My Day on the Set of “90210”

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (22 of 27)

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in my post about the Hideaway Saloon (which you can read here), I was devastated to learn of the cancellation of fave show 90210 – especially being that the cast and crew were informed of said cancellation while in the midst of shooting what was to be the (most-likely cliffhanger-ish) Season 5 finale. Thankfully though, the script was rewritten mid-shoot and the series given the proper sendoff that it deserved, with (spoiler alert!) Liam Court (my man Matt Lanter) finally proposing to longtime love Annie Wilson (Shenae Grimes). Hallelujah! I literally had anxiety all day Monday while waiting for the show to air because I was afraid that Liam and Annie would remain star-crossed for all eternity and I just could not have handled that. I needed closure and am so thankful that I (as well as the rest of the fans) got it. Anyway, I thought it would only be fitting to write today’s post about a memorable time that I spent on the set of 90210 a few years back.

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Thanks to fave website OnLocationVacations, I learned, about a week ahead of time, that 90210 would be filming on August 31st, 2011 at the Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena. I immediately called up my mom, who was already living in Palm Springs by that time, and asked if she and my dad would be willing to drive out to help me stalk the filming, since 90210 was my favorite show and all. Winking smile My mom said that she would talk to my dad about it and call me back. Well, let me tell you, I just about passed out from excitement when she called just a few minutes later and informed me that not only were they coming out for the filming, but that they had booked a room at the Langham for that day! Yes, my parents are that cool! Flash forward to the morning of the 31st. When I arrived at the hotel, I was floored to see the yellow sign pictured below. “The Code” – get it? LOVE!

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (19 of 27)

When I first told my mom about the filming, I mentioned that the one 90210 star whom I was absolutely dying to meet was Shenae Grimes. (I had already met Matt Lanter a few months prior.) So imagine my surprise when I got to the Langham and, after striking up a conversation with a crew member, found out that Shenae was the only series regular on set that day. Talk about fate! I told the crew member what a huge fan of Shenae’s I was and that I would love to get a photograph with her, to which he said, “Oh, sure. One second.” He then got on his walkie-talkie and informed someone on the other end, “There’s a fan here who wants a picture with Shenae.” The person spoke back to him and the crew member told me to wait right where I was and that Shenae would be out in a minute. Well, let me tell you, I just about fell over at that! It was as if it was just expected that if there was a fan on the premises wanting a pic, that the actors would be happy to pose. Not all sets are like that, I can assure you. In fact, very few are that accommodating. True to the crew member’s word, Shenae came out just a minute later and walked right up to me and introduced herself. She was so sweet and we even got to chat for a minute about what a huge “Lannie” fan I am.

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (20 of 27)

A few minutes later, a different crew member came up to me and invited me to watch the next scene that was being filmed (they had already finished up with the first scene of the day by the time I arrived). The crew member, who turned out to be the show’s location manager (yeah, I talked his ear off once I found that out!), parked me in the “Video Village” area behind where the directors and writers sit during a shoot and even took the below photograph to commemorate the event. And yes, I was definitely pinching myself! I’m surprised I didn’t have black and blue marks all up and down my arm, in fact! Winking smile

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (21 of 27)

The scene I got to watch being filmed was the scene in which Annie first met her future boyfriend/john, Patrick Westhill (Chris McKenna). In the episode, which turned out to be Season 4’s “Benefit of the Doubt”, the Langham Huntington was the hotel where Patrick stayed while visiting L.A. Amazingly enough, it took less than an hour, and only about three or four takes, to shoot the sequence. Those of you who have ever witnessed any filming know what a feat that is, being that most shows require umpteen takes of each and every scene.

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The scene was shot in the hotel’s Lobby Lounge, which is located right next door to The Tap Room bar.

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (25 of 27)

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (26 of 27)

I, of course, just had to go back to the Lobby Lounge later that day to pose for a (rather blurry) picture in the spot where Annie sat in the scene.

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (27 of 27)

After that scene was completed, the cast and crew moved out to the hotel’s Horseshoe Garden, which you can see some photographs of here, to set up another sequence. (The Bachelorette’s Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum got married in the Horseshoe Garden last December, but that’s a different post for a different day.) By this point, my parents had arrived at the Langham and the three of us set up camp on the patio of The Tap Room, which overlooks the Garden, so that we could watch the filming – and drink champagne at the same time. Winking smile

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (18 of 27)

My dad acted as my paparazzi the whole day and got some great shots of the crew setting up the scene.

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (1 of 27)

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (9 of 27)

As you can see below, it was quite an undertaking.

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90210 filming Pasadena Langham (6 of 27)

He also got some great shots of Shenae during a break (notice she’s carrying a Starbucks – we could so be besties! Winking smile);

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90210 filming Pasadena Langham (12 of 27)

getting her make-up put on;

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90210 filming Pasadena Langham (16 of 27)

rehearsing with Chris;

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90210 filming Pasadena Langham (5 of 27)

and actually acting out the scene.

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90210 filming Pasadena Langham (14 of 27)

The scene being filmed in the Horseshoe Garden area involved Patrick taking Annie to lunch . . . on a helicopter!

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And while the location manager informed me that they had originally planned on landing an actual helicopter on the Horseshoe Garden lawn, the city of Pasadena objected (ya think?), so they ended up adding the chopper in digitally during post production.

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In reality, the lawn was completely empty during the filming, although at one point they did bring in a tiny toy helicopter that I think may have been used in the screen capture below.

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After that scene wrapped, the cast and crew moved into the hotel’s Huntington Ballroom (you can check out a photograph of it here) which had been dressed to look like an art museum for the shoot. By that point, my parents were rather tired, so we opted to head out to dinner rather than watch more of the filming. All in all, it was a FABULOUS day and a FABULOUS memory – one that I will never forget.

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The scene that was filmed early in the day, before I arrived at the hotel, involved Annie showing up to Patrick’s room to tell him that she likes him. Patrick’s room was actually the Langham’s Ford Cottage Room 1550, which you can check out some photographs of here.

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

90210 filming Pasadena Langham (1 of 1)

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Langham Huntington, aka Patrick’s hotel from “The Benefit of the Doubt” episode of 90210, is located at 1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena. You can visit the Langham’s official website here.

The Hideaway Saloon from “90210”

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (26 of 26)

While watching the Season 5 episode of 90210 titled “Misery Loves Company” a few months back, I became just a wee bit mesmerized by the Hideaway, the biker bar where Naomi Clark (AnnaLynne McCord) and Adrianna Tate-Duncan (Jessica Lowndes) tried to track down Naomi’s lost wedding ring.  The series’ fabulous costume designer, Kime Buzzelli, had posted pictures of the site on her Instagram page (@kbuzzy), so I commented asking for its real name (for whatever reason, I had incorrectly assumed that the name shown in the episode was a fake).  She wrote back right away (she’s great about interacting with fans) saying, “It was this place called the Hideaway and it was LEGIT!  Loved it.”  When I told her I was going to have to stalk it in the near future, she replied, “I’d love to go back, it seems like it’s actually like we shot it. Smile  Perfect amount of tough and scary.”  So I immediately added the place to my To-Stalk list and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there a few weeks later.  And I just have to say here that I am seriously depressed over the fact that 90210 was cancelled.  Yes, the show had gone downhill in recent months (The Hangover-themed “Dude, Where’s My Husband” episode starring a few of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was a definite low point), but I still loved watching it and am beyond sad that, come next season, I will no longer be able to.  And I swear, if Annie Wilson (Shenae Grimes) and Liam Court (my man Matt Lanter) do not get together in the final episode, CBS will be receiving a very strongly worded letter from me!  Winking smile

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The Hideaway, which was constructed in 1917, originated as a stagecoach stop.  It went through a few different incarnations after that, but started serving alcohol in (I believe) 1947 and has been going strong ever since.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (21 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (4 of 26)

I am fairly certain that the decidedly rustic décor has not changed much since the property’s beginnings almost a century ago.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (8 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (15 of 26)

The Hideaway is actually the perfect name for the site because it is completely hidden away from view.  So much so that the GC and I almost drive right past it!  As you can see below, it is tucked below the road and virtually impossible to see.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (22 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (23 of 26)

The place is so seemingly remote and peaceful – it even butts up to a little stream! – that it is hard to believe it is located just one mile from the busy 210 Freeway.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (19 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (20 of 26)

And while I originally thought that the hitching posts out front were a décor choice, I was way off!

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (11 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (12 of 26)

While we were exploring the place, the GC spotted more hitching posts in the back of the bar, as well as, ahem, evidence of horses having been on the premises, and a sign stating, “Do not tie horses to fence.”  According to a 2001 L.A. Weekly article, the Hideaway is one of only three bars in the county that allows patrons to hitch their steeds to the posts out front.  How incredibly cool is that?

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (17 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (18 of 26)

The Hideaway’s payphone booth, which is painted to look like wood, is pretty cool, too.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (13 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (7 of 26)

Unfortunately, the Hideaway was not yet open when we showed up to stalk it (it opens at 11 a.m. on weekends), so we were not able to venture inside.  We did happen to meet a few nearby homeowners who were nice enough to fill us in on the site’s filming history, though.  And being that the bar offers karaoke (my favorite!), as well as live music, dancing, darts, and pool, I am going to have to drag the GC back there one evening when it is open.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (10 of 26)

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (16 of 26)

In the “Misery Loves Company” episode of 90210, Naomi convinces Adrianna to go for a Thelma & Louise-style road trip up the coast, “minus the Grand Canyon suicide dive, of course.”  During the drive, the two stop to skinny-dip in a natural spring (why not?) leaving their designer duds behind in Naomi’s convertible (of course).  As you can guess, the clothes – and Naomi’s wedding ring, which was in her pants pocket – get stolen and, acting on a tip from some local hippies who happen to be walking by, the girls head to a biker bar just up the road in order to confront the culprits.  (In that episode’s side story, Liam gets kidnapped by his psycho bodyguard who plans to take him to Mexico in a three foot by five foot box.  Oh, and Annie gets shot.  There’s a reason the GC has turned to me while watching 90210 over the past couple of weeks and said of the series’ cancellation, “Really, you didn’t see this coming?”  Winking smile)

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The real life interior of the bar was also used in the episode.

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As you can see below, the Hideaway even has a little anteroom for dancing and is much larger than its exterior would have you believe.

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Due to its rugged look and isolated feel, the Hideaway has been a favorite of location scouts since way back when.  Thanks to the Falcon Crest website, I learned that in the Season 1 episode titled “The Tangled Vines”, which first aired in 1981, the watering hole masqueraded as the supposed Tuscany Valley-area bar where Lance Cumson (Lorenzo Lamas) took his cousins Cole Gioberti (William R. Moses) and Vickie Gioberti (Jamie Rose) for a drink.  Both the exterior . . .

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. . . and the interior of the bar were used in the scene.

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In the 2000 black comedy Drowning Mona, the Hideaway stood in for the Verplanck, New York-area bar where Murph Calzone (Mark Pellegrino) worked.

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The interior of the bar also appeared in the movie.

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How much does Casey Affleck, who plays Murph’s brother, Bobby in the flick, look like Zac Efron, by the way?

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In The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning, the Hideaway was where Daisy Duke (April Scott) worked.  At least I think it’s where she worked.  Unfortunately, the movie was not available to stream anywhere online, so I was only able to watch a preview of it and while I did spot the Hideaway, I am not exactly sure of what function it served in the 2007 flick.

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to 90210 costume designer Kime Buzzelli for telling me about this location!  Smile  You can check out Kime’s official website here.

The Hideaway Kagel Canyon (9 of 26)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Hideaway, from the “Misery Loves Company” episode of 90210, is located at 12122 Kagel Canyon Road in Kagel Canyon.  You can visit the bar’s official website here.

The Marina del Rey Marriott from “90210”

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (2 of 18)

One location that has been on my To-Stalk List for ages now is the Marina del Rey Marriott, which appeared in the Season 1 episode of fave show 90210 titled “That Which We Destroy” – in two different scenes featuring my girl Shannen Doherty, no less!  And while I had planned on stalking the locale last July when Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were in the area for a full-day stalking adventure, as so often happens when the two of us get together, we had far too many locations and far too little time.  Thankfully though, my and the Grim Cheaper’s new L.A. home-base is in Santa Monica, just a few miles north of the hotel, so, while we were in town last weekend, I made it a point to finally visit the place.

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The Marina del Rey Marriott, which is within walking distance of both Venice Beach and Mother Beach, features an outdoor pool, a fitness center, views of Marina del Rey’s gorgeous waterways (and, ironically enough, the parking lot where Jack McKay was killed on Beverly Hills, 90210, which I blogged about here), 24 different meeting rooms comprising a total of 18,000 square feet of space, and a ginormous rooftop ballroom named the Bayview Ballroom, which boasts 360-views of Los Angeles, a huge outdoor patio area and a helipad!

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (3 of 18)

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (5 of 18)

The Marina del Rey Marriott has won several accolades over the years, including being named an LA’s the Place Top Pick in 2010Playboy Magazine also recognized the hotel’s outdoor bar, Glow Ultra Lounge, as one of the top ten lounges in Los Angeles.

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (13 of 18)

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (14 of 18)

With its dark red pillars, shining marble floors and glowing accent candles, the Marina del Rey Marriott gives off a very hip and trendy vibe and it is not at all hard to see how it ended up onscreen on 90210.

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (15 of 18)

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (16 of 18)

The Marriot actually popped up three times in the “That Which We Destroy” episode of 90210.  First, one of the hotel’s hallways masqueraded as the hallway of the theatre where Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) starred in a local performance of Hamlet.

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Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (7 of 18)

It is thanks to the carpet in that hallway that I was able to figure out this particular location.  For a while I was stumped as to where filming of the theatre scene had taken place, but after watching the episode for the umpteenth time, I noticed that the carpeting looked very much like hotel carpeting  – Marriott carpeting in particular.  (My dad has been a Marriott Rewards Member for years, so I am extremely familiar with the chain’s carpeting, which seems to be the same at every single property.)  So I started looking through photographs of the various Marriotts in the L.A. area, starting with the ones nearest to Manhattan Beach Studios where the series is lensed and working my way outward, and it was not long before I came across the right one.

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Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (9 of 18)

Once I figured out the “theatre” location, I realized that two other scenes from the “That Which We Destroy” episode had also been shot at the Marriott.  The hotel’s Stones restaurant was used as the spot where Debbie Wilson (Lori Loughlin), Harry Wilson (Rob Estes), Tracy Clark (Christina Moore), and Sean Cavanaugh (Josh Henderson) went for a getting-to-know-each-other dinner.

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Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (11 of 18)

Again, the carpet was a dead giveaway that the dinner scene had taken place at a hotel.

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Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (10 of 18)

And finally the lobby bar was where, in my favorite scene from the episode, Brenda told Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) that she could no longer be friends with her because “I don’t want to fight over Dylan or Ryan or whoever.  You know, I’m over all of that drama.”   You tell her, Brenda!  Tables were brought in for the filming of the scene in order to make the lobby bar look like a sit-down restaurant.  In reality, there are couches situated in that area, as you can see below.  Ironically enough, it looks like 90210 was filming at the Marina del Rey Marriot once again this very week.

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Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (12 of 18)

90210 was hardly the first production to film at the hotel.  In 1989’s Lethal Weapon 2, the exterior of the Marina del Rey Marriott was used as the establishing shot of the hotel where Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) first met Leo Getz (Joe Pesci).

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The Marriot was only used for the brief establishing shot, though.  All actual filming took place about ten miles away at the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City hotel, which was at the time a JW Marriott, the same JW Marriott that was featured in the 1990 thriller Pacific Heights.

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In 2006’s Drake and Josh Go Hollywood, the Marina del Rey Marriott stood in for The Chambrulay, where Drake Parker (Drake Bell), Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) and Audrey Parker-Nichols (Nancy Sullivan) stayed while (accidentally) visiting L.A.

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The Marina del Rey Marriott also stood in for the Grand Saville Hotel where almost all of the Season 1 episode of Chuck titled “Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover” took place.

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Glow Ultra Lounge also appeared briefly in one of Chuck’s mind flashes in the episode.

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Only the interior of the Marriott was used in “Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover.”  The establishing shot was of the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, which is currently in the process of being torn down in order to make way for what will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

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In the Season 3 episode of fave show Dexter titled “I Had a Dream”, the Marriott stood in for Hotel Belvedere, the supposed Miami, Florida motel where Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) stalked his former partner-in-crime, Asst. District Atty. Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits).  Both the exterior . . .

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. . . and the interior of the property were used in the episode.

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One of the Marriott’s actual rooms was also utilized in the filming.

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As you can see below, though, some CGI trickery was used to cut off the top floors of the hotel in the episode, making it virtually unrecognizable.  In fact, had it not been for fellow stalker Gary, from the Seeing Stars website, I never would have realized Hotel Belvedere was the Marina del Rey Marriott.

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Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (2 of 18)

The Season 9 episode of American Idol titled “Los Angeles, CA Auditions” was also filmed at the Marina del Rey Marriot.  The actual auditions took place in the hotel’s Bayview Ballroom.

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Some scenes from the episode were also lensed in front of the hotel;

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and in the lobby.  And while the judges apparently arrived via helicopter and landed on the Marriott’s roof in the episode, I could not footage of that anywhere online.

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In the 2010 movie Valentine’s Day, football player Sean Jackson (Eric Dane) made a speech on the rooftop of the Marina del Rey Marriott.  Check out those views!!

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Marina del Rey Marriott 90210 (4 of 18)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Marina del Rey Marriot, from the “That Which We Destroy” episode of 90210, is located at 4100 Admiralty Way in Marina del Rey.  You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

Floodlights Nightclub from “Beverly Hills, 90210”

Floodlights Beverly Hills 90210-1040995

Located directly across the street from Calvert Studios – the studio where fave show Beverly Hills, 90210 was lensed and the location that currently stands in for the exterior of The Rub massage parlor on the Lifetime television series The Client List – is the office building that masqueraded as Floodlights nightclub in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Slumber Party”.  And while I had known about this locale for what seems like ages, for some reason, I had never stalked it during any of my prior visits to Calvert Studios.  Thankfully though, when I was there with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a couple of months back, he reminded me about the place and suggested that I stalk and blog about it.  So here goes!

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In the “Slumber Party” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) takes Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) to a nightclub named Floodlights.  After the teens are denied entry at the door, due to the fact that they are both obviously underage, they walk back to the club’s parking lot area where they meet Trina (Growing Pains’ Julie McCullough) and Shelly (Judie Aronson), two scam artists who end up stealing Steve’s Corvette.  And while the police do catch and arrest the women later on in the evening, Trina begs Steve to bail them out of jail, promising to “make it up to” him, and Steve being Steve, he, of course, does – after which Trina gives him a coupon for a free manicure.  Ah, the good old days!

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In real life, the Floodlights building is not a nightclub at all, but a simple office space that currently serves as the headquarters for ProAction Products, which, according to its website, is a custom plastic injection molding, assembly and tool manufacturing firm – whatever that means.  And while I am not sure what the structure housed back in 1991 when the “Slumber Party” episode was filmed, judging by the industrial nature of the area, I am guessing it was a similar type of company.  I cannot express how incredibly weird it is to see the small, quiet and normal street where Calvert Studios is situated and picture the Beverly Hills, 90210-gang arriving there each and every morning to tape what was then the most popular television series on the planet.  Most movie studios are surrounded by huge gates, fences and guard shacks, and, barring a tour, are largely off-limits to the public.  But Calvert Studios is, in essence, just a warehouse and, while it is slightly more inaccessible now, back in the 90210 days, it was completely visible from the street.  I cannot even imagine working in one of the nearby offices at the time and getting to see Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry arrive on set everyday.  How incredibly cool would that have been?!?  Sigh!

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Oddly enough, thanks to its unique façade, producers did not have to do much to transform the 1972-office building into Floodlights nightclub.  They simply covered over the glass entrance doors to make the structure appear less “officey”, added a neon sign and a fake cactus plant, and, voila, they had themselves what looked exactly like an early ‘90s-era club.

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Ironically enough, while scanning through the pilot episode of The Client List, which was titled “The Rub of Sugar Land”, to make screen captures for last Friday’s post, I spotted the Floodlights office building in the background of the scene in which Riley Parks (Jennifer Love Hewitt) discovered that the word “whore” had been spray-painted on her car.

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here and you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And you can take a look my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for reminding me about this location!  Smile

Floodlights Beverly Hills 90210-1040991

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Floodlights Nightclub, from the “Slumber Party” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, is located at 14940 Calvert Street in Van Nuys.  The Rub from The Client List is located across the street at 15001 Calvert Street.  The back of the Peach Pit and the door to the After Dark from Beverly Hills, 90210 is actually the east side of the warehouse located right next door to The Rub at 15041 Calvert Street.  Steve Sander’s bus stop from the “Chuckie’s Back” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 was built on the west side of that same warehouse.  You can read my post on those locations here and here.

The Rub from “The Client List”

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Another The Client List location that fellow stalker Owen (aka Jennifer Love Hewitt’s biggest fan), from the When Write Is Wrong blog, tracked down recently was The Rub – the supposed Sugar Land, Texas-area massage parlor where JLove’s character, Riley Parks, works on the series.  Owen had actually been looking for the locale for quite some time and when he finally found it and sent me the address I literally just about fell off my chair!  As it turns out, The Rub is the exterior of Calvert Studios in Van Nuys, the very same studio where Beverly Hills, 90210, my favorite show of all time, was filmed!  How I did not recognize it while watching The Client List is absolutely BEYOND me.  In my defense, though, at the time that Owen gave me the address, I had only seen one episode of the series.  Anyway, once I found out about the location, I added it to my Re-Stalk list and Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I headed right on over there while in the area two months ago.

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The two warehouses pictured below were both formerly a part of the Calvert Studios complex and the interior of each was used in the filming of Beverly Hills, 90210. As you’ll notice, the place does not look anything at all like a typical movie studio.  That is because Calvert Studios was originally a light manufacturing facility located at the end of a cul-de-sac in a small industrial area of Van Nuys.  In 1989, Aaron Spelling purchased the site to film his new television series Beverly Hills, 90210 and transformed the two warehouses, which comprised 45,000 square feet of space, into sound studios and production offices.  And for the next ten years magic happened inside of those walls.  Well, for the next four years – we can all attest to the fact that the show went seriously downhill after Shannen Doherty left.  But I digress.  Anyway, after 90210 went off the air in 2000, Spelling Productions continued to do filming at the site.  Then, when Aaron passed away in 2005, CBS took over the property and used the studio to shoot such shows as Jericho, Heist, Harper’s Island, and the ill-fated 2009 Melrose Place re-boot.

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Then, sometime last year, CBS sold off one of the warehouses to Genie Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., cutting Calvert Studios in half.  And sadly, the warehouse sold was the most recognizable one, the one that was used regularly as the back of the Peach Pit and the famous entrance to the Peach Pit After Dark on 90210.

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Sadder still is the fact that Genie has since painted over the warehouse’s legendary red brick exterior and the building is now a drab blue and grey color and is virtually unrecognizable. GAH!

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Unfortunately, while the After Dark door – which, in reality, is one of the warehouse’s side doors – is typically visible from the street, it was covered over by a huge tower of wooden crates on the day that Mike and I stalked the place.  Its location is denoted with a pink arrow in the photograph below.  You can check out some pictures that I took of that door on my first visit to Calvert Studios – during which Mike and I were invited onto the lot – here.

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The side of the Genie warehouse was also used as other locations besides the Peach Pit during 90210’s ten-year run.  Most prominently, it doubled as the rave where Emily Valentine (Christine Elise) slipped Ecstasy into Brandon Walsh’s (Jason Priestley’s) drink in the Season 2 episode titled “U4EA”.  The white door visible in the screen captures pictured below is actually the famous After Dark door.  The camera was just facing the opposite angle from which the After Dark scenes were usually shot.

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And the opposite (west) side of the warehouse was used as the bus station where Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) caught a bus to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the Season 2 episode titled “Chuckie’s Back”.

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The bus depot, which was, of course, just a fake, was set up in front of the first window pictured below.

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And although they can’t be seen in the episode, when Steve’s bus drives off in the scene, it passes right through the Calvert Studios gates.

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Those gates are pictured below.

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One of the Genie warehouse employees was nice enough to let us onto the property while we were there, so I, of course, just had to pose for a pic in the spot where the gang was standing in the episode.

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While the Genie warehouse is no longer used for production, the other warehouse still is.  And not only does the front exterior of it stand in for the entrance to The Rub on The Client List, but the interior is actually comprised of the soundstages where the series is filmed.

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In The Client List, The Rub is the not-so-above-board strip-mall massage parlor where Riley Parks gives massages . . . among other things.  As you can see below, it looks pretty much exactly the same in person as it does onscreen, minus a few potted plants and some retro light fixtures.

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As I mentioned in my post about the house where Riley lives on the series, The Client List is actually based upon the true story of The Healing Touch massage parlor, which got raided by the police in a huge prostitution scandal in May 2004.  In real life, The Healing Touch was located at 3631 North Dixie Boulevard in Odessa, Texas.

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Ironically enough, in the Season 1 finale of The Client List, which was titled “Past Is Prologue”, the back (north) side of the Genie warehouse was featured in the scene in which The Rub’s owner, Georgia (Loretta Devine), took Riley “next door” to “Bucky’s Appliances” and suggested that she relieve some of her anger at her ex-husband by hitting washing machines with a baseball bat.

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It absolutely cracked me up to see those washing machines because, as I mentioned back in December 2009 in my post about the “Keep It Together” park from Season 1 of Beverly Hills, 90210, Calvert Studios is surrounded by appliance warehouses and washing machines were visible in the background of more than a few episodes of the series.

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here and you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And you can take a look my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for finding this location and to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for figuring out Steve’s bus stop location!  Smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

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Stalk It: The Rub from The Client List is located at 15001 Calvert Street in Van Nuys.  The back of the Peach Pit and the door to the After Dark from Beverly Hills, 90210 is actually the east side of the warehouse located right next door at 15041 Calvert Street.  Steve’s bus stop from the “Chuckie’s Back” episode of 90210 was built on the west side of that same warehouse.

The Burger That Ate L.A. from “Melrose Place”

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Way back in July 2009, a fellow stalker named Zoe emailed me to ask for some help in tracking down a hamburger-shaped restaurant that had appeared regularly in establishing shots on the original Melrose Place. Because I had never really watched the series, though, and had never noticed a burger-shaped eatery in all my years of living in L.A., I was not able to offer much help.  So imagine my surprise when, while stalking in the West Hollywood area with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a couple of months ago, we drove by the Starbucks pictured above and he announced that in the late ‘90s it was a famous hamburger-shaped restaurant named The Burger That Ate L.A. and that it was featured in an early episode of MP.  I just about passed out from excitement over the news!  More exciting still was the fact that, as Mike pointed out, even though the eatery has since gone through a series of different incarnations, the shape and structure of it is still almost exactly the same as it was when it was a burger place.  Yay!  Because we were rushing off to stalk Frank’s Wedding Coordinator shop from Father of the Bride (which I blogged about here) though, we did not pull over to take pictures.  (I know, I know – me passing up the chance to stalk a Starbucks is seriously blasphemous!)  But I immediately added the address to my To-Stalk list and finally dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there a couple of weeks ago.

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In the pilot episode of Melrose Place, Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) drops Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) and David Silver (Brian Austin Green) – all of whom were making a guest appearance – off in front of The Burger That Ate L.A. before heading over to see her new boyfriend, Jake Hanson (Grant Show), who “lives around the corner” at the Melrose Place apartment building (which I blogged about many, many moons ago here).  As you can see below, The Burger That Ate L.A. was quite an extraordinary place.

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The eatery also popped up in the opening credits of Melrose Place’s pilot episode and, as I mentioned above, in the series’ regular establishing shots of the Melrose District neighborhood, where the characters supposedly lived.

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The Burger That Ate L.A. was also featured very briefly in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “The First Time”, in the scene in which Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) takes his former girlfriend, Sheryl (Paula Irvine), who is visiting from Minnesota, sightseeing.

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The unique programmatic design of The Burger That Ate L.A. was the brainchild of restaurateur David Alderman, who also founded Carlos & Pepe’s in Fort Lauderdale and Moonshadows in Malibu (where Mel Gibson partied before his infamous DUI arrest in 2006).  Alderman became inspired to shape his latest venture like a hamburger late one night while watching a B-movie.  According to this July 7th, 1989 Los Angeles Times article, of the idea, he said, “Something in the old movie must have flipped a switch, and a light bulb popped in my head.  I grew up in West Los Angeles, and often passed the Tail o’ the Pup hot-dog stand, which is shaped like a sausage sticking out between two buns.”  Alderman commissioned the Solberg + Associates (which was then known as Solberg + Lowe Architects) firm to design and carry out his vision and The Burger That Ate L.A. was opened in mid-1989.  The kitschy diner featured bar stools that were shaped like pickle wedges and a huge tomato slice that was suspended from the ceiling.  What I wouldn’t give to have been able to see it in person!  Sad smile

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The Burger That Ate L.A. was insanely popular for a time and even attracted its fair share of celebs.  Apparently, Drew Barrymore once dined there, as did Axl Rose.  Sadly though, the popularity did not last.  While I do not know the exact date of its closure, by October 1994, The Burger had already been shut down, re-opened as the Acapulco Chicken Café (which inexplicably retained the burger shape of the building, as you can see here), closed yet again and left to deteriorate.  At some point, the façade of Los Angeles City Hall was removed, but when Starbucks leased the property in 1995 or 1996, they added it back on, which I think is so incredibly cool!  As you can see below, the basic shape of the place is still exactly the same as it was back in The Burger That Ate L.A. days.  The rounded “burger” area is still there, as are the winged backdrop and the curved windows.  And, as you can see in this 2000 photograph of the building on the Starbucks Everywhere website, the place even retained its brick siding for a time.

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I cannot tell you how exciting it is to discover that, despite years of change (or in this case decades!), some remnant of a historic location still exists, no matter how small.  And I love, love, love that Starbucks not only chose to incorporate the basic shape of The Burger That Ate L.A. into its design, but also restored the City Hall façade back onto its roof.  While most Starbucks stores look like cookie cutter versions of themselves, this one not only stands out, but also preserves a bit of Los Angeles’ history in the process.  That’s Starbucks for you – making the world better, one latte at a time.  Winking smile

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here and you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And you can take a look my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Burger That Ate L.A., from the pilot episode of Melrose Place, was formerly located at 7624 Melrose Avenue in the Melrose District of Los Angeles.  The space now houses a Starbucks.

The Parking Lot Where Jack McKay was Killed on “Beverly Hills, 90210”

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This past Saturday (which, as you can see above, was extremely overcast and cloudy – boo!), Mike, from MovieShotsLa, and I spent all day stalking in the Venice Beach/Marina Del Rey-area.  After stopping by the Killer Café (aka the former Edie’s Diner from Enough and Dexter), which I will be blogging about soon, Mike pointed to the parking lot across the way and mentioned that it was where Jack McKay (Josh Taylor), father of Dylan McKay (Luke Perry – my high school love, sigh!), was killed by a car bomb in the Season 3 episode of fave show Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Dead End”.  Well, as you can imagine, I was completely bowled over at hearing this bit of information and asked Mike to take me right on over there to stalk the place.

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It’s funny, but even though I had only seen the “Dead End” episode once, way back in 1993 when it first aired, the parking lot where Jack McKay was killed was seared into my memory and, as soon as Mike pointed it out, I recognized the place at once and was immediately transported back to my high school days.  It is amazing how some television shows and movies have that capability!  I mean, I could literally almost feel the braces on my teeth!  Smile

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In “Dead End”, Jack, who has just been released from federal prison, moves into a humongous, borrowed yacht with his girlfriend, Christine Pettit (Valerie Wildman), and Dylan.  In the episode, the vessel was docked at the very end of Berth E2500 in Marina Del Rey.

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One rainy morning, shortly after moving in together and mending their relationship, Dylan goes to move his father’s car from the marina parking lot.  In the scene, he walks out of the gate marked “E2500, 2700, 2900”.

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As fate would have it, just as Dylan is about to unlock the car door, Jack calls out to him to inform him that Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) is on the phone.  (And I just have to say here that while scanning through “Dead End” to make screen captures for today’s post, I got seriously fed up with Kelly’s incessant baby-talk!  Blech!  I realize that this goes without saying, but Team Brenda all the way!  Smile)  Jack then runs up the dock to give Dylan the phone and tells him that he will move the car because, “Well, hey, what are dads for, huh?”

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While Dylan is talking to Kelly, Jack’s car blows up, killing him (or so producers would have us believe) and forever altering Dylan’s life.

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And I, of course, just had to imitate Dylan’s reaction to the explosion while I was there.  (For some reason, I thought he had his arms out during the scene.)

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The very same parking lot was also the spot where Dylan got rid of his gun – and let go of his anger over his father’s murder – with his girlfriend, Antonia “Toni” Marchette (Rebecca Gayheart), standing by his side in the Season 6 episode titled “Gypsies, Cramps and Fleas (a.k.a. Halloween VI)”.

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The parking lot was also used in the Season 2 episode of Dexter titled “An Inconvenient Lie”, as Gulf Shore Motors, the used car dealership where murderer Roger Hicks (Don McManus) worked and where Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) stalked him.

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here and you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And don’t forget to take a look at my latest post – about my no-carb diet – on my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

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

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

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Stalk It: The parking lot where Dylan McKay’s father was killed in the “Dead End” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 is Public Parking Lot # 9 located at 14110 Palawan Way in Marina Del Rey.  In the above map, the location of Jack’s boat is denoted with an orange arrow; the gate Dylan and his father walked out of (for berth E2500, 2700, 2900) is marked with a blue arrow; the spot where Jack’s car was parked is designated with a pink arrow; the area where Dylan was standing when the bomb exploded is denoted with a yellow “X”; and finally, the used car lot from the “An Inconvenient Lie” episode of Dexter is stamped with a green circle.

The Coffee Pot from “90210”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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

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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

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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

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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.

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That spa area is pictured above.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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;

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

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one of hotel’s outdoor terraces;

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

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and two neighboring 7th floor suites.

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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.

Offshore – Liam’s Bar from “90210”

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One of the many locations that Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I stalked last week while hanging out in the Redondo Beach area – and the one that I was most excited about – was Offshore, the bar owned by Liam Court (cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!) on fave show 90210.  I had been absolutely itching to stalk the fictitious watering hole ever since it first appeared in the series’ Season 4 premiere episode back in September of last year.  Thankfully, fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, had quickly tracked the place down and, as soon as he posted the address, I immediately added it to my “To-Stalk” list.  Because the Grim Cheaper and I do not get down to the South Bay very often, though, the bar had, sadly, remained unstalked until last Wednesday afternoon.  And, let me tell you, when I finally saw it in person, I could not have been more excited!  I was practically busting at the seams!

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Offshore first showed up in the Season 4 episode of 90210 titled “Up In Smoke”, as the spot where Liam and his friends, Navid Shirazi (Michael Steger), Dixon Wilson (Tristan Wilds) and Teddy Montgomery (Trevor Donovan), lamented over their various end-of-the-summer blues.  In the episode, the beachside watering hole was named “Salty’s Place” and it included an on-the-sand hut.  And while that hut seems to have subsequently disappeared, I am sure it will be brought back during the summer months.

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After Liam purchased the bar at the very end of the “Up In Smoke” episode, he renamed it “Offshore” and the place now shows up weekly as the gang’s regular hangout.

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As you can see above, the Offshore building looks much the same in person as it does on TV.

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Don’t go looking for the interior of Liam’s bar there, though, as it is, sadly, just a set that exists inside of a soundstage at Manhattan Beach Studios where the series is lensed.

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The ground floor space that supposedly houses Offshore is, in reality, the rear entrance to a storefront that is, I believe, currently vacant.  As you can see from above photograph of the back of the building, the place is currently undergoing some major construction, so I was, unfortunately, unable to venture any closer to the see what the Offshore space actually looks like in real life.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location!  Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

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Stalk It: Offshore, Liam’s bar from 90210, is located at 100 Fisherman’s Wharf, at the end of the Redondo Beach Pier, in Redondo Beach.  Its exact location is marked with a pink arrow in the above aerial view.  You can catch a good view of the place from the spot where North Harbor Drive meets West Torrance Boulevard.