Adam Sandler’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

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Last Thursday morning while in Santa Monica running some errands, my dad and I, of course, stopped into a nearby Starbucks to grab a quick latte and who should we spot while standing in line, but Robbie Hart himself, aka Mr. Adam Sandler.  He was sitting inconspicuously with his wife and youngest daughter having a quiet breakfast and, amazingly enough, no one else in the entire store seemed to recognize or even take any notice of him.  Because the place was jam-packed, I did not want to call any attention to the fact that he was there or bother him in any way,  so I did not ask for a photograph, but I did go up to him to tell him how much I appreciated his always thanking the troops while on the red carpet and at awards shows.  One of my very best friends sadly passed away while on active duty in the Navy and both my dad and my uncle served in Vietnam, so I have always been extremely appreciative of Adam’s vocal and constant support of the armed forces.  Adam was EXTREMELY sweet when I went up to him, shook my hand, introduced himself, and thanked me for coming to talk to him.  Well, needless to say, after that encounter I loved the guy even more than I had before.  So, when I found out that he would be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week, I immediately called up my dad and asked if he wanted to go to the ceremony with me.  Now, as I have mentioned many times before on this blog, my dad pretty much hates all things Hollywood, excluding, of course, David Caruso and CSI: Miami and, ironically enough, Adam Sandler.  My dad said he’d love to attend the event and we both added the date to our calendar.  Sadly though, he wasn’t feeling well yesterday morning, so I had to head out to Hollywood on my own.

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I am typically not the type of person who enjoys doing things by myself, so I was not looking forward to attending Adam’s ceremony alone, but as it turned out I had a fabulous time!  I ended up meeting a really nice gentleman who was not only a big fan of Adam’s, but of Hollywood in general and the two of us spent the entire morning talking and sharing our stalking stories.  If you are ever considering going to one of these events, but are nervous about attending alone, after today I have to say don’t sweat it at all!

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While a fairly huge crowd did accumulate for Adam’s ceremony, there were not nearly as many people there as I had assumed would be.  I would say that there were about 150 people in attendance, with a large group standing on the roof of the W Hollywood Hotel (pictured above).  The ceremony was actually set up much differently than Kyra Sedgwick’s ceremony which I attended back in June of 2009.  During Kyra’s event, fans were only allowed to stand on one side of the podium, but for Adam’s we were allowed to stand along all four sides of it.  I ended up snagging a spot directly next to the stage, which was absolutely INCREDIBLE.  It was literally the PERFECT, PRIMO spot and allowed me an amazing unobstructed view of the ceremony.

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The event started right on time (yay!) with Adam arriving on the scene promptly at 11:30.  On his way to the stage, he stopped to have his picture taken with some of the policemen on duty and a few of the fans in attendance.

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His two little girls (pictured above) and his wife were also there . . .

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as were Henry Winkler (aka The Fonz!) and Kevin James;

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and David Spade.

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David Spade actually went over to the crowd to take pictures and sign autographs at the start of the event, but he was pretty far away from where I was standing and because I did not want to lose my primo spot, I did not try to get a photo with him. 

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Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler opened up the ceremony by introducing Adam and welcoming him to the stage, along with his two daughters who absolutely refused to leave their father’s side.  It was really cute to watch.

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Then Henry Winkler came onstage to honor Adam with a speech.

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Henry said that his first encounter with Adam was when he mentioned him in 1994’s comedy hit “The Chanukah Song”.  Adam later asked him to play the role of Coach Klein in 1998’s The Waterboy and the two have since acted together in several movies, including Little Nicky, Click, and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.  Henry called Adam one the “kindest souls in show business” and I honestly believe that to be true.  Henry also informed the crowd that his own star was located directly across the street from Adam’s, in front of the historic Pantages theatre.

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Kevin James spoke next and called Adam “the man who is responsible for employing everyone in this town” and he said he was honoring him in one of the best ways he knew how, by wearing slacks to the ceremony which he would “not do for just anybody”.  Winking smile

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Then Leron Gubler took the stage again and presented Adam with a certificate and the plaque pictured above and officially declared the day “Adam Sandler Day” in Hollywood.

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Adam then made a brief speech, during which a tour bus drove by to whom Adam yelled out, “Hey you guys, how are you all doing?”  So cute!

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Adam said he could not believe he was standing there receiving such an honor as it is not something he ever thought would happen.  At one point during his speech, his youngest daughter Sunny tugged on his leg and asked to be picked up. 

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Sunny then grabbed the microphone and yelled out “I love my daddy!”  His other daughter Sadie then immediately walked up, stood on her tip toes, and announced into the mic, “I love my daddy!”  The two girls then went back and forth for a few minutes, each proclaiming their love for their “daddy” and then for their “mommy”.  It was a very cute moment which culminated with Adam saying, “I love you, too, more than anything in the world!”  He then thanked his wife and said he was most grateful for his career because it led him to her, which I thought was incredibly sweet.

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Adam’s star was then unveiled and the group posed behind it for the many members of the media who were in attendance.  As you can see in the above photographs, I unfortunately did not have the best view for that portion of the ceremony.

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After the ceremony, while Adam was speaking to the press, the man I had been hanging out with called Henry Winkler over for an autograph.  Henry only signed the one photo, though (pictured above) and then said that he did not have time for anything else as he had to do interviews.  And while he seemed nice enough, after the interviews were finished being taped, he did not go up to anyone else in the crowd and, as far as I know, did not sign any other autographs or take any photographs with fans.  Sad smile

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Adam Sandler, on the other hand, signed a huge number of autographs, but unfortunately the fans were being EXTREMELY aggressive and were pushing and shoving to get closer to him, so I kind of stayed in the background and did not end up getting a photograph with him.  One of the journalists who was covering the event, though, said that Adam was one of the nicest celebrities he had ever met and that he wouldn’t be surprised if the actor stayed around as long as necessary to give autographs to everyone who attended the ceremony.

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Sadly though, the whole thing got just a bit too crazy with people swarming Adam (he is somewhere in the middle of the mass frenzy pictured above) and he was, sadly, not able to stick around for very long.  And even though I did not get a photograph with him as I had hoped, the event was still extremely fun to attend!  If you happen to find yourself in the Hollywood area on the day of a star ceremony, I honestly cannot more highly recommend attending!

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Adam’s unveiled star is pictured above.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Adam Sandler’s Walk of Fame star can be found at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard, directly in front of the W Hollywood Hotel, in Hollywood.  You can find out about upcoming Walk of Fame ceremonies and other celebrity events on the Upcoming Celebrity Events page of my blog.

The “Black Sheep” House

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Another location that Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I stalked last Monday afternoon was the supposed Buckley, Washington-area home where Mike Donnelly (aka Chris Farley) lived in the 1996 comedy Black Sheep.  Fellow stalker Owen tracked down this location – along with pretty much every other locale which appeared in the movie – quite a few months back and the place has been on my To-Stalk list ever since.  But because I rarely make it out to the Eagle Rock area, I had yet to visit the place – nor had I ever watched Black Sheep before.  So, after Mike and I stalked the house last Monday afternoon, I finally sat down to watch the movie.  And I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised.  Even though I am a sucker for screwball comedies, for whatever reason I had not really expected to like the flick at all.  I ended up laughing all the way through it, though, especially during the scene in which Mike gets pulled over for driving seven miles per hour on the freeway.  LOL!    

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Owen found Mike Donnelly’s home thanks to one of the Black Sheep crew members who remembered that the residence was located somewhere in Eagle Rock.  Even with that bit of information, though, I’m amazed that Owen was able to track the place down, because producers had installed a fake address number of 612 for the filming.   UGH!  I so hate it when they do that!

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It takes a lot more than a simple change of address to fool us stalkers, though!  As you can see in the above screen capture, a home with a 4-digit address number was clearly visible in the background of one of the scenes filmed at the Donnelly residence.   Once Owen saw that four digit number, he knew that the Donnelly address had to be a fake.  He then immediately set about using Google Street View to search all of the blocks in Eagle Rock with four-digit addresses.  And sure enough, it wasn’t long before he found the right house.  Yay!

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In reality, the Donnelly residence, which features 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1,782 square feet of living space, is a lot cuter and far better maintained in person than it appeared in the film.

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The house only actually appears twice in Black Sheep.  It first shows up in the scene in which Steve Dodds (aka David Spade) first goes to meet Mike Donnelly.  Later on in the movie, the house is featured briefly in the scene in which the two men discover that Governor Tracy (aka Christine Ebersole) has fixed the election.

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I am fairly certain that the real life interior of the property was also used in that particular scene.

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After watching Black Sheep earlier this week, I became obsessed with stalking the Governor’s Mansion which appeared throughout the flick.  Sadly though, fellow stalker Chas, from ItsFilmedThere, informed me that, while Owen had also found this property, it was torn down quite some time ago and another home built in its place, which is absolutely mind-boggling to me!  How (or WHY!) someone would tear down such a large and stately piece of property just to build a new one is absolutely beyond me.  Chas and I were discussing it yesterday, though, and he came up with a possible explanation.  He thinks there quite possibly could have been a fire at the property, which would have forced the owners to demolish whatever was left standing and start anew.  I searched for property records on the home, though, to see if I could dig up any further information, but came up completely empty-handed.  UGH!  The only thing I can say for sure is that the Governor’s Mansion from Black Sheep is no longer standing.

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There is some good news, though!  For whatever reason, the mansion is still visible via certain angles on Bing Maps.  As you can see above, when the Bing aerial view is angled south, the image shows a vacant lot.

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BUT when you angle the map east, the Governor’s Mansion magically appears. 

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AND if you then switch back to the south view once again, the front of the home will sometimes show up.  So darn cool! 

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Owen for finding these locations!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Mike Donnelly’s house from Black Sheep is located at 5158 Highland View Avenue in Eagle Rock.  The Governor’s Mansion from the movie was formerly located at 874 West Potrero Road in Westlake Village, but has since been torn down and replaced with a new residence.

The Dickie Roberts House

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Today is my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry’s birthday!  The two of us are actually heading down to Disneyland in a bit, where Kerry has secured a reservation for a little birthday celebration at the park’s exclusive Club 33 members-only restaurant and, let me tell you, I could not be more excited!!  I’ve been trying to get into that place for YEARS!!  But I’ll save that story for a future post.  🙂  Anyway, for the past few months, Kerry has been begging me to find the blue clapboard residence featured in the 2003 movie Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.  Unfortunately, though, not only had I never seen the movie, but I also had no idea where the home might be located.  So, the other day when fellow stalker Chas happened to mention that he knew the location of the Dickie Roberts  house, I just about died!!!  I immediately told Kerry, who also just about died.  🙂  So, Kerry, this one’s for you! 

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Once Chas had given me the address of the Dickie Roberts  house, I just HAD to watch the movie, and I am happy to report that I LOVED it.    I even found myself tearing up at the end, causing my fiance to look over at me and say “Are you actually crying over Dickie Roberts???”  LOL LOL LOL  What can I say, it’s a very touching movie!  🙂  Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star is the story of a thirty-something washed up actor, played by David Spade, who pays a family to let him move into their  home with them in the hopes of recreating his lost childhood so that he may become a better adult and, in turn, a better actor.  The home, which belongs to the Finney family in the film, is supposedly located at 741 Mockingbird Lane in an idyllic neighborhood somewhere in the Los Angeles area.  Once I visited the house in person, it wasn’t too hard to see why producers chose to use it as Dickie’s perfect childhood home.  While I was there a woman was out walking her dog, children were riding their bikes in their front yards, a couple was jogging down the street together, and every time any of them passed each other they would call out “Hi Mrs. So and So!  How are you this morning?”  It was literally like a scene out of a movie!  I felt like I had somehow stumbled onto the set of The Truman Show  or something!  LOL  It’s just as idyllic of a street in real life as it was portrayed to be in the movie.   Love it!  

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I am also very happy to report that the Dickie Roberts  house looks pretty much EXACTLY the same in person as it did in the movie.   According to IMDB, the real life owners of the home liked David Spade’s backyard treehouse from the movie so much, that after filming wrapped they elected to keep it!  I was SO looking forward to seeing that treehouse in person, but, alas, it is not visible from the street.  🙁  

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The Dickie Roberts  house shows up several times throughout the movie, most notably in the hilarious scene when Dickie is introduced to the wonder that is a Slip ‘n Slide!   A little bit of movie trivia for you – Wham-O, Inc., the company that manufactures the Slip ‘n Slide toy, actually sued Paramount Pictures for using their product in the movie without permission.  LOL  The things people get upset about, I swear!   🙂

 Happy birthday to Kerry and a big THANK YOU to Chas for finding this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Dickie Roberts  house is located at 741 South Hudson Avenue in Pasadena.