Celebrity Sightings – Page 4

August 18, 2010July 26, 2010

Nate ‘n Al’s Delicatessen

One location that I have been wanting to stalk for quite some time now is the historic Nate ‘n Al Delicatessen in Beverly Hills, but because I don’t get out to that area very often, the restaurant had remained an unchecked item on my extremely long “To-Stalk” list for over a year. Until a couple of weeks ago, that is, when I finally dragged my fiancé to grab a bite to eat there after we had stalked Will Rogers Memorial Park from 90210, which is located nearby. And I have to say that the place was definitely worth the wait! Although rather pricey (despite what some online reviews might state), the landmark restaurant serves up some FABULOUS food. And thanks to its huge deli counter, brown leather booths, and pastrami sandwiches stacked as high as the eye can see, eating there was like visiting a little slice of New York City right here in Southern California.

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Nate ‘n Al’s has been a veritable institution in Beverly Hills ever since it first opened way back on May 24, 1945. The deli was founded by Al Mendelson and Nate Reimer, who originally met while working at Boesky’s Deli in Chicago. The two entrepreneurs eventually decided to open their very own deli-style restaurant a few years later and figured LaLaLand was just the place to do so. At the time of its founding, the restaurant was Beverly Hills’ sole delicatessen and could only accommodate a scant 30 patrons. It became such an immediate success, though, that it was later expanded to its current, larger size which can hold up to 120 diners. Nate retired just a few years after the restaurant’s opening, but Al stayed on to helm the place and it is his ancestors who are still running it today. And I am happy to report that the restaurant is still going strong. According to this 2005 Daily News article, each year Nate ‘n Al’s serves up 130,000 matzo balls, 16,000 gallons of chicken noodle soup, and 80,000 pounds of corned beef! As I stated above, the food is phenomenal, but it’s also fairly expensive, so be prepared.

Because of its fabulous food and laid-back attitude, Nate ‘n Al’s has long been a celebrity magnet. You won’t find any autographed pictures decorating the establishment’s walls, though, because as founder Al Mendelson advised: “If you want them in the booths, keep them off the walls.” 😉 Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there over the years include Max Mutchnick (one of the co-creators of Will & Grace), Lew Wasserman, Suzanne Pleshette, Tom Poston, Robert Wagner, Neil Diamond, Jon Voight, Doris Day, Nicollette Sheridan, Jay Leno, Roseanne Bar, Adam Sandler, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Jodie Foster, Nancy Sinatra, Courteney Cox, Rodney Dangerfield, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Tony Curtis, Sharon Osbourne, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Television host Larry King loves the place so much that he not only dines there every single morning (not kidding!), but he also purchased his house in Beverly Hills for the sole reason that it was within walking distance of the deli! Love it!

And while we didn’t spot any celebs while dining there, fellow stalker Karen was lucky enough to be seated next to Jason Reitman on a recent visit to the deli. Her daughter snapped the above photo of the Juno director on the down-low during their meal. Love it! Jason wasn’t the only celeb that Karen and her daughter spotted at Nate ‘n Al’s that day, though – Larry King and Clint Howard were also dining at the time. Lucky girls! As Karen said, talk about “hitting a trifecta”! From what I’ve heard, the best time to spot celebs at Nate ‘n Al’s is in the morning, which means I’ve gotta go back there sometime soon to grab some breakfast!

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And the place is also a filming location! In the Season 5 episode of Entourage titled “The All Out Fall Out”, Nate ‘n Al’s is the spot where Vinnie Chase (aka Adrian Grenier) finds out from his business manager that he may need to file for bankruptcy. The 1957 flick Pal Joey, which starred Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth, was also filmed at the historic restaurant.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Nate ‘n Al Delicatessen, from Entourage, is located at 414 North Beverly Boulevard in Beverly Hills. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

July 28, 2010July 27, 2010

The Tori Spelling “uncharted terriTORI” Book Signing

This past Monday night, former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Tori Spelling made an appearance at my favorite bookstore Vroman’s to do a signing of her most recent memoir, uncharted terriTORI. And even though I live very close to Vroman’s, I am sad to say that I almost didn’t attend the event. The sad truth is that I have yet to catch up on all of my wedding planning duties, or even my emails for that matter, ever since returning home from the Mayo Clinic with my dad this past May. So, needless to say I’m feeling just a wee-bit stressed out at the moment. I finally came to my senses, though, early Monday morning and realized that there was NO WAY in heck I could miss that signing! I mean, HELLO, I was like the biggest Beverly Hills, 90210 fan ON EARTH back in high school! Meeting the former Miss Donna Martin was just too big of an opportunity to pass up. So, this past Monday night at 6 p.m., I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to Vroman’s to do some Tori Spelling stalking. Amazingly enough, when we first arrived there weren’t all that many people in line – I’d guess about 50 or so. And by the time 7 o’clock rolled around, only about a hundred more had shown up, which was shocking to me. I thought 90210 fans were die hards!

Because my fiancé has become quite obsessed with cameras as of late, he parked himself out in back of Vroman’s Bookstore with the three paparazzi who were on duty, which was perfect for me because it meant that while he was in position to snap the above photographs of Tori arriving on the scene, I got to hold my place in line. I must say he did a great job with the photos, too! They almost look like actual paparazzi shots! 😉 And while Tori looks painfully thin in the above photographs, she really didn’t look that way in person. She is definitely tiny, but I thought she actually looked quite healthy. And I also have to say that not only did Tori arrive to the event on time, but she was even a few minutes early! So not a diva! Love it!

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We had been told beforehand that Tori would gladly pose for photographs with her fans, which was awesome being that some stars at signings won’t allow people to take any sort of photographs at all. Again, love it! I have to say that Tori is VERY cute in person, much different than she appears on television or in pictures. She is also incredibly sweet. The girl ahead of me in line is one of Tori’s Twitter followers and, while we were waiting, she told me that she had, on occasion, Twittered back and forth with the star. Before the signing, she had Twittered Tori to let her know that she would be in attendance and that she would be wearing a yellow skirt. Well, sure enough, as soon as the girl walked up to meet Tori, the star looked at the yellow skirt and said, “Oh my gosh! You’re my Twitter friend!” Then, when the girl left, Tori said, “Thanks so much for Twittering with me.” So incredibly sweet! When it was my turn at the front of the line, Tori stuck out her hand and introduced herself, which the Grim Cheaper managed to get a photo of. Yay! (Those are the “Guncles”, aka the “Gay Uncles” – Tori’s good friends Bill Horn and Scout Masterson – who came along for the signing sitting next to her in the above pic.)

Tori seemed genuinely sweet and took time to chat with each and every fan who was getting a book signed. It was definitely a more personal experience than most of the other signings I’ve been to. I told her that I absolutely LOVED her haircut and she was like, “Oh really, you think? I’m not so sure about it.” 🙂 She was also laughing over my fiancé’s camera, as when he was taking the above photographs he had the shutter on a super-fast speed which allowed him to snap six pictures per second. I explained to her that he was doing that in case I blinked in one of the pictures and she said that she suffers from the very same problem of blinking in photographs. All in all, I am SO glad that I went to the signing and, looking back, can’t even believe that I was thinking about skipping it. If you are at all a fan of Tori or 90210, I HIGHLY recommend attending one of her book signings!

And not only did Tori sign the book, but so did the Guncles. Love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can visit their events page here. And you can purchase uncharted terriTORI by clicking here.

July 8, 2010July 7, 2010

On the Set of “Mad Men”

This past Tuesday, I received an email from one of my fellow stalkers alerting me to the fact that the hit AMC television series Mad Men was going to be shooting on location in Pasadena the following day at Don and Betty Draper’s house, which I blogged about last June. And even though I don’t really watch the show, I just had to venture out to stalk the set – with my camera in hand, of course! 🙂 Unfortunately though, not a whole lot was going on while I was there and the filming only lasted a few short hours. The scene being shot was a very short little driving scene involving actor Jon Hamm, who plays advertising executive Don Draper on the show. And sadly, the crew, while nice, made it very clear that they did NOT want photographs being taken of anything – the set, the filming, the actors, etc., etc., etc. And while I was in no way going to let that stop me ;), the only pictures I could take were on the down low, so I didn’t get very many good ones. I did manage to snap the above photograph of Jon as he was leaving the set after shooting had wrapped, though, and let me tell you, I was completely floored about that! 🙂

Jon seemed super friendly and waved to me and another stalker who I was hanging out with from his van as he was being driven away from the set. I so would have LOVED to have gotten a photograph with him, but unfortunately he was shuttled away from the premises rather quickly as he was due in Downtown L.A., where more Mad Men filming was taking place.

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After Jon Hamm was driven away, I stuck around for a bit to watch the crew members strike the set, a process which I find incredibly interesting. I always love to see what aspects of a property are changed for a filming and which are left the same. One altered aspect of the Draper house that I knew about prior to my set visit yesterday was the color of their front door. As you can see in the above photograph, which I took when I stalked the property last June, in real life the home’s front door is painted blue.

But on the show, the Draper’s front door is painted a bright red color, and, let me tell you, when I set out to stalk the set yesterday, I was most excited over the prospect of seeing that red door in person – even more so than I was about the prospect of seeing Jon Hamm. 😉 And I was even more excited when I was able to snap the above photograph of it! YAY! I found out from a crew member that the home’s real life front door is actually painted red each and every time they film at the property! I had mistakenly assumed that set dressers had a special door that they installed during each filming, but in reality, someone is actually brought in the day before shooting to paint the real life door red and then, after shooting wraps, he or she paints it back to its original blue color . . . every single time they film! Isn’t that incredible? I mean, I realize doors are expensive and all, but it seems to me that it would be a whole lot more cost effective and a whole lot more timely to simply switch out the real door for a red one. Not to mention the fact that there now must be over a dozen layers of paint on that door! I swear, I’ll never understand Hollywood sometimes!

Set dressers also install a fake light post (which you can see laying on the ground in the above photograph) each time filming takes place, which was incredible to see. They actually dig up a part of the home’s front lawn in order to bury the base of the light each and every time they film! With all the filming that takes place at the property that poor lawn probably never has time to grow back! They also bring in a slew of potted plants (which you can also see in the above photograph) which are placed on the front porch for each filming.

The coolest thing for me to see, though, was the fake street sign that was put up for the scene. The signs above which read “Shady Lane” and “Bullet Park Road” normally spell out “El Molino Avenue” and “Arden Road”. So darn cool! According to one of the crew members I talked to, the fake sign was so realistic that it caused a bit of confusion for a passerby who was driving around, trying unsuccessfully to find Arden Road. LOL

Set dressers also covered up the above-pictured stop sign with a fake 50’s style stop sign, but unfortunately I didn’t get a photograph of it. In fact, I didn’t even notice it was a fake sign until one of the set dressers removed it after filming had wrapped. I SO wish I had gotten a picture of it! UGH! I am SO blonde sometimes.

Ironically enough, my fiancé and I were watching the 1995 movie Outbreak a couple of weeks ago and I was floored to discover that the house belonging to Robby Keough (aka Rene Russo) in the flick was none other than the Mad Men house! So cool! You can see some great interior photographs of the home here. And, according to one of the crew members I talked to, some Mad Men filming does actually take place inside of the home.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Don and Betty Draper’s house from Mad Men is located at 675 Arden Road in Pasadena.

June 1, 2010May 31, 2010

Only In L.A. . . .X

Unfortunately, I don’t have a full blog to post today because it’s currently 11:15 p.m. and I just walked in the door after landing at LAX a few hours ago after spending a whirlwind weekend in the Pacific Northwest where I stalked for literally 72 hours straight with my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry. I promise to be back tomorrow with a regular post, but for now I thought I’d publish a picture I took at the airport shortly after my plane landed. While the Grim Cheaper and I were making our way to the baggage claim area at LAX, I spotted actress Pamela Adlon, who plays Marcy on the Showtime television series Californication, walking a few steps ahead of us. I recognized her fairly immediately, thanks to her distinctive voice, and just about had a heart attack right there on the spot! I am actually extremely amazed that I recognized her when I don’t really even watch Californication, especially considering that the Grim Cheaper walked right by her without so much as batting an eyelash and he watches the series religiously. I. of course, immediately ran up to her to ask if she’d pose for a pic with me and I am very happy to report that she could NOT have been nicer. She said she really appreciated me coming up to her and the fact that my fiancé was a big fan of the show and she happily posed for a picture and even made me check to make sure it came out alright in case I wanted her to pose for another one. So sweet! All in all, a FABULOUS end to a FABULOUS weekend and a further reminder to keep your eyes open for celebs no matter where you are – even in baggage claim!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

May 24, 2010May 23, 2010

The Justin Halpern “Sh*t My Dad Says” Book Signing

A few weeks ago, my best friend Kylee made an off the cuff remark to me about “Sh*t My Dad Says”, the Twitter account that is currently taking the internet world by storm. And even though the site currently boasts more followers than Lauren Conrad’s, at the time I had never actually heard of it. This shocked Kylee to no end and she commanded me to sign onto the internet immediately to check the page out. Well, let me tell you, I absolutely loved what I saw. Sh*t My Dad Says is penned by 29-year old screenwriter Justin Halpern, who regularly posts the unconventional, and absolutely hilarious, musings of his 74-year old father, Sam. As he says in his Twitter bio, “I’m 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down the sh*t that he says.” I was shocked that Kylee, a self-proclaimed Twitter-hater, was actually following someone’s feed, but as she explained, “Sh*t My Dad Says is the ONLY reason Twitter should exist!”, which I think is just about the best compliment ever. I’ve been a loyal follower of Justin’s ever since that conversation with Kylee, as has my fiancé. So, when I heard that the Twitter-star would be doing a reading at fave bookstore Vroman’s on May 12th, I immediately called up the Grim Cheaper and made plans to attend.

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For those who aren’t familiar with Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin’s dad offers a completely unique – and extremely amusing – take on life. More than that, though, upon closer inspection, his bits of advice are also extremely wise and even profound. And while I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn that the guy drops more than the occasional F-bomb, his fresh – and profanity-laden – brand of blunt common sense is thoroughly enjoyable to read. Just a few of his musings include:

– On the first day of kindergarten – “You thought it was hard? If kindergarten is busting your a**, I got some bad news for you about the rest of life.”

– “I lost 20 pounds . . . How? I drank bear piss and took up fencing. How the f*ck you think, son? I exercised.”

– “No, I’m not a pessimist. At some point the world sh*ts on everybody. Pretending it ain’t sh*t makes you an idiot, not an optimist.”

– “You worry too much. Eat some bacon . . . What? No, I got no idea if it’ll make you feel better, I just made too much bacon.”

– On waiting in line to see Jurassic Park: “There is no movie good enough for me to wait in a line longer than the run time of the movie. Either we’re seeing something else or I’m leaving, and you can take a cab home.”

See what I mean – hilarious! Justin’s dad reminds me so much of my own father, that I just had to share the site with him. My dad took one look at it and said, “You know, I should really start my own Twitter account. Can you show me how to do that?” I politely declined, though, because while my dad is no doubt hilarious, the man has absolutely no filter, or shame for that matter, and it scares me a bit to think about what sort of things he would post on a Twitter feed. 😉

During the Vroman’s event, Justin, who is absolutely HILARIOUS in person, read a chapter of his book and answered the audience’s many questions about how the Sh*t My Dad Says Twitter account came to be. As it turns out, Justin had actually been recording his father’s musings in a notebook for years, long before there ever was such a thing as Twitter. After moving back home at age 28 following a break-up with his long-time girlfriend, Justin began posting his father’s bits of wisdom as his daily away message on Google Talk. And then one fateful day a friend suggested he start tweeting those quotes. Justin followed that sage advice and in August of 2009 opened up “Sh*t My Dad Says”. For the first two weeks the site had only 5 followers. Then, on August 14th, one of Justin’s good friends, the author of the fake Michael Bay Twitter page, sent out a “Follow Friday” tweet (in which twitterers can suggest other feeds their readers might enjoy) which mentioned Sh*t My Dad Says. Within hours the site went viral and it now boasts over 1.3 million followers – a number that grows exponentially each and every minute. Within a week of his site blowing up, Justin was fielding offers from book agents, book publishers, AND network executives! Today, less than ten months after his first tweet, he has published a book (which debuted at Number 8 on the New York Times bestseller list) AND is the co-executive producer of a television show (along with his writing partner, Patrick Schumacker, and Max Mutchnik and David Kohan of Will & Grace fame) called $#*! My Dad Says (or Bleep My Dad Says, the network is not yet sure) which is premiering this fall! The series will star non other than William Shatner as Justin’s dad (an actor who I actually can’t picture in the role, but being that I’m not a casting director, I guess that’s not really my call). Overnight success? Well, yes and no. While Justin may have gone from total obscurity to having over a million fans in a matter of weeks, he had actually been pounding the Hollywood pavement trying to make it as a screenwriter for over seven years before all of that happened. Which begs the question, when are the book agents and Hollywood producers going to start knocking on my door? 😉

Justin could NOT have been nicer – or funnier – during the reading, and not only did he pose for a photograph with me and personalize the book I purchased for my dad, but he even added the following inscription: “Don, I’m sure you can probably relate to some of the stuff in here. Hope you enjoy the sh*t my dad says! Justin” Like his Twitter page, Justin’s book is absolutely HILARIOUS. Actually, come to think of it, it’s even funnier. If you are at all a fan of his Twitter site, pick up a copy of the book. You will not be disappointed! You can watch an interview with William Shatner and see a few clips of the new series here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can check out their upcoming celebrity and author events here. You can purchase Sh*t My Dad Says here and you can follow Justin on Twitter by clicking here.

May 4, 2010May 4, 2010

On the Set of “NCIS: Los Angeles”

This past Thursday afternoon, my fiancé called me up to let me know that an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles was being filmed at the YWCA building in Pasadena, just a few blocks away from his office. So, I immediately grabbed my jacket and my camera and headed over to the set with one goal in mind – to get a photograph with actor Chris O’Donnell, who had been the love of my life back in my high school days. I showed up to the corner of North Garfield Avenue and East Union Street to find that NCIS had commandeered an entire city block of Old Town Pasadena for the filming! But, unfortunately, all of the action was taking place inside of the YWCA building, so aside from a slew of production equipment and a myriad of about thirty production trucks, there wasn’t a whole lot to see. And, sadly enough, the security guard on duty – who absolutely could NOT have been nicer – told me that I had missed both LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell by a mere twenty minutes. Apparently, the two actors had walked out of their makeup trailer shortly beforehand and, on their way to the set, had stopped to pose for photographs with a small group of fans who had showed up to watch the filming. UGH! Talk about bad timing! The security guard told me that I was welcome to hang around, though, and that the actors would most likely be back outside at some point during the next few hours. So, hang around, I did.

And, as luck would have it, I spotted Chris O’Donnell walking alone from the set to his trailer just a few minutes later. But because he had no entourage with him and because he was a good twenty feet away from me, I didn’t realize it was him until it was much too late. I was absolutely shocked – and pleasantly surprised – to have spotted Chris walking alone, as stars almost always have some sort of an entourage – or “handlers” as they are called in “the biz” – who accompany them while on set. Even more shocking was the fact that Chris had walked to his trailer. It is fairly commonplace for stars to be driven back and forth to their Star Waggons while working on a production. Granted, Chris’ trailer was located only about a half a block away from the YWCA building, but I’ve seen stars be driven far less distances while on set. Heck, I’ve even seen one celeb being driven from one side of a street to the other! Not kidding! Chris seemed super down-to-earth and friendly and made it a point to wave and say hello to the security guard who was on duty, which I also thought was incredibly cool! I have so much respect for stars who acknowledge and are friendly to the crew members who work behind the scenes of their productions. I once read that Drew Barrymore makes it a point to learn the name of each and every crew member – right down to the negative cutter – who works on her movies, which I thought was just about the coolest and most non-divaish thing I had ever heard! So love it! Anyway, once I spotted Chris, I parked myself outside of his trailer and immediately called up the Grim Cheaper and told him to get over to the set as soon as possible so that he could take a picture of the two of us. The GC was NOT happy about this development, but headed over to the YWCA building anyway. Ah, the things we do for love. 🙂 Thankfully, it was only about an hour before Chris exited his trailer and walked to the set – again sans entourage. I called out to him and asked if he would mind taking a picture with me, and the guy truly could NOT have been nicer! He was so incredibly friendly, down-to-earth, and low-key that he almost didn’t even seem like a celebrity. He happily posed for the above photograph (during which the wind was blowing like mad, which is why my hair ended up in my face! UGH!) and shook my hand and introduced himself. I told him that I had been a fan since 1992 when Scent of a Woman first premiered, and he thanked me for the longtime support and then continued on to the set. Sigh! The few NCIS: Los Angeles crew members that I spoke with were also incredibly friendly and nice and the vibe on set reminded me distinctly of that of CSI: Miami. Love it! 🙂 After meeting Chris, the GC was ready to head home, so I never did get to see LL Cool J. But getting a photo with Chris O’Donnell more than made up for that fact. 🙂

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The Young Women’s Christian Association building, where filming took place, was originally constructed in 1921 by famed Los Angeles-area architect Julia Morgan, who is best known for designing the world-famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The land on which the YWCA now sits was donated to the Association by prominent Pasadenean David Gamble, of Proctor and Gamble fame. The building, which cost $350,000 to build and was originally used by the Association as a social venue and a dormitory of sorts for young women, is currently in a state of disrepair and has sat abandoned and boarded up for the past two decades. The City of Pasadena is currently involved in an eminent domain dispute with its owner and is trying to purchase the historic building and restore it to its former glory. The owner, however, is refusing to sell. You can read more about the history of the YWCA building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, here and you can see some great interior photographs of the place here. Other productions filmed on the premises include the movie Idle Hands and an episode of Heroes.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: NCIS: Los Angeles was filmed at the YWCA building, which is located at 78 North Marengo Avenue in Pasadena.

April 26, 2010April 24, 2010

Raquel Welch’s “Beyond The Cleavage” Book Signing

Ever since my mom found out that actress and 1960’s/1970’s sex symbol Raquel Welch was scheduled to do a book signing for her new tome Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on the evening of April 22nd, she became absolutely obsessed with attending the event. And, even though I wasn’t exactly sure who Raquel Welch was (at first I actually thought she was one of the original Charlie’s Angels!), I agreed to accompany her. Unfortunately though, because my father was in the hospital for most of this past week, my mom wound up not being able to attend the signing. My entire family is pretty much spent – both emotionally and physically – at the current moment, but we are heading back to Minnesota to enroll my dad in the Mayo Clinic in a few weeks and hopefully the doctors there will be able to figure out what is wrong with him and restore some normalcy to our lives. But I digress. Even though my dad had been released from the hospital and was back at home on Thursday night, my mom said that she just didn’t have the energy to attend the signing, so, since I live pretty close to Vroman’s, I told her I’d go in her place. I dragged the Grim Cheaper along with me, which is how, this past Thursday night, two very unlikely fans found ourselves sitting at Vroman’s Bookstore amidst about 150 Raquel Welch enthusiasts, waiting to meet the raven-haired icon.

I expected Raquel’s signing to be absolutely jam-packed, but when I arrived an hour and a half prior to its starting time, there were only about 15 people in the audience. As the minutes ticked away, though, more and more fans showed up, but there were still far less people in attendance than I had originally anticipated. By my estimation, there were only about 150 fans in the audience by the time 7 o’clock rolled around. Before Raquel made her appearance, one of the Vroman’s staff members explained the rules of the evening. Now, I’ve been to quite a few book signings in the past and this was the first time that rules had ever been established beforehand. The staffer explained that no photographs of the star were to be taken when she entered the room nor while she was speaking and that the only time pictures would be allowed was during the actual book signing. She also stipulated that Raquel would not be posing for ANY photographs with the fans, nor would she be personalizing the books, which I thought was pretty ludicrous. At all of the book signings I’ve ever been to, the authors have ALWAYS personalized their books. I mean, what is the point of getting it signed, otherwise? It is also pretty rare that an author won’t pose for photographs with their fans. I mean, if someone is going to shell out $28 plus tax to pay for a book and then wait upwards of two hours to get it signed, I really feel that the very least a star can do is personalize it and pose for a quick photograph. The restrictions were pretty maddening and led me to believe that Raquel would be a full-on Di-va with a capital “D”.

Which, I am happy to report, actually couldn’t have been further from the truth! The event started right on time and Raquel walked into the room promptly at 7 p.m. We were told she had actually arrived at Vroman’s thirty minutes early, which, in and of itself, is a non-diva maneuver. And I have to say that she was absolutely BEAUTIFUL in person! Like AMAZINGLY beautiful! I wasn’t expecting her to be quite so luminous. Raquel’s not nearly as short as I expected her to be, either – she was about my height, 5’4” but my fiancé said she was wearing pretty tall heels, so she very well could be significantly shorter when wearing flats. She was also extremely friendly and warm and waved and said hello to all of the people she walked by while making her way to the front table.

And even though the Vroman’s staff had forewarned the fans that if anyone took a picture of Raquel while she was speaking, they would be asked to leave and their cameras possibly confiscated, THOUSANDS of flashbulbs went off as soon as she entered the room. You can see how bright the camera lights were in the above photograph. And they pretty much didn’t stop going off the entire time!

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Raquel gave a very brief speech prior to signing her books, in which she stated that she has long been a fan of Vroman’s Bookstore because it’s an “old girl” like herself (the place was founded in 1894) and that it’s still going strong, which is also much like herself. She even called the place the “book lovers’ book store”, which just about made me want to swoon as I, too, absolutely LOVE Vroman’s. She talked about how much respect she has for writers now that she has completed a book, as it was very grueling work. Tell me about it, honey! 😉 Raquel was extremely vivacious and charming during her speech and not AT ALL the diva I was expecting her to be after hearing her restrictive book signing policies. Which brings me to a point. Sadly, many of the people in attendance Thursday night were . . . well, to put it in plain language, creepy. One man was wearing pajamas – not kidding – and quite a few others had on ripped-up, dirty sweatpants, disheveled hair, and looked as if they had rolled out of bed about two minutes prior to the event. The guy behind me in line reeked of cigarette smoke and kept making odd grunting noises the closer he got to Raquel. Seeing the myriad of oddball fans made me wonder if the icon was refusing to take posed photographs for her own protection. I’ll never know for sure, but the whole thing made me sad. Note to fans – if you are going to meet someone you admire at a signing, don’t wear pajamas or ripped-up sweatpants, run a comb through your hair, and, at the very least, take a shower! I mean would you want to meet and pose for a picture with someone who had done anything less? Gross!

After Raquel’s speech, the signing began. Because I had gotten there so early, I was the fifteenth person in line and didn’t have to wait long to get my mom’s book signed.

The whole event got kind of crazy as soon as she started signing books, though, and about thirty people rushed right up to the front table and began snapping photographs. Book signings are usually pretty calm events, so I was surprised when this one incited such hysteria! It was pretty funny to watch.

I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the front of the line and Raquel stuck out her hand for me to shake! She was SUPER friendly and, as I said before, very warm. I think she got slightly offended, though, when I told her that the book was for my mom, who was a huge fan of hers. Ah well.

I am also very happy to report that Raquel did (sort of) pose for pictures with those fans who had someone accompanying them who could stand off to the side and snap a quick pic while she was signing their book. My fiancé has a camera with a speed-burst shutter, which means that he can take a multitude of photographs in the space of one second, which he did while I was standing with Raquel. Unfortunately though, the two of us couldn’t quite seem to get it together in any of the photographs and we were never looking in the same place at the same time. LOL But at least I got a picture with her . . .

. . . and a book signed for my mom. As you can see, though, Raquel did not personalize it, which I thought was pretty darn janky. 🙁 Ironically enough, the woman sitting next to me during the event actually told me that it was better not to have my book personalized. That way when I die, my family can sell it on eBay for a profit, whereas a book endorsed to “Lindsay” would be worthless. NO JOKE – she actually said that! LOL

When we left Vroman’s after the event had ended, we spotted Raquel’s limo waiting in the parking lot, so, of course, I just had to take a picture with it. 🙂 All in all, the evening was a great experience, despite all of the ridiculous rules put in place prior to Raquel’s arrival. I had a blast meeting the icon and seeing how friendly, upbeat, and BEAUTIFUL she is in person. My mom may have been the family’s sole Raquel fan prior to Thursday night, but now there is definitely a second one. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can check out their upcoming celebrity and author events here. And you can purchase Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage here.

April 14, 2010April 15, 2010

On Set With the “American Idol” Contestants

This past Sunday, while doing some stalking in Downtown L.A., my fiancé and I happened upon the current American Idol contestants filming a Ford commercial on the corner of South Hope Street and Wilshire Boulevard. And even though I have yet to watch even one episode of the series this season, I begged my fiancé to pull the car over so that we could watch a bit of the filming. And, wow, what a mistake that turned out to be! As we made our way over to the set, camera in hand, an incredibly rude crew member walked up to us and said – and I am quoting here! – “If you take a picture of this, we will sue you!” Being that we were standing on a public sidewalk in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles and that the Idol set was an open one (i.e. not closed to the public), I didn’t see how we were committing an act that was sue-worthy. Furthermore, I’m pretty sure that you need to know who someone is before you can actually sue them. Was the guy planning on serving a summons to “the blond girl in the white jacket who was standing on the corner watching American Idol film in Downtown L.A. on Sunday, April 13th at approximately 11 a.m.?” Don’t think that would really fly in court of law. 😉 My fiancé pretty much told the guy to stick it, to which the crew member said, “O.K., then I am going to have to call the police!” I am not kidding here! He actually said that he was going to call the police and have us arrested! For a second there, I thought we were being Punk’d! It was at that point that I noticed a group of three paparazzi standing a few feet away from us, chatting with the two policemen who were on duty manning the set. Being that the photogs not only weren’t being arrested, but seemed to be having a very amicable conversation with the cops, I figured we were safe. 🙂 I’m telling you, though, not once in my ten years of living in Los Angeles have I ever experienced the type of rudeness I encountered on the Idol set. Sure, some crews are not very friendly, some are even rude, but this one was in a whole different realm! One of the crew members even went so far as to shove a paparazzi at one point! Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it! Oh well, at the very least, it was entertaining to watch! 🙂

Now, I should explain here that if you tell the Grim Cheaper not to do something, he becomes pretty hell bent upon doing it. So, even though neither one of us cared much about watching the Idols film their commercial or about taking photographs of them, the next thirty minutes of our day were spent doing exactly that. My fiancé took as many pictures as he possibly could and, for once, it was me dragging him off a set instead of the other way around. I was ready to leave after about five minutes of being there, actually, because there just wasn’t a whole lot going on and because I didn’t recognize any of the contestants. In fact, I had a very hard time distinguishing who was a crewmember and who was an Idol, as did my fiancé, and he actually watches the show!

The Idol shoot basically consisted of four of the contestants (Michael Lynche, Lee Dewyze, Tim Urban, and Siobhan Magnus) watering a patch of dirt in the middle of a Downtown L.A. street.

Then something happens – something that I am guessing is going to be added in digitally during post-production – causing them to all look upward. And that was pretty much it.

After doing about four takes of the above sequence, the Idols joined together in front of a Ford car to shoot some publicity stills for Fox. And, let me tell you, the crew REALLY did not want anyone getting pictures of that! Which begs the question, why didn’t the producers just close the set? Sure, it’s more expensive permit-wise, but geez, it’s a better way to go about things than getting your panties all in a twist and almost punching out a paparazzi!

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Oddly enough, only eight of the nine remaining Idols were on set on Sunday, including Casey James, Katie Stevens, Michael Lynche, Siobhan Magnus, Tim Urban, Aaron Kelly, Lee Dewyze, and Andrew Garcia. For whatever reason, Crystal Bowersox was not in attendance. Or, if she was, we didn’t stick around long enough to see her.

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What struck me as odd about the whole thing was that the Idol contestants are virtual unknowns – relative newbies trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry. You’d think that the studio would want to drum up as much publicity for them as possible, not steer free publicity away! Ironically enough, one of the paparazzi told me that the only reason the photogs were there in the first place was because Ben Affleck was supposed to have been shooting a movie a block away. When that shoot got cancelled due to early morning rain, the paps figured they might as well take some Idol pics since they were already in the area. They said the pics were worthless now, but when the final winner is announced in a few weeks, they might bring in some money. Oh, if those Idols only knew!

The one highlight of my time on the Idol set was hanging out with the paparazzi who were SO incredibly nice I almost couldn’t believe it. It has been my experience in L.A. that photogs are typically not very friendly people. Most are downright despicable, actually. But the three who were on the Idol set were total sweethearts! We had great conversations about which stars are nice, which aren’t, our experiences living in L.A., and even the Michael Buble concert that I had just been to two nights prior. 🙂 The guy pictured above even let my fiancé, who has become very interested in photography as of late, test out his ultra-expensive camera. The whole thing was a very pleasant surprise.

It’s very sad to me that the Idol crew ruined something that is usually such a positive experience. If that had been my first time stalking a film set, I might never have gone back. So, to all of my fellow stalkers out there I say this – if you ever encounter a crew like this one, please, please don’t let it deter you from visiting other film sets! 99.9% of the crews out there are very friendly and know that what they do is pretty darn special and that us so-called normal people, who aren’t in the industry, are often fascinated by it and want to see it all firsthand and take pictures to show our friends back home. As the saying goes, “Mean people suck”, but I am very, very happy to report that in L.A. the number of nice crews far outweighs the mean ones!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Idols filmed their Ford commercial at the intersection of South Hope Street and Wilshire Boulevard in Downtown Los Angeles.

March 16, 2010June 16, 2011

Marix Tex Mex Cafe – Jennifer Aniston’s Favorite Restaurant

Two weeks ago, while out doing some Oscar Weekend stalking, I dragged my fiancé to Marix Tex Mex Cafe in West Hollywood, a restaurant which has long been one of my girl Jen Aniston’s favorite places to dine. And while Jen has always been pretty vocal about her love of Mexican food and margaritas, I had never actually heard of the eatery until last year when a woman in one of my acting classes mentioned that she had spotted the actress there on numerous occasions. Well, let me tell you, I just about died upon hearing that! For whatever reason, though, I had yet to stalk the restaurant. So, when I realized that my fiancé and I were in the West Hollywood vicinity this past Oscar Weekend, I begged him to make a little lunchtime pit stop at the Tex Mex hot spot. It should come as no surprise that the Grim Cheaper was not AT ALL keen on the idea of grabbing a bite to eat at a place frequented by a famous actress, as he thought the prices would be outrageously expensive. I am happy to report, though, that Marix was EXTREMELY reasonable and that even the Grim Cheaper enjoyed himself while there! 🙂

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Marix is an absolutely ADORABLE little restaurant tucked away off of Santa Monica Boulevard on a tree-lined side street in uber-hip West Hollywood. The eatery is small, casual, and intimate and it’s not at all hard to see why Jen frequents the place. Not to mention the fact that it serves up some fabulous food! Like FABULOUS! The chicken fajitas were A-MA-ZING, as were the tortilla chips and fresh salsa. I literally gorged myself while there. The Marix staff also could NOT have been more friendly and I am happy to report that the place lacks any of the pretentiousness that is usually prevalent in L.A. area restaurants. I literally cannot say enough good things about the place and wish I lived closer so that I could frequent it more often.

Marix Tex Mex Cafe has actually been a long time favorite of Jen’s and was even mentioned way back in December of 2001 in this People Magazine article about the star. According to my friend from acting class, Jen can usually be spotted on the restaurant’s SUPER CUTE front patio which is pictured above. I hear Jen doesn’t frequent the place as much as she used to, though, thanks to the paparazzi who discovered the celebrity hot spot a few years ago and have been a constant presence ever since. Other stars who have dined at the eatery include Jessica Simpson and her BFF/hair stylist Ken Paves, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and their daughter Coco, Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, Ian Ziering, Brad Pitt, Angie Everhart, Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, Ron Livingston, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Pamela Anderson, Michelle Rodriguez, Wanda Sykes, The Biggest Loser’s Bob Harper, and Wilson Cruz of My So-Called Life fame.

And while we didn’t run into Jen while dining there, we did spot former Bachelorette contestant Jerry Ferris at the table directly in front of us. I noticed Jerry pretty much immediately upon sitting down, but, while I knew he was famous, neither my fiancé nor I could place who he was. I asked our waitress if she recognized him and she in turn asked the other servers on duty, but no one seemed to have any idea whether or not he was even famous. Am I the only person who watched Season Three of The Bachelorette???? LOL Anyway, by that time I was going absolutely crazy because I KNEW I recognized Jerry, but could not for the life of me figure out from where. Then all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks – sitting in front of me was the man who had stolen America’s heart (or at least mine) on Jen Schefft’s season of The Bachelorette. I had absolutely LOVED Jerry on the series and was actually lucky enough to have met him shortly after his reality TV stint ended just about five years ago. Well, as soon as I figured out it was him, I told my fiancé I wanted to ask for a photograph, but that I felt bad since he was eating at the time, to which the Grim Cheaper said, “You ALREADY have a photograph with the guy (pictured above) – please do NOT bother him again.” LOL Sadly, I listened to the GC and did not go up to Jerry (HMPH!), but I really regret doing so as he had been a TOTAL sweetheart to me when I met him back in 2005. Ah well! Maybe I’ll run into Jerry during my next Marix stalk. 😉

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marix Tex Mex Cafe is located at 1108 North Flores Street in West Hollywood. They also have a second location which can be found at 118 Entrada Drive in Santa Monica. You can visit the Marix website here.

November 23, 2009December 16, 2009

My Coffee With Andre – Agassi, That Is!

A few years back, an email entitled “You Know You’re From Los Angeles When . . . “ which was comprised of a list of “Only in L.A.” scenarios circled the World Wide Web. My personal favorite item on the list was number 28 which stated, “The guy at 8:30 in the morning at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney actually IS George Clooney”. LOVE IT! Well, Thursday morning, I had my very own “Only in L.A.” moment at a local Starbucks, when I realized that the guy in front of me in line who looked like tennis superstar Andre Agassi actually WAS tennis superstar Andre Agassi. As it turns out, Andre was in town for a book signing at my fave bookstore, Vroman’s, and was grabbing a quick coffee beforehand. So, of course, for my blog’s sake, I just had to ask him to take a picture with me. I was a little nervous about doing so, though, as just a few weeks prior some friends and I happened to run into Bruce Willis while dining at the Jerry’s Deli on Beverly Boulevard. We had the good fortune of finishing our meal at pretty much the exact same time as Bruce and when we found ourselves in the valet line next to him while waiting for our cars, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind posing for a photograph with us, to which he replied “Doubtful.” Being that my question pretty much warranted either a yes or a no answer, I’m not even really sure what he meant by that, but needless to say I did not get my photo. 🙁 He did shake our hands, though, so I guess that’s something. So, when Andre Agassi said that he’d be happy to pose for a picture with me, I was absolutely elated! A man who I am guessing was his publicist took the above photograph of us – which is arguably the worst photo I’ve ever taken in my life LOL – and afterwards said “I think you’re going to like this one!” I laughed and replied, “Well, being that I’m not wearing any make-up right now, I’m not so sure”, to which Andre said, “Well, I’m not wearing make-up either, so we’re even!” LOL LOL LOL Three other women were in Starbucks at the time that all of this took place and, let me tell you, Andre’s presence caused us all to act like a bunch of giddy little school girls. I’m pretty sure the noise level inside Starbucks increased more than one decibel while the four of us fawned over him. My three new friends also asked for their pictures to be taken with Andre and he happily obliged. In fact, he was so incredibly friendly and gracious I almost couldn’t believe it. He even waited patiently while I tried to figure out how to use the camera on one of the girl’s iPhones. And, to top it all off, when I was on the way out the door a few minutes later, Andre looked up from his espresso and called out “Bye!” Sigh! What a nice guy! I am so going to have to check out his new book now!

Seeing Andre on Thursday got me thinking. Everyday I receive emails from readers seeking advice on how and where to spot celebrities in L.A. And, while I did write a post about celebrity hot spots earlier this year, I realized that the best advice I can give on seeing a famous person in Los Angeles is to just simply KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN AT ALL TIMES. The truth is you just never know when or where you might spot a celeb. I’ve seen stars in such mundane spots as the grocery store, Target, Rite Aid, the mall, Joann’s Fabrics, and Michael’s Craft Store. And, of course, at Starbucks. Other celebs I’ve spotted at various Starbucks in the L.A. area include Sophia Loren, Bradley Whitford (on three different occasions!), Jane Kaczmarek, Britney Spears, Peter MacNicol, Maxine Bahns (from The Brothers McMullen), David Strathairn, Danielle Panabaker, Mark D. Espinoza (who played Andrea’s husband Jesse on the original 90210), Kevin Dunn, Jamie Lynn Spears, who was with her mother Lynn Spears, and Reese Witherspoon. Although to be fair, Reese wasn’t actually at a Starbucks when I spotted her. I saw her walking out of a yoga studio located directly next door to the Starbucks I happened to be walking into. But that still counts, don’t you think? 🙂 Being that I visit a Starbucks on average of three times a day, though, I guess my record of seeing celebs there isn’t actually all that good. LOL But my point is that when you’re in L.A. you just have to keep your eyes peeled at all times! And always, always have your camera with you! 🙂

As if to further drive this point home, while doing some shopping at Larchmont Village with my fiancé on Saturday afternoon, I happened to spot both Anthony John Denison, who plays Lieutenant Flynn on TNT’s The Closer, and Owain Yeoman, who plays Detective Wayne Rigsby on The Mentalist (pictured above), dining at restaurants across the street from each other. I, of course, noticed both actors immediately, but my fiancé walked RIGHT BY them completely oblivious. Honestly, I think they both could have come up and bitten him on the nose and he still wouldn’t have realized who they were! As I mentioned above, you just gotta keep your eyes open!

And let me just say here that I was completely struck by how much better looking Owain Yeoman is in person than he comes across onscreen, as was the case back in August when I saw him during a filming of The Mentalist. I mean, even my fiancé had to admit that the guy looked quite a bit different in person. 🙂 And even though Owain is one of my new celebrity crushes, because he was eating lunch when we spotted him, I didn’t want to bother him for a photograph. But, as luck would have it, when driving away from Larchmont Village, my fiancé happened to get stuck at a stop sign RIGHT IN FRONT of Owain’s table, so, I just had to snap a quick pic. 🙂 Owain definitely noticed me taking his photo and didn’t seem too happy about the situation, but being that he is oh so dreamy, I just couldn’t help myself. 🙂 Sigh!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Starbucks where I ran into Andre Agassi is located at 408 East Colorado Blvd., in the Paseo Colorado Shopping Center, in Pasadena. Larchmont Village, where I spotted Owain Yeoman and Anthony John Denison, is a quaint little shopping district located on North Larchmont Blvd. in between Beverly Boulevard and West 1st Street. Anthony John Denison was eating at Louise’s Tratroria, which is located at 232 N. Larchmont Blvd. Owain was eating at Le Petite Greek, which is located at 127 N. Larchmont.