in Pretty Woman, but close enough!

Another shot of the “Poor Room” is pictured below.

As I mentioned in this February 2012 post, the front exterior of The Blue Banana was a mocked-up section of the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

The rear exterior of Jewel’s Catch One did appear in a deleted scene, though, that was featured on Pretty Woman’s 15th Anniversary Special Edition DVD. In the scene, Vivian stops by The Blue Banana with Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to look for her roommate, Kit De Luca (Laura San Giacomo). While there Edward proceeds to get into an altercation with drug dealer/pimp Carlos (Billy Gallo). It was because of that segment that Chas was finally able to identify the club. While watching the scene a couple of weeks ago, he happened to recognize Catch One’s back entrance (namely the doorway and stairwell) from its appearance in both Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Pretty in Pink, two movies he has chronicled on his site. (You can check out his posts on those flicks here and here.)

The interior of Jewel’s Room was also utilized in the deleted scene.

In fave movie Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which premiered in 1985, Jewel’s Catch One portrayed The Court nightclub, where Janie Glenn (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Jeff Malene (Lee Montgomery) rehearsed for the big Dance TV contest. In the scene, Catch One’s rear entrance masked as the front of The Court.

I am not sure if the scenes that took place inside The Court were shot at Jewel’s, but I am guessing they were. I believe the Disco was utilized for those segments. Due to the fire that occurred in the Disco in 1985 and the subsequent remodel of the space, it is hard to say for certain either way, though.

Catch One masqueraded as Cats nightclub, where Andie (Molly Ringwald) regularly hung out in 1986’s Pretty in Pink.

As you can see from comparing my photographs below to the screen captures above, Catch One’s rear entrance is now fenced in and, though still recognizable, looks quite a bit different than it did onscreen in Pretty Woman, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and Pretty in Pink.

Thanks to our friendly tour guide, I was able to snap a pic of the stairwell seen in the three films from behind the fence.

Because so little of the inside of Cats was shown in Pretty in Pink and what was shown was dimly lit, I cannot say with any certainty if Jewel’s Catch One or a different location was utilized for the interior segments.

In the 1988 drama Beaches, Catch One popped up as two different spots. Jewel’s Room first appeared as The Blue Cave, the New York City lounge where CC Bloom (Bette Midler) tried her hand at being a jazz singer.

Later in the movie, the Disco portrayed San Francisco’s Pink Palm nightclub, where CC and Hillary Whitney Essex (Barbara Hershey) made up after not speaking for years.

Jewel’s Catch One also masked as two different places in the 1988 comedy I’m Gonna Get You Sucka. The Disco first popped up in the movie’s Soul Train flashback scene.

Later in the film, Catch One’s front exterior . . .

. . . and Jewel’s Room portrayed the Big Brim Bar, the hangout of “every criminal and major player in town.”

Catch’s One rear exterior and Jewel’s Room appeared as The Gold Tooth, the supposed Decatur, Georgia nightclub where Nisi (Halle Berry) and Mickey (Natalie Desselle Reid) hung out in the 1997 comedy B*A*P*S.

Jewel’s Catch One played The Bell, the Philadelphia-area nightclub where 23 people were killed in a 1978 fire, in the Season 1 episode of Cold Case titled “Disco Inferno,” which aired in 2004.

Though the Disco was utilized for the majority of the shoot, Jewel’s Room was featured at the end of the episode as the spot where Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) took ADA Jason Kite (Josh Hopkins) to celebrate after solving the case.

In 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, the Disco portrayed Doo-To’s Club, the Compton spot where Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) and Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) first performed.

Jewel’s Catch One was also supposedly featured in the 1993 Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It, but I scanned through the movie and did not see it anywhere.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to Chas, from the It’s Filmed There website, for finding this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Union, aka Jewel’s Catch One, aka The Blue Banana from Pretty Woman, is located at 4067 West Pico Boulevard in Arlington Heights. You can visit the nightclub’s official website here.

August 28, 2017
The Cunningham House from “Happy Days”

I consider myself a seasoned stalker. I think most would agree. Somehow though, until last month, I had never stalked one of the most iconic homes in television history. I am talking about the Cunningham residence from Happy Days. I did not even realize my colossal blunder until I was contacted by The Meredith Vieira Show about using some of my photographs in a segment they were running called “Name That Hollywood Home” last spring. Producers were interested in utilizing a pic featured in my 2009 post about The Golden Girls pad, but also inquired if I had any images of the Cunningham dwelling. I was ashamed to admit that I didn’t and had never actually seen the place in person. I finally amended that situation last month while in L.A. for the weekend with the Grim Cheaper.

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On Happy Days, the Cunningham family – Marion (Marion Ross), Howard (Tom Bosley), Richie (Ron Howard), and Joanie (Erin Moran) – along with their friend/tenant Arthur ‘Fonzie’ Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler) were said to reside at 565 North Clinton Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their traditional two-story home can actually be found at 565 North Cahuenga Boulevard in Hancock Park, less than a mile from Paramount Pictures, where the series, which ran from 1974 to 1984, was lensed. (I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there was actually a third Cunningham child named Chuck, portrayed by Irish actor Gavan O’Herlihy, who was unceremoniously written off the show after its inaugural season, never to be seen again.)

In reality, the Cahuenga Boulevard home, which was built in 1923, boasts 6 bedrooms, 2 baths, 3,904 square feet of living space, a 0.29-acre lot, and a swimming pool (which, per Bing’s Bird’s Eye view, appears to be dry). According to Zillow, the Colonial-style pad is currently worth a whopping $3 million! It last sold in February 1995 for $422,000, so the owners have made quite a profit on the place.

The property did not show up on Happy Days until the series’ third episode, titled “Richie’s Cup Runneth Over,” in the scene in which dancer Verna LaVerne (Louisa Moritz) drove a very drunk Richie home from a bachelor party (pictured below).

The house then went on to be featured regularly in establishing shots throughout the show’s ten-year, eleven-season run.

It is amazing to me how little the residence has changed since Happy Days first premiered more than 43 years ago. Aside from the addition of a railing on the exterior steps and the removal of the planter boxes lining the porch as well as the perimeter of the front yard, the place appears frozen in time from the days when the Cunninghams called it home.

Only the exterior of the Cahuenga pad was utilized on Happy Days. The interior of the Cunninghams’ house was a set built inside of Stage 19 at Paramount Pictures. Eagle-eyed viewers undoubtedly noticed that the set looked a bit different during Seasons 1 and 2 (pictured below) than it did during the rest of the series’ run.

Filming of Happy Days shifted from a single-camera setup with no audience to a three-camera setup with a live studio audience during Season 3 and the set had to be altered to accommodate that change. The altered Cunningham home interior featured during Seasons 3-11 is pictured below.

Though the Cahuenga Boulevard residence does boast a detached garage situated at the rear of the property, the scenes taking place in that area of the Cunningham pad were not shot on location at the actual house, but on a set re-creation built on Stage 19.

According to my buddy E.J.’s book Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites, actress Lupe Velez called the Cunningham residence home in the late ‘20s/early ‘30s while she was dating Gary Cooper, whose parents lived just five houses down at 529 North Cahuenga Boulevard. Supposedly, Cooper’s parents were wildly opposed to his love affair with the “Mexican Spitfire” and would walk by her dwelling on a nightly basis, peering in the windows to see what the two were up to. It wasn’t long before Lupe relocated to a more secluded spot at 1826 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Hollywood Hills West.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Cunningham home from Happy Days is located at 565 North Cahuenga Boulevard in Hancock Park.

August 25, 2017