IAMNOTASTALKER

Tag: Celebrities

  • Britney’s Cure for a Bad Hair Day!

    This weekend, before our Vitello’s dinner, my boyfriend had the idea to stalk the Tarzana salon where Britney Spears shaved herself bald in February of last year. Apparently, at around 7pm on the night of February 16th, after the salon was already closed for the night, Britney along with one of her bodyguards entered the shop and asked Esther Tognozzi to give her a buzz cut. When Esther refused, Britney took matters into her own hands and shaved her head bald.

    Later that week Esther and her husband put BritBrit’s hair up for sale on eBay for a cool $1.2 million! They were also going to throw in the half empty can of Red Bull Britters was drinking during the hair cut, her blue Bic lighter and the electric razor she used to shear herself. I am not sure what happened, but the listing was taken down off of Ebay before the hair was ever sold. The website Esther started – www.buybritneyshair.com – has also been taken down. Maybe Esther just couldn’t bear to part with such an iconic piece of history. For the time being, whatever happened to Britney’s hair will, I guess, remain a mystery.

    Esther’s Haircutting Salon is a tiny little place set way back on Ventura Boulevard. How Britney chose this tiny little salon to shave herself bald is beyond me. I sooooo wanted to go inside and talk to Esther herself but my boyfriend flat out refused and said he’d leave me there if I did so. LOL I guess I’ll have to go back to Esther’s on my own to do some further stalking.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Esther’s Haricutting Studio is located at 18360 Ventura Boulevard in Tarazana. It is set back a bit from the road, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. You can visit the salon’s website here.

  • “The Entertainment Capital of L.A.”

    This weekend, for my birthday, my boyfriend surprised me with a day at Universal Studios Hollywood, which according to the entrance sign, is the “Entertainment Capital of L.A.” and is now just as expensive to visit as Disneyland – $70 per day! I must say that while I had a FABULOUS time on the Studio Tour (which lasts about 45 minutes), I was ready to leave the park by 1pm. LOL Besides the Studio Tour, Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, and The Universal Experience attraction, there wasn’t a whole lot I wanted to see. I don’t know that I’d recommend spending the $70 to get into the park, unless you are a huge movie buff. For me, the Studio Tour alone was worth the entrance fee. 🙂

    Even though it was a bit cheesy at times, I loved every single minute of the backlot tour!!! It was a blast and I could hardly sit still in my tram seat! The first stop we made on the tour was the entrance to Courthouse Square, from Back to the Future fame and, more recently, the location of the Universal fire. As we came upon it, my boyfriend said “Oh, that must be the War of the Worlds set.” I was like, “No, no – that was the real fire!” LOL I am happy to report, though, that the Clocktower that sends Marty back in time in Back to the Future was not harmed in the fire, despite news reports to the contrary. The Courthouse Square set is currently being used in the TV show Ghostwhisperer and it looks a bit different than it did when Back to the Future was filmed. The Courthouse is now made of brick and the clock is no longer there- it is currently in Universal’s storage area until Ghostwhisperer goes off the air, at which point they plan to re-attach it.

    While the tram does go right by the fenced off, fire-damaged section of the backlot to give you and up close and personal view of the destruction, it unfortunately does not drive very close to the Courthouse or the New York Street sets, many of which are still standing. I was so looking forward to seeing that area of the lot, so I guess I am going to have to go back as soon as it is rebuilt and is part of the tour again! My boyfriend will be oh-so-happy about that. 🙂

    Our next stops on the tour were a demonstration of a flash flood and rain storm, a drive through Old Town Mexico where the Tijuana episode of The OC was filmed and a drive through of the Old West set where the bar from Jessica Simpson’s These Boots Were Made For Walkin’ video is located. After that came the moment I had been waiting for all morning – the tour of Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives! Mia posted a comment on my previous Universal Studios post saying I probably wouldn’t be able to see the Wisteria Lane set as the area is usually closed for filming, but since it was during the summer, when most episodics are on hiatus, the street was open for us to view. YAY!

    We got to see all the Housewives homes and they were all so much smaller than I had expected. Ironically my boyfriend said they were bigger than he imagined they would be, but I was just shocked at how tiny they were. To me they look like they were built on a 3/4 scale or something. Wisteria Lane is a little cul-de-sac which begins with Gaby Solis’ large yellow home (pictured above). The houses definitely look like sets – the flowers are all fake and I can’t quite put my finger on it, but they just don’t look like real homes. Possibly because of the size thing. Bree’s house (pictured at left) is by far the nicest and apparently was also used as the main home on the TV show Providence. I guess the first few episodes of Providence were filmed at a real house somewhere in LA, and subsequent episodes were filmed on the back lot. Looks like I have some research to do so I can stalk the real home! 🙂

    Susan Meyer’s (Terri Hatcher’s) house was by far the tiniest of the street! I almost didn’t recognize it at first. It is a teeny, tiny yellow house with gable windows. In the picture to the left, though, it looks normal size. So wierd how cameras can do that! The magic of the movies! Wisteria Lane used to be known as Colonial Street where it was used in Leave It To Beaver, The ‘Burbs, Ghostwhisper, National Lampoon’s Delta House, The Munsters, Gremlins, and the Smashmouth Allstar video, as well as countless other productions. The exterior of the homes on Wisteria Lane change for each film shoot (with the exception of Bree’s house which looked exactly the same in Providence as it does in Desperate Housewives), so the houses at this time are not recognizable from other productions.

    One of the last stops on the tour is a plane crash set from Steven Spielberg’s movie War of the Worlds. This set was absolutely incredible! Steven took a real 747 airplane and destroyed it for the movie and let me tell you, it was HUGE! In the movie a plane crashes into the middle of a suburban neighborhood, destroying homes and cars in the process. I think it is so cool that this set was left intact for stalkers like myself to tour long after filming was completed and I wish more productions did that. Imagine if the set from Friends was still around and was open to the public for touring! How cool would that be??? 🙂

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Universal Studios Hollywood is located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City. You can visit the park’s official website here. There is a VERY cool site called The Studio Tour that gives a comprehensive and detailed history of Universal Studios (as well as other LA studios) and productions that were filmed on the lot. LOVE IT!

  • "Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli"

    My title might be a bit in poor taste, but it seems Robert Blake followed just that advice on a fateful day back in May 2001 after dining at Vitello’s Restaurant in Studio City. Although a jury found him not guilty, it is pretty widely assumed that Blake murdered his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley after eating at Vitello’s, while the two were parked just around the corner from the restaurant. So this weekend, while in Studio City, I dragged my boyfriend and my parents to do a little Vitello’s stalking.

    Vitello’s had long been a favorite of Blake’s – he dined there at least 3 times a week – and the restaurant even named a dish after him – Fusilli a la Robert Blake (I’m not kidding!). On May 4, 2001, after finishing dinner and leaving the restaurant, Blake returned to Vitello’s claiming he left his gun in the booth where he had just eaten. While he was searching for his gun, Blake claimed his wife was shot while sitting in their parked car on Woodbridge Road, just around the corner from Vitello’s. Although Blake was charged with Bakley’s murder, he was aquitted of all charges on March 16, 2005.

    At first I was a little hesitant to eat at the restaurant, thinking it might be a morbid stalking trip, but as soon as I walked in the door and was greeted by the Maitre D and the hundreds of autographed celebrity headshots on the entryway wall, all my fears were put aside. Vitello’s is a very charming place with AMAZING food at completely reasonable prices and absolutely FABULOUS service! It’s not too hard to see why the restaurant is a favorite of celebrities – it is definitely a place I will dine at again.

    Robert’s house, where he lived with Bakley during their marriage, is located just a few blocks away from Vitello’s. Apparently, while Blake lived in the main house, Bakley stayed in a guest house located on the property. After the murder, Blake sold this house to Alex Kingston of ER fame. Alex had the home completely remodeled and subsequently sold it to another buyer. She never lived there.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Vitello’s Restaurant is located at 4349 Tujunga Avenue in Studio City. Try the cannoli’s – they are amazing!! You can visit their website here. After dinner, be sure to hit up Pomm, a super cute boutique and art gallery located right across the street at 4330 Tujunga Avenue – the Jenn + Jane jewelry they sell is adorable!! Robert Blake’s former home is located at 11604 Dilling Street in Studio City.

  • Miranda and Steve’s Garden Wedding

    In keeping with the SATC theme of this week, I thought I’d do a post about a location that my boyfriend actually dragged me to! At the time I had no idea it was a filming location, let alone a SATC filming location, so sadly I didn’t take many pictures while I was there. When I was in New York two years ago, my boyfriend and I happened upon what looked like a huge brick castle in the middle of Greenwich Village and he insisted we go inside to explore. It turns out the building was not a castle at all, but a former New York City courthouse and detention center. A bit of trivia – the detention center once held famous prisoner Mae West! I must admit that while I am usually not into touring museums or historical buildings, this location was a really fun one to stalk. 🙂

    Jefferson Market Courthouse functioned as the Third Judicial District Courthouse from 1874 to 1945, at which time it fell into disrepair and was headed for demolition. Thankfully, New Yorkers protested against the demolition and the property was turned into the Jefferson Market Branch, New York Public Library. The building is now a National Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The detention center that was attached to the Courthouse was demolished in 1974 and replaced with a community garden called the Jefferson Market Garden. That garden was the location of Miranda and Steve’s nuptials on Sex and the City. According to a Villager article, thanks to that episode of SATC, the garden has turned into a frequent wedding venue. Besides being used in the SATC, Jefferson Market was also featured in David Duchovny’s movie House of D.

    The Library is very cool to stalk, as it is still set up like an ancient courthouse. There are winding staircases, wood paneled rooms and even a dark, creepy dungeon that now houses the computer room. 🙂 When you step inside the library, it feels as if you are stepping back in time.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: The Jefferson Market Garden is located next to the Jefferson Market Branch, New York Public Library at 425 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village. The former courthouse is open daily to the public.

  • Grease is the Word!

    Grease has long been a favorite movie of mine, ever since I was a little girl, actually. I still have pictures of my friend Nat and I at eight years old dressed up in her mom’s wigs and 50s clothes acting out scenes from Grease in front of the TV. One of our favorite scenes to act out was Frenchy’s slumber party when Rizzo sings “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee”. So when fave website Seeing Stars posted the address of the slumber party house I about died and dragged my dad right out to stalk it! 🙂

    I was absolutely shocked to see that the house looked exactly the same as it did in Grease, which was filmed back in 1978. In reality, the house is not actually a single family home, but a tri-plex comprised of three different apartments. In Grease, it appeared to be just one home, but if you take a close look at the house in the movie, you can see that there are actually two front doors. 🙂

    In the movie, the T-Birds show up to crash the Pink Ladies’ slumber party. They drive up in Greased Lightnin’ and park in Frenchy’s driveway, which runs along the side of the house. Rizzo decides she’s “going to get her kicks while she’s still young enough to get ’em”, climbs out Frenchy’s window and shimmies down the drainpipe on the side of the house. I am happy to report that the drainpipe is still there! 🙂 Later on in the movie, Sandy sings “Hopelessly Devoted To You” in the backyard of this home.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Frenchy’s house is located at 4524 Kingswell Drive in Hollywood, near Los Feliz. John Marshall High School, which was the high school in Boy Meets World, Growing Pains, Pretty in Pink, the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, among countless other productions, is located a short distance away at 3939 Tracy Street in Los Feliz.

  • Virginia City Stalking!

    I am currently visiting my Grandma in the Reno area and today she took me to historic Virginia City to do some sightseeing. Anytime I am in a new town, I always stop into the local visitor’s center or bookstore to ask if any movies have been filmed in the area. What’s that old saying? – Wherever you go, there you are. 🙂 Anyway, I stopped into the Mark Twain Bookstore to inquire about movie locations and the woman behind the counter told me that while Virginia City has not been used as a filming location, the movie The Misfits starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was filmed in nearby Dayton in the 1960s. She also told us that during the filming, Marilyn stayed just up the street from the bookstore at Edith Palmer’s Country Inn. So, of course, I had to drag my grandma to go stalk it. 🙂

    The Inn, which was originally a private home built in 1863, was owned by Ellis Morton, a wealthy businessman, and his wife Margaret. They lived in the home and operated the Cider Factory, which was located on the property. The Cider Factory supplied the nearby area with cider and vinegar. Edith Palmer purchased the home from the Mortons in 1948 and opened an inn. Edith was an award winning chef and apparently originally opened the Inn to put up her dinner guests who didn’t feel like driving home. In 2000, a couple named Pat and Leisa Findley purchased the home and completely restored it along with adding additional homes and guest rooms. They also opened a restaurant in the former Cider Factory space.

    Today you can stay in the very room Marylin stayed in. “The Marilyn Room” is a second floor room complete with a bathroom with a tub and shower. You can see photos of the room on the Inn’s website. According to the hotel website, Marilyn is quoted as saying “To Edith Palmer and her oasis in the desert and warm hospitality – may I always be a welcome guest.” Besides Marilyn Monroe, other famous guest of the Inn include Robert Goulet and Liberace.

    The Misfits was sadly the last film for both Marylin Monroe and Clark Gable. Clark suffered a heart attack the day after filming was completed and passed away 11 days later. According to IMDB, on the last day of filming he reportedly said “Christ, I’m glad this picture’s finished. She [Monroe] almost damn near gave me a heart attack.” Marilyn died a year after filming was completed on The Misfits and although she did work on the movie Something’s Gotta Give, she was fired due to her erratic behavior and filming was never completed.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Edith Palmer’s Country Inn is located at 416 South B Street in Virginia City, Nevada. Supposedly if you visit the Inn, the proprietor Leisa will take you on a tour and fill you in on the history of the Inn, but sadly she was not in when we visited. You can visit the Inn’s website here. The Mark Twain Bookstore is located at 111 South C Street, also in Virginia City.

  • New York Public Library

    Finally saw Sex and the City: The Movie on Sunday! I literally could not sit still in my theatre seat until the movie began I was so excited!! I must say the movie was not as good as I hoped it would be. 🙁 There were parts I absolutely LOVED and times when I felt like I was visiting with my old friends Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, and I for sure laughed and even cried. But overall I felt the movie missed its mark. It just lacked that SATC magic that was present in the TV show. Especially the ending. I think the Series Finale of the show which aired back in 2004 was a much more satisfying send off for my favorite foursome than the movie was. I need to curl up on my couch and watch the Finale on DVD again to make me feel better. 🙂

    Anyway, in the movie Carrie and Big plan to get married (don’t worry I am not giving anything away here) at the New York Public Library, in the same building that “houses the world’s greatest love stories”. The New York Library is an absolutely beautiful building and I highly recommend a stalking visit there. The library was dedicated on May 23, 1911 and has been a popular New York tourist attraction ever since. The lobby of the Library is breathtaking with sweeping white marble staircases and vaulted ceilings. The second floor is covered in dark wood paneling with gorgeous paintings lining the walls and a huge mural covering the ceiling.

    The New York Public Library was also featured prominently in the movie The Day After Tomorrow as the location where Jake Gyllenhal and his friends take refuge from the storm. It also showed up in the movies Spiderman, The Thomas Crown Affair, King Kong, and the Jen Aniston movie Picture Perfect, among many others. Update – my good friend Nat was highly dissapointed in me because I forgot to mention Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which filmed at the library! In the movie Holly Golightly and Paul run into the library, right past the Lions, and look up his book in the card catalog.

    Out in front of the library are the famous marble Lions named Fortitude and Patience who have guarded the library entrance ever since its opening in 1911. Designed by Edward Clark Potter, the Lions are now the offical mascots for the NY Library and a book has even been written about them called Top Cats: The Life and Times of the New York Public Library Lions. I absolutely love the Lions and make it a point to visit them every time I am in New York.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: The New York Public Library is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. If you are visiting New York in the Summertime, be sure to hit up Bryant Park right behind the Library. Bryant Park is absolutely beautiful in the Spring and Summer and they have a great restaurant called the Bryant Park Grill Outdoor Cafe.

  • My Birthday Plans Go Up In Flames

    For my birthday, which is coming up in two weeks, I was planning on dragging my boyfriend on the ultimate stalking adventure – a day at Universal Studios Hollywood! The last time I was at Universal was about 20 years ago and I am just dying to go on the tram ride to see the Studio’s famous back-lot, especially the Wisteria Lane set from Desperate Housewives. But Mother Nature had other plans, I guess.

    This morning, while driving in Burbank to go see Sex and the City: The Movie, my boyfriend and I were shocked to see a huge fire blazing right off the 5 Freeway. I was even more shocked – and completely and totally bummed out – when I checked the local news on my blackberry and found out that Universal Studios was on fire! How incredibly sad!!! 🙁 We pulled over to take some pictures of the fire as I had truly never seen anything like it in my life.

    According to news reports, sets from Back to the Future including the Courthouse Square and the Clock Tower were damaged in the blaze. Sets from Monk, Bruce Almighty, The Changeling, and House were completely destroyed. Such a bummer!! I was happy to hear, though, that after a 1990 fire destroyed many back-lot sets (including the Back to the Future sets) Universal was able to rebuild them for future stalkers to view.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Universal Studios is located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City. Universal Studios is set to reopen tomorrow, June 1st, and according to Universal’s website the back-lot tram tour will be operational, as well. But several locations will be, of course, left out of the tour until they can be rebuilt or repaired. 🙁

  • Getting Carried Away!

    Break out the cosmos and the couture because today is the big day – the day Sex and the City: The Movie opens! Let me tell you, I could not be more excited!!! Hopefully I can manage to drag my boyfriend out to see it tonight, but I have yet to even broach the subject with him. Anyway, I thought I’d do a little SATC post today in honor of the big premiere.

    My family’s favorite restaurant in NYC is a little place called Lumi on the Upper East Side. My parent’s discovered the place about 4 years ago while out and about in New York and it’s been a favorite ever since. So I was absolutely floored last fall when I saw some paparazzi photos of the SATC movie being filming right in front of Lumi! In December, while we were in Manhattan, we of course ate at Lumi and I asked one of the waiters for some insider SATC info. He told me he was sworn to secrecy about the details, but that SATC did indeed film at the cafe and that Mr. Big and Charlotte were in the scene. Supposedly Charlotte’s water breaks during their meal together and the two rush off to the hospital in a taxi. CANNOT WAIT!

    Next time you are in NYC be sure to hit up Lumi. The food is INCREDIBLE, the service is spectacular and nothing tops their bellini’s!

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: Lumi is located at 963 Lexington Avenue, at 70th and 71st Streets. For more information, you can visit their website.

  • Mansion Bel Aire

    A few weeks ago, while searching for the Fresh Prince of Bel Air house, fellow stalker Kerry told me about a mansion in Glendale that she calls the “Tara House” that she thought might be the home used in Fresh Prince. So, of course I had to run right out to stalk it. It wasn’t the FP home, but I was so happy to have stalked it anyway as it is an absolutely ginormous mansion that I never would have found otherwise. Thanks, Kerry!

    According to one of my fave tour books, Bel Aire, as the mansion is called, was built in 1922 by Mattison Boyd Jones, a highly successful Glendale area businessman and politician. It was since named a historic landmark and is frequently used as a filming location, most prominently as the main home in the Aaron Spelling produced TV Series Flamingo Road. Legend has it that the mansion was also used a filming location back in 1938 during the filming of Gone With the Wind, but that claim has never been substantiated.

    The house is truly amazing as it looks like it belongs on a large Southern plantation, not on a normal street in Glendale among normal sized homes. The mansion sits far back from the road on what has to be at least 3 acres of sprawling lawns and gardens. I highly recommend stalking this location as it is truly one of a kind! And, it is very stalker friendly as it is not hidden behind tall gates or trees.

    Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

    Stalk It: “Bel Aire” is located at 727 Kenneth Road in Glendale. After stalking Bel Aire, head over to the new Americana at Brand shopping center located on Brand Boulevard. Just opened this month, it was built by Rick Caruso (no relation to David), the same man who built LA’s celebrated The Grove shopping center.