Tag: Celebrities

  • Jimmie’s House from “Pulp Fiction” – the Correct One!

    Jimmie's House Pulp Fiction (17 of 20)

    Last week, a location photographer named Cris emailed me to ask for some stalking help.  Turns out he had just scouted a house located at 4507 Kraft Avenue in Studio City and the owner (who bought the abode in 2009) had informed him that the residence had been used as Jimmie Dimmick’s (Quentin Tarantino’s) house in Pulp Fiction.  Cris was a bit confused, though, as the place looked nothing at all like what he remembered of Jimmie’s pad in the 1994 thriller.  So he did some online digging later that day and discovered that several websites confirmed what the homeowner had told him.  Still not convinced, though, Cris contacted me to see if I might be willing to either verify or discount the rumors.  And because I quite simply HATE, HATE, HATE erroneous location information being out there, I happily obliged!  Thankfully it did not take me long to find the answer to this conundrum.

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    One look at the residence located at 4507 Kraft Avenue via Google Street View and I knew it was not the right place.  Jimmie’s house in the movie did not have a curved front door, nor did I remember it being L-shaped.   So I popped in my Pulp Fiction DVD, scanned ahead to to the portion of the movie that took place at Jimmy’s house and immediately noticed an address number of “4149” on the curb in the background of the scene.  Knowing that the simplest answer is most often the correct one, I decided to begin my hunt on Kraft Avenue, the street where most websites said the abode was located.  I did a quick Google search of “4149 Kraft Avenue” and, sure enough, the Street View of that address matched perfectly to what had appeared onscreen – which absolutely shocked me!  If the location was that easy to find, why on earth is there erroneous information about it out there??  The answer – shoddy research, which irks me to no end.  One person says that Jimmie’s house is located at 4507 Kraft Avenue and everyone else just takes it at face value.  There are so many blogs out there on which locations from other sites are merely copied in their entirety with no verification or new research done – which in this stalker’s never-to-be-humble opinion is both lazy and unoriginal.  As I stated recently in my post on the correct A Nightmare on Elm Street bridge, if one is going to take the time to write a blog or publish a book, then they should also take the time to make sure their information is valid.  I just finished reading O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It in which author William C. Dear repeatedly states the mantra, “Never assume, always verify.”  LOVE IT!  (The book is PHENOMENAL by the way!   I went in thinking Dear was a total fruitcake for believing O.J. is innocent, but am now completely convinced of that fact!  If you are interested, you can visit his website here.)

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    As you can see below, the two sculpted hedges and streetlight in front of 4149 Kraft Avenue match up perfectly to what appeared onscreen in Pulp Fiction in the scene in which Winston “The Wolf” Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) arrived at Jimmie’s house.

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    From there, finding Jimmie’s house via aerial views was a snap.  As it turns out, Jimmie’s pad is located at 4145 Kraft Avenue.

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    Jimmie's House Pulp Fiction (7 of 20)

    While the front exterior of the residence was never actually shown in Pulp Fiction, the backyard area was used extensively in the scene in which The Wolf hosed down Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson).  As you can see in the below screen capture as compared to the aerial view, the unique roofline (blue arrow), porch overhang (pink arrow), diagonally-angled chimney (red arrow), and placement of the garage (green arrow) are exact matches.

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    As is the wooden fence that was visible behind Jules in the scene.

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    You can see a partial view of that fence in real life in the photograph below.

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    The only portion of the home’s exterior that appeared in Pulp Fiction was the front door.

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    As you can see below, the placement of the front door (at the southern edge of the house, next to a room that pops out), is also a match, although the actual door, and house color, have since been changed.

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    And thanks to Bing aerial views, you can also see that the house was, in fact, painted pink at one point in real life, just as it was in Pulp Fiction.

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    Because I also come from the “never assume, always verify” school of thought, I did a bit more research and happened to find a July 2007 Los Angeles Times article about Michael Glenn Mullen which stated that the soon-to-be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff happened to grow up in the Kraft Avenue house that was used as Jimmie’s residence in Pulp Fiction.  The blurb also mentioned that Michael’s brother, Kevin, still owned the place.  So I did a quick search of property records and found that 4145 Kraft Avenue is, indeed, owned by a Kevin Mullen.  Voila!  During his lifetime, Michael and Kevin’s father, Jack Mullen, was a press agent for countless Hollywood stars including Dyan Cannon, Peter Graves, Ann-Margret, Anthony Quinn, Julie Andrews, Steve McQueen, and Jock Mahoney, some of whom would even stop by the residence from time to time.  So incredibly cool!

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    Jimmie's House Pulp Fiction (13 of 20)

    And while I am fairly certain that the real life interior of the 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,702-square-foot house, which was originally built in 1936, was also used in the filming, I could not find any real life photographs of the interior with which to verify that hunch.

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    March 29th, 2018 UPDATE – As I just learned via Curbed Los Angeles, Jimmie’s house is currently for sale! If you have an extra $1.4 million laying around, it can be yours!  For the rest of us, MLS photos of the property are aplenty, thankfully, and I can now say with certainty that the real life interior of the home was utilized in Pulp Fiction.  As you can see below, the kitchen still looks almost exactly the same today as it did when the movie was filmed 24 years ago.

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    As does the living room;

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    bedroom;

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    and backyard.

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    Sadly, the listing does not include any pictures of the infamous hand-washing bathroom.

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    Sadder still, the residence is being marketed as a “development opportunity,” which means it will likely be gutted or torn down completely.  Not cool!  I do love the fact that the homeowners have a Pulp Fiction poster prominently on display, though!

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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 Cris for asking me to find this location! Smile

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    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It: Jimmie’s house from Pulp Fiction (the correct one) is located at 4145 Kraft Avenue in Studio City.  In the movie, The Wolf pulled up in front of the house located next door, at 4149 Kraft Avenue.  The “Smallest Park” from the “Smallest Park” episode of Parks and Recreation (which I blogged about here) can be found just up the street, in the parking lot located next to 4378 Kraft Avenue.  Vitello’s Italian Restaurant from The Deep End of the Ocean and Robert Blake-fame (which I blogged about here) is located just around the corner at 4349 Tujunga Avenue, as is Robert Blake’s former house (which I blogged about here) at 11604 Dilling Street; The Brady Bunch house (which I blogged about here) at 11222 Dilling Street; and the house where Kevin Federline and Britney Spears got married (which I blogged about here) at 4053 Farmdale AvenueHenry’s Tacos from People Like Us (which I have yet to blog about) is also located up the street at 11401 Moorpark Street.

  • The Reichman Mansion from “Major Crimes”

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    The weather in L.A. has finally turned and there is now a crispness in the air ensuring that jacket season is finally upon us.  It is also, unfortunately, time to bid adieu to this year’s Haunted Hollywood postings.  Sadness!  For the next eleven months, I will just be writing about regular ol’ stalking locations.  So here goes.  In early October, when the Season 1 episode of Major Crimes titled “Dismissed with Prejudice” aired, I became absolutely enthralled with the gorgeous ultra-modern mansion that was featured in it.  So I immediately set about searching for the place (before the episode was even over) and, thanks to the fact that the residence is currently for sale, it was not too hard to track down.  A simple Google search of modern-style houses in the Hollywood area yielded this real estate listing, so I immediately dragged the Grim Cheaper, along with my good friends, fellow stalkers Lavonna and Kim who were in town visiting from Ohio, right on out to stalk it.

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    In person, the house did not disappoint!  The abode, which was originally built in 1958, but has since been extensively remodeled (we’re talking completely gutted both inside and out), currently boasts 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, 3,906 square feet of living space, and a 0.25-acre plot of land.  Thanks to the Berg Properties website and fellow stalker E.J.’s The Movieland Directory, I learned that the dwelling has a fairly vast list of former celebrity residents.  For a time the place belonged to character actor Frank Marth and it was later owned by comedian Jack Black and his then girlfriend Laura Kightlinger, who purchased the pad in 2002 for $1,075,000.  When Jack and Laura broke up, he bought out her stake of the residence for $699,000 and then subsequently sold the place in 2007 for $1,210,000.  The remodel/knock down took place at some point thereafter.

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    Reichman Mansion Major Crimes (1 of 6)

    The dwelling that originally stood on the property looks to have been Spanish in style (as you can see in the image below which I got from the Historic Aerials website) and, measuring 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1,959 square feet, was much smaller than its successor.  You can check out a (not very great) photograph of the original home on an old real estate listing here.  At the time, the property was described as being a “spectacular ‘50s post & beam hacienda”.

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    As you can see in the Google Street View images below, the house was changed drastically during the remodel.

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    The result is nothing short of spectacular!  The dwelling, which was constructed primarily of steel and glass, features a butterfly roof, cruciform columns, polished concrete floors, a large saltwater pool, a waterfall, a koi pond, a BBQ area, and a master suite with a spa-like bathroom that encompasses the structure’s entire second floor.  And, if you have an extra $2,795,000 lying around, it could be yours!  You can check out the home’s real estate listing here.  According to several websites (which you can see here and here), the place is currently owned by a celebrity, though, much as I tried, I could not figure out by whom.

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    In the “Dismissed with Prejudice” episode of Major Crimes, the residence belonged to Will Reichman (William R. Moses), an architect whom Lieutenant Mike Tau (Michael Paul Chan) put away for murder eight and a half years prior.  And I just have to say here that I absolutely LOVE me some Major Crimes!  While I was initially doubtful as to how The Closer spinoff would fare sans Kyra Sedgwick at the helm, I am very happy to report that the series is fabulous.  Bringing in the Rusty Beck character (played by the brilliant Graham Patrick Martin, who also starred as Eldridge Mackelroy on Two and a Half Men) was genius and gave the show – and Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) – a heart.  I cannot wait for it to start up again next season.

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    For whatever reason, only the backside of the property was used in the episode.

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    The interior – which is all open spaces, towering plate glass windows, and high ceilings (drool!) – was featured extensively, though.  Man, what I wouldn’t give to live there!

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    The staircase is absolutely to die for!  LOVE IT!

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    Thanks to fave website Curbed L.A., I learned that the dwelling was also featured in the Season 1 episode of Selling L.A. titled “Rock Star Real Estate”, as the home that former actress/Playboy Playmate-turned-Keller-Williams-broker Martha Smith showed one-time Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum.

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    The episode aired on October 27th, 2011 and, at the time, the residence was for sale for $3.395 million and looked very much the same as it did in Major Crimes (although the yellow accent walls have since been painted over, thank God!)

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    In the episode, Martha talks about the fact that the “small, sort of low-profile kitchen” was designed for a celebrity who “just didn’t care much about kitchens” (someone after my own heart! Winking smile).  I am not sure if said celeb ever lived on the premises or if he or she put it on the market as soon as the remodel was complete.  Either way, I am fairly certain that the place is currently vacant.

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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.

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    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It: The Reichman mansion from the “Dismissed with Prejudice” episode of Major Crimes is located at 8538 Eastwood Road in the Hollywood Hills.

  • Halloween 2012 at Dick Van Dyke’s House

    Christina Aguilera–But I Am a Good Girl Number

      As I have mentioned countless times before, this stalker is just a wee bit obsessed with the movie Burlesque.  Upon first seeing the flick in 2010, I fell head-over-heels in love with the “But I Am a Good Girl” number (which you can watch by clicking above) and Ali’s (Christina Aguilera’s) feathered costume, and promptly announced to the Grim Cheaper that we would be dressing up as Ali and Jack (Cam Gigandet) the following Halloween.  His response, “I am SO NOT wearing eyeliner!”  LOL  Because we were invited to a prom-themed Halloween party last year, though, we ended up instead dressing up as Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) and Brenda Walsh (my girl Shannen Doherty) from the Beverly Hills, 90210 “Spring Dance” episode (which you can see photographs of here).  But believe you me, as soon as November 1st rolled around, I immediately began hunting for the perfect “But I Am a Good Girl” outfit – which was not as easy as I had hoped.

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    I thought for sure that I would be able to find something resembling the “But I Am a Good Girl” costume (pictured below) quite easily online, but, unfortunately, that was not the case.  While plenty of Burlesque-style outfits seemed to be available, none of them looked a thing like Ali’s.  Then, in March, I happened to come across Madame Gigi L’amour’s Esty page which featured a slew of handmade Burlesque ensembles.  And while Gigi did not have one that resembled the “But I Am a Good Girl” corset, I wrote to her and asked if she would be able to custom-make one for me.  Thankfully, I heard back from her just a few hours later and she said that she would be happy to.  She even provided some suggestions to help keep the costs down – i.e. using less Swarovski crystals than were used on the movie costume and swapping out the ostrich feathers for turkey feathers, which are much less expensive.  Oh, and she also threw in some nude-colored fishnet stockings.  At the time, I was not even aware that Ali had worn nude fishnets in the scene, but as it turns out she had!  Thank you, Gigi!

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    I received the finished product at the end of May and, let me tell you, when I opened the package I just about had a heart attack!  I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY as the costume FAR exceeded my expectations.  I was devastated that I would have to wait a full five months to wear it!  And believe me, if I thought I could have gotten away with walking around Old Town Pasadena in a Burlesque costume during the summer, I so would have!  Having that thing in my closet, unworn, for five months was like the Tell-Tale Heart in Edgar Allen Poe’s story of the same name – I could almost hear it calling out to me, “Wear me!  Try me!  Come on – just put me on!”  So when Halloween did finally roll around, I was BEYOND excited to finally don the costume.  I was a little nervous, though, being that it looks quite delicate, but I am very happy to report that the outfit was completely wearable and even comfortable!

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    Thankfully, the GC’s costume was much easier to find.  To become Jack, he just wore a derby-style hat (which my girl Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, tracked down for us), a black shirt and black slacks.  Oh, and eyeliner, which he finally (and begrudgingly) agreed to wear.

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    Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  Winking smile  The “But I Am a Good Girl” outfit turned out to be my favorite Halloween costume of all time!  I did NOT want to take it off and am already trying to figure out where I can wear it next.  Words cannot express how much fun it was to walk around in that thing!

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    Halloween day actually turned out to be a completely amazing whirlwind!  In the early afternoon, Miss Pinky (who dressed as, what else, Princess Pink) invited me to attend a Mad Hatter Tea Party at Walt Disney Imagineering, where she works.  Um, Halloween and Disney mixed together?  Count me in!

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    The party was held outside and, as you can see below, the decorations were absolutely amazeballs.  There were tea-themed trinkets as far as the eye could see.

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    The display below had all sorts of fun surprises, like a tea pot that spit water at passersby, spinning tea cups and a hidden monster who would grab at people’s feet from underneath the tablecloth.

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    My favorite, though, was the Venus Flytrap that would come to life intermittently.  You could feed the plant gummy worms, stick your hand in its mouth or scratch its chin and it would respond accordingly.  So incredibly cool!

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    There was also a professional photo booth set up where guests could pose for pictures with props while pretending to kill a giant octopus.  Love it!

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    And no visit to WDI would be complete without a stop at the onsite Starbucks.  Smile

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    At night, the GC and I headed, once again, to Malibu to visit our friends who live next-door to Dick Van Dyke.  As I mentioned in my 2011 Halloween post, DVD puts on a massive annual Halloween extravaganza at his house in the gated Serra Retreat community.  Thankfully, our friends were nice enough to invite us over again this year (even though they JUST had a baby) so that we could check out the festivities.  And while I didn’t think it would be possible, amazingly enough, this year’s spooktacular was even better than the last!  That’s Dick’s front porch pictured below . . .

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    which he had decked out with a creepy hologram picture of himself;

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    along with a few mannequins that writhed and shook constantly.

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    As I said last year, being at Dick Van Dyke’s house on Halloween is like being in the middle of a huge horror movie set.  It is simply incredible to witness (especially for this Halloween-obsessed stalker) and there is so much to look at and so much detail put into the whole thing that it is virtually impossible to see it all.  In the video below, Dick says, “We’ve got the Haunted House in Disney beat!” and he couldn’t be more right!

    As you can imagine, I ate it all up with a spoon – from huge mannequins that moved, talked and jumped out at passerby;

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    to a witch stirring a bubbling caldron;

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    to figurines in various states of undead;

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    to the burn victim below, who looked so real it was almost unbelievable –

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    check out his shoes, the attention to detail is amazing! –

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    to a huge graveyard made complete with with cauldrons, crows and random severed heads;

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    to a second huge fenced-off graveyard with writhing bodies and, like last year, an invisible screen on which was projected a video of skeletons doing the Thriller dance, which I (obviously) LOVED.

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    The animatronic attack dog from last year was also back.

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    And the GC somehow convinced me to try to hold its leash, which was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life!  The dog of course attacked just as I got ahold of it and I pretty much jumped right out of my skin.  SO MUCH FUN!

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    There were also random creatures walking around, scaring people and posing for pictures.

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    At the perimeter of the extravaganza was a GINORMOUS 12-foot statue that I just had to pose in front of.

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    What I did not realize at the time was that the darn thing would not only come to life, but that a guy also jumped out of it!  Thank God that didn’t happen while I was posing for a picture – I probably would have had a heart attack!

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    The highlight of the night, though, had to be when James Cameron and his wife, Titanic actress Suzy Amis, came to our friends’ house – in costume! – to trick-or-treat with their kids .  And while I was too scared to ask them for a photo last year, nothing was stopping me this year!  And I am very happy to report that they honestly could NOT have been nicer!  They even told me that they had been admiring my costume earlier in the evening!  Like seriously????  James Cameron and Suzy Amis liked my costume???  OMG dying!  I know I said it last year, but I’m going to say it once again – hands down the Best.  Halloween.  Ever.   Can’t wait for 2013’s!

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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.

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    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It:  Unfortunately, because Dick Van Dyke lives inside of Serra Retreat, a gated community that is not accessible to the public, there is no stalking location for this one.  You can check out the Madame Gigi L’amour Etsy page here and her Fackbook fan page here.  And my exact costume can be purchased here.

  • Johnny Weissmuller’s Former Home

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    I would like to start off today’s post by wishing all of my fellow stalkers a very Happy Halloween! And while I could not be more excited to celebrate the day that I pretty much spend all year waiting for, my heart is broken over the devastation to the East Coast (especially New York, one of my favorite cities in the entire world) caused by Hurricane Sandy. My prayers go out to those affected by the storm. Here’s wishing for a speedy and safe recovery process and that those on the East Coast are still able to somewhat enjoy Halloween. And now, on with the post! Knowing how much I love me some historical properties, fellow stalker E.J., from The Movieland Directory website, recently told me about a massive Bel Air estate that had once belonged to Tarzan-actor/five-time Olympic-gold-medalist Johnny Weissmuller. E.J. thought that I might be interested in stalking the place for my Haunted Hollywood posts being that it has been abandoned for almost two and a half decades now. An abandoned mansion with a Hollywood history? Um, sold! So I immediately added the site to my To-Stalk list and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there this past weekend.

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    According to Wikipedia, the property, which was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument on April 6, 1990, is known as the Nicolosi Estate and it was designed in 1931 by Paul Revere Williams, the legendary architect who also designed Perino’s restaurant (which I blogged about here) and the residence that stood in for Wayne Manor on the Batman television series (which I blogged about here). The mansion was named in honor of one of its lesser-known residents, sculptor Joseph Nicolosi, who lived on the premises beginning in the 1950s until his death in 1961. According to property records, the Mediterranean Revival-style pad still belongs to the Nicolosi family, although it has not been lived in for over 24 years. As you can see below, sadly, not much of the place can currently be seen from the street.

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    Thankfully though, E.J. was kind enough to share some photographs that he took of the home back in 1988, when the property was much more visible to the public. As you can see, thanks to some fire damage, the place looks like a real life haunted house.

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    The Nicolosi Estate was commissioned by Johnny Weissmuller, who portrayed the legendary character Tarzan in twelve of the series’ films. The actor was also a lifelong competitive swimmer and the house reflects his passion. While the 8,700-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 5-bath abode looks to have been pretty spectacular during its heyday, it is the GINORMOUS 300-foot-long serpentine swimming pool (which is visible from the road) that circles around the dwelling, complete with rock bridges and grotto-style hot tubs, that had me drooling. What I would not give to have seen that pool in its glory days!

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    The pool also featured a cascading 150-foot electric waterfall made out of rocks, which you can see a portion of in the photograph below.

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    There seems to be quite a bit of confusion, as well as a slew of rumors, surrounding the history of the Nicolosi Estate. In fact, some people doubt that the house ever even belonged to Weissmuller. In The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book, author William A. Gordon states, “Weissmuller’s only biographer was unable to substantiate this claim, and Jeff Hyland, a prominent Beverly Hills realtor and author of The Estates of Beverly Hills, told me he believes tour guides concocted the story because ‘it sounded good.’” According to the official Paul Revere Williams website, though, the house was indeed built for the Tarzan actor. And judging by that spectacular pool, I would say that the place definitely had to have been commissioned by a professional swimmer.

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    The rumors don’t stop there, though. In the book Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved, author/groupie Chris O’Dell says of the house, “The grounds were equally extravagant, with a swimming pool the size of a football field, another pool made to look like a river and big enough for a rowboat, tennis courts, four pink stucco guest houses, and stately old trees with overarching branches and dense foliage. Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst had bought the house for his mistress, actress Marion Davies; Howard Hughes had been a guest there in the grand old days of Hollywood, and John and Jackie Kennedy had honeymooned there in 1953. At least that’s what I was told, and I believed it.” And while the William Randolph Hearst/Marion Davies story is, most likely, true, I do not believe that JFK and Jackie ever spent any time on the premises.

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    Not that the place didn’t have its fair share of celebrity inhabitants. In 1972, actress Mackenzie Phillips lived there for a short time with her father, The Mamas & the Papas’ John Phillips, and step-mom, actress Genevieve Waite. In her 2009 book High on Arrival, Mackenzie says, “Dad gave me my own wing of the mansion. It was that kind of place – a pink Italian palace that was designed by Paul Williams for Johnny Weissmuller, the Olympic swimmer and on-screen Tarzan. We also heard it had been rented or owned by William Randolph Hearst for his long-term paramour, Marion Davis. Whatever the case, the house was clearly built as a place for rich people to play. First Mick and Bianca Jagger had rented it at my dad’s recommendation, and when they left, Dad and Genevieve moved in from the Chateau Marmont. Dad liked to live large, to show everyone what a big star he was. The ceilings were twenty feet tall. The moldings had hand-painted fleur-de-lis. There was a mirrored hall and countless antiques. The vast ballroom was surrounded by Moroccan murals of guys on horses and temples with pointed tops. There was a stage, mirrors, a ballet bar, and a supply of wax to restore the floor to an optimal surface for dancing.”

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    Of the pool, Mackenzie states, “Outside, there was a swimming pool that Johnny Weissmuller must have had built so he could do his laps. To say the pool was long is an understatement. It was 301 feet long, but skinny, and winding like a snake through exotic landscaping and funhouse weirdness. An arched bridge crossed over the pool and led to a stone tunnel with Gothic windows. Near the tunnel was a wall of hand-painted stucco cabanas. All the structures, including the bottom of the bridge over the pool (the part you saw when you swam under it) were decorated with hand-painted murals. It looked like the hybrid child of an Italian church and a Hawaiian lagoon. At the end of the pool closest to the road was a massive waterfall. What made the enormous, serpentine swimming pool most extraordinary was that it was kept empty. Who could maintain a pool that size? Dry and collecting dead leaves, it wound a deep, smooth path through the gardens with the mysterious aura of ancient ruins – the indestructible relic of other people’s lives. It may have been empty and eerie, but we put the pool to good use. It would have made an excellent skateboard park, but we didn’t have skateboards, so we rode Big Wheels down the length of it at four in the morning, racing back and forth in the deep darkness of the long, sunken pit.” So incredibly odd!

    Johnny Weissmuller House (9 of 12)

    The Phillips family was evicted from the Nicolosi Estate after only a few short months due to non-payment of rent. Apparently, when Mackenzie was on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009, a video clip of the house was shown, but I, unfortunately, could not find a copy of the episode anywhere with which to make screen captures for this post.

    Johnny Weissmuller House (4 of 12)

    Sadly, the massive abode was completely gutted by a fire sometime in the late ‘80s and, for whatever reason, has been left to rot, abandoned, ever since. You can see some of the fire damage in E.J.’s photographs below. According to Yahoo Answers poster Cortney K., another rumor about the house states that the then owner of the property set fire to it, while his family was inside, one Christmas Eve night before fleeing the scene. Who knows if that story is true or not, but Cortney said she did once spot old Christmas lights and bows on the premises. Oh, if only those walls could talk! Whatever the truth behind the mystery of the abode may be, there is no discounting the fact that it is a fabulous place to stalk and I was absolutely in awe while there.

    Johnny Weissmuller House (10 of 12)

    Johnny Weissmuller House (5 of 12)

    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 E.J., from The Movieland Directory website, for telling me about this location and for providing the fabulous pictures for this post!

    Johnny Weissmuller House (6 of 12)

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

    Stalk It: Johnny Weissmuller’s former house is located at 414 St. Pierre Road in Bel Air. Alfred Hitchcock’s first Los Angeles home (which I blogged about here) is located just around the corner at 609 St. Cloud Road.

  • Rebecca’s House from “The Roommate”

    The Roommate House (4 of 11)

    One location that I have been on the lookout for for over a year now is the mansion where Rebecca Evans (Leighton Meester) lived in the 2011 flick The Roommate.  And I should mention here that while I did not particularly like the Single White Female-esque thriller, because my main man, cutie Matt Lanter, had a role in it (albeit an extremely small one), I purchased it as soon as it came out on DVD and became just a wee bit obsessed with tracking down its locales.  The location I was most interested in finding, of course, was the ginormous mansion where Rebecca grew up.  Because Kaldi Coffee & Tea in South Pasadena (which I blogged about way back in February 2012) was featured in the flick, I figured that Rebecca’s residence would most likely be located in the same vicinity.  Try as I might, though, I just could not seem to find it.  Then, last week, while driving to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, the Grim Cheaper and I passed by a house that I thought might be the right one (as it turns out, it wasn’t).  It was not until I popped in my The Roommate DVD later that afternoon to check, though, that I realized what a complete and total blonde I am!

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    Somehow, the first time I watched The Roommate, I missed the glaringly obvious address placard reading “1234 S Oak Knoll Ave” that was visible on the front gate of Rebecca’s house.  So, upon noticing it while watching the flick last weekend (and after a few minutes of feeling like an absolute dolt!), I did a Google search for “1234 South Oak Knoll Avenue” and “Pasadena” and, lo and behold, it was the right spot!  How in the heck I missed that sign the first time around, I will never know!  Anyway, once I had the address, I dragged the GC right on out to stalk the place.

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    The Roommate House (1 of 11)

    In real life, the property is known as Le Petit Trianon, after Marie Antoinette’s onetime Palace of Versailles residence of the same name, on which the design was based.  The estate was originally constructed in 1916 by architect Louis du Puget Millar.  It boasts 6 bedrooms, 7 baths, a whopping 13,000 square feet of living space, a recording studio (with its own pub!), a gym, a guest house, a gardener/tool room, a 0.98-acre plot of land, a carport, and a five-car garage.  One of the residence’s early owners was Robert Woolsey, of the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy team, who reportedly threw lavish Hollywood parties on the premises.  Sadly though, as you can see below, not much of the mansion is visible from the street.

    The Roommate House (5 of 11)

    The Roommate House (6 of 11)

    The abode appears a few times in The Roommate, during the portion of the movie in which Rebecca takes her new college roommate, Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly), to her childhood home for Thanksgiving weekend.  The film’s production notes state, “One of the most striking locations used in the film is a historic house in Pasadena, which served as Rebecca’s parents’ home.  Built in 1916, the house is an exact replica of Marie Antoinette’s Versailles getaway, Le Petit Trianon.  Everything in the house is original from the doorknobs to the chandeliers.  Its ballroom, a popular setting for fundraisers, is decked out with moldings of 14- and 17-karat gold.  Over the decades, guests have ranged from silent film legend Charlie Chaplin to the Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles.  Now owned by Letty Isberra, the house has become a local landmark.  The Isberra family is so proud of their home’s unusual provenance, they travelled to Versailles to visit its inspiration and had themselves photographed in front of the original.  ‘Then we came home and took a picture in front of our house with the same clothes,’ says Isberra.  ‘We had both pictures framed and we display them side by side.  You can’t tell the difference.’”  SO INCREDIBLY COOL!

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    And while I was bummed at the fact that virtually none of the residence was visible from the street, I was pretty floored to see that address placard in person.

    The Roommate House (2 of 11)

    The real life interior of the mansion, which you can check out some pictures of here, was also used in the filming.  The areas of the house which appeared in the flick include the entryway (which you can see an actual photograph of here);

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    a bedroom (which you can see a photograph of here)

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    the stairway (which you can see a photograph of here);

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    the living room (which you can see a photograph of here and which stood in for a dining room in the flick);

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    and the kitchen (which you can see a photograph of here).

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    Thanks to fave website OnLocationVacations, I learned that the same mansion was also featured in the Season 1 episode of GCB titled “Sex is Divine” as the residence that Burl Lourd (Bruce Boxleitner) considered buying for Gigi Stopper (Annie Potts).

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    Only the interior was used though.  As you can see below, for the exterior of the house, a different property was featured.

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    Also thanks to OnLocationVacations, I learned that the pilot episode of Devious Maids, which is not set to air until 2013, was filmed at the residence.  (I got the screen captures below from a promo for the show.)

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    And, fellow stalker Ashley, of The Drewseum website, informed me that the interior of the property was used as the wedding venue in the Season 6 episode of CSI titled “Rashomama”.  Interestingly enough, the exterior of the mansion that appeared in that episode was the mansion from The Beverly Hillbillies movie, which I blogged about back in January.

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    Ironically enough, just two doors down from The Roommate mansion is a house that I am very familiar with.  In fact, I make a point of stalking the place each and every October.

    The Roommate House (7 of 11)

    The Roommate House (11 of 11)

    As you can see below, the house is an absolute Halloween masterpiece!  I so wish I was still young enough to go trick-or-treating as I would love to knock on that door on Halloween!  Anyone have a couple of kids I can borrow on the 31st?  Winking smile

    The Roommate House (8 of 11)

    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.

    The Roommate House (3 of 11)

    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It: Rebecca’s house from The Roommate is located at 1234 South Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena.  The mansion with the fabulous Halloween decorations is located just two doors south at 1254 South Oak Knoll Avenue.

  • The Correct “A Nightmare on Elm Street” Bridge

    Nightmare on Elm Street Bridge (2 of 7)

    While stalking the Venice Canals (the history of which you can read about on yesterday’s post about Lana Clarkson’s former home) with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, last July, he mentioned that there was some misinformation floating around online about the Venice Canal bridge that appeared in the 1984 horror flick A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Mike explained that every filming location website and book seemed to have a differing opinion as to which of the area’s nine bridges were used in the production and that he had long wanted to clear up the confusion once and for all.  And that right there is why I love Mike – the guy is meticulous in his reporting.  It seriously irks me when people post erroneous location information online or in books.  I am of the opinion that if you are going to take the time to write a blog or publish a book, you should also take the time to make sure the information you are putting forth is valid.  So Mike and I decided right then and there to finally set the record straight about the locale, even though I had never actually seen A Nightmare on Elm Street.

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    In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp) and Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) discuss the “Balinese way of dreaming” while standing on a white-trellised bridge overlooking the Venice Canals.  Thankfully, Mike was fairly certain that he knew which bridge had been featured in the movie prior to the start of our hunt.  So, iPad in hand, we headed right on over to it.

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    Nightmare on Elm Street Bridge (3 of 7)

    We quickly scanned through A Nightmare on Elm Street (thank you iTunes!) to the bridge scene and tried to compare the homes visible in the background to the homes near the bridge where Mike thought filming had taken place.  Sure enough, he almost immediately spotted a unique house with a corner balcony and rounded windows that matched up perfectly to what had appeared onscreen.  Eureka!

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    Nightmare on Elm Street Bridge (7 of 7)

    While the trees surrounding the house (which is pictured below from the opposite direction that it was pictured in the movie) have grown considerably over the past 28 years (how in the heck has Johnny Depp not aged in all that time, by the way?!?!), it still looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did back in 1984 when A Nightmare on Elm Street was filmed, as you can see below.  Unfortunately, there was too much foliage covering the side of the house that appeared in Nightmare, so I was not able to take a photograph of it from the same direction.

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    Nightmare on Elm Street Bridge (2 of 2)

    But you can see in the aerial view pictured below that the house’s two arched windows and corner balcony match up perfectly to what appeared onscreen.

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    On an Elm Street side note – A fascinating article about Heather Langenkamp, the actress who portrayed “Nancy Thompson” in three of the horror series’ installments, was published in the July 29, 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine.  You can check it out here.

    Nightmare on Elm Street Bridge (4 of 7)

    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 Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding the CORRECT A Nightmare on Elm Street bridge!  Smile

    Nightmare on Elm Street Bridge (1 of 7)

    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

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    Stalk It: The correct A Nightmare on Elm Street bridge connects Linnie Avenue to Court C, crossing over the Eastern Canal, at the Venice Canals in Venice.  It is denoted with an orange arrow in the above aerial view.  The camera was facing southeast, toward Washington Boulevard, in the movie.

  • Lana Clarkson’s Former House

    Lana Clarkson's House (7 of 7)

    Way back in July, Mike, from MovieShotsLA,  and I took a little stalking trip to the Venice Beach/Marina del Rey area.  Now I should explain here that stalking with Mike is an experience in and of itself.  The guy has lived in Los Angeles his entire life and has absorbed so much location information during that time that he is literally like a walking-talking map of filming locations and movie stars’ homes.  So when we ventured out to the Venice Canals – one of the most beautiful spots in L.A. – and he started rattling off information about almost every single dwelling that we passed, I had to get out my iPhone and start taking notes, lest I forget it all.  The residence that I was most excited to learn about, as I thought it would fit in perfectly with my Haunted Hollywood postings, was the tiny cottage where actress Lana Clarkson lived at the time of her death.

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    As I mentioned in my post about the Venice Beach Cotel, where SanDeE* (my girl Sarah Jessica Parker) lived in L.A. Story, the seaside city was founded by a real estate developer and wealthy tobacco heir named Abbot Kinney who was looking to create “The Venice of America” on the shores of sunny Southern California.  In the early 1900s, Kinney purchased some coastal acreage just south of Santa Monica and proceeded to built his dreamland.  In the process, he drained sixteen miles of area marshes and turned them into a series of saltwater canals, made complete with idyllic bridges and singing gondoliers.  Sadly, while beautiful, the canals were built far too shallow, resulting in poor water circulation.  In the late 1920s, they were declared a public health hazard and the vast majority of them filled in and turned into streets.  Today, only six small waterways, totaling two miles, and four original bridges remain.  As you can see below, what was saved is now an absolutely magical little enclave and one of the most picturesque spots in L.A.  I actually hate the Venice area – it is extremely seedy and far over-crowded – but I love, love, love the canals.

    Lana Clarkson's House (2 of 4)

    Lana Clarkson's House (4 of 4)

    Tucked away, so much so that one could visit Venice without ever realizing they were there, the canals are situated between South Venice Boulevard, Eastern Court, 28th Avenue, and Strongs Drive.

    Lana Clarkson's House (1 of 4)

    Lana Clarkson's House (3 of 4)

    Lana Clarkson’s former home is located at the southern end of the canals.  The tiny 1-bedroom, 1-bath waterfront cottage, which was originally built in 1905, boasts a scant 454 square feet of living space and sits on a small 0.09-acre plot of land.  The six-foot tall actress, who was best known for the 1985 film Barbarian Queen, had rented the residence, at $1,200 per month, since at least 2001.  According to a September 2007 Vanity Fair article written by Dominick Dunne, Lana fixed up the bungalow on her own dime and her bedroom, which was painted red with black doors, was decorated with photographs of her idol, Marilyn Monroe.  Apparently, at the time the article was written there were plans to tear the abode down, but I am very happy to report that, as of a few months ago, the place was still standing.  You can check out a picture of what the house looked like back when Lana lived there, or shortly thereafter, on the Find a Death website here.

    Lana Clarkson's House (5 of 7)

    Lana Clarkson's House (4 of 7)

    The pictures below show the view from Lana’s former back porch.

    Lana Clarkson's House (1 of 7)

    Lana Clarkson's House (2 of 7)

    Lana Clarkson was famously shot to death at record producer Phil Spector’s Alhambra mansion (which I blogged about here) during the early morning hours of February 3rd, 2003.   While Spector claimed that the 40-year-old actress had committed suicide, a jury disagreed and he was convicted of her murder on April 13th, 2009 and sentenced to 19-years-to-life in prison.  You can read a full account of the events of February 3rd, 2003 on the Find a Death website here.  I actually saw Phil in person back in September 2007 during his first trial (I was serving as a juror in a nearby courtroom) and I honestly don’t know what was scarier – his spaced out eyes or his spaced out hair!

    Lana Clarkson's House (6 of 7)

    Lana Clarkson's House (3 of 7)

    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 Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding this location!  Smile

    Lana Clarkson's House (4 of 7)

    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It: Lana Clarkson’s former home is located at 3005 Grand Canal in Venice.

  • The House Where Nick Adams Died

    Nick Adams House (4 of 7)

    As I have mentioned a few times over the past couple of months, fellow stalker E.J., from The Movieland Directory website, recently published an e-book about Old Hollywood titled Unscripted: Hollywood Back-Stories, Volume 1 (which you can purchase on Nook here and on Kindle here).  The book, which I devoured in less than a day, features countless historical locations, one of which – the Beverly Hills house where Rebel-Without-a-Cause actor Nick Adams was found dead in 1968 under “mysterious and still-unexplained” circumstances – I thought would be perfect for my Haunted Hollywood postings.  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there just a few days later.

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    While I have never actually seen Rebel Without a Cause (I know, I know – and I call myself a stalker!), Unscripted features an entire chapter dedicated to the flick and the premature death of four of its young stars.  [James Dean passed away in a car crash on September 30th, 1955 at the age of 24.  Sal Mineo was stabbed to death in 1976 at age 37 in what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong.  Natalie Wood famously drowned off the island of Catalina at the age of 41 in 1981.  (You can read my blog posts on the hotel where she stayed the night before her death here and the restaurant where she ate one of her last meals here.)  And Nick Adams was found dead of an apparent drug overdose on February 7th, 1968.  He was 36.]  When I read the sentence, “In a bizarre coincidence, each would die tragically, at a rate of one per decade, before and after the film’s October 27, 1955 release”, I was immediately intrigued and decided that I just had to stalk Adams’ then home.

    Nick Adams House (2 of 7)

    Nick Adams House (5 of 7)

    At the time of his death, Adams, who was going through a divorce, had just returned from Rome after his latest movie, Murder in the Third Dimension, had been scrapped shortly before production was set to begin.  Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Nick rented a two-story, three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,810-square-foot Cape Cod-style residence in the Trousdale Estates area of Beverly Hills.  As the story goes, he was supposed to have dinner with his divorce lawyer, former L.A.P.D. officer Ervin “Tip” Roeder, on the night of February 7th, 1968.  When Nick failed to show up at the restaurant, Roeder headed over to the 1957-era house to check on him.  And while Roeder did not notice anything amiss, when no one answered his many knocks at the door, he headed to the back of the property, forced open a window and ventured upstairs, where he found Nick, fully clothed, sitting on the floor next to his bed, his eyes staring blankly ahead.  The actor was dead at 36.  You can see a photograph of Adams being removed from his home on the Find a Death website here.

    Nick Adams House (1 of 7)

    Nick Adams House (7 of 7)

    The coroner, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, who also performed the autopsies of Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate, and (coincidentally) Natalie Wood, found a lethal combination of paraldehyde (an anticonvulsant) and Promazine (an antipsychotic) in Adams’ system, which he believed would have killed the actor instantly.  His death was ruled an accidental suicide, even though, according to several sources, including John Austin’s 1970 book Hollywood’s Unsolved Mysteries and Ken Schessler’s 1997 book This is Hollywood, no pill bottles or syringes were found in the home.  Of the death, Schessler says, “To this day, police are still puzzled as to how the drugs had entered his system, as no means of ingestation were ever found near his body.”  It appears that someone’s wires got crossed somewhere along the way, though, because according to the February 8th, 1968 edition of the Los Angeles Times, “a number of stoppered bottles containing prescription drugs were in a medicine cabinet.”  Either way, the truth of Adams’ death seems to have been buried along with the young actor and the circumstances surrounding it the fodder of stalkers like me ever since.

    Nick Adams House (3 of 7)

    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 E.J., from The Movieland Directory website, for informing me of this location!  Smile

    Nick Adams House (6 of 7)

    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It: The house where Nick Adams died is located at 2126 El Roble Lane in Beverly Hills.

  • Runyon Ranch from “Scream 3”

    Runyon Ranch (9 of 23)

    Another Scream 3 filming location that I had long wanted to stalk was Runyon Ranch – the large hilltop home where actress Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey) lived in the 2000 thriller. I first found out about the locale from fave stalking book Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer’s Guide to Exploring Southern California’s Great Outdoors, but I was not sure how much, if any, of the residence was visible from the street. So, while I added the address to my To-Stalk list, I never ventured out there. Then, a couple of weeks back, I was reminded of Runyon Ranch while stalking the Canfield-Moreno Estate (which also appeared in Scream 3 and which I blogged about yesterday), and decided that, being that it was almost Halloween, it was about time I stalked the place. So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there.

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    As we discovered when we arrived (and contrary to what my GPS was reporting), Runyon Ranch is actually located on a private road inside of Runyon Canyon Park (which I blogged about here) and it cannot be reached by car. Despite this, though, the house is still, thankfully, completely accessible to the public. To catch a glimpse of it, you will have to throw on some tennies and take a brief hike up Runyon Canyon Road. The abode is located about 800 feet east of the gate pictured below. (I was a bit unprepared for a hike, as you can see above, hence the flip-flops.)

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    I just about had a heart attack as we neared the front of Runyon Ranch as it still looks EXACTLY the same today as it did when Scream 3 was filmed over twelve years ago! LOVE IT!

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    Runyon Ranch (8 of 23)

    Runyon Ranch, which was originally built in 1951, boasts 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,493 square feet of living space, and a 0.66-acre plot of hilltop land.

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    Runyon Ranch (14 of 23)

    The residence also features a large horse corral (as you can see below, several adorable animals – including a horse and a goat – were wandering the grounds while we were there) . . .

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    Runyon Ranch (11 of 23)

    . . . and some pretty stellar views!

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    Runyon Ranch (6 of 23)

    I was floored to discover that a fabulous glimpse of the ranch is visible if you venture up the trail that runs just west of it.

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    Runyon Ranch (18 of 23)

    As you can see below, the place is pretty darn ginormous – and so incredibly recognizable from Scream 3!

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    Runyon Ranch (22 of 23)

    Runyon Ranch was featured several times in Scream 3, most notably in the scene in which several Stab 3 actors gather together to discuss the recent killings of their fellow cast members.

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    Pretty much every section of the property was used in the filming, including the interior (which you can see pictures of here) . . .

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    . . . and the backyard and pool area (which you can also see pictures of here).

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    Dwight ‘Dewey’ Riley (David Arquette) lived in the ranch’s real life converted Silverstream trailer (which I somehow did not take any photographs of) in the flick, which angered his ex-girlfriend, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), to no end.

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    The trailer’s actual interior was also used in the filming. You can check out some photos of it here.

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    Runyon Ranch was actually blown up in Scream 3 and for that scene an incredibly realistic miniature of the residence was built. You can see a photograph of that miniature on the official Runyon Ranch website here.

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    Scream 3 was hardly the first production to make use of Runyon Ranch. In the 1986 movie Ruthless People, Dewey’s Silverstream was used as the trailer where Earl Mott (Bill Pullman) lived, although it was moved to the Mountain View Mobile Inn trailer park, located at 1930 Stewart Street in Santa Monica, for the shoot.

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    As you can see below, virtually none of the trailer’s interior was changed between the filming of Ruthless People and Scream 3. Love it!

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    In the Season 7 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Mate for Life”, which aired in 1996, David Silver (Brian Austin Green) moved in with his friend Mark Reese (Dalton James), who lived at Runyon Ranch.

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    During the season, the ranch’s backyard and pool area were used several times.

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    I am fairly certain that the interior that was shown was just a set, though, and not the actual house.

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    In the 1996 drama It’s My Party, Runyon Ranch was where Nick Stark (Eric Roberts) and Brandon Theis (Gregory Harrison) lived.

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    The real life interior of the house was used throughout the flick.

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    As was the backyard area.

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    In the 1999 flick Crazy in Alabama, Lucille Vinson (Melanie Griffith) and Harry Hall (Robert Wagner) attended a Hollywood party at Runyon Ranch.

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    The interior of the residence, dressed to appear like a 1960’s abode, was also used in the filming.

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    As was the backyard and pool.

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    Runyon Ranch was also featured in the closing scene of the 2003 comedy Hollywood Homicide, in which Sgt. Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and Det. K.C. Calden (John Hartnett) investigate a murder scene consisting of “a body and a half with some pieces missing”.

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    According to the official Runyon Ranch website, the property was also used in the 2001 movie Circuit, but, unfortunately, I could not find a copy of the flick anywhere with which to make screen captures for this post.

    Runyon Ranch (16 of 23)

    Runyon Ranch (15 of 23)

    Several photoshoots have been held on the premises, as well, including a Tobey Maguire shoot for the July 25th, 2003 issue of Entertainment Weekly, a Jim Carrey shoot for the November 2000 issue of Details Magazine, an Oliver Martinez shoot for the May 2002 issue of Interview Magazine, and a James Houston shoot with actor Stephen Dorff.

    Runyon Ranch (13 of 23)

    Runyon Ranch (3 of 23)

    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.

    Runyon Ranch (19 of 23)

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

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    Stalk It: Runyon Ranch from Scream 3 is located at 3050 Runyon Canyon Road, inside of Runyon Canyon Park, in the Hollywood Hills. To access the property, you will have to park your car outside of Runyon Canyon Park and then walk about 800 feet east on Runyon Canyon Road. You can visit the official Runyon Ranch website here.

  • The Canfield-Moreno Estate from “Scream 3”

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    One location that I have wanted to stalk for what seems like ages now is the Canfield-Moreno Estate – an absolutely humongous Italianate-style villa that was featured extensively in the 2000 thriller Scream 3.  I first found out about the locale thanks to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, who had stalked it a few years back and, as fate would have it, had been invited onto the property and INSIDE OF THE MANSION by a caretaker to snap some pictures.  For whatever reason, though, I had just never made it out there.  Then, a few weeks ago, Mike reminded me of the site and suggested that I blog about it during my Haunted Hollywood month.  Because it is not at all visible from the street, he also kindly agreed to provide the photographs for the post.  “All you need is a pic of yourself in front of the gate,” he said, “and I’ll take care of the rest!”  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there just a few days later.

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    A production of some sort was actually being filmed when the GC and I showed up to stalk the estate and the main gates were standing wide open.  Unfortunately though, as you can see below, even with the gates open, not much was visible.  So I honestly cannot thank Mike enough!  Without his pictures, this would have made for a very boring blog post.  (I ended up having to pose for a photograph in front of the mansion’s back gate as too many cars were driving in and out of the front one, making it impossible for me to stand by it.)

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    The 22,000-square-foot Canfield-Moreno Estate, which is also known as The Paramour Mansion and The Crestmont, was originally constructed in 1923.  It was designed in the Mediterranean Revival-style by Robert D. Farquhar, the same architect who also designed the California Club in downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, and the William Andrews Clark Jr. Mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  The 22-room villa was commissioned by silent film star Antonio Moreno and his wife, oil heiress Daisy Canfield Danziger, after whom the residence is now known.

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    During the time that Antonio and Daisy lived there, the mansion was the site of regular Sunday night soirees with many of Hollywood’s elite in attendance.

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    When the couple decided to separate in 1928, they deeded the estate to the Chloe P. Canfield Memorial Home, a finishing school for girls that was founded according to Daisy’s father’s will.  Sadly, a few years later, on February 23rd, 1933, Daisy lost control of her car while on Mulholland Drive and plunged off a 300-foot cliff.  She died instantly.  Since that time, it has been rumored that her ghost haunts the mansion.

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    In the 1950s, the Chloe P. Canfield Memorial Home Foundation was dissolved and the estate sold to Franciscan nuns, who turned the site into a boarding house for troubled girls.  After the residence was damaged during the Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987, the nuns vacated the property and put it up for sale.  Sadly, the once-grand mansion was left to deteriorate over the decade that followed.

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    The Canfield-Moreno estate was finally purchased in 1998 by a developer named Dana Hollister for $2.25 million.  Hollister, who has an affinity for historic sites, set about restoring the mansion to its original grandeur.  She also added a recording studio to the premises and countless musicians have since recorded there, including Gwen Stefani, Papa Roach, Fiona Apple, and Sarah McLachlan.  And while Hollister’s original intention was to turn the four-and-a-half-acre site into a luxury hotel, opposition from neighbors halted that plan and it is currently being used as her primary residence.

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    The ginormous Canfield-Moreno estate is comprised of a 15,388-square foot, U-shaped main house, which boasts 8 bedrooms and 8 baths, as well as several detached cottages and stables that dot the sprawling hilltop land.

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    As you can see in the aerial views pictured below, the estate is absolutely gargantuan and more of a compound than a residence.

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    And, as you can also see below, the place also exhibits some pretty amazing views.

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    The estate’s interior boasts a Moroccan flair and, though remodeled recently, looks like it came straight out of Old Hollywood.

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    Thanks to the unique look and gargantuan size of the estate, which is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, it has appeared in more than a few productions over the years.

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    In Scream 3, the Canfield-Moreno Estate stood in for the home of Stab 3 producer John Milton (Lance Henriksen).  Both the exterior . . .

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    . . . and the interior appeared in the flick.

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    In 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, the estate stood in for Hillcrest Academy High School, where Keri Tate (Jamie Lee Curtis) worked.  Both the interior   . . .

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    . . . and the exterior were used in the filming.  The estate’s pool was covered over for the shoot, as you can see below.

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    A different location – one that I have yet to find – was used for Hillcrest Academy High School’s front gate.

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    Also in 1998, the interior of the estate appeared in the music video for the R.E.M. song “At My Most Beautiful”.

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    You can watch that video by clicking below.

    R.E.M.’s “At My Most Beautiful” Video–Filmed at the Canfield-Moreno Estate

    In the Season 2 episode of Alias titled “Truth Takes Time”, which aired in 2003, the Canfield-Moreno Estate stood in for the Tuscan villa where Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) hid out with his wife, Emily Sloane (Amy Irving).

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    The interior of the property was also used in the episode.

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    Oddly enough, though, at one point during “Truth Takes Time”, the exterior of a different home was shown as an establishing shot of Arvin’s villa.

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    In the season 3 episode of Monk titled “Mr. Monk and the Panic Room”, which aired in 2004, the Canfield-Moreno estate was the mansion where record producer Ian Blackburn (Stewart Finlay-McLennan) lived and was murdered – presumably by his pet chimpanzee.

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    The interior of the house also appeared in the episode.

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    The estate also appeared in Britney Spears’ 2004 “My Prerogative” music video, in which she crashed her Porsche into the residence’s pool.

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    You can watch that video by clicking below.

    Britney Spears “My Prerogative” Music Video–Filmed at the Canfield-Moreno Estate

                       In 2009, the mansion appeared in the Season 4 episode of Brothers & Sisters titled “From France with Love” as a prospective wedding venue for Rebecca Harper (Emily VanCamp) and Justin Walker (Dave Annable).  While Rebecca is scouting the location with her mom, Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig), and Justin’s mom, Nora Walker (Sally Field), she realizes that a pornographic film is being shot on the premises and therefore decides to go with another venue.  LOL

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    The villa was also used in the music video for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ 2011 song “If I Had a Gun”.

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    You can watch that video by clicking below.

    Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ “If I Had a Gun” Video–Shot at the Canfield-Moreno Estate

    According to Wikipedia, the estate was also used in Rock Star: INXS, Rock Star: Supernova, Scream Queens, From G’s to Gents, Rock of Love: Charm School, Charm School with Ricki Lake, Mad Mad House, and MTV’s The X Effect, but I was, unfortunately, not able to find copies of any of the productions with which to verify that information.

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    On a side-note –  The photograph of the Canfield-Moreno Estate that is pictured below, which Mike took, was actually chosen to be featured in the 2012 issue of Locations Magazine!!  How incredibly cool is that?

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    The magazine . . .

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    . . . and printed photograph are pictured below.  Um, LOVE IT!

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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 Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location and for allowing me to post his FABULOUS pictures of it here.  Smile

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    Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

    Stalk It: The Canfield -Moreno Estate from Scream 3 is located at 1923 Micheltorena Street in Silver Lake.