Tag: Celebrities

The 90210 Pilot Church

A few days ago I sent Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a screen capture of the church featured in the pilot episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. I had a hunch he might know where it was located – and, sure enough, he did! He immediately called me and said “That’s the Spiderman church!” as it was also used in the filming of Spiderman 3. 🙂 God, he’s good! St. Brendan Church – or as Mike and I like to call it, the “pilot church” – was built in 1927 by Los Angeles area architect Emmett Martin.

In the pilot episode of 90210, Brenda, not wanting her new twenty-something boyfriend Jason to know that she is only sixteen years old and still living at home with her parents, lies and says that she is attending UCLA and living in a sorority house named Sigma Rho Tau. After their first date, Jason drops Brenda off in front of her fake sorority house, which just happens to be located next door to a church. That church is St. Brendan and that sorority house is not really a sorority house at all, but the church rectory. As you can see in the above screen captures, all the producers had to do was add a sign with the sorority’s name to the outside of the rectory and cover up the stained glass window with a bulletin board – and voila, they had themselves a sorority house!

While researching St. Brendan Church earlier today I remembered something very ironic from my past. I can’t even believe I’m admitting to this – in a public forum no less – but you only live once, so here goes! When I was in high school I receieved the Sacrament of Confirmation. At the time I was fifteen years old and deep in the throws of my 90210 obsession. So much so in fact, that I chose Brendan, after St. Brendan, as my confirmation name. In the Catholic faith, when ones receives the Sacrament of Confirmation, they are to adopt the name of a patron saint who is said to then guide and protect them. Confirmation candidates are supposed to study the history of the saints and find one that represents the type of Christian they want to become. But for me the choice was easy. Once I found out there was a saint named Brendan, that was it for me! Of course, the female version of the name Brendan is Brenda. 🙂 Yes, I was THAT obsessed. LOL Being that my mother wanted to kill me when she found out the saint name I chose, this little episode of my life has been a long running joke in my family. LOL So earlier today when I found out that St. Brendan was the name of the 90210 church, I just about fell out of my chair.

St. Brendan actually has quite a rich filming history. Besides the pilot episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, the church was also featured in Armageddon as the location of Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler’s wedding.

You can watch the wedding scene below:

It was the location of Stephanie Seymor and Axl Rose’s wedding in the Guns N’ Roses music video for the song “November Rain”.

On a side note – I must say that I absolutely LOVE Stephanie Seymour’s wedding dress from the video (pictured above). I am gonna have to get me one of those for my wedding! LOL As if!! 🙂 You can watch the “November Rain” music video below:

In the Season Four episode of CSI: Miami entitled “From the Grave”, my fave Horatio Caine confessed his sins at Saint Brendan.

The church was also featured in the 1953 version of War of the Worlds (as the location where the residents of L.A. gather during the final scenes of the movie), Spiderman 3 (the interior is where Topher Grace prayed for God to kill Peter Parker), Fight Club (Edward Norton’s cancer support group was held there), and an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. You can see interior pics of the church on the Saint Brendan website.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Beverly Hills, 90210 pilot church, aka St. Brendan, is located at 310 South Van Ness Avenue in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles.

February 6, 2009
The Father of the Bride Apartment

I must bow down yet again to Mike over at MovieShotsLA for finding a filming location that has eluded me for years! Ever since seeing Father of the Bride Part II way back in 1995 – has it honestly been that long??? – I have been obsessed with Kimberly Williams’ Spanish style apartment building from the movie (pictured above). I can still remember sitting in the theatre thinking that one day I wanted to live in an apartment building just like hers! So the other day when Mike called me and asked if there were any locations I was currently stumped on, I remembered my obsession with the Father of the Bride apartment and enlisted his help in locating it. Sure enough, not even an hour later I got an email from him with a link to the address! I am telling you, the guy is unbelievable! So, bright and early the following morning I ran right out to finally stalk Annie’s apartment building. 🙂

The small building, named La Casa Torre, is located in Pasadena and actually consists of eight condominium units situated around a picturesque central courtyard area, complete with a fountain. The complex was built in 1927 by renowned Pasadena area architect Everett Phillips Babcock, who is famous for designing numerous Spanish style residences in the San Gabriel Valley. Babcock started off his career working for prominent Los Angeles architect Wallace Neff, who just happens to have designed the famous French Normandy style home Brad and Jen lived during their married years. In his design of La Casa Torre, Babcock implemented numerous Italian, Spanish, and Moorish details and each apartment boasted a real wood burning fireplace, mahogany floors, and travertine walls. Adding to the building’s charm is the fact that no two units are alike. La Casa Torre was featured in the 1996 book Courtyard Housing in Los Angeles and is currently under evaluation by the City of Pasadena to receive historic landmark status.

Although it has been over fourteen years since Father of the Bride Part II was filmed at this location, the building looks very much the same today as it did in the movie. The foliage is somewhat overgrown now and the courtyard is not quite as picturesque as it appeared onscreen, but for all intents and purposes La Casa Torre hasn’t changed much since filming took place. And I can’t tell you how excited I was to be seeing it in person!

Ironically, it turns out that I used to work just down the street from Annie’s building and must have driven past it about a hundred times, but never recognized it. In reality, the central courtyard is located behind and off to the side of the main building and therefore the complex doesn’t look like your typical couryard apartment building. So I never stopped to check it out. LOL La Casa Torre is located just down the street from the house that was used as Steve Martin and Diane Keaton’s home in both Father of the Bride movies. Looks like when Annie moved out of her parents’ house she didn’t go very far. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Annie’s apartment building from Father of the Bride Part II is located at 611-627 California Boulevard in Pasadena. Annie lived in Unit 619. Remember the building and courtyard are private property – while it is OK to look, it is not OK to trespass. 🙂

February 5, 2009
The He’s Just Not That Into You Movie Premiere

I am currently waiting on pins and needles for the movie He’s Just Not That Into You to hit theatres this upcoming Friday. The New Line Cinema film has all the makings of a hit – it stars my girl Jen and is based on an episode of fave television show Sex and the City. Come on – what more could a girl ask for?? 🙂 The “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little” episode of Sex and the City that featured that now infamous line “He’s just not that into you!” is one of my all-time-favorite episodes. And I absolutely loved the book by SATC creative consultant Greg Behrendt and SATC executive story editor Liz Tuccillo that came out of that episode. I find it absolutely mind boggling that Greg and Liz took one line – one line – from a hit television show and not only turned it into a best-selling self-help book, but also a major motion picture starring numerous A-List celebs. How inspiring! Who knows, maybe one day a hit movie will be created out of a line from one of my blog posts! Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? 🙂

According to fave book Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell , the idea behind the line “He’s just not that into you!” came about one morning while a group of SATC writers were sitting around their offices getting ready to start their day. One of the writers was asking for advice about a man she was dating who had been sending her “mixed signals”. Someone happened to ask Greg Behrendt, the only straight male in the room, for his perspective on the matter. And that is when Greg uttered the now ubiquitous line: “He’s just not that into you.” The SATC writers were absolutely intrigued by this line of reasoning and an idea was born. And the rest, as they say, is history! So yesterday when some friends and I stumbled onto the world premiere of He’s Just Not That Into You while grabbing a coffee before our acting class I just about keeled over with excitement! 🙂

The premiere was being held at Mann’s Chinese Theatre – the movie house where almost all Hollywood premieres are held – and the red carpet had been set up right in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard. To watch the event fans had to stand on the opposite side of the street behind some steel barriers where the view, unfortunately, was not the best. As you can see in the above photograph, several large screens were placed every few feet along the length of the red carpet for the actors to pose in front of. Much to my dismay, the screens also majorly blocked our view of all the hoopla. LOL

For some incredibly odd reason I have never watched a premiere before – I know, unbelievable, huh? – so I was extremely excited that my first red carpet event would be starring my girl Jen. 🙂 My friends and I parked ourselves just across the street from the red carpet and it wasn’t long before the celebs started arriving. 🙂 The first star we spotted was Ginnifer Goodwin (pictured above), who I absolutely LOVED in fave movie Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. The bright lights on the red carpet made it really hard for me to take photographs, though, so unfortunately the pics didn’t come out very well.

Next up was Drew Barrymore who is absolutely adorable in person. 🙂 She kept turning around to wave to the crowd and would pop her head in between the red carpet screens to smile at us. She was super, super cute in person and seemed very friendly! And it was right around that time – are you sitting down for this – that my camera died! I am not kidding! I managed to snap some pics of Drew using my camera phone, but of course they didn’t turn out very well. Let that be a lesson to me – ALWAYS have my camera charged! LOL After my camera died one of my friends said it was a sign that we should leave the premiere and head to our acting class – which we were already almost a half an hour late for. LOL While talking about the fact that we were so late for class the girl standing next to us said that she, too, was missing a class to watch the premiere. LOL So like the dutiful student that I am, I left the premiere and headed to class – WITHOUT seeing Jen! 🙁 Yes, you read that right. Now that’s dedication if I’ve ever seen it! LOL

For those of you who have never been, I HIGHLY recommend stalking a red carpet premiere. It was SO MUCH FUN! Even though we had to stand pretty far away, I still felt like we were right in the middle of everything that was happening. Besides Drew and Ginnifer, we also got to see Justin Long and Kevin Connolly. 🙂 You can see some high quality red carpet pics on this website where it looks like quite a few celebs – including Jennifer Aniston – walked across the street to sign autographs after making their way through the press line. So bummed I missed it! 🙁

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Mann’s Chinese Theatre is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard smack dab in the middle of Hollywood. You can visit the Mann’s Chinese website to find out about upcoming premieres being held at the famous theatre. The premiere for the new Friday the 13th movie will be taking place there next Monday, February 9th, at 7pm, with the celeb arrivals most likely starting at 6pm.

February 4, 2009
The License to Drive School

This weekend, thanks to Mike over at MovieShotsLA, I got to stalk the high school used in fave 80s movie License to Drive. When I found out that Mike had found this filming location long ago, I completely freaked out and of course immediately dragged my boyfriend, and my good friend Nat who was visiting from San Francisco, out to stalk it. It turns out, though, that the License to Drive high school is not really a high school at all, but rather a middle school named Walter Reed. And, let me tell you, for a middle school the place is absolutely HUGE. I couldn’t get over it! I think my entire junior high could have fit on Walter Reed’s front lawn. LOL

Walter Reed Middle School shows up several times in License to Drive, most often as the location where Mercedes Lane waits on an outdoor bench for her Ferrari-driving boyfriend to pick her up after school. It was that bench that I was most excited to see in person as I absolutely worshiped Mercedes growing up! I am happy to report that Mercedes’ bench is still there twenty years later and looks pretty much exactly the same as it did when filming took place. I can’t tell you how excited I was to be sitting in the exact spot my idol Mercedes Lane had sat all those years ago. 🙂 Too bad I didn’t have my denim skirt and white ankle boots on for the picture. LOL

Walter Reed’s unique pick-up/drop-off area located in front of the school is the reason I believe producers chose to use the school for filming. That area worked perfectly for the many pick-up/drop-off scenes featured in the movie.

Besides License to Drive, Walter Reed also appeared in 7th Heaven (as Simon Camden’s elementary school), 2006’s The Shaggy Dog remake, Role Models, Accepted, The West Wing, CSI, and Malcom in the Middle. The exterior of the school is very picturesque and has a very Middle America feel to it, so it is easy to see why it is used so often for filming. I was also excited to find out that quite a few celebs attended Walter Reed during their tween years, including Mayim Bialik (aka TV’s Blossom), Brian Austin Green, Adam Carolla, Teri Garr, Cuba Gooding Jr., Alyson Hannigan, Christina Milian, and, ironically, Khrystyne Haje who played Simone on Head of the Class. I say ironically because the storyline of Head of the Class, the show Khrystyne would later star in, was actually loosely based on Walter Reed’s honor’s program. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Walter Reed Middle School is located at 4525 Irvine Avenue in North Hollywood.

February 3, 2009
The Marilyn Monroe Theatre

UPDATE: Want to see the story of Marilyn Monroe live on stage? Marilyn Theater Tickets are available from BarrysTickets.com now!

A few weeks ago while out driving, I pulled my car to a screeching halt when I noticed a large sign reading “The Marilyn Monroe Theatre” on the side of a building in West Hollywood. I had never heard of a MM Theatre in Los Angeles before, so of course I just had park my car to go investigate. 🙂 It turns out that the theatre is part of the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. For non-Marilyn fans, Lee Strasberg and his second wife Paula were MM’s beloved acting teachers and private acting coaches for the seven years leading up to her death. While Marilyn never attended the Los Angeles branch of the Actors Studio, she did study at the New York studio beginning in March of 1955.

By that time, Marilyn was already a huge celebrity with 26 films under her belt. The already famous actress, who once said about acting “I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.”, enrolled in regular classes at “The Studio”, studying alongside far less successful performers than herself. During class, due to her severe shyness and stage fright, Marilyn often sat in the very last row of seats in the very back of the room. I find it so admirable that a star of her caliber at such a high point in her career would be humble enough to study in a regular acting class. You don’t see many stars of today doing that! While at the studio, Marilyn studied alongside the likes of Eli Wallach (with whom she would later star in The Misfits), Kevin McCarthy, Maureen Stapleton, and Kim Stanley. Of her acting Lee Strasberg said “I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses, and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe.” It is so sad to me that while outsiders could see and appreciate Marilyn’s immense talent, she was never able to recognize it in herself.

When Marilyn passed away in 1962, she willed the bulk of her estate to her beloved acting coach and his wife. Paula Strasberg died only four years later and a short year after that Lee Strasberg met and married a woman named Anna. The two remained married until Lee’s death in 1982, upon which Anna inherited Marilyn’s vast fortune and control of her image. In an ironic twist of fate, because Lee didn’t meet Anna until 1967, some five years after Marilyn’s death, the image and estate of one of the most famous stars in Hollywood history is controlled by a woman she never even met.

In 1969, as a present to her husband, Anna purchased the property where the Marilyn Monroe Theatre and the Los Angeles branch of The Actors Studio now stands. In the theatre’s early years, Lee’s acting classes were held there. As time went on, though, the theatre became one of the most prestigious stage venues in Los Angeles. And while Marilyn never set foot inside of the theatre that now bears her name, over the years it has premiered many revered plays and has also played host to many famous actors and actresses including Sally Kirkland, Rebecca DeMornay, Joe Mantegna, Amy Madigan, Andrew Prine, Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna, Burt Young, Kim Cattral, and Boy Meet’s World’s Ben Savage. Movie screenings are also often held at the theatre. Actors who have participated in screenings at the MM Theatre include Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, John Voight, Bridget Fonda, Claire Danes, Martin Landau, Lesley Ann Warren, and Robert Wagner.

Of course, I highly recommend stalking the Marilyn Monroe Theatre. Any fan of MM will definitely appreciate being there. 🙂 On a side note while researching the theatre, I happened upon a link with an address to a Marilyn Monroe Memorial Theatre located in San Francisco. I am DEFINITELY going to have to stalk that the next time I am up there!!

UPDATE:

Marilyn Monroe fans visiting the L.A. area will be excited to hear that tickets to a new stage show chronicling the starlet’s life are currently available at Barry’sTickets.com. Marilyn – the Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical, comes to Los Angeles from London’s West End and recounts the tragic behind-the-scenes life of the world’s most iconic blond. The musical, which was choreographed and directed by the Oliver and Evening Standard award-winning director Peter Schaufuss, provides audiences a glimpse of the private world Marilyn rarely shared with the public – the world of a woman who achieved every success imaginable, except for true happiness. The show features a cast of fifteen remarkable actors and showcases fifteen lively song and dance numbers including Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”, which the singer originally wrote in honor of Marilyn in 1973, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the hit movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” from the 1960 movie Let’s Make Love. Don’t miss Marilyn – The Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Marilyn Monroe Theatre is located 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. San Francisco’s Marilyn Monroe Memorial Theatre is located at 96 Lafayette Street. The Actors Studio in New York where Marilyn once studied is located at 432 West 44th Street.

February 2, 2009
Pawn Shop to the Stars

Another day, another pawn shop to write about. 🙂 Ironically, just around the corner from the now defunct Beverly Hills, 90210 pawn shop that I blogged about yesterday, is yet another local pawn shop that also has a filming history. Who knew that pawn shops were such popular filming locations?? 🙂 Angelo’s Jewelry and Loan Company, which touts itself as the “Pawn Shop to the Stars”, opened up in 1984 and has the distinction of being Santa Monica’s oldest pawn shop. Since it was around at the time, I can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t used as Dylan’s pawn shop in the “Anaconda” episode of 90210. Or why there would be two pawn shops in such close proximity to each other. Perhaps that explains why the “Anaconda” one is no longer in business. Anyway, even though the tiny shop was overlooked by 90210 location scouts, it did get featured just last year in the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor.

In Drillbit Taylor, a group of nerdy teenage boys hire con man Owen Wilson to be their bodyguard. But instead of protecting them, Drillbit ends up robbing them blind and hawking their goods at a local pawn shop. That pawn shop was Angelo’s. And it looks exactly the same in real life as it did in the movie. According to the owner Angelo’s has also been featured in other productions over the years, but he was unable to recall which ones – which boggles my mind! LOL My guess is that Angelo’s has appeared in one or more of the L.A. based crime dramas such as Without A Trace, Cold Case, or the CSI shows.

I found this location thanks to Mike over at MovieShotsLA, but the truth is I really should have recognized it myself. For over two years I took acting classes right around the corner from Angelo’s and would pass by the shop at least three times a week on my way to grab a coffee before or after class. Every time I walked by I would laugh at the silly signs in the store windows (pictured above). So when Mike told me that my acting class pawn shop was the very same pawn shop featured in Drillbit Taylor, I had to mentally kick myself for not immediately recognizing it. And I call myself a stalker!! LOL Sometimes I really think all that blond dye goes straight to my head. LOL Thanks, Mike!

According to this article, Angelo’s claim of being the “Pawn Shop to the Stars” is actually not a joke. Apparently movie stars do stop in to Angelo’s from time to time, although the owner refuses to divulge which ones. I didn’t see any while I was there, but who knows, while stalking the place you might end up spotting a celeb or two! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Angelo’s Pawn Shop is located at 206 Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica.

January 30, 2009
Anaconda!

No, the above title does not refer to the 1997 JLo/Ice Cube action flick Anaconda (a movie I have never seen), but a Beverly Hills, 90210 episode of the same name. The other day while I was hanging out on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Mike (from MovieShotsLA) called me and asked if I wouldn’t mind stalking a nearby location for him. He was looking for the pawn shop that down-on-his-luck Dylan visited in that Second Season episode, which he could tell from the above screen capture was located somewhere on 2nd Street in Santa Monica.

While watching the pawn shop scene, Mike immediately recognized the famous Santa Monica Crocker Clock Tower in the background behind Dylan. The Crocker Clock Tower is somewhat of a landmark building in Santa Monica, most likely due to its unusual art deco style and size – it is the second tallest building in the city. The clock tower is also famous for another reason, though. On January 17, 1994, at 4:31 a.m. the Northridge Earthquake struck Los Angeles and its surrounding area. The 6.7 magnitute quake not only rocked the city, but the Crocker Clock Tower as well, stopping its hands at the precise moment the first wave struck. For over six years afterwards the clock’s hands remained frozen in time at 4:31 a.m., a constant reminder to all who viewed it of the devastating quake. In 2000, the clock was finally fixed for the meager cost of $75,000.

Using the clock tower (and the above screen capture) as his guide, Mike was able to figure out the exact location of Dylan’s pawn shop, which I am sad to say is no longer in business. Such a bummer! Currently a sound design company named RMD Entertainment occupies the space. “Anaconda” was filmed 17 years ago and in that time a lot on 2nd street has changed. While I haven’t been able to confirm it, I do believe that filming took place at an actual pawn shop that was once located in RMD’s space. Although it is also a possibility that a fake pawn shop was set up in a vacant storefront at that location strictly for the filming of the “Anaconda” episode. But I believe the former is true.

I am constantly shocked when locations Mike and I stalk look different than how they appeared onscreen. Mike is always telling me that I need to remember that these episodes were filmed almost two decades ago and that the locations where they were filmed will have changed considerably in twenty years time. But since Beverly Hills, 90210 is so frozen in time for me, I am always expecting the locations to be frozen in time, as well, and am always shocked when I find that they aren’t. LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The pawn shop featured in “Anaconda” is now RMD Entertainment which is located at 1418 2nd Street in Santa Monica. The Crocker Clock Tower building is located just around the corner at 225 Santa Monica Boulevard.

January 29, 2009
Beverly Hills, 90291

A few weeks back while I was out stalking the Californication house, Mike (from MovieShotsLA) and I set out on a mission to find Kelly Taylor’s house from the new 90210 series.

I had been searching for the house for quite some time and on this particular day I called Mike at work (poor guy!) and said “We are going to find that house today!” I’m nothing if not determined! Mike and I knew the house was located in Venice from an article that appeared in Entertainment Weekly this past summer, and since I was already in the area, I realized it was now or never! I was not leaving Venice without finding that house. 🙂

Kelly’s house has appeared on 90210 quite a few times, beginning with the pilot episode. And each time it appears, a plaque with the numbers “2229” is clearly visible in the background. But neither Mike nor I could seem to find any area in Venice with house numbers in the 2200 range. We found blocks with addresses of 2100, 2300, and 2400, but for some reason 2200 was nowhere to be found. Mike had become convinced that the “2229” sign was just a prop added to the house for filming, but I held out hope. Something told me that sign was really there.

Since Google Street View does not cover the Venice area, I acted as Mike’s eyes and ears driving around Venice while he sat in front of his computer at work looking at aerial maps. LOL My boyfriend always says how amazing it is that Mike and I managed to find each other. I mean who else in their right mind would do this stuff with me?? LOL Anyway, after driving around for a while I was just about ready to give up hope. Then all of sudden, an idea struck Mike and he told me to head to Glyndon Avenue. He had remembered working once in a quaint little section of Venice and thought it might be the area where Kelly’s house was located. So, using my trusty GPS, I drove over to Glyndon Avenue and sure enough, there was the house – “2229” sign and all. See, you should always trust a woman’s intuition! 🙂

Many episodes of 90210 were filmed at the actual Venice Beach house and I also believe that some interior filming took place there, as well. This is apparent in both the pilot episode, in which fellow teacher Ryan stops by Kelly’s house, flowers in hand . . .

. . . and the episode entitled “Secrets and Lies” in which Silver’s house party gets slightly out of hand.

Kelly’s house is very cute and very picturesque in person. In fact, it is just the type of house I would expect to find a grown-up Kelly Taylor living in. Especially since she is so obviously still carrying a torch for Dylan and this house is so reminiscent of Dylan’s Craftsman style home from the original series. 🙂 I absolutely loved stalking Kelly’s house. In fact, driving around Venice that day while talking to Mike on the phone will always be one of my fondest stalking memories!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Kelly Taylor’s house is located at 2229 Glyndon Avenue in Venice.

January 28, 2009
CSI: Pasadena

My dad is not a big fan of Hollywood. And by Hollywood I mean the industry, not the town. He can’t stand all of the overindulged, self-absorbed actors, even though his own daughter is one (minus the overindulged, self-absorbed part, of course). 🙂 He just barely tolerates my stalking and often asks me why I care so much about celebrities. But there is one actor and one show that my dad absolutely loves – and that’s loves with a capital L-O-V-E-S. That show is CSI: Miami and that actor is David Caruso. My dad often walks around the house randomly quoting characters from the show saying “H is on it!”, he nicknamed his Harley Davidson “H”, and he has so many CSI: Miami reruns saved up on TiVo that he often burns through all of the memory causing my mom’s shows not to record. Yes, my dad loves himself some Horatio Caine. When we were in New York this past December, my boyfriend and I just had to snap the above photo of Horatio Street for my dad. 🙂

[ad]

So when I found out that CSI: Miami would be filming in Pasadena last Wednesday, I just had to drag my dad out to stalk it. Except truth be told, there really wasn’t much dragging involved. My dad, who normally hates stalking with me, was more than a willing participant this time around. He was absolutely floored at the possibility of meeting his TV idol. And so was I. CSI: Miami has always been my favorite CSI and I, too, love me some Horatio Caine. I also love me some Emily Procter. I am absolutely obsessed with her cute little Southern accent – I want one just like it. 🙂 So on Wednesday morning, bright and early, we showed up at the Pasadena location where where they were filming. And I have to say that it was an absolute dream day!

The crew truly could NOT have been nicer to us. When we arrived and told them we were big fans of the show, they welcomed us with open arms and invited us to take a seat to watch the crew setting up the scene. One of the A.D.’s told us that David Caruso would arrive on the set within 45 minutes and that he was very fan friendly and would most likely take a photograph with us. Let me tell you we were floored! And I have to say that watching the crew set up for the scene was almost as exciting as watching the actual filming. It was amazing to compare the real life overcast grey sky that was above our heads with the orange and pink sky that appeared on the filming monitors. It turns out that a special filter is placed on top of the cameras during filming to make the sky look more bright, sunny, and “Miami-like”. It was eerie to see.

Just before actual filming was to begin, a large water truck came by and sprayed water all over the street. I had known from watching a director’s commentary on DVD a while back that streets are often wetted down prior to a film shoot – for some reason, wet streets look better on camera than dry streets – but I had no idea how it was done. So that was very cool to see. If you’ve never noticed this phenomenon before, you will now. 🙂 Start looking at streets in the background of your favorite television shows and movies – nine times out of ten they will be soaking wet. One of the crew members was joking that while you never see it rain on CSI: Miami, miraculously somehow the streets are always wet. LOL

After the street was sprayed, a white van pulled up and out stepped David Caruso. And I just about died. There he was, Horatio Caine, in the flesh, aviator sunglasses and all. He immediately waved to us and said “Hi guys!” while a make-up artist put the finishing touches on his face and hair. Then he called us over and introduced himself. It was unbelievable! Last October, when my dad and I got to watch The Closer be filmed, not one cast member came over to talk to us. So this was quite a surprise! And when my dad handed over his CSI: Miami Season One DVDs to be signed, David seemed genuinely touched and told us how appreciative he was to meet fans of the show. He also gave us little autographed pictures of himself. Then the A.D. called him over to begin filming and David gave both my dad and me a hug! 🙂 A few minutes later while they were setting something up for the shot, David walked over to us once again and asked if we wanted to take a picture with him. He really could not have been sweeter and I can honestly say that out of all the actors I’ve met in my eight years living in L.A., David Caruso was by far the nicest. A crew member told us that on one occasion when they were filming in Long Beach, a large tour bus filled with 75 German tourists pulled up, and got very excited that David Caruso was there. David stopped filming and proceeded to sign autographs and take pictures with each and every person on that bus!!! My dad kept saying “I just knew he’d be nice!” 🙂 I hope that when I become a successful, famous actress that I will be that nice! 🙂

After our pics, we got to watch David film a scene with Elizabeth Berkley (of Saved by the Bell and Showgirls fame), who play’s H’s ex-wife Julia on CSI: Miami. I cannot even tell you how amazing it was to be standing less than five feet away from David Caruso as he filmed a scene. And I just about died when he did his trademark putting-on-sunglasses-and-staring-off-into-the-distance move. It was the coolest thing ever! I was very impressed with how quickly filming moved, too. I’d say David filmed his scene in less than forty minutes, which in Hollywood time is almost unheard of! What I was most impressed with, though, was how happy the cast and crew seemed to be. There was a lot of joking around between takes and A LOT of laughter in the air. Everyone seemed to be really enjoying their jobs and like they were just happy to be there.

When David was wrapped for the day he had a crew member ask for my address as he had some CSI memorabilia in his trailer that he wanted to give us. How nice is that! Then, as we were leaving the set, one of the crew members told us to stop back by later in the afternoon when the rest of the cast would be there filming a different scene. So, of course, a few hours later my dad and I headed back to the set. 🙂 As soon as we arrived, one of the A.D.’s ran over to us and handed me a large envelope from David Caruso. Inside was the memorabilia he had planned to send me, including several photographs autographed to both me and my dad, a Horatio Caine bobble head, and some CSI: Miami postcards and buttons. That was just such a nice thing to do, we couldn’t even believe it!!! My dad was especially excited about the bobble head which is now sitting on his desk. 🙂

As if all that wasn’t enough, a few minutes later the same A.D. walked over with Rex Linn who plays Detective Frank Tripp on the show. Rex introduced himself and, like David, seemed genuinely happy to be speaking with fans of CSI:Miami. Rex signed my dad’s DVD’s, posed for pictures with us, and even let me hold his prop gun. 🙂 Like David, Rex could NOT have been nicer or more outgoingly friendly to us.

While we were speaking with Rex, Eva La Rue came out of the house where they were filming and Rex took us over to meet her! Eva was also completely friendly and super down to earth. And gorgeous in person – much prettier than she even appears on television.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Are you sitting down for this?? Rex asked if we wanted to go inside the house to watch a few scenes be filmed. Did we want to go inside and watch filming with Detective Frank Tripp as our personal tourguide????? Is he crazy? Of course we did! Rex then took us through the backyard of the house where a scene was being filmed, introduced us to virtually every crew member on set, explained what all sorts of equipment was, and what was happening during the filming. Rex is an amazing man and I could not believe he was taking time out of his busy day to give us a tour of the set. I mean stuff like this just doesn’t happen in real life!

Once filming began, Rex led us over to the monitors and pulled out Emily Procter’s directors chair for me to sit in. I was like WHAT? I can’t sit in her chair!!!! LOL

After we watched a bit of the filming that was taking place in the backyard, Rex was called inside to finish up a scene he was filming in the house with Eva La Rue. He told us we could come inside to watch, so we, of course, followed him. That scene was especially exciting for us because we got to watch firsthand as Eva administered one of the flashlight tests that the CSI shows are so famous for. SO COOL! After that scene, Rex was wrapped for the day, but he told us we could go back outside to watch more of the filming in the backyard.

Which we, of course, did. 🙂 And that is when we got to meet both Megalyn Echikunwoke, who plays the new medical examiner on the show and who was very sweet . . .

. . . and my fave, Emily Procter. Emily was a total sweetheart and she really does have Calleigh Duquesne’s cute little Southern accent in real life. I love it! Emily was wrapped for lunch at that time and we ended up walking out of the house behind her. On her way outside she made it a point to stop to thank the L.A. County policemen who were on duty and she gave both of them autographed pictures of herself. I was completely amazed at this. Not just Emily, but the entire cast seemed to be just so appreciative, thankful, and friendly. It was so heartening to see. And it just made me love the show even more than I already did. What a truly amazing group of people!

Sitting back and looking at these pictures of me on the set of my favorite TV show makes me think about how much I love L.A. As much as I say I want to move to New York, it’s days like this one when I realize I am right where I am supposed to be. 🙂 More importantly, though, being on the set was a truly extraordinary experience for my dad. Especially since he just recently got out of the hospital and has been sick on and off for the past few years. I believe having such a memorable encounter with the cast of his favorite television show brought him some much needed healing in a form he never would have found in a hospital or a doctor’s office. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: CSI: Miami was filmed at 887 El Campo Drive in Pasadena, right around the corner from the Brothers and Sisters House. Look for the episode to air sometime in March.

January 27, 2009
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Former New York Digs

While doing some stalking in New York this past December, I just had to snap a photo of Gwyneth Paltrow’s former Greenwich Village townhome, which just happens to be located right around the corner from SJP’s house. Gwyn purchased this Greek Revival style townhouse back in 1998 when she was still a single New York gal. She later lived in the four story, four bedroom home with musician husband Chris Martin and their produce-monikered daughter, Apple. The couple decided to put the townhouse on the market in February of 2005 in order to move to a safer building with a doorman – no doubt to help keep the paparazzi at bay. The home ended up selling in June of ’05 for the bargain price of $6.995 million.

I found this location thanks to my go-to NYC stalking guide John’s Star Maps. Gwyneth’s picturesque former townhome was built in 1899, is 2,800 square feet, and boasts a basement, 3.5 baths, a garden, a rooftop terrace and two washers and dryers. Which begs the question – who does that much laundry??? LOL You can view the home’s 2005 real estate listing here. Gwyn’s house actually reminds me a lot of Kate Hudson’s New York pad which I blogged about a couple of weeks ago and is pictured above. That’s somewhat ironic because Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson actually remind me a lot of each other, too.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Gwyneth’s former Greenwich Village home is located at 278 West Fourth Street. She currently owns a 3,982 square foot condo in the River Lofts Condo building, located at 92 Laight Street in Tribeca. Meryl Streep also lives in the same building.

January 26, 2009