90210 – Page 3 – IAMNOTASTALKER

June 20, 2011June 20, 2011

The Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel from “90210”

Another location that the Grim Cheaper and I stopped by a couple of weeks ago while doing some stalking in the South Bay was the Manhattan Beach Marriott, which stood in for the supposed-Beverly-Hills-area hotel where the West Beverly High Senior Prom was held in the Season 3 episode of fave show 90210 titled “The Prom Before the Storm”. I found this location thanks to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, who was kind enough to put together an entire 90210-themed South Bay stalking list for me as soon as he found out that I was heading down that way. Sadly, due to some major traffic that the GC and I encountered on our way down there (darn you, 405!), we were not able to spend as much time in the area as I had hoped and only managed to hit up a couple of locations, one of which was the prom hotel. Ironically enough, not only had the GC and I actually stayed at the Manhattan Beach Marriott a few years back, but thanks to its appearance in an early episode of The O.C., I had even blogged about it. So the fact that I did not recognize it when it appeared in “The Prom Before the Storm” episode is highly embarrassing! I mean, what kind of a stalker am I??? Winking smile

[ad]

Only the exterior of the Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel was featured in the episode, in the scene in which Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord) and the rest of the West Beverly High gang arrive at their Senior Prom. As you can see in the screen capture located on the bottom right above, producers put up curtains to block the interior of the hotel in the scene as it did not match up with the interior set that they had created at Manhattan Beach Studios where the series is lensed.

That set, which was centered around Silver’s (aka Jessica Stroup’s) half-baked Cirque du Soleil prom theme, is pictured above.

I am very happy to report that the hotel looks exactly the same in person as it did in the episode. Ironically enough, the Manhattan Beach Marriott is eerily similar in appearance to the Universal Sheraton, where Brenda Walsh (aka Shannen Doherty), Dylan McKay (aka Luke Perry), Donna Martin (aka Tori Spelling) and the rest of the original West Bev gang attended the spring dance in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 aptly titled “Spring Dance”.

The exterior staircase located just east of the hotel’s front entrance also made an appearance in the episode as the spot where Ivy Sullivan (aka Gillian Zinser) caught her then-boyfriend, now-husband Raj Kher (aka Manish Dayal) drinking.

As I mentioned above, the Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel was also featured in the Season 1 episode of The O.C. titled “The Debut”. In the episode, the interior of the hotel masqueraded as the interior of Newport Beach’s Pelican Hill Country Club where the dance rehearsals for Marissa Cooper (aka Mischa Barton) and Summer Roberts’s (aka Rachel Bilson’s) Debutante Ball were held.

Both the hotel’s Grand Lobby, which as you can see above has changed its color scheme drastically since the episode was filmed;

and the Manhattan Ballroom, which was unfortunately closed when we showed up to stalk the place but which you can see photographs of here, were featured in the episode.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel, from “The Prom Before the Storm” episode of 90210, is located at 1400 Parkview Avenue in Manhattan Beach. The hotel’s main entrance and the exterior stairwell, which is denoted with a pink arrow in the above aerial view and is located just east of the main entrance, appeared in the episode. In “The Debut” episode of The O.C., the hotel’s front lobby and Manhattan Ballroom were featured. You can visit the Manhattan Beach Marriott’s official website here.

June 10, 2011June 14, 2011

The Figueroa Hotel from “90210”

A couple of years ago, while perusing through an issue of AAA’s Westways Magazine, I spotted an article about Southern California’s nicest most reasonably –priced hotels and, because I was dating the Grim Cheaper at the time, I figured I’d best read through it. Of the ten properties featured in the column, the Moroccan-themed Figueroa Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles immediately caught my eye and I dragged the GC right on over there to grab a cocktail just a few nights later. The two of us pretty much fell in love with the place’s unique architecture and exotic décor on sight and have returned there a couple of times over the years to grab a drink or just hang out. So imagine my surprise when the Fig, as it is commonly referred to, popped up on fave show 90210 as the Cabo San Lucas resort where Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), and the rest of the West Beverly gang spent their Spring Break in the recently-aired Season 3 episode titled “The Enchanted Donkey”. Because I had not taken many pictures of the hotel during our past visits, I immediately added the place to my Re-Stalk list and dragged the GC right on back over there this past weekend.

The Figueroa Hotel, which was designed by Stanton, Reed, & Hibbard at a cost of $1.25 million, was originally built in 1925 by the YWCA as a hotel/residence for businesswomen and their families. Shortly following the Great Depression, the 12-story, 409-room structure was turned into a public hotel and it later served a brief stint as housing for troops during World War II. The property fell into disrepair in the years following, until the late 1990s when it was purchased by Uno Thimansson, who immediately set about renovating the place, giving it a Moroccan theme. And, let me tell you, he did an incredible job. Walking through the hotel’s front doors, one is quickly transported from the busy streets of Downtown L.A. into a Casablanca-esque oasis. Every time I am there, I half expect to see Sam tickling the ivories while Bogie puffs away on a cigarette somewhere nearby. True to Westways Magazine’s word, despite the hotel’s fabulous ambiance and location directly across the street from Staples Center and L.A. Live, it still boasts extremely reasonable room rates. And while the reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp are quite mixed, in this stalker’s never-to-be-humble opinion, the Figueroa looks like an extremely cool place to vacation. Not to mention that the poolside bar is something of a celebrity hotspot, with everyone from Keanu Reeves to members of Depeche Mode dropping by for a cocktail throughout the years.

[ad]

The Figueroa Hotel was used quite extensively in “The Enchanted Donkey” episode of 90210 in which it masqueraded as the “Hotel Burro Encantado” (aka the Enchanted Donkey Resort) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Areas of the hotel which appeared in the episode include the main entrance;

the poolside bar, where Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan) met up for drinks with former schoolmate Tripp Wallison (aka Alan Ritchson);

and the pool area . . .

. . . behind which producers had an image of the Cabo San Lucas skyline superimposed. In reality, the Figueroa Hotel pool boasts views of several massive Downtown L.A. skyscrapers. I was literally cracking up taking the above photograph while envisioning the way the pool appeared on 90210. Winking smile

And while I had assumed that one of the hotel’s real life hallways had been used in the episode, the GC and I ventured upstairs to take a look at one and, as you can see above, it does not at all match up to what appeared onscreen. It seems that producers built a fake hallway set for the filming.

I had also assumed that some of the Figueroa’s actual rooms had been used in the episode, as well, but as you can see on the hotel’s website, that does not seem to be the case.

The super-nice front desk clerk also informed us that the Figueroa’s lobby restaurant, the Fig Street Café, stood in for a supposed Cuba-area eatery in the Season 7 episode of fave show CSI: Miami titled “The Deluca Motel”.

The hotel was also featured in the Season 4 episode of Chuck titled “Church Versus the Seduction Impossible” as the Marrakesh, Morocco-area hotel where Chuck Bartowski (aka Zachary Levi), Colonel John Casey (aka Adam Baldwin), and Sarah Walker (aka Yvonne Strahovski) were sent to rescue Roan Montgomery (aka John Larroquette).

In the Season 2 episode of Make It or Break It titled “Worlds Apart”, the Fig stood in for the Rio de Janeiro-area hotel where Kaylie Cruz (aka Josie Loren) and the rest of her teammates stayed during the World Gymnastics Championships.

In the Season 2 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles titled “Harm’s Way”, the Figueroa stood in for the Blue Oasis Hotel in Sana’a, Yemen, where Sam Hanna (aka LL Cool J) and G. Callen (aka Chris O’Donnell) stayed while trying to capture the leader of a terrorist group.

One of the hotel’s real life rooms – one that the GC, randomly enough, just so happened to snap a photograph of – also appeared in the episode.

I find it highly ironic that NCIS: Los Angeles filmed at the Figueroa as I have always thought that the hotel’s lobby bears a striking resemblance to the NCIS headquarters on the series.

Some filming of the yet-to-be-released James Cameron flick Battleship, which stars Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, and Brooklyn Decker, also took place at the Figueroa Hotel this past February.

And on a Matt Lanter side-note – a couple of weeks ago the cutie actor tweeted that he was going to be featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of Metro Magazine. Well, I took one look at that tweet and ran right over to Vroman’s Bookstore to purchase a copy. Sadly though, Allen, the man who runs the Vroman’s newsstand (and yes, I know his name because I shop there FAR too often) told me that not only did the store not carry Metro Magazine, but it was apparently not even available from their distributors. So I marched on home and started searching for the publication online, but came up completely empty-handed. I could not find it anywhere and I am a pretty good Googler! Over the past few weeks I have also visited several newsstands and bookstores in search of the mag, but no one, it seemed, had ever even heard of it. Flash forward to last night when the GC came home from work with the above pictured laminated photograph in his hands. My birthday is today and he has been gifting me with little presents every night this week. Last night’s present, as it so happens, was a copy of Matt Lanter’s issue of Metro Magazine. As it turns out, Metro is published in the Philippines and not only was the GC able to figure that out, but he somehow managed to track down a man in the Philippines via eBay whom he had go purchase a copy for him! It is currently being shipped to me and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on it! When the man heard why the GC had gone to such trouble to purchase the magazine, he said that he had inspired him to be a better husband. How cute is that???? Best.present.ever! Thank you, GC!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Figueroa Hotel, from “The Enchanted Donkey” episode of 90210, is located at 939 South Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the Figueroa’s official website here.

May 27, 2011May 26, 2011

Tapas & Vino from “90210”

Another location that I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to stalk this past weekend while in the Redondo Beach area was Tapas & Vino restaurant which appeared in the Season 3 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Best Lei’d Plans”. I found this location, as always, thanks to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, and because Matt Lanter, the love of my life, had appeared in the scene that had been filmed there, I was absolutely dying to stalk the place! So after hitting up the Yellow Vase Café, which I blogged about yesterday, for lunch, the GC and I headed just a few doors north to snap a few quick pics of the Spanish-fusion restaurant.

[ad]

In the “Best Lei’d Plans” episode of 90210, newly-famous pop star Adrianna Tate-Duncan (aka Jessica Lowndes) takes her publicist, Renee (aka Elaine Hendrix), hair-stylist, Ilon (aka Jeffery Self), and make-up artist, Ginny (aka Cassandra Church), as well as her (as she calls them) “normal, non-famous friends” Navid Shirazi (aka Michael Steger), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Silver (aka Jessica Stroup), Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donnovan), Dixon Wilson (aka Tristan Wilds), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord), and Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!) out for a celebratory lunch at Tapas & Vino.

While the gang is dining, a few paparazzi show up and start snapping photos of Adrianna. And while she feigns annoyance and calls the paps “vultures”, as we later come to find out, it was actually the wannabe starlet herself who tipped the photogs off in the hopes that it would generate publicity for her new singing career. Oh, Adrianna! Such a drama queen!

While watching the episode, Geoff had noticed a sign reading “Curl Up & Dye” located across the street from the restaurant and he immediately got to work using Google to search for a salon by that name in the L.A. area. And sure enough, he found it – almost directly across the street from the Yellow Vase Café.

Unfortunately we did not have time to grab a bite to eat, or even a cocktail, at Tapas & Vino while we were in the Redondo area. The restaurant looks like a VERY cool place, though, and the GC promised to take me back there for a meal in the near future. Even though we weren’t actually dining there, Tapas & Vino’s SUPER-nice owner came out to chat with us and spent quite a bit of time answering all of my silly little questions about the filming. She said that both the cast and the crew of 90210 were EXTREMELY nice and that the filming was absolutely hassle-free and went off without a hitch. She also informed me that all of the cast members went outside after the shoot wrapped to snap pictures with the fans who were in attendance. Sigh! If only I had been there!!!!! Not everyone, it seems, was pleased with the shoot, though. You can read a rather negative article about the inconveniences the filming, which took place on October 20th, 2010, caused on the Redondo Beach Patch website here. Apparently Redondo residents were beyond irritated that 90210 was filming in their town. Really? REALLY? I would be so incredibly floored if the cast and crew of 90210 came to Pasadena to film. They could shut down the street in front of my apartment building for an entire week and you wouldn’t hear one complaint from this stalker! Sheesh! What the heck is wrong with people? Honestly! Winking smile

As you can see in the above photographs, all of the restaurant’s real life furnishings were moved out for the filming and new tables and chairs were brought in, which I thought was absolutely bizarre. So in real life the restaurant looks quite a bit different than it did onscreen. It is definitely a cool place, though, and I cannot wait to go back there to eat!

On a stalking side-note – yesterday I attended a Read-In event to promote literacy at the school where my mom works. Each guest of the event was assigned to an individual classroom where we were supposed to both talk about out careers and read a passage from our favorite book. A few days before the event, each class decorated their particular room’s door in honor of their reader and my decorated door, as well as the two students who were in charge of designing it, are pictured above. I thought the door was absolutely ADORABLE and had to share it with my fellow stalkers.

Not only did the students post a photograph of me and Matt Lanter on the door, but they also created a fake pink computer out of construction paper, complete with a keyboard that popped out. So incredibly cute! Smile

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Tapas & Vino, from the “Best Lei’d Plans” episode of 90210, is located at 1729 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. The Yellow Vase Café, from the “What’s Past is Prologue” and “Another Another Chance” episodes of 90210, is located just a few doors south of Tapas & Vino at 1805 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach. You can visit the official Yellow Vase Café website here. Salon Riviera, from the “To the Future!” episode of 90210, is located nest door to the Yellow Vase Café at 1807 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach.

May 26, 2011May 25, 2011

The Yellow Vase Café from “90210”

One location that I have been on the lookout for for over a year now is the yellow-hued coffee shop where Navid Shirazi (aka Michael Steger) ran into ex-girlfriend Adrianna Tate-Duncan (aka Jessica Lowndes) in the Season 2 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Another Another Chance”. I spent far more hours searching for this location than I really care to admit, but, for whatever reason, just could not seem to find it. Then last month, while scanning through the Season 2 episode of the series titled “What’s Past is Prologue” in order to make screen captures for the post I wrote about Crumbs Bakery, I spotted that very same coffee shop pop up in a scene featuring Miss Rumor Willis. Since Rumor has always been something of a paparazzi magnet, I figured that I might be able to find some images of her from the filming online and from there might be able to figure out the name and location of the ever-elusive bakery. And, sure enough, after just a few short minutes of searching I came across this article on the Pacific Coast News Online website which stated that the scene had been filmed at the Yellow Vase Café in Redondo Beach!!! Eureka! As fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, said after I told him that I had finally tracked down the cafe, “It’s nice to know the paparazzi are good for something!” Winking smile And even though I was absolutely DYING to stalk the place (like that very minute), the Grim Cheaper and I were not able to make it down to the South Bay until this past Saturday afternoon. I do have to say, though, that the restaurant was DEFINITELY worth the wait. In fact, it is one of the coolest coffee shops that I have ever been to in my entire life!

As you can see in the above photographs, the Yellow Vase Café, which is actually a bakery/full-service florist/coffee shop, is an adorably charming little restaurant that serves up some FABULOUS food. I opted to lunch on the Greek salad which was simply AMAZING, while the GC ordered up some homemade French Onion Soup which he absolutely devoured. I, of course, also had to sample a Yellow Vase latte while there and am very happy to report that it, too, was fabulous. The café’s bakery case was filled to the brim with colorful, freshly-baked sweets, which I so wanted to sample, but, being diabetic, couldn’t. They sure looked incredible, though. Sigh! Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with the restaurant and its soft yellow-colored ambiance and so did the GC. Neither of us wanted to leave when we were finished with our meals. Ah well, I guess that just means we will have to go back there for a re-stalk in the very near future. Smile

In the “What’s Past is Prologue” episode of 90210, Silver (aka Jessica Stroup) sends her friend Gia Mannetti (aka Rumor Willis) to a “coffee shop on Robertson” to spy on her boyfriend Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan) whom she suspects is cheating on her. As it turns out, he’s not, but the two break up anyway.

In the “Another Another Chance” episode, which aired three weeks after “What’s Past is Prologue”, the coffee shop was featured once again as the spot where Navid runs into Adrianna and he commends her for handling her recent break-up in such a “non-dramatic” way.

[ad]

Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, also clued me into the fact that Riviera Salon, which is located right next door to the Yellow Vase Café, was the spot where Silver and Adrianna got their nails done in the recently aired Season 3 finale of the series which was titled “To the Future!”

In the episode, the girls are shown walking out the doors of the salon and heading north on Catalina Avenue before stopping in front of the Yellow Vase Café to discuss Silver’s recent break up with Navid.

For some very odd reason, producers decided to swap the last two digits of the salon’s address number for the filming. As you can see in the above screen capture and photograph, in real life the salon’s address number is “1807”, while on the show it was switched to “1870”. I can see changing an address number on a private residence during filming, but on a public place? That just makes no sense to me! Ah, Hollywood!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Yellow Vase Café, from the “What’s Past is Prologue” and “Another Another Chance” episodes of 90210, is located at 1805 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. Salon Riviera, from the “To the Future!” episode of 90210, is located nest door to the Yellow Vase Café at 1807 South Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach.

May 19, 2011May 20, 2011

The Cravens Estate from “Commander in Chief”

As I mentioned a few weeks back, because of my love for Matt Lanter, the Grim Cheaper and I recently purchased and sat down to watch the first – and only – season of the short-lived television series Commander in Chief, on which the cutie actor portrayed the role of First Son Horace Calloway. I absolutely fell in love with the show and immediately started creating a list of locations to stalk from it, the most important being Pasadena’s former Cravens Estate, now the American Red Cross’ San Gabriel Pomona Valley Headquarters, which was used several times to stand in for the White House on the series. And as soon as the GC and I finished watching the final episode, I dragged my dad right on out to stalk the place. I have actually written about the Cravens Estate once before, back in July of 2008 just a few months after I first started my blog, but it was a very brief post and did not include any photographs of the interior of the property. So, I figured the place was definitely worthy of a re-post.

The Cravens Estate was originally built in 1930 for Mr. John S. Cravens and his wife Mildred and was designed by San Francisco-area architect Lewis P. Hobart, who was also responsible for constructing the City by the Bay’s Grace Episcopal Cathedral and the Crocker Building on Market Street. After migrating to Pasadena in 1900, the Cravens first commissioned an English-style mansion to be built on a 16-acre plot of land on what was then known as “Millionaires’ Row”. Three decades later, after vacationing in France, the couple decided to tear down their existing abode and build a new one based upon the design of the the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, located just south of Paris. That new manse became known as the Cravens Estate and it cost a whopping $310,000 to construct, making it one of Pasadena’s most expensive homes at the time. After the Cravens, who had no children, passed away in the 1940s, the property went through a succession of owners until finally being donated to the American Red Cross in 1962, whereupon it became their San Gabriel Pomona Valley Headquarters. The mansion is both a Pasadena Cultural Landmark and a Landmark of Historical Significance. In 2010, it was chosen to be used as the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, whereupon numerous designers came in and completely restored the property, which had lost a bit of its luster over the years, back to its original grandeur.

When I originally dragged my dad out to stalk the estate, I was hoping that we might be allowed to take a quick peek at the interior of the property and snap a few pictures. Well, imagine my surprise when the SUPER-nice receptionist said that if we were interested we could schedule a full-blown tour of the building. If we were interested? IF WE WERE INTERESTED??? Um, heck yes, we were interested!!! So I immediately scheduled a tour and dragged my dad back out to the estate once again just a few days later. What we ended up being given, though, was not what I had expected at all. Our SUPER-nice tour guide was extremely excited over how much I already knew about the estate and my enthusiasm for its filming history, so she wound up taking us on a TWO-AND-A-HALF-HOUR excursion through the property during which she showed us its every nook and cranny, including the attic area, the servants’ quarters and the basement. I can honestly say that it was one of the best stalking experiences of my life! Even my dad enjoyed it! The estate, which boasts four levels, 50 rooms, and just under 20,000 square feet of living space, is an absolutely remarkable piece of property! Pictured above is the entryway, which features hand-painted murals depicting the grounds of the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte.

Our tour included the Cravens Estate’s reception room;

dining room;

Mrs. Cravens’ former sitting room;

a sun room;

the media room;

one of the original bathrooms;

the upstairs balcony;

the bridal room;

Mrs. Cravens’ original closet;

and the back side of the estate.

The area of the home that I was most excited about seeing, though, was the kitchen, which stood in for the White House Residence’s kitchen on the first few episodes of Commander in Chief.

The Cravens Estate kitchen was actually remodeled in 2010 for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, but thankfully, as you can see above, it still looks very much the same as it did on the series.

We also got to see one of the property’s upstairs rooms . . .

. . . which was featured on Commander in Chief as the office of First Gentleman Rod Calloway (aka Kyle Secor).

And we were shown the central stairwell and glass-plated dome area . . .

. . . which popped up in the series as a White House stairwell in the episode titled “The Price You Pay”.

I just about died when our tour guide said I could pose for a picture on that very same stairwell. LOVE IT!

The exterior of the Cravens Estate also appeared in “The Price You Pay” episode as a supposed Washington, D.C.-area restaurant where President Mackenzie Calloway (aka Geena Davis) and her husband, Rod, take Attorney General nominee Carl Brantley (aka Alan Arkin) and his wife, Sue (aka Elizabeth Dennehy), out for dinner.

The Cravens Estate was also used extensively as Dalton Academy during this past season of Glee – a show which has gotten so bad that I can hardly bear to watch it anymore. Anyway, it first showed up in the Season 2 episode titled “Never Been Kissed” in the scene in which Kurt Hummel (aka Chris Colfer) spies on a rival Glee club known as the Warblers. Kurt later transfers to Dalton and joins the Warblers, after which time the estate was featured regularly on the series. Areas of the estate which appeared on the show include the central staircase;

the entryway;

the reception room;

and the dining room.

The Cravens Estate was also featured weekly as the supposed Falls Church, Virginia-area JAG headquarters on the television series of the same name. According to the official Cravens Estate website, JAG producer Donald P. Bellisario used to regularly receive letters from fans stating that they had searched high and low for the property while on stalking expeditions in Falls Church, Virginia, not realizing that it was actually located right here in Pasadena.

[ad]

The Cravens Estate was also used extensively as the Silverberg & Blake law firm where Robert Clayton Dean (aka Will Smith) worked in the 1998 thriller Enemy of the State. Areas which appeared in the movie include the exterior;

the dining room;

the central stairway;

and the same upstairs room that was used as Rod Calloway’s office on Commander in Chief.

In the 2001 movie Swordfish, the estate was where Stanley Jobson’s (aka Hugh Jackman’s) daughter, Holly (aka Camryn Grimes), went to school.

The back of the estate stood in for the French Consulate where a limo was bombed towards the beginning of the 2007 flick Rush Hour 3.

The estate’s reception room also appeared in Rush Hour 3.

According to the book The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations, the above-pictured scene from the 2001 movie Traffic, in which Robert Wakefield (aka Michael Douglas) is briefed by the White House Chief of Staff (aka Albert Finney), was filmed in a room at the Cravens Estate, although because only a tight shot of it was shown, I am not able to verify this or make a guess as to the exact room where filming took place.

The estate was also where Chauncey Gardiner (aka Peter Sellers) and Eve Rand (aka Shirley MacLaine) attended a cocktail party in the 1979 movie Being There.

The estate also stood in for the University of Minnesota dorm where Brenda Walsh (aka Shannen Doherty) briefly lived in the Season 4 episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “So Long, Auf Wiedersehen” and “The Girl from New York”.

In the Season 5 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know”, the estate stood in for Beecher Academy, where Edie Britt’s (aka Nicolette Sheridan’s) son Travers (aka Stephen Lunsford) attended school. After Edie’s death, the women of Wisteria Lane – Bree Hodge (aka Marcia Cross), Lynette Scavo (aka Felicity Huffman), Gabrielle Solis (aka Eva Longoria), Susan Mayer (aka Teri Hatcher), and Karen McCluskey (aka Kathryn Joosten) – travel to the school in order to bring Edie’s ashes to Travers.

The entryway of the Cravens Estate was transformed into a restaurant in the Season 3 episode of Mad Men titled “The Gypsy and the Hobo” for the scene in which Roger Sterling (aka John Slattery) takes Annabelle Mathis (aka Mary Page Keller, who, ironically enough, also had a recurring role on Commander in Chief) out for dinner.

Fellow stalker/Jennifer Love Hewitt-aficionado Owen also let me know that the estate appeared as Parkdale Academy in the Season 4 episode of Ghost Whisperer titled “Delusions of Grandview”.

Both the exterior . . .

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The American Red Cross’ San Gabriel Pomona Valley Headquarters, aka the Cravens Estate from Commander in Chief, is located at 430 Madeline Drive in Pasadena. Here is a map link to the location. You can visit the property’s official website here. If you would like a tour of the estate, please call to schedule an appointment first.

May 13, 2011May 12, 2011

Marco Salazar’s Pretend House from “90210”

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, located directly across the street from the house belonging to Marla Templeton (aka Sally Kellerman) on fave show 90210 is the mansion where Marco Salazar (aka Freddie Smith) pretended to live in the Season 3 episode of the series titled “Women On The Verge”. So after stalking Marla’s home this past Saturday afternoon, the Grim Cheaper and I walked right on over to Marco’s faux abode to snap a few pics of the place. I found this location, yet again, thanks to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, who somehow managed to track the residence down long before the “Woman On The Verge” episode even aired. How did he do that, you ask? Well, this past March, one of the directors of 90210, whom Geoff follows on Twitter (@90210director), tweeted a photograph of the mansion while he was doing some editing of the show. Geoff took one look at that photograph and immediately set about trying to find the place. And find it, he did – that very day. Being that the picture that @90210director tweeted showed an extremely limited view of the property, I was absolutely SHOCKED when Geoff emailed me to let me know that he had found it. Especially considering that he found it in Bel Air, which is the absolute LAST place on earth that I ever would have thought to look. Due to the mansion’s newer-looking construction, I would have assumed that it was located somewhere in the Encino area, so my hat is DEFINITELY off to Geoff on this one!

Marco’s faux residence is actually not just a filming location, but a former celebrity home as well. According to my good friend E.J. over at The Movieland Directory website, the property was where legendary singer Peggy Lee, of “Fever” and “Why Don’t You Do Right” fame, lived during her later years and was also where the crooner sadly passed away on January 21, 2002 after suffering from a heart attack.

Sadly though, as you can see in the above aerial view, the property has been extensively remodeled in recent years and no longer looks the same as it did when Peggy Lee lived there. In real life, the Tuscan-style mansion, which was originally built in 1969, boasts 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, and a whopping 6,052 square feet of living space.

[ad]

The property first popped up towards the beginning of the “Woman On The Verge” episode of 90210, in the scene in which Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan) picks up his new boyfriend, Marco, whom he believes lives on the premises, for a date.

Later on in the episode, Teddy returns to the mansion in order to confront Marco after discovering that he has been lying to him about his whereabouts. It is then that Teddy meets the home’s actual owner and learns that Marco does not, in fact, live there at all, but that his mother is employed at the property as a housekeeper. Can you say drama?!?

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Marco Salazar’s pretend house from 90210 is located at 11404 Bellagio Road in Bel Air. Here is a link to the property’s location on Bing Maps. (Special thanks to fellow stalker John, from the Bay Area, who suggested that I include a map link in all of my posts, which I will be doing from this point forward. Smile ) Marla Templeton’s house from 90210 is located just across the street from Marco’s at 542 Bellagio Terrace. Here is a map link to that location.

May 12, 2011May 12, 2011

Marla Templeton’s House from “90210”

Last week, fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, emailed me to let me know that he had just tracked down the home where actress Marla Templeton (aka Sally Kellerman, who is best known for playing the role of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” O’Houlihan in the 1970 movie MASH) lived in the Season 3 episodes of fave show 90210 titled “Nerdy Little Secrets” and “Women On The Verge”. Marla’s house had such a fabulous sense of charm and almost seemed to be a character in and of itself in the episodes that I fell in love with the place pretty much upon site and was absolutely dying to know of its real-life location. So you can imagine my excitement when I read Geoff’s email and discovered that he had somehow managed to track it down. Geoff had actually first tracked down the home where Marco Salazar (aka Freddie Smith), the new love interest of Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan), had pretended to live in the “Woman on the Verge” episode – a location which I will be blogging about tomorrow – and, as fate would have it, while looking at aerial views of the place, happened to spot Marla’s abode located directly across the street. Yay! So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place this past weekend.

[ad]

Sadly, as you can see in the above photographs, Marla’s house is located at the end of a very long, very secluded driveway and not much of the property is visible from the street. But, as I’ve said before, that is why God created real estate listings! The mid-century-modern-style residence, which was built in 1964 and boasts 3 bedrooms, 5 baths, 3,998 square feet of living space, an elevated dining room, an outdoor bar complete with flat screen TV, wood-beamed ceilings, a large pool, and amazing views of the city of L.A., was recently listed for sale for a cool $5,995,000. You can check out the listing, which has some fabulous close-up and interior photographs of the property, here.

In the Season 3 episode of 90210 titled “Nerdy Little Secrets”, Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), who is looking for a way to make some money before heading off to college, applies for a job as a personal assistant to a glamorous elderly woman named Marla Templeton. Marla is a bit of a hoarder and she winds up hiring Annie – at $1,000 a week! – to organize and catalog the many items that she has collected over the years. Annie later finds out that Marla was, at one time, an extremely famous actress and the two women end up bonding over their shared love of old Hollywood.

Both the interior and the exterior of Marla’s house were used quite extensively in the episode.

And the property’s A-MA-ZING backyard also made an appearance.

The dwelling then popped up again in the following week’s episode of 90210 titled “Women On The Verge”, in which Annie not only finds out that Marla is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, but that she is also planning on committing suicide in the very near future.

Both the interior and the exterior of the property were featured in “Women On The Verge”, which, while depressing, was one of my favorite episodes of the entire season. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, I thought Shenae Grimes did some of her best acting to date in the episode, especially in the very last scene. Sigh! Love her! But I digress. Anyway 90210 costume designer Kime Buzzelli, whom I follow on Twitter (@kbuzzy), recently tweeted a photograph that she took of the living room area of the home while it was dressed for the filming of the show, which you can check out here. So incredibly cool!

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Marla Templeton’s house, from the “Nerdy Little Secrets” and “Women On The Verge” episodes of 90210, is located at 542 Bellagio Terrace in Bel Air.

April 25, 2011April 25, 2011

Crumbs Bake Shop from “90210”

Another location that I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to see while doing some stalking in Beverly Hills two weekends ago was Crumbs Bake Shop, the popular cupcakery which appeared in the Season 2 episode of fave show 90210 titled “What’s Past is Prologue”. Crumbs has been a veritable institution in the Beverly Hills area for quite some time now and, being that I do love me some cupcakes, I am absolutely shocked that it took me this long to finally stalk the place, especially since it appeared on 90210 well over a year ago. As I have said before, though, there are just too many places to stalk and not enough hours in the day to do so! Thankfully, Crumbs was well worth the wait!

The original Crumbs Bake Shop first opened on New York’s Upper West Side in March of 2003 and was founded by former lawyer Mia Bauer and her entrepreneur husband Jason. Mia, who grew up on a farm in Israel, first started making coconut-flavored cupcakes for her family and friends when she was just a young child in the second grade. When she made a batch for Jason, her then boyfriend, one day in 2002, an idea was born. Mia left her law career behind shortly thereafter and, along with Jason, opened up her first cupcakery. It became an instant success and the couple now owns over 35 stores in six different states, including one in Washington, D.C. Today each shop offers over fifty different flavors of cupcakes daily, each of them made by hand. Sadly, because photographs are not allowed inside of the store, I had to settle for snapping a few pics of the exterior only.

[ad]

The GC and I opted to try one of Crumb’s espresso-flavored cupcakes and, let me tell you, it was A-MA-ZING! I am pretty picky about my cupcakes and I have to say that Crumbs serves up some fabulous ones! Loved, loved, loved them! Because the GC is a big fan of Howard Stern, he really wanted to try the Artie Lange cupcake, which was created by Artie on the air during an episode of The Howard Stern Show back in 2008 and consists of a vanilla cupcake filled with chocolate cream cheese, topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting, dipped in chocolate fondant, and then sprinkled with chocolate and vanilla sprinkles. We thought it might just be a wee bit too rich, though. Winking smile Artie Lange is hardly Crumbs’ only celebrity fan. Brooklyn Dekker, Andrea Bowen, Alyssa Milano, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jason Alexander (the actor from Seinfeld, not Britney Spears’ ex), Tori Spelling, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Chace Crawford, Justin Timberlake, Lauren Conrad, and my girl Jen Aniston have all been known to sample the sweet treats. In March of 2009, Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise stopped into the Beverly Hills Crumbs to get their cupcake on. And in September of 2008, Crumbs unveiled a limited-edition Cosmo-flavored cupcake especially for the DVD release party for Sex and the City: The Movie. Love it, love it, love it!

In the “What’s Past is Prologue” episode of 90210, Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord), and Erin Silver (aka Jessica Stroup) meet up at Crumbs to discuss Silver’s relationship with Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan).

It is while they are enjoying their cupcakes that Annie notices her ex-boyfriend, Jasper Herman (aka Zachary Ray Sherman), sitting at a nearby table and finally realizes that he is stalking her.

Ironically enough, just around the corner from Crumbs Bake Shop is a Vietnamese restaurant named 9021Pho, which I think is just about one of the funniest names for a restaurant that I have ever heard! The place cracks me up every single time I drive by it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Crumbs Bake Shop, from the “What’s Past is Prologue” episode of 90210, is located at 9465 Little Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. You can visit the official Crumbs’ website here. 9021Pho is located just around the corner from Crumbs at 490 North Beverly Boulevard in Beverly Hills. You can visit the official 9021Pho website here.

April 4, 2011April 3, 2011

Liam Court’s House from “90210”

This past Thursday afternoon, while out running some errands in the Hancock Park area, I decided to do a little stalking of the residence where Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!) lives on fave show 90210. I found this location thanks to Geoff at the 90210 Locations website who posted the information way back in October of 2009. And even though I do seriously love me some Matt Lanter, for whatever reason it took me almost a year and half to get out to stalk the place.

Geoff actually first found this location shortly after it appeared in the Season 1 episode of the new Melrose Place titled “Windsor” in which it was used as the spot where Lauren Yung (aka Stephanie Jacobsen) caught David Breck (aka Shaun Sipos) stealing jewelry. Geoff had an inkling that the manse was located in the Hancock Park area as he had just tracked down the house belonging to Michael Mancini (aka Thomas Calabro) on the series in that same vicinity. Because the estate is so incredibly large and distinct-looking, it did not take him long to find it using aerial views. Then, as fate would have it, someone emailed him a screen cap of Liam’s house just a few days later and asked if he might be able to track it down. He, of course, recognized the place immediately. It is so funny to me that two such closely-related CW shows would use the very same house in episodes that aired within a month of each other. But that’s Hollywood for you. Winking smile

In real life, the estate is known as the Ahmanson Mansion as, during the years 1958 through 1968, it belonged to Howard F. Ahmanson Sr., the prominent Los Angeles philanthropist who founded Home Savings and Loan, which for a time was the largest savings and loan association in America. You can see a photograph of Mr. Ahmanson standing inside the mansion on the Find A Grave website here. The impressive property, which was originally built in 1929, boasts 7 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a large pool, a tennis/basketball court, a four-car garage, a carriage house, 14,071 square feet of living space, and a 1.5 acre plot of land. It is an absolutely magnificent home and it is not very hard to see why it ended up being used on 90210.

Liam’s house first showed up in the Season 2 episode of 90210 titled “To Sext or Not to Sext”.

For whatever reason, though, producers chose not to use the front view of the house for the establishing shot shown on the series, but instead chose to use a view of the side of the property.

The real life interior of the house, which you can see photographs of here, was used in the episode, as well.

And the home’s tennis/basketball court, which you can see a photograph of here, was also used in the “To Sext or Not to Sext” episode as the spot where Ryan Matthews (aka Ryan Eggold) and Harry Wilson (aka Rob Estes) played basketball and discussed Ryan’s relationship with Jen Clark (aka Sara Foster).

[ad]

The Ahmanson Mansion was also used as the residence belonging to Francis Buxton (aka Mark Holton) in 1985’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

The real life interior of the house also appeared in the movie, as well.

Although I am fairly certain that Francis’ humongous bathtub was most likely just a set.

The Ahmanson Mansion was also featured in several Season 4 episodes of the television series Falcon Crest and in the 1990 Jackie Collins’ mini-series Lucky Chances.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff from the 90210 Locations website for finding this location.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Ahmanson Mansion, aka Liam Court’s house from 90210, is located at 401 South Hudson Avenue in Hancock Park. The view of the house shown on 90210 can be seen from West 4th Street.

March 30, 2011March 29, 2011

The Hyatt Huntington Beach from “90210”

One location that I have been absolutely DYING to stalk for over a year and a half now is the Hyatt Huntington Beach Hotel, the spot which stands in for the Beverly Hills Beach Club, the regular hangout of Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord) and the rest of the West Bev gang, each week on fave show 90210. So when the Grim Cheaper and I were discussing where to spend his upcoming birthday weekend a couple of weeks back, I casually mentioned the Hyatt as a possible destination and, amazingly enough, despite the hotel’s hefty nightly room cost, he readily agreed! Yay! So the two of us, along with my parents, headed down there bright and early this past Saturday morning. And, let me tell you, I could NOT have been more excited! I was literally bouncing out of my seat the entire drive from Pasadena down to the South Bay.

Thankfully the hotel did not disappoint! The Hyatt Huntington Beach is absolutely HUGE – I honestly don’t think I have ever in my life seen a hotel even remotely that big! – and features a retail plaza complete with a grocery store and coffee bar, spa grottos with 3 tucked away spa pools, 6 different on-site restaurants, a water playground for kids, over 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space;

517 guest rooms (ours is pictured above);

a large lagoon-style swimming pool;

lush grounds with meandering koi ponds;

several sparkling fountains;

and a 20,000 square foot spa.

For all of its grandiosity, though, there were a lot of small touches, as well, that gave the hotel an intimate feel; my personal favorite being the mini-outdoor living room that was tucked away in an alcove near our room.

And on Sunday morning when it rained, the hotel put out umbrellas for guests to use. Love it!

The area of the hotel that I was most excited about seeing was the front entrance, which is used in establishing shots of the Beach Club each week.

Pictured above is what the entry-way columns look like when not sporting the “Beverly Hills Beach Club” signs that are shown on the series.

[ad]

Besides appearing weekly in establishing shots, filming has also taken place on location at the hotel on two different occasions. The Hyatt was first used in the Season 2 episode of 90210 titled “New Beginnings”. In that episode, filming took place at the front entrance of the hotel;

in the main fountain area;

and by the pool.

And in the Season 3 episode titled ”Mother Dearest” filming took place once again at the hotel’s front entrance;

by the pool;

outside of the spa;

in one of the exterior courtyards;

on the bridge that connects the hotel to the beach;

and in the beach parking lot located directly across the street from the hotel.

None of the interior filming of the Beverly Hills Beach Club takes place at the hotel, though. Sadly, the interior of the Club is just a set that exists only on a soundstage at Manhattan Beach Studios where the series is lensed.

But I was very excited to see some similarities between the interior of the Hyatt hotel and the Beach Club set. As you can see in the above screen captures and photographs, the Hyatt has a set of three surfboards hanging on the wall behind the concierge desk, much like is the case with the check-in desk at the Beach Club! I cannot tell you how excited I was to spot those surfboards!

There is also an outdoor fire pit located in the patio area of Mankota’s Grill, the hotel’s poolside restaurant, that looks very similar to the Beach Club’s outdoor fire pit.

A SUPER nice concierge that we spoke with while checking out also let us know that in the Season 3 episode of Chuck titled “Chuck Versus the Beard” the Hyatt stood in for the Malibu Vista Hotel where Devon Woodcomb (aka Ryan McPartlin) and Ellie Bartowski (aka Sarah Lancaster) vacationed . . .

. . . and where Sarah Walker (aka Yvonne Strahovski) and Daniel Shaw (aka Brandon Roth) were sent to track down a spy.

The Hyatt Huntington Beach also stood in for the Turks & Caicos hotel where married CIA agents Steven and Samantha Bloom (aka Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw respectively) conducted a sting operation in the Season 1 episode of Undercovers titled “Instructions”.

According to a column on the Surf City News website, a large green screen was set up at the north end of the pool during the filming of Undercovers so that it could be made to look as if the hotel was located on the beach. In reality, the Hyatt is located across the street from the beach.

The hotel’s Red Chair Lounge also stood in for a Caracas bar in the “Instructions” episode.

And one of its exterior hallways and courtyards were also used.

The Hyatt was also featured in an Orbitz commercial in which the Orbitz hovercraft is shown landing in a hotel pool.

Orbitz Commercial filmed at the Hyatt Huntington Hotel

You can watch that commercial by clicking above.

The concierge also told us that the Hyatt was featured in the Season 3 episode of My Fair Wedding titled “Monopoly Bride” in which wedding planner David Tutera coordinates a Monopoly-themed wedding for a board-game obsessed bride and groom. And she informed us that a production with Hills star Audrina Patridge was filmed by the hotel’s pool, but she was not sure exactly what production it was. And finally she told us that the hotel will be featured as a venue in an upcoming episode of Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings, which is set to premiere on the Oxygen Channel on April 6th.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Hyatt Huntington Beach, aka the Beverly Hills Beach Club from 90210, is located at 21500 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. You can visit the hotel’s official website here.