90210 – IAMNOTASTALKER

March 11, 2019May 25, 2020

Hummingbird Nest Ranch from “Book Club”

One of my favorite stalking stories involves the Grim Cheaper and Sex and the City: The Movie, which I saw right when it came out in late May 2008. I was gifted Amy Sohn’s book about the film for my birthday just a few days later and while it did a fabulous job of breaking down the locales, one that I desperately wanted to find was only mentioned in passing. Of the Mexican restaurant where Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) dined with the girls during her non-honeymoon, all that was said was that filming took place in Simi Valley. As soon as I read those words, though, I knew what I had to do – call up every Mexican eatery in the area and ask if the flick was shot there, obvs! Now I should mention here that I hate telephone calls. The GC likes to say that I am scared of the phone and he’s not far off. So I enlisted his help with this endeavor. It was a rather humorous undertaking being that none of the people who answered his calls had any earthly idea what he was talking about. Needless to say, after spending hours on the task, we came up empty – but the whole thing sure was good for a few laughs. It was not until Mike, from MovieShotsLA, saw the film that the mystery was finally solved. He recognized the Mexican restaurant, which – spoiler! – isn’t really a restaurant at all, as none other than Hummingbird Nest Ranch, an oft-filmed compound nestled north of the 118 freeway in Santa Susana. The property is, unfortunately, closed to the public, but is available to lease for special events. So, since I was newly engaged at the time, it went to the top of my list of spots to tour as a possible wedding venue. I headed out there soon thereafter, but was struck with bad luck thanks to the reality series Tool Academy which had taken over the property for a weeks-long shoot, thereby severely limiting what I could photograph. Regardless, when I saw the site pop up as the idyllic “Sedona” ranch belonging to Mitchell (Andy Garcia) in Book Club (one of my favorite movies of 2018 – available on DVD here and via streaming here), I knew I had to finally blog about it.

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Hummingbird Nest Ranch was the brainchild of Metro Networks founder David Saperstein who, in 2000, purchased a 123-acre plot of picturesque land in the hills of Simi Valley for his second wife, Suzanne. Though a gorgeous 1920s home known as Sitting Bull sat on the property, David envisioned something grander for Suzanne and commissioned architect Richard Robertson to build a massive 17,000-square-foot Spanish-style estate on the grounds for the couple to live in.

Several other structures were also added including 3 riding arenas, 16 guest and staff houses, and a 20,000-square-foot barn. That’s the barn below. Yeah, I know – it’s grander than most homes!

There is also parking for 400 vehicles, numerous swimming pools, a spa, a large pond, a helipad, and a solar-panel farm on the premises.

Saperstein filed for divorce from Suzanne in 2005 and subsequently put the ranch on the market in 2007 for $75 million. When there were no takers, he switched gears and decided to turn the property into a massive 5-star resort complete with 105 rooms, 98 casitas, numerous restaurants and swimming pools, conference facilities, and a convention center.

The city of Simi Valley greenlighted the plan, but once the permits were in place in 2014, Saperstein changed gears yet again and re-listed the site, this time for $49.5 million. It finally sold in December 2015 for $33 million.

Though the purchaser was said to be transforming the place into a wellness hotel, so far those plans have not yet come to fruition.

Because the place sat largely vacant for close to a decade, it became the perfect venue for filming (not to mention a few celebrity weddings including that of Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting, Nazanin Mandi and Miguel Pimentel, and Morgan Stewart and Brendan Fitzpatrick).

For Book Club, producers chose to use Sitting Bull, Hummingbird Nest Ranch’s original 1920s house, instead of the massive main residence as Mitchell’s charming Arizona pad. Per a 2018 Architectural Digest feature, the property was love at first sight for production designer Rachel O’Toole. Of the home, she says, “It was just so perfect with the archways and the way that the light dapples through the yard and the pool. Standing at the front door you can see all the way through the kitchen into a bathroom, through an arched brick passageway and then outside through leaded glass to a fountain. I said to Bill [director Bill Holderman], ‘We shouldn’t waste our time looking elsewhere because this is it.’”

Diane Keaton, who plays Mitchell’s love interest in the film, also became smitten with the dwelling. When AD asked about her favorite Book Club locale, she responded, “I liked Andy Garcia’s house best. Andy’s house is an old Spanish. I wanted to buy it. That place is gorgeous.”

Of dressing the location for the shoot, O’Toole told AD, “For the color palette, we had burgundies and browns and tans with lots of textures like Persian rugs. We wanted Andy’s character to be grounded and approachable with things he collected from all his travels.”

Not much of the home was altered for the flick. Along with digitally adding the Arizona desert into the background of a scene . . .

. . . production also updated the pad’s 1970s kitchen, though it was only seen in a brief shot from outside the front door towards the end of the movie.

Sitting Bull also portrayed Gregory Sumner’s (William Devane) ranch on the popular nighttime soap Knots Landing, which aired from 1979 to 1993.

Though most of the Mexican resort scenes in Sex and the City: The Movie were shot at this house in Malibu, Hummingbird Nest Ranch masked as the hotel restaurant where a waiter guts Carrie by referring to her as “Mrs. Preston.”

Shortly after Sex and the City: The Movie debuted, the ranch popped up as Destinies, the rehabilitation center where Joan McCallister (Judy Davis) worked during the second season of The Starter Wife.

That same year, the ranch portrayed yet another rehab, this time on the Season 1 episode of 90210 titled “There’s No Place Like Homecoming” as the spot Adrianna Tate-Duncan (Jessica Lowndes) was sent after almost overdosing.

As I mentioned earlier, Hummingbird Nest Ranch was used extensively as the home of the competing couples on Tool Academy, which began airing in 2009.

Also in 2009, Hummingbird Nest Ranch masqueraded as Calistoga Canyon Resort and Spa where the CBI team investigated a murder in the Season 1 episode of The Mentalist titled “Crimson Casanova.”

In the Season 7 episode of NCIS titled “Rule Fifty-One,” which aired in 2010, the Nest portrays the Mexican estate of Paloma Reynosa (Jacqueline Obradors).

The massive main house plays Steve Jobs’ (Ashton Kutcher) tony Silicon Valley mansion in the 2013 biopic Jobs.

On July 27th, 2014, Scheana Marie (one of the most miserable brides ever!) married Michael Shay at Hummingbird Nest Ranch. The event was chronicled in the Season 3 episodes of Vanderpump Rules titled “For Better or Worse” and “Ring on a String” which aired the following year.

In the 2015 Entourage movie, the ranch masks as the Texas home of Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton) and his son, Travis (Haley Joel Osment).

That same year, Hummingbird Nest showed up in the Season 1 episode of Stitchers titled “The Root of All Evil” as the mansion belonging to Joe Parks (Cameron Daddo) and his wife, Suzanne (Courtney Henggeler).

Also in 2015, the ranch popped up as the home of Dr. Irving Pitlor (Rick Springfield) in the Season 2 episode of True Detective titled “Night Finds You.”

Hummingbird Nest masked as the Palm Springs Hotel where Ace Amberg (Rob Reiner) trysted with Jeanne Crandall (Mira Sorvino) in the Season 1 episode of Hollywood titled “(Screen) Tests,” which hit Netflix in 2020.

The couple stayed in Sitting Bull in the episode.

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

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Hummingbird Nest Ranch, aka Mitchell’s house from Book Club, is located at 2940 Kuehner Drive in Santa Susana. You can visit the venue’s official website here. Please be advised that the ranch is private property and not open to the public.

November 1, 2016October 28, 2016

My Latest Interview with The Blaze with Lizzie & Kat!

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with two of my favorite podcasters, Lizzie and Kat of The Blaze with Lizzie & Kat. I’ve been following their show ever since the very beginning, so to finally meet them and hang out with them for a couple of hours was thrilling to say the least! If you are at all interested in Beverly Hills, 90210 and aren’t already listening to their podcast, you need to be! You can check it out here. And you can listen to my interview here. Spoiler – we talk about our shared loved for Brenda Walsh, the day the Grim Cheaper thwarted my chance at meeting D’Shawn Hardell, and that time I sent James Eckhouse a card (not joking – you can see a picture of it here).

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015

Lake View Medical Center from “Beverly Hills, 90210”

In researching today’s post, I put in several hours scanning through countless Season 1 and Season 2 episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210. Time well spent as far as I’m concerned! Winking smile This was all due to a comment left on my blog last October by a reader named Vanessa Laine who said that the now defunct Lake View Medical Center in Lakeview Terrace was the hospital that appeared in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. I immediately got to perusing the internet for more information on the site and came across this 1991 Los Angeles Times article which mentioned that 90210 was doing some filming on the premises at the time. A location that had been used in both fave show 90210 AND fave movie Don’t Tell Mom? It was like a dream come true! So I ran right out to stalk the place. It wasn’t until yesterday, though, that I was able to figure out (with some help from my buddy Mike, from MovieShotsLA) which 90210 episode the former hospital had appeared in.

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Lake View Medical Center was originally built in 1960 and served as a working hospital until it went bankrupt in 1986. Shortly thereafter, the Phoenix House organization made plans to purchase the 14.5-acre property and turn it into a drug rehabilitation facility for teens, but opposition from local residents thwarted those plans. The location remained vacant for the next several years while lengthy negotiations took place between Phoenix House and the city. During that time, it was used regularly for filming. Negotiations over the site finally ended in December 1992 and the Phoenix House Academy in Los Angeles opened its doors in 1994.

Virtually none of the property can currently be seen from the street, which is not surprising considering its function as a drug rehabilitation center.

According to the Los Angeles Times article, Beverly Hills, 90210 had filmed on the premises in late November 1991. Because he is such an expert on the show, I sent Mike a text asking if he could recall any episodes from around that time period that involved a hospital. He responded seconds later saying, “Yeah, there are two hospital scenes in ‘A Walsh Family Christmas.’” As it turns out, he was right on the money! What can I say? When it comes to 90210, he is the man! In the episode, Lake View Medical Center first stood in for the Albuquerque, New Mexico hospital where Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) went to retrieve his birth certificate.

Only the interior of Lake View appeared in the scene. The establishing shot of the hospital is of a different location (one that looks so familiar to me, but that I just cannot place). UPDATE – The Grim Cheaper just read this post and said, “Isn’t that building at Warner Bros. Studio?” He was right! He has only been on the tour twice, while I have been a good 25 times, yet he was the one to recognize it! As it turns out, the exterior of the Steve’s hospital is Warner Bros. Building 136.

The same building was also used as John Connor’s (Thomas Dekker) high school in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Later in “A Walsh Family Christmas,” Lake View masked as the mental hospital where Emily Valentine (Christine Elise) had been placed a few episodes prior after trying to light the gang’s homecoming parade float on fire. In the spirit of Christmas (and completing ignoring the fact that she spiked his drink with U4EA), Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) visits Emily in the episode and gifts her with his Minnesota Twins jersey.

As you can see below, the tall wooden doors that appeared in each scene are a match to each other.

West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, located at 7300 Medical Center Drive in West Hills, was used for the exterior of Emily’s hospital in the episode.

Once I had pinpointed Lake View’s appearance in “A Walsh Family Christmas,” I searched through numerous other early episodes that involved hospitals thinking it might have been featured in those, as well, but no such luck. As far as I can tell, Lake View only appeared on 90210 once.

In Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Lake View stood in for River Ridge Hospital, where Kenny Crandell (Keith Coogan) took his little brother, Walter (Robert Hy Gorman), after he fell off the roof. I had quite a bit of trouble pinpointing the area of Lake View that was used as the exterior of the hospital in the scene – so much so that I started to doubt Vanessa’s tip. As it turns out, the building featured in the movie is not part of the Phoenix House complex, but is the neighboring Community Charter Middle School. From what I have been able to gather, the structure did originally belong to Lake View Medical Center, but was sold off at some point after the site was shuttered.

Though the front overhang has since been removed, the building is still very recognizable from its Don’t Tell Mom appearance.

The interior of Lake View was also featured in the movie.

As you can see below, once again the tall wooden doors seen in Don’t Tell Mom are a match to what was shown on 90210.

Lake View also popped up in Beverly Hills Cop III as the spot where Det. Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) took Uncle Dave Thornton (Alan Young) after he had been shot.

As you can see below, Don’t Tell Mom and Beverly Hills Cop III utilized the exact same area of the hospital.

Lake View Medical Center was featured extensively in the 1993 drama Mr. Jones as the place where Mr. Jones (Richard Gere) was institutionalized after having several manic episodes.

There are those tall wooden doors again!

Lake View was also where Abby Quinn’s (Demi Moore) doctor worked in the 1988 thriller The Seventh Sign.

You can see the Don’t Tell Mom building through the window in the screen capture below.

The complex was perhaps most famously used in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in which it masked as the Pescadero State Hospital of California where Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) was institutionalized.

At the time, it looked a bit different than it does today due to the fact that the parking lot was then located in the area just south of the hospital.

Today, the parking lot is situated just west of the hospital building and there is currently grass covering the former parking area.

On a Beverly Hills, 90210 side-note – I just came across this amazing blog that recaps the show and its fashion, and it had me in absolute hysterics! You’ve gotta check it out. Best part? The author is 100% Team Brenda. A woman after my own heart!

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Vanessa for finding this location and to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for helping me to identify its appearance in Beverly Hills, 90210. Smile

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Phoenix House Academy in Los Angeles, aka the former Lake View Medical Center from Beverly Hills, 90210, is located at 11600 Eldridge Avenue in Lakeview Terrace. Please keep in mind that the complex is a working drug rehabilitation facility. The building used as the exterior of River Ridge Hospital in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is the Community Charter Middle School located next door at 11500 Eldridge Avenue.

February 9, 2015April 25, 2019

The Bel Age Hotel from “Beverly Hills, 90210”

Ah, change. It’s one of my least favorite things, especially when it comes to filming locations. So I was devastated when the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, one of the most prominent locations from Beverly Hills, 90210, closed in 2007 to undergo a huge renovation and was renamed The London West Hollywood. I had been to the Bel Age prior to its closure, but failed to take any photographs of the place. I was so incredibly excited to be there that the visit is seared into my memory for eternity, but I still wish I had pictures. Back in 2003, I was enrolled in an acting school and two of my classmates happened to work at the Bel Age. One evening during class, upon learning what a 90210 freak I was, they offered to take me on a tour of the place. The whole thing was very last minute, which is why I did not have my camera. So around 11 p.m. that night (class got out late), we headed to West Hollywood and my friends proceeded to take me through every square inch of the hotel – we’re talking restaurants, kitchens, back hallways, suites, ballrooms, and, most memorably, the rooftop pool. The whole thing was pretty epic for someone as obsessed with 90210 as I am and, looking back, the fact that I did not have a camera is rather tragic. But there’s good news! Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I recently stopped by The London – and this time I brought a camera! – and I was shocked to discover that, despite the extensive remodel, the hotel is still very recognizable from 90210.

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For a good two decades the Wyndham Bel Age was the place to see and be seen in West Hollywood. Located right off the Sunset Strip, the wood-paneled, pink-hued, all-suite hotel, which was built in 1984, featured a fitness center, a salon, a florist, an antique gallery, a rooftop pool, two restaurants (the exclusive Franco-Russian-inspired Diaghilev and the more casual Club Brassiere, which turned into a jazz club at night), 24-hour room service (yes, please!) and an art collection rivaling that of a museum. The Bel Age displayed pieces from Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Erte (not just in public spaces, but in each guest room, as well!), just to name a few, and also boasted an open-air sculpture garden. In late 2005, the property was purchased by the Blackstone Group and subsequently closed for its $50-million renovation on May 15th, 2007. It re-opened as The London the following May.

As I mentioned, though, the hotel is still very recognizable from its 90210 days.

The Bel Age popped up countless times on Beverly Hills, 90210. It was pretty much the producers’ go-to hotel of choice. The property was first featured in the Season 1 episode titled “The Green Room.” As you can see below (though my photograph is facing the opposite angle from the screen capture), the lobby is still very similar today to how it was in the ‘90s. During the Bel Age days, the lobby was all pine wood paneling and muted pink accents. That wood paneling has since been painted white, but its shaping and embellishments remain the same. The large mauve rugs were sent packing, though, and the lobby currently boasts bright white marble floors.

The front desk is also still situated running the entire length of the western side of the lobby, just as it was pre-remodel. (My apologies as my below photograph was, again, taken from the opposite angle of the screen capture.)

The large corridors that branch off from the lobby are, also, still much the same as they were on 90210, minus a lot of pink and floral furniture.

The corridors house the entrances to the property’s banquet rooms (I believe) and were seen in several episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210.

The hallways between suites also haven’t changed much, aside from the addition of a lot of white paint. I got the photograph below off of Trip Advisor and, as you can see, the chair railings, crown moldings, diagonally-situated wall panels, and carved wooden doors that appeared on 90210 are all still intact today. The art work that once lined the Bel Age’s corridors was all, sadly, sold at an auction following the hotel’s 2007 closure and is therefore no longer on display.

One of the Bel Age’s actual rooms was used as the corporate suite where Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) lived in “The Green Room.” Though it is a bit hard to make out in the screen captures below, the room featured in that episode was Suite 211.

As you can see, the room from “The Green Room” matches a photograph of a former Bel Age hotel room that I got from the SanFrancisco.com website. You can check out what The London’s rooms currently look like here.

In the Season 1 episode of 90210 titled “The First Time,” Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) took his former girlfriend Sheryl (Paula Irvine) to meet Dylan for lunch at the Bel Age. At the time, the restaurant where they ate was known as Club Brasserie. That eatery is now the Boxwood Café. As you can see in the screen capture and photograph below (which I got off of the London website), the space’s unique peaked ceiling was not changed during the remodel.

Room 211 made an appearance in “The First Time,” too.

The Bel Age was also where the West Beverly High Mother/Daughter Fashion Show was held in the Season 1 episode titled “Perfect Mom.”

The actual fashion show took place in one of the hotel’s ballrooms, though not much of it can be seen in the episode due to the dark lighting. You can check out what the ballroom looks like today here.

In the Season 2 episode titled, “Things to Do on a Rainy Day,” Brenda Walsh (my girl Shannen Doherty), Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) and David Silver (Brian Austin Green) booked a room at the Bel Age in order to try to meet the guys from Color Me Badd, who were staying at the hotel. That so sounds like something I would do, by the way! Oh, who am I kidding – I HAVE done that!

Me doing my best Kelly-Donna-Brenda-standing-in-the-rain impersonation.

A real room – or a set very closely resembling one – was used in the filming of “Things to Do on a Rainy Day.” As you can see below, the gang’s suite, most notably the railing and curtain, matches the below photograph of one of the Bel Age’s former rooms, which I got off of the Agoda website.

In the Season 3 episode titled “Back in the High Life Again” (which was probably my least favorite episode of the ENTIRE series), Jack McKay (Josh Taylor) threw a soiree in his room at the Bel Age upon getting released from prison.

It was in the “High Life” episode, at the hotel’s rooftop pool, that Dylan finally chose Kelly. Gag! Mike and I did not make it up to the pool during our visit, but you can see what it looks like in its current state here. Thankfully, the pool was not altered during the remodel.

Most famously, the West Beverly Senior Prom was held at the Bel Age in the Season 3 episode titled “A Night to Remember.” And we all know what happened at the West Beverly Senior Prom! That night resulted in one of 90210’s most memorable storylines EVER. Let’s hear it for “Donna Martin graduates!”

The gang’s prom took place in one of the hotel’s ballrooms – I believe the very same ballroom that was used in “Perfect Mom.” If you look at a current photo of that ballroom, you can see that the space’s ceilings and crystal chandeliers remain the same today as they were in 1993 when the episode was filmed.

For as long as I can remember there has been a bit of a mystery surrounding the bathroom scene in which Donna got sick in the episode, but I am very happy to report that while writing this post I figured things out and can officially put that mystery to rest. A few years back, there was a blog called “Tales of an Extra” that was written by a man who was a professional background actor. (For whatever reason, the blog is no longer online.) The man appeared in numerous episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 and had this to say about his experience shooting Season 3’s “Senior Poll” at the L.A. Forum, “Some scenes of some of the female characters and extras were shot in the ladies room, which were to be used as part of a prom scene in the episode, and had nothing to do with the Forum.” That post caused many people, myself included, to believe that the scene in which Donna got sick at the prom was most likely shot at the Forum. The bathroom from “A Night to Remember” is pictured below. The space never struck me as a bathroom that would be located at a sports arena, though. Not to mention the fact that it would be rather odd that a scene from “A Night to Remember” would be shot during the filming of “Senior Poll,” which was two episodes ahead of it chronologically. My friend Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, managed to track down the set decorator for both episodes for me, so I emailed her to try to clear things up. She informed me that the prom bathroom was a set created for the shoot and was most definitely not located at the Forum. Because the room certainly had that set look, I believed her. But that left me wondering about the supposed prom scene filmed in a Forum bathroom.

Then all of a sudden it hit me! Maybe there was a bathroom scene in the “Senior Poll” episode! I popped in my DVD and, sure enough, there was! And in it, Kelly was wearing a prom dress! In the scene, Kelly, Donna, Andrea (Gabrielle Carteris) and some other West Beverly girls are shown getting ready to take their yearbook pictures for the senior poll. Kelly had won “Most Beautiful” and chose to wear a formal gown for her photo. It was that scene that was shot in a Forum bathroom. Mystery solved!

One thing I was not able to figure out, though, is where the stairs that the gang walked down in “A Night to Remember” were – or are – located. Mike and I did not see them while stalking The London, nor do I remember them from my 2003 tour of the Bel Age. They appear to have been located somewhere in the lobby, though.

The same stairwell also appeared in 90210’s “Perfect Mom” episode.

I also came across a more recent photo of the stairs in a 2006 WeHo News article. Though the picture is taken from a wide angle, it does not clear up where the stairs were – or again, are – located. Oh, how I would love to find them!

The apartment building where Mel Silver (Matthew Laurance) lived – and where the gang drank champagne before the prom – in “A Night to Remember” was actually the back side of the Bel Age hotel, which can be found on Larrabee Street. For the shot, producers simply installed an awning reading “121 Doheny Palm.” Aside from that minor change, the area still looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did in 1993.

The interior of Mel’s apartment appears to have been some sort of banquet room or large suite, complete with a large built-in bar, at the Bel Age.

The wooden doors (see screen cap above) and carpeting of Mel’s apartment match those of the hotel, as seen later in the episode while the gang is waiting for Donna to come out of the bathroom. The framed artwork hanging on Mel’s wall is also a direct match to the artwork pictured hanging in the Bel Age hallways in previous episodes.

The Bel Age also served as the location of Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) and Janet Sosna’s (Lindsay Price) wedding reception in the Season 10 episode titled “Baby, You Can Drive My Car.” Though producers changed the name to the “Beverly Royale Hotel” for the scene.

While the Bel Age’s lobby . . .

. . . and one of its rooms appeared in the episode . . .

. . . I believe the room where the actual wedding reception took place was just a set.

The Bel Age also appeared in many episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 during its later years, but because I pretty much stopped watching the series during Season 5, it would be impossible for me to chronicle them all.

90210 is hardly the only production to have been lensed at the hotel. In the 1985 crime drama Prizzi’s Honor, Charley Partanna (Jack Nicholson) and Irene Walker (Kathleen Turner) met up a couple of times at the Bel Age.

In one scene, they had drinks at Diaghilev restaurant.

That same year, Alec Newbary (Judd Nelson) rescued Jules (Demi Moore) from a date-gone-wrong at the Bel Age, said to be Washington, D.C.’s VanBuren Hotel, in St. Elmo’s Fire.

The staircase also made an appearance in the scene.

The Bel Age pool was the site of Sammy Joe’s (Heather Locklear) photo shoot in the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.

Allison Parker (Courtney Throne-Smith) attended a work party at the Bel Age in the pilot episode of Melrose Place, which aired in 1992

The Bel Age was also where Charles Reynolds (Linden Ashby) stayed in the Season 1 episode of Melrose Place titled “Peanut Butter and Jealousy.” Only the exterior of the hotel was used in the episode, though.

Interior scenes were filmed at another location altogether.

In the Season 4 episode of Ally McBeal titled “The Getaway,” which aired in 2001, Richard Fish (Greg Germann) and John Cage (Peter MacNicol) headed to Los Angeles for a vacation and checked into the Bel Age.

The pool was featured in the episode, as well.

In the Season 2 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “I Wish I Could Forget You,” which aired in 2005, the Bel Age Hotel was where Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross) went for a romantic weekend with her new boyfriend George Williams (Roger Bart).

Bree and George ate at Diaghilev in the episode.

The stairs from 90210 also made an appearance.

In the Season 1 episode of Melrose Place 2.0 titled “San Vicente,” which aired in 2009, Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy) threw a party for movie executive Curtis Heller (Nolan North) at what was by then The London.

While it has been said that the Bel Age pool was featured in the opening scene of 1991’s L.A. Story, I am fairly certain that is incorrect. As you can see in the screen capture below as compared to an old photograph of the Bel Age pool that I got from the Top Travel News website, the patio area at the Bel Age is considerably larger than the patio that appeared in L.A. Story.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The London West Hollywood, aka the former Bel Age Hotel from Beverly Hills, 90210, is located at 1020 North San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

March 28, 2014March 27, 2014

The Donna Martin Graduates Protest Site

As big of a Beverly Hills, 90210 fan as I am, it will probably come as a shock to learn that up until recently I had yet to stalk the spot where one of the show’s most iconic moments was filmed – Burbank City Hall, aka the Donna Martin Graduates protest site from the Season 3 episode titled “Something in the Air.” So, since I was in the area recently stalking The Wonder Years houses (you can read those posts here and here), I decided that it was about time that I amended that fact.

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Burbank City Hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was designed by architects William Allen and W. George Lutzi. Construction on the Moderne/Art Deco-style building began in 1941 and lasted until 1943. The final cost of the project was $409,000.

The building’s most impressive feature is its tower, which stands at 77 feet.

The lobby area, which I, unfortunately, did not get to see, boasts twenty different kinds of marble, bass relief sculptures and a grand staircase. The building also houses two large murals painted by Hugo Ballin. In a 1996 Daily News article about the structure, Councilman Ted McConkey is quoted as saying, “Anyone walking into City Hall would recognize that it’s something unique. It’s special because of the period in which it was built, because of the way it’s been maintained and because of all the murals at City Hall. We get an inordinate number of requests to use City Hall from film companies.” Love it! You can check out a fabulous photograph of the lobby here.

In “Something in the Air,” Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) stages a Senior Class walk-out during final exams to protest the fact that Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), after showing up drunk to the prom, is not being allowed to graduate with her class. (The Juniors also participate in the walk-out, in order to protest the dress code that the school board has implemented for the upcoming school year.) The protestors – chanting the now legendary line “Donna Martin graduates!” – wind up at the steps of Burbank City Hall, which (I think) is supposed to be masquerading as the West Beverly Hills School District in the episode.

This guy had a little trouble with his “No scapegoats” sign. Winking smile

During the rally, Mrs. Teasley (Denise Dowse) warns the students that they are all in danger of being flunked, which only serves to rile them up further. With Brandon leading the charge, they head inside the building and into the school board meeting.

Once inside, Brandon, of course, makes a speech in Donna’s defense. That speech never ceases to crack me up. He says, “Donna Martin is the kind of girl that goes out of her way for people. That’s why all these people here are going out of their way for her.” Like, huh? Did I miss something in all of my avid 90210 watching? When did Donna ever go out of her way for anyone, let alone the entire Junior and Senior class? It all ends well, though, as the board members wind up being moved by Brandon’s speech and vote to allow Donna to graduate. Donna Martin graduates, indeed!

“Something in the Air” was not the first Beverly Hills, 90210 episode to be lensed at Burbank City Hall. Although the exterior of Beverly Hills City Hall was used as an establishing shot . . .

. . . the interior of Burbank City Hall was where Jim Walsh (James Eckhouse) and Brandon attended a meeting about the Highpoint Center project in the Season 2 episode titled “The Pit and the Pendulum.”

Thanks to the Dear Old Hollywood website, I learned that Burbank City Hall stood in for a police station in the 1954 film Pushover.

In the Season 3 episode of The Rockford Files titled “Crack Back,” which aired in 1977, Burbank City Hall masqueraded as the courthouse where Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett) defended a professional football player who was on trial for murder.

In 1980’s American Gigolo, Burbank City Hall was where Julian (Richard Gere) was accosted by the press after being arrested. Very little of the building is visible in the scene, though.

The building masqueraded as a courthouse once again in the 1993 made-for-TV movie A Place to Be Loved (aka Shattered Family).

The interior of Burbank City Hall stood in for the U.S. Naval Headquarters at Pearl Harbor in the ending scene of the 1995 movie Crimson Tide.

For the exterior of the U.S. Naval Headquarters, a different building was used – Memorial Hall at Chapman University in the City of Orange.

The IMDB website states that Burbank City Hall was also utilized in the 1961 film The Choppers, the Season 2 episode of Police Woman titled “Generation of Evil,” the Season 2 episode of S.W.A.T. titled “Courthouse,” and the Season 1 episode of Matt Houston titled “The Showgirl Murders,” but, unfortunately, I could not find copies of any of those productions to verify that information.

On a Donna Martin Graduates side-note – Even though we don’t have kids, during the holidays the GC and I participate in a bit of Elf on the Shelf fun by trading off hiding our elf (named Max) every night for each other. This year, Max decided to hold a walk-out – with some nutcrackers, a couple of Santas, and my 90210 dolls – in honor of my favorite television show. While I thought it was genius, the GC did not share in my enthusiasm. Winking smile

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! Smile

Stalk It: The Donna Martin Graduates protest from the “Something in the Air” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 was filmed at Burbank City Hall, which is located at 275 East Olive Avenue in Burbank.

January 28, 2014January 27, 2014

The Infamous Ray Pruit Stairs

Since moving to the desert last January (I cannot believe it has been a year!), I have wanted to revisit Rancho Las Palmas, the sprawling Rancho Mirage resort where Ray Pruit (Jamie Walters) pushed girlfriend Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) down a flight of stairs in the Season 5 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “P.S. I Love You: Part II.” I originally stalked and blogged about the location back in September 2008, but, because the hotel has 120 sets of identical stairs, at the time I was unsure of which set had appeared in the episode. Thankfully, the resort’s sales manager saw my post and left a comment, informing me of exactly where the scene had been shot. And while it took me over five years to get back out there to re-stalk the place, once I did, I could NOT have been more excited!

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Rancho Las Palmas is massive. The 240-acre resort boasts a 27-hole championship golf course, four eateries, a spa, 50,000-square-feet of event/meeting space, and three pools – one of which is Splashtopia, a two-acre water feature made complete with a 425-foot lazy river, two 100-foot water slides, a man-made sand beach, a Jacuzzi, and a café. Guests also have access to 25 tennis courts at the Palm Springs tennis center located in the Rancho Las Palmas Country Club, which is adjacent to the hotel.

Rancho Las Palmas has quite an interesting history. The property was originally the site of the Desert Air Hotel & Resort, a 320-acre compound that was founded by architect H.L. Gogerty in 1946. The resort consisted of an airstrip for private planes, World War II army barracks that pilots and travelers could rent for the night, and a bar and a pool that were added in 1951. You can see a picture of what the property looked like at that time here. Luminaries like Edgar Bergen, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Robert Taylor flocked to the place and The Bob Cummings Show was even filmed onsite for a time. The resort was sadly shuttered in 1976 and then demolished a year later to make way for a new Marriott hotel. According to the Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields website, one former Desert Air patron had this to say of the new lodging, “I visited the site several years ago – nothing left, except that the main fairway of the golf course seems to be aligned with the old northwest/southeast runway, and there’s a Desert Air Drive in the condos by the hotel. Very ritzy, very posh, but it will never have the understated chill-out class of the old place, with guest cottages made from recycled WW2 barracks huts. I think the difference speaks volumes about the way this country has changed.” I have to admit, it would have been pretty darn cool to vacation in authentic World War II barracks.

At the time that 90210 was filmed, the hotel was known as Marriott’s Rancho Las Palmas. After being taken over by KLM in 2006, the site underwent a massive renovation and the “Marriott” dropped from its name. Today, the property is operated by Omni Hotels & Resorts.

In “P.S. I Love You: Part I” and “P.S. I Love You: Part II,” Rancho Las Palmas was where Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) and the rest of the C.U. gang attended a national KEG/ALPHA convention. Several areas of the resort were shown in the episodes, including the front entrance;

the Azure Adult Pool (where Ray had a fit over Donna’s choice of swimwear);

and, of course, the infamous stairs that Ray pushed Donna down.

The stair scene was shot on the northwest side of Building #5.

In real life, the stairwell leads up to Room 520.

You can watch the stair scene by clicking below. I love when Valerie says, “Ray, go get the hotel doctor! Go!” LOL Hotel doctor??? How about, “Let’s get her to a hospital,” Val!

And you know I just had to do it!

While re-watching the “P.S. I Love You” episodes (big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for loaning me his Season 5 DVDs), I was shocked to see that the interior scenes had not been filmed inside Rancho Las Palmas (the Rancho lobby is pictured below), but at another location that I was familiar with – Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village, which also appeared as a Coachella Valley-resort in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Palm Springs Weekend.” I stalked Hyatt Westlake Plaza in February 2010 (you can read that post here) and recognized it immediately when it popped up in “P.S. I Love You.” I guess the Hyatt was 90210’s go-to Palm Springs hotel stand-in.

The first thing that clued me in to the fact that Hyatt Westlake Plaza had been used in “P.S. I Love You: Part I” and “Part II” was the large fountain that was seen in the center of the lobby in the episodes. That same fountain is pictured below in a 2010 photograph that I took of the Hyatt lobby. While no longer tiled, the shape of the Hyatt fountain is an exact match to the shape of the 90210 fountain.

The general layout of the Hyatt lobby also matches the lobby that appeared on 90210. Sadly, the Hyatt was remodeled sometime after the episodes were filmed, so the décor and flooring look quite a bit different today.

In “P.S. I Love You: Part II,” Brandon is shown walking through the Hyatt lobby, past a side table. That same side table (as well as the lamps on it and the painting behind it) is a direct match to a side table that Brenda Walsh (my girl Shannen Doherty) walked by in “Palm Springs Weekend.” Love it!

The recessed hotel room doors and positioning of the room signage that appeared in the “P.S. I Love You” episodes also match those of Hyatt Westlake Plaza.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The “P.S. I Love You” episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 were filmed at Rancho Las Palmas, which is located at 41000 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage. You can visit the resort’s official website here. Ray Pruit’s infamous stairs can be found on the south side of the property, just off Avenue Las Palmas, in Building #5, which is denoted with a pink arrow below. The stairs are on the north side of the building and lead up to Room 520. The pool that appeared in the episode is the Azure Adult Pool, which is located just outside of the hotel’s main lobby and is denoted with a blue arrow below. The interior scenes from the “P.S. I Love You” episodes were shot at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza, which is located at 880 South Westlake Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

September 20, 2013October 19, 2013

The End – Kime Buzzelli’s Vintage Shop

As I mentioned in my April post about the Hideaway Saloon (which you can read here), I have been a longtime follower of 90210’s former costume designer Kime Buzzelli on both Twitter and Instagram. Kime is BEYOND sweet and is always happy to answer questions from fans, whether it be about what a character wore in an episode or where a scene was shot. She was even nice enough to share a photograph of a typo that she had taken with fellow stalker Owen for his blog, When Write Is Wrong. Anyway, I knew from following her that she had recently opened a vintage shop named The End in Yucca Valley. One Saturday morning back in May, the Grim Cheaper and I headed out to Starbucks for coffee and afterwards he suggested we take a drive up to Pioneertown – an Old West movie set near Joshua Tree that I had long wanted to stalk. I should mention here that I had no makeup on at the time. I had barely even run a comb through my hair before leaving the house that morning as I thought we were simply grabbing coffee and then going back home. But trooper that I am, I agreed to head over to Pioneertown, makeup-less, to do some stalking.

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I am severely directionally-challenged (which is ironic considering this hobby that I have chosen for myself) and at the time had no idea that Joshua Tree was near Yucca Valley. So when I saw a sign stating “Welcome to Yucca Valley” during our drive, I just about lost it! I immediately pulled out my iPhone to search for The End’s address and informed the GC that I would not be leaving the area without visiting Kime’s shop. Needless to say, we made a little detour and, let me tell you, I just about passed out when I opened the door to the place and there was Kime herself sitting behind the counter! Never in my wildest dreams did I think she would actually be in the store! (I am IN LOVE with the garland hanging above The End’s entrance, by the way. I am fairly certain it is a Confetti System garland, similar to the one that Cupcakes and Cashmere’s Emily Schuman has strung in her office.)

Kime was extremely gracious and we wound up hanging out in her shop for a good hour chatting about 90210. The GC even really enjoyed talking with her and he could care less about that stuff. Winking smile And even though I was sans makeup, I, of course, had to ask her for a photo while I was there.

While speaking with Kime, my eyes couldn’t help but dart around looking at all of the fabulous items in her adorable shop. One piece that I kept catching sight of was the feathered skirt pictured below, the edge of which was sticking out of a rack of clothes. Anything with glitter or feathers and this stalker is a goner! The GC said that as soon as we walked in, he had spotted the white and blue plumes poking out of the rack and knew right away that the skirt would be accompanying us home. Winking smile So when I pulled it out at one point and Kime informed me that it had actually been purchased for Erin Silver (Jessica Stroup) to wear during her burlesque period on 90210, I just about died! The skirt never actually made it into an episode, but that was pretty much all I needed to hear! Thank God it fit, otherwise I would have been devastated!

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I found out that Kime was bringing The End to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs as a Labor Day pop-up shop, so I of course dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there to do some more shopping.

I was shocked – and delighted – upon walking in when Kime recognized me right away! Like I said, she’s an absolute doll! And she was even nice enough to take a second picture with me.

While milling around the shop, I happened to come across the beaded piece of heaven pictured below and fell immediately in love. Then when Kime informed me that it had been worn by Naomi Clark (AnnaLynne McCord) at her 18th birthday party on 90210, I just about had a heart attack! It was at that point that the GC resigned himself to the fact that there was absolutely no way I was leaving the store without that dress. Sadly, when I tried it on, though, it did not fit AT ALL. There’s nothing like trying on AnnaLynne McCord’s clothes to make a person feel bad about themselves. Winking smile When I came out of the dressing room and informed the GC that the dress was too small, he said, “Are you just one stomach flu away from your goal weight, honey?” LOL Thankfully though, I thought to check the interior seam and, sure enough, there was extra material, so my mom was able to take it out for me (she’s an amazing seamstress!) and the dress now fits like a glove. And while I was thinking about donning it for the Emmys this Sunday night (SO EXCITED, by the way), Marci, the owner of my very favorite store, Lula Mae, loaned me an uh-ma-zing frock that I am going to wear instead. I’ll save Naomi’s dress for next year’s show.

The dress was featured in the Season 3 episode of 90210 titled “Age of Inheritance.” In the episode, Naomi throws herself an extravagant birthday party after learning the news that she finally has access to her hefty trust fund. I, of course, re-watched “Age of Inheritance” immediately upon returning home from the Ace Hotel that night and really had to pinch myself. I canNOT believe I own Naomi’s dress!

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The End, 90210 costume designer Kime Buzzelli’s vintage clothing store, is located at 55872 29 Palms Highway in Yucca Valley. You can visit The End’s Facebook page here. There are a ton of great antique shops nearby, so I definitely recommend walking around the area a bit if you visit.

April 4, 2012April 3, 2012

The Coffee Pot from “90210”

As I mentioned back in March in my post about Bar Keeper in Silver Lake, the whimsical little barware store that stood in for Upon Galley in the 2005 movie A Lot Like Love, one locale that I had been absolutely itching to stalk in recent weeks was the Coffee Pot, an Echo Park-area café that appeared in the Season 4 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Babes in Toyland”. And while tracking down this location required minimal effort on my part, stalking it would be a different story altogether.

The GC and I actually tried to stalk the Coffee Pot not once, but twice, and both endeavors proved futile. Our first attempt took place on a Sunday when we just happened to be in the neighborhood and decided to drop by, only to discover that the shop is closed on Sundays. Then, last weekend, we made a special trip out there, on a Saturday this time, only to be met with a sign on the front door announcing that the small café was closed because “I’m the mom and I said so!” Um, OK. And while it is said that “the third time’s the charm”, I think we will just cut our losses at two unsuccessful stalks for this location. It is unfortunate, too, because the place looked absolutely adorable and I had a major hankering for some coffee at the time.

I was so flummoxed over the shop being closed yet again that I completely forgot to have the GC take my picture out front. I was able to snap two photographs of the Coffee Pot’s interior through the café’s front windows, though, and being that there was also a Starbucks located right across the street and I did manage to score myself a latte, I guess the trip was not a total loss. Winking smile

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In the “Babes in Toyland” episode of 90210, troublemaker Vanessa (Arielle Kebbel) tries to sabotage Adrianna Tate-Duncan (Jessica Lowndes) and Dixon Wilson (Tristan Wilds) by sending them to the fictional “Echo Park Grill” for a fake meeting with the VP of A&R for Def Jam Records. Oddly enough, three different locations were used to stand in for the restaurant in the episode. The first establishing shot shown in the scene was of the 3900 block of West Sunset Boulevard in the Sunset Junction area of Silver Lake, where Bar Keeper is located.

The second establishing shot was of Figaro Bistro in Los Feliz, which I I blogged about back in August 2011. The exterior of Figaro also appeared in the Season 3 episode of 90210 titled “How Much is that Liam in the Window”.

And, finally, the Coffee Pot was used for all of the “Echo Park Grill’s” interior scenes, where Adrianna and Dixon waited futilely for the record executive. As you can see above, the café is a pretty cute spot.

Despite the conflicting establishing shots, this location was actually a snap to track down as I had noticed the words “Coffee Pot” on the door of the café while watching the episode. A simple input of the terms “Coffee Pot” and “Los Angeles” into a Google search spit back a result of the Coffee Pot in Echo Park. Yay! Too bad it wasn’t quite as easy to stalk.

Fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, also let me know that the Coffee Pot had appeared as “Spark Plug Coffee” where Officer Ben Sherman (cutie Ben McKenzie – sigh!) and Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) arrested a man for having placed a hidden camera in a women’s bathroom in the Season 4 episode of Southland titled “Risk”.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for informing me of the Coffee Pot’s Southland appearance.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Coffee Pot, from the “Babes in Toyland” episode of 90210 and the “Risk” episode of Southland, is located at 2201 West Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park.

April 2, 2012April 1, 2012

The Former Site of the Roxbury

In honor of my girl Shannen Doherty’s new reality series, Shannen Says, which premieres next Tuesday (can’t wait!), I thought I would blog today about one of the actress’ famed hangouts from her Beverly Hills, 90210 days – the Roxbury in West Hollywood. Back when I was a teenager and knee-deep in my 90210 obsession (ah, who am I kidding, I am still knee-deep in it!), I clamored for any and all magazines featuring the show’s stars. I would practically drool while reading of their various comings and goings, especially Shannen’s, and as her name became more and more synonymous with the Roxbury, the legendary Sunset Strip club became seared into my memory. I, sadly, never had the opportunity to stalk the place, though, as it closed its doors in 1997, long before I moved to Los Angeles. But back in 2002, after an acting class, one of my friends invited me to grab some drinks at a hot spot named Miyagi’s. Not being a nightclub kinda girl myself, I turned down the offer, to which my friend said, “Are you sure? Miyagi’s used to be the Roxbury, where your girl Shannen Doherty hung out.” Well, believe you me, once I heard those words, I was in! In true Hollywood fashion, not even Miyagi’s stood the test of time, though, and, as you can see above, today the location houses a newly-opened Pink Taco. But I figured since the site was hallowed ground for any 90210 fan, it was definitely blog-worthy.

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The building that stands at the corner of Roxbury Road and West Sunset Boulevard has long been the darling of the Sunset Strip. The spot’s first incarnation was a celebrity supper club named The Players, or The Players Club, that was founded in 1940 by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Preston Sturges. During its Players days, such luminaries as Humphrey Bogart, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallee, William Faulkner, George S. Kaufman, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and Howard Hughes all hung out there. Despite its popularity, the club started to falter by the early 1950s, though, most likely due to the fact that Preston often closed the three-story, 12,000-square-foot venue, which included a barber shop, a hydraulic stage, a burger stand, and three different restaurants, in order to host private parties for his famous friends. In 1953, his creditors sold the place to new owners who opened a Japanese restaurant named Imperial Gardens on the site. That eatery also proved to be quite popular with the Hollywood set and catered to such stars as John Savage, James Woods, John Travolta, and Olivia Newton-John.

In 1989, after an amazing 36-year run, Imperial Gardens closed and partners Brad Johnson and Elie Samaha purchased the establishment and transformed it into the Roxbury. Virtually overnight, the club became the place to see and be seen in Hollywood. The stars of 90210 flocked there like moths to a flame and were spotted partying on the premises virtually every night. Oh, what I wouldn’t have given to have been 21 and living in Hollywood at that time. Winking smile Besides Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Shannen Doherty and Mark Wahlberg (pictured at the club in a November 1992 People Magazine article), other celebrities that spent time at the Roxbury during its almost decade-long reign on the Sunset Strip include Cher, John Travolta, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Prince, Sylvester Stallone, River Phoenix, Christina Applegate, Eddie Murphy, and, of all people, Geraldo Rivera. The club was so popular that it even inspired the movie A Night at the Roxbury, although no actual filming took place on site. And Eric Huerta, the Roxbury’s longtime bouncer, became so well-known himself that a Los Angeles Times article was written about him in November of 1993. As usually happens with hotspots in Los Angeles, though, the Roxbury’s star began to fade and eventually closed in 1997. Shortly thereafter, Miyagi’s, a Japanese-inspired club/restaurant, opened in its place. I do not remember much of what Miyagi’s was like from my one visit there back in 2002, aside from the fact that the place was huge, the food was good, and, as I danced, all I could think about was that Shannen Doherty herself had one danced in the very same spot. I was practically pinching myself all night.

Miyagi’s closed its doors sometime in 2008 and was purchased by Harry Morton, owner of the Pink Taco restaurant chain and son of Hard Rock Café founder Peter Morton. The young restaurateur immediately set about gutting the interior of the place and wound up discovering some traces of the historic Players Club in the process – including the entrance to a former underground (now sealed) tunnel that once connected the hotspot to the Chateau Marmont and was used by celebrities who wanted to escape prying eyes. And while Pink Taco did not officially open until yesterday, a private birthday bash was held there on March 23rd in honor of Jared Eng, the blogger behind the JustJared website. Some of the stars who attended that soiree include Fergie, Rumer Willis, Kellan Lutz, Lance Bass, Natasha Bedingfield, Seth MacFarlane, Avril Lavigne, and a few of this generation’s 90210-ers including Shenae Grimes, Jessica Stroup, and my love Matt Lanter (sigh!).

Thankfully, the exterior of the Sunset Boulevard hotspot hasn’t changed much over the years and despite the fact that it is now painted a bright pink (and yes, that is a whole lotta pink!), it still looks much the same as it did in the 1940s. You can see what The Players used to look like here, Imperial Gardens here, the Roxbury here, and Miyagi’s here. And you can check out some interior pictures of the new Pink Taco on fave website EaterLA here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Pink Taco, aka the former site of the Roxbury, is located at 8225 West Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. You can visit the restaurant chain’s official website here.

March 29, 2012March 28, 2012

The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey from “90210”

Way back in July of last year, the Grim Cheaper and I found ourselves on the West Side of Los Angeles with a few hours to kill, so we decided to head down to Marina del Rey as I had never before done any stalking there. I ended up absolutely falling in love with the seaside community, especially its downtown shopping area where I know I could have done some serious damage to my credit cards had the GC not been with me. Anyway, one of the area locations that had long been listed in my trusty stalking notebook was The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey hotel, which had made an appearance in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. So I dragged the GC right on over there as soon as we got into town. Flash forward to this past February when I was checking out fellow stalker Geoff’s 90210Locations website and, let me tell you, I just about fell out of my chair when I saw that the hotel had been featured prominently in a recent episode of the series. Now, as you all know, I watch 90210 religiously and am always keeping my eye out for locations, but, for whatever reason, I had somehow not recognized the place at all! Am I losing my touch here? Winking smile

The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey is situated on a 5.6-acre plot of land directly overlooking the picturesque marina from which the town gets its name. With its dark paneled walls, marble floors, and huge floral arrangements, the beautiful hotel reminded me quite a bit of The Langham Huntington in Pasadena, which, not so coincidentally, was formerly owned by the Ritz-Carlton Corporation. Needless to say, I fell in love with the place on the spot and so wanted to book a room and spend the night there, but the GC was having absolutely none of that. Shocking, I know. Winking smile

The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, which is Los Angeles’ only waterside AAA Five Diamond hotel, features 304 guest rooms, each with its own “Juliet” balcony, tennis courts, marina and city views, over 30,000 square feet of event space, a fitness center, and a Michelin-recommend restaurant. According to the hotel’s website, it also boasts “L.A.’s only waterfront pool and whirlpool” (pictured above). Besides being a filming location, the place is also a big-time celebrity hot spot. Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there include Adrian Grenier, John Travolta, Johnny Depp, Bridget Marquardt, Brooke Shields, Chris Henchy, Zac Efron, The Bachelorette’s DeAnna Pappas and then fiancé Jesse Csincsak, Brad Garrett, Mary Hart, Halle Berry, Hulk Hogan, Dave Annable, Odette Annable, Jason Lewis, Jason Mraz, Scott Caan, Paul Bettany, and Steve Carell. Snoop Dogg and childhood sweetheart Shante Taylor got married there in 1997. And pop star Britney Spears is a regular guest. In fact, these famous (and oh-so-classy) photos of BritBrit and then fiance Kevin Federline were taken on one of the hotel’s balconies.

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In the Season 4 episode of 90210 titled “No Good Deed”, the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, popped up twice. The hot tub area was first used as the spot where Naomi Clark (AnnaLynne McCord), wearing a very skimpy, blue cut-out bathing suit (and I’m telling you, if I had that body, I’d be wearing that bathing suit every single day of my life!), convinced movie star Mitchell Nash (Will Kemp) to let her throw a party for him.

That spa area is pictured above.

Later in the episode, the hotel’s pool area was the site of the Hillingsbrook Foundation’s “Clean Up Castillo Bay” charity event which Annie Wilson (Shenae Grimes) hosted.

The spot where Liam Court (my love Matt Lanter) rescued the drowning girl is located just outside of the pool area, in the Marina del Rey harbor.

The scene where the event’s silent auction was held was also most likely filmed at the Ritz, although I did not see any areas which resembled the screen captures above while I was there, nor can I find any similar-looking rooms on the hotel’s website.

In the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey’s pool stood in for the pool of the fictional “The Stafford Hotel”. Interestingly enough, two other spots were also used to masquerade as The Stafford in the flick – the exterior was the Treasure Island Administration Building in San Francisco and the interior scenes were filmed at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.

The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey was also used extensively in the Season 5 episode of Dexter titled “Take It”, as the hotel where Jordan Chase (Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband Jonny Lee Miller) hosted his “Take It” convention. Quite a few areas of the hotel were used in the episode, including the exterior;

The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, which you can see a photograph of here;

one of hotel’s outdoor terraces;

The Ritz-Carlton Suite, which you can see a photograph of here;

and two neighboring 7th floor suites.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for informing me of the hotel’s 90210 connection! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, from the “No Good Deed” episode of 90210, the “Take It” episode of Dexter, and The Parent Trap remake, is located at 4375 Admiralty Way in Marina del Rey. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.