Tag: Entertainment

Shannen Doherty’s Former House

One of the first locations I ever stalked, long before I moved to the L.A. area, was the residence that Shannen Doherty called home during the height of her Beverly Hills, 90210 fame. I was on summer vacation in between my Junior and Senior years of college at the time and had flown down to Southern California for the weekend to visit my then-boyfriend and then-best friend, both of whom lived near Los Angeles. The three of us ended up spending one of the days I was in town stalking the Hollywood area, although this was long before I called my unique hobby “stalking”. Our first stalk that day just happened to be Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, a place which I had only ever visited once previously during my teenage years. I remember being absolutely ecstatic upon seeing the numerous handprints and footprints of the stars, especially those of Tom Cruise who I was in love with at the time. At some point during our Grauman’s stalk, I wandered into the theatre’s little gift shop and stumbled upon The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book – a stalking tome the likes of which I had never before seen. I was instantly enamored with the book and, despite being a starving college student at the time, immediately forked over the $16.95 to purchase the guide. The rest of our day in Hollywood was spent using the book to tour various filming locations and numerous homes of the rich and famous. And while my then-best friend, whom we’ll call Julie for the purposes of this post, refused to take me to the Walsh House – she said it was WAY TOO FAR for her to drive – she did agree to make a stop at Shannen Doherty’s former West Hollywood abode, which I could NOT have been more excited about.   And, as fate would have it, when we pulled up to the residence a man happened to be standing on the front porch. Well, let me tell you, I immediately started screaming and begged Julie to pull over so that we could ask the man some questions about SD, but she had an absolute meltdown and flat out refused to stop! In fact, she didn’t even want me to take a picture of the residence and was screaming at me the entire time to put my camera away. The above photo is the only one I managed to snap during her little tantrum. I’m not sure what it was that Julie was so nervous about, being that Shando had moved out of the home about four years prior and I had only wanted to ask the new resident if he had ever met the star and if the stories about her being a bad girl were true. But, alas, that was not to be. I’m fairly certain it goes without saying that Julie and I are no longer friends. 😉

She did agree to drive a bit north of the house, though, so that I could snap another photograph of the residence from farther away. That’s me and my college boyfriend in the above pic, along with a very tiny, very blurred view of SD’s former house.



Anyway, the other day while doing some stalking in the West Hollywood area, I was reminded of my long past failed stalk of Shannen’s house and mentioned the story to my fiancé.   He thought the whole thing was absolutely hilarious, especially when I showed him the photograph I had taken out of Julie’s car window, and it was then that I decided I just had to blog about the place.   So, later that day I dragged him up Doheny Drive to re-stalk Shannen’s former residence and was quite to surprised to discover that the property had been altered since my last visit. Apparently, Shannen’s former home, which is currently for sale at the bargain price of $4,695,000, was given a recent facelift, both inside and out.

As you can see in the above photograph, though, the house still has that weird round sculpted adornment above the front door that it had when I first stalked the place back in 1998. The 3 story, 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom residence, which was built in 1967 and measures 3,699 square feet, boasts city and ocean views, a gourmet kitchen, a master suite with a fireplace and an infinity bathtub (although I must confess I don’t even know what the heck an “infinity bathtub” is), a pool, a waterfall, a spa, and an outdoor fireplace.

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This is the same house that Shannen not only famously trashed, but was evicted from in March of 1993. Supposedly the actress moved out of the property in the middle of the night after being served with an eviction notice while still owing $14,000 in back rent. Her landlord ended up filing a lawsuit against her claiming she caused $136,300 in damage to the property while living there. Included in that $136,000 was a reported $70,000 in structural damage that was also caused by the actress. How in the heck one tiny person – SD is reportedly 5’2” – can cause that much structural damage to a house I’ll never know, but I digress. Shannen’s former home had actually seen its fair share of notoriety long before the 90210 bad girl moved in, though. In the 70s, famous Hollywood Madame and longtime Heidi Fleiss mentor, Alex Adams, also lived at the property and even operated a brothel out of it for several years.

While doing research for this post, I managed to dig up the above black and white photograph of the interior of the house which was taken just around the time Shannen lived there and was featured in a February 24th, 1997 People Magazine article about the star. The color photograph pictured above was taken off of the home’s real estate website – which you can view here – and as you can see, despite the recent remodel, the beamed roof and fireplace area still look very much the same today as they did when Shannen called the place home. So darn cool!!! 🙂

And, of course, while we were stalking the place a couple of weeks ago, I just had to drag my fiancé up the hill to take a photograph of the house from the same spot where I had taken a picture of it all those years beforehand.

On a side note – Fellow stalker Erika recently met Shannen Doherty while dining at the Marmalade Cafe in the Malibu Lumber Yard. Because Erika is 100% on Team Brenda (YAY), she just had to ask Shannen if she’d be willing to snap a picture with her, to which the star happily obliged! See, I knew SD HAD to be nice! 🙂 Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have my photo taken with Shannen Doherty!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Shannen Doherty’s former house is located at 1654 North Doheny Drive in West Hollywood.

March 3, 2010
Bistro de la Gare from “Modern Family”

This past Sunday morning, while grabbing some coffee with my parents and the Grim Cheaper at my new fave coffee house, Kaldi’s, my mom asked me if I happened to remember what day it was. Looking at her with what I’m sure was a completely blank expression on my face, I told her that I had absolutely no idea. It was then that she reminded me that it was exactly ten years prior, on February 28th of 2000, that my mom and I had waved goodbye to our little house in San Mateo and begun the five hour journey south to meet my dad – who had moved a few months ahead of us – at our new home in Pasadena.   Yes, this past Sunday was my family’s ten year anniversary of living in Southern California. And while in some ways it seems like that journey occurred just yesterday, in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. And as I sat there and reflected on my past decade in LaLaLand, I’m not sure what surprised me more – the number of things that had changed in my life, or the number of things that hadn’t. Over the last ten years, quite a few of my life circumstances have remained constant – I am still a struggling actress who makes zero dollars each year off her craft and I still dream each day of “making it big”, I still attend acting school – albeit a different one than the one I was attending when I first moved here, and I still live in Pasadena, although I finally moved out of my parents home two years ago – at the tender age of 30. Ha ha. But while so much of my life is pretty much exactly the same as it was the day I moved here, there have also been some huge milestones. I met the Grim Cheaper and after eight and a half years of dating finally got engaged last May. I have made some amazing new friends and, sadly, also lost a few. I was voted valedictorian at one of my acting schools. I starred in a commercial for State Farm Insurance. And I became a blogger, which along with my fiancé and my friends and family, has been my saving grace over the past two years. Just when I thought my frustrations with the acting industry were becoming too much to bear and that I was ready to throw in the towel, I found another, entirely different, creative outlet that I have as much love for and am just as passionate about as my acting career. And while it’s definitely true what they say, that the more things change, the more they stay the same, what I’ve found is that while I was happy ten years ago, I am far happier now. So, I want to thank you dear readers and fellow stalkers out there, for helping me to find a new – and, as I am quickly discovering, far better – path in this crazy world called show business. 🙂   Anyway, now that I’ve digressed for an entire paragraph, let’s get to the stalking! Once I heard that it was my family’s ten year anniversary of being in L.A., I suggested that we go out to eat to celebrate the occasion. And what better place to do so than Bistro de la Gare, the little South Pasadena restaurant that was recently featured in an episode of Modern Family.

Bistro de la Gare, which roughly translates to “the restaurant by the train station”, was opened in October of 2005 by French restaurateur Eric Ulmer and quickly became a local favorite. And, yes, it is in fact located adjacent to a train station – the Metro Gold Line’s Mission Street stop. The bistro is an absolutely adorable little place, with dark red walls, a carved mahogany bar, white paned windows, French music playing on the stereo, and little signs with French sayings posted most everywhere, my favorite of which was the one which stated “Entree Des Artistes”, aka “Artists’ Entrance”. 🙂 The Bistro de la Gare staff could NOT have been nicer and not only answered all of my silly little questions about the filming of Modern Family, but also let me take all the photographs of the place that I wanted. Oh, and did I mention the food? Our meal was absolutely EXCELLENT and incredibly reasonably priced – my rosemary chicken entree was only $12.95 and our total bill for four people – with drinks – was a scant $120.00. Not bad for a fabulous meal in a charming setting in Southern California.

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As I mentioned last week, Bistro de la Gare was featured in the Season One episode of Modern Family entitled “Moon Landing”. In the episode, Claire (aka Julie Bowen) meets her former work frenemie Valerie (aka Minnie Driver) for a drink in the bar area of the tiny French bistro.

The two later move into the restaurant’s main dining room to grab a bite to eat and to try to make each other jealous over their respective and very different lives.

Bistro de la Gare has also appeared in an episode of Brothers & Sisters in a scene featuring Rob Lowe and Calista Flockhart, but because I have never seen the series, I am unsure exactly which episode it was. And despite its remoteness from the West Side where most movie stars live, quite a few celebrities have been known to stop into the restaurant from time to time. Actor Troy Evans has been spotted there on occasion and even has his autographed headshot displayed in the bistro’s entryway. Ron Howard also recently patronized the place. But when I asked our waiter if my girl Jen had ever dined there, he winked at me and said “I’ll never tell.” 😉   Bistro de la Gare is a fabulous, very inexpensive little restaurant and I am happy to report that it was the perfect spot to spend our “ten year anniversary”. I honestly can’t recommend stalking the place enough.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Bistro de la Gare, from the “Moon Landing” episode of Modern Family, is located at 921 Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena. You can visit their website here. Kaldi’s, the coffee shop that appeared in that same episode of Modern Family, is located just a block away at 1019 El Centro Street.

March 2, 2010
Jennifer Aniston’s Former Beach House

While out stalking the ‘Bu with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a couple of weeks ago, I just about had a complete heart attack as the two of us passed by my girl Jen Aniston’s former beach house and I noticed that the door to the front gate was standing WIDE OPEN! Let me tell you, I must have screamed for a good sixty seconds over that one! Once Mike regained his hearing ;), he made an immediate U-turn across Pacific Coast Highway so that the two of us could head over to the house to get a peek behind the gates. I’ve actually stalked Jen’s former Malibu bungalow a few times in the past – and have even blogged about it once before – but being that this was the first time I was catching a glimpse of her front courtyard area, I figured the place was worth a re-post. And let me tell you, I was pretty much dying the whole time I was there. I mean never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d get to see past that front gate!

As we walked up to the house we noticed some workers standing out front, so I, of course, struck up a conversation with them. The workers told us that they were doing some landscaping in the front courtyard area of the residence, which is why the gate was open. When I asked one of them if he knew that Jennifer Aniston used to live on the property, he looked at me like he had absolutely no idea who Jennifer Aniston even was. LOL

I didn’t want to overstep my bounds or get the landscapers in any sort of trouble while I was stalking the place, so I stayed on the sidewalk area while taking the above pictures, but believe me I was absolutely dying to venture in for a closer look!

I did manage to catch a glimpse of the glass front door, though, which you can just barely see in the above pictures.

While there, I was so focused on seeing Jen’s former courtyard area that I didn’t even realize the garage door to the house was open. It wasn’t until Mike elbowed me and whispered really loudly in my ear, “GET A PICTURE OF THE GARAGE! GET A PICTURE OF THE GARAGE! That’s where Jen did her laundry!” that I even noticed it. LOL I so wanted Mike to ask the landscaping guys if we could peek inside the house, but he refused as he felt like that would definitely be crossing a line. And I have to admit I agree with him – which is why I didn’t want to ask the workers myself. 😉 But, oh, what I wouldn’t give to see the inside of that house!

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During the time Jen rented the home, the glass walls of the back patio area were actually covered over with some sort of black paneling which shielded the star from the prying eyes of not only the paparazzi, but stalkers such as myself. So, I was beyond floored when Mike and I traveled to the back side of the property and noticed that those panels were no longer there, which meant that Jen’s former “backyard” was visible. YAY! It’s actually very surprising to me that the notoriously press-shy Aniston ever lived in this house – especially during her divorce, when the media frenzy was at an all-time high – being that the public beach access walkway is located just a few feet to the east of the property. Because the area was so easily accessible, the paparazzi used to supposedly camp out night and day on the beach directly behind her house. Ugh!

Jen moved into her wood-shingled Malibu beach bungalow in early 2005, immediately following her separation from now ex-husband Brad Pitt. She leased the property, which is supposedly owned by Oracle C.E.O Larry Ellison, through the end of 2007 for a reported $30,000 a month. Despite the fact that it is located right on the sand, thisclose to the ocean, Jen’s former beach house is fairly modest by celebrity standards. The residence, which was built in 1945, boasts two bedrooms, three bathrooms, and measures a scant 1,531 square feet. And I have to say that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the place. The house is incredibly charming and so very, for lack of a better word, cute and I would give anything to live in something similar. I am so enamored of the place in fact that I would consider it my dream pad, even if it hadn’t been previously lived in by Jen. 😉 The two-story bungalow is actually the place where the actress conducted her infamous first post-split interview which ran in the September 2005 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. According to several other interviews which also took place at the home, Jen decorated her bachelorette pad with mostly white furnishings adorned with white candles, white flowers, and quite a bit of Asian-inspired decor. She also reportedly kept a little vase filled with loose Merit brand cigarettes on an end table next to the couch for her guests to partake of. Apparently Jen remodeled the home a bit, even though it was a rental, before moving in. Vanity Fair author Leslie Bennetts says, “Although the bungalow was dark and depressing when she first saw it, a quickie makeover has transformed it into a cozy sanctuary that’s far more representative of Aniston’s personal taste than the showplace she and Pitt shared, where the decor seemed all hard edges and unforgiving materials.” Bennetts goes on to ask Jen what she likes best about being separated from Brad, to which the actress responds, “I can have a comfortable couch.” LOL

On a side note – Early last year fave website Big Time Listings reported on another (possible) former rental of Aniston’s in the Laurel Canyon area. And while Big Time Listings can’t actually verify that the actress ever lived in the home, according to the September 2009 issue of Elle Magazine, Jen did rent a house in Laurel Canyon during her pre-Friends days, so it’s a definite possibility.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Jennifer Aniston’s former beach rental is located at 22164 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

February 26, 2010
Cup ‘N Cakes Cafe from “Modern Family”

A few weeks back, a fellow stalker who identified himself as “Stepick” left a comment on my Step by Step house post informing me that a coffee shop in nearby South Pasadena had been featured in the recent episode of fave show Modern Family entitled “Moon Landing”. Unfortunately though, Stepick did not specify exactly which South Pasadena coffee house it was. So, I decided to do a little bit of digging to see if I could figure it out. I came up empty-handed at first, until this past weekend when a blog named “Greetings from LA” published a post about Modern Family filming locations along with a link to this article about the coffee shop that had been used on the show. Thank you, Greetings from L.A.! In real life, that coffee shop is named Kaldi Coffee & Tea and, amazingly enough, I had never before heard of the place. So, I, of course, had to run right out and stalk it, not just because I love Modern Family, but because, as those of you who read my site regularly know, I absolutely love coffee. Like LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. Oh, what I won’t do for a good cup o’ joe. But I digress.

Kaldi Coffee & Tea, which has been in operation for over 15 years, is an incredibly charming little coffee house located inside of an old bank building. With its brick walls, mismatched chairs, large couch, and chalk board menu, the place evokes memories of the Central Perk set from Friends. So, needless to say, I loved it! And, amazingly enough, when I walked through the front doors I immediately recognized the shop from another production besides Modern Family! But more on that later. Despite what some internet reviews have stated, I am very happy to report that Kaldi’s serves up some FABULOUS coffee. I also indulged in a little veggie sandwich while there and I am happy to report that it, too, was fabulous! The staff at Kaldi’s was EXTREMELY nice and not only answered all of my silly questions about the filming of Modern Family, but also let me take all the photographs I wanted. Yay! I loved the place so much, in fact, that I am fairly certain I am going to be a frequent stalker there. 😉



The Kaldi’s scene from Modern Family starts out across the street from the cafe, on the sidewalk in front of the South Pasadena Public Library (a location which stood in for Haddonfield High School in Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake). In the scene, Gloria (aka Sophia Vergara) takes her son Manny (aka Rico Rodriguez) and her step-son/ lawyer Mitchell (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to the site of her recent car accident so that she can explain what happened. After showing them where the accident took place, she heads over to Kaldi’s, which was called Cup ‘N Cakes Cafe in the episode, to grab some cupcakes, while Mitchell and Manny wait behind at the accident site to take pictures. It is there that Manny tells Mitchell that his mother was actually at fault in the wreck. When Mitchell asks why Manny didn’t tell his mom that, Manny explains “She can’t take criticism about her driving. Once an old lady yelled at her at a crosswalk. She honked so long, the horn ran out!” LOL LOL LOL

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Only a small portion of Kaldi’s exterior is shown in the scene . . .

. . . but the interior is featured quite extensively while the threesome is eating their cupcakes.

And it is outside of Kaldi’s that Gloria gets into her second car accident of the week, crashing into the side of the cafe and knocking down Cup ‘N Cakes’ large pink cupcake sign, which was, of course, just a prop that was brought in for the filming. The restaurant where Claire (aka Julie Bowen) met Valerie (aka Minnie Driver) for lunch in that same episode is located less than a block away from Kaldi’s. It is named Bistro de la Gare, but I have yet to stalk the place. Don’t worry, though, as it’s definitely on my list!

Kaldi’s also appeared in a brief scene in fave movie The Ugly Truth, in which Abby Richter (aka Katherine Heigl) and her best friend Joy (aka Bree Turner) fawn all over her new boyfriend Colin (aka Eric Winter). Oddly enough, I had actually been searching for The Ugly Truth coffee shop for MONTHS, but couldn’t seem to locate it anywhere! So, when I walked into Kaldi’s yesterday afternoon, I just about fell over as I immediately recognized it as the place I had long been searching for. Funny how stuff like that happens. 😉

The Ugly Truth also made use of the same stretch of sidewalk that appeared in Modern Family for the scene in which Mike Chadway (aka Gerard Butler) convinces Abby to purchase some hair extensions. That sidewalk is located directly across the street from Kaldi’s.

Kaldi’s was also featured in two scenes in the 2008 movie Role Models as Beth (aka Elizabeth Banks) and Danny’s (aka Paul Rudd’s) local coffee shop. One of the scenes features a very funny rant by Paul Rudd over the fact that the term “venti” does not actually mean large in Italian.

Producers completely remodeled Kaldi’s for the filming of Role Models, though, making it appear very Coffee-Bean-ish, so it almost unrecognizable from that flick. Kaldi’s was also featured in the 2007 Anthony Hopkins’ movie Slipstream and it will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the new television series Parenthood.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Kaldi Coffee & Tea, aka Cup ‘N Cakes Cafe from Modern Family, is located at 1019 El Centro Street, at the southwest corner of El Centro Street and Diamond Avenue, in South Pasadena. Bistro de la Gare, the restaurant where Minnie Driver and Julie Bowen ate on Modern Family, is located less than a block away at 921 Meridian Avenue.

February 25, 2010
The “Liar Liar” Towing Yard

A few weeks ago, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I spent an entire day stalking in and around the Malibu area. But before actually heading west to the ‘Bu, Mike made a little surprise pit stop in Alhambra so that the two of us could stalk the towing yard that appeared in fave comedy Liar Liar. Mike had actually told me about the yard, which is called Henry’s Towing in real life, the first time we met and even though I had long been dying to stalk the place, for whatever reason, I had yet to do so. So, I was BEYOND elated when he pulled up to the yard a few weeks ago and told me what it was. Mike found this location thanks to the fact that he grew up in the Alhambra area, not too far from Henry’s, and had driven by the place countless times during his youth. So when he saw Liar Liar for the first time back in 1997, he recognized the yard immediately. Yay! Thank you, Mike!

Henry’s Towing appeared in my absolute favorite scene in Liar Liar (well, besides the HILARIOUS “The pen is blue!” scene, of course), in which Audrey Reede (aka Maura Tierney) takes her ex-husband Fletcher Reede (aka Jim Carrey) to pick up his Mercedes which has just been towed.

After retrieving the car, Fletcher notices that there is a scratch on it, causing him to have a completely hilarious meltdown consisting of one of my favorite movie monologues of all time!   During the meltdown he says, “You know what I’m gonna do about this? NOTHING! Because if I take ya to small claims court it’ll just drain eight hours out of my life and you probably won’t show up and if I finally got the judgment you’d just stiff me anyway. So what I’m gonna do is piss and moan like an impotent jerk and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!” To which the towing attendant says, “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” LOL Love it!

You can watch the tow yard scene by clicking above.

Unfortunately, though, thanks to a large fence which now surrounds the property, the majority of the towing yard is not visible from the street. 🙁

But you can see a good view of the place in the above aerial image.

Ironically enough, according to one of the workers we spoke with, the cashier’s window featured in Liar Liar is not actually Henry’s real life cashier’s window. Instead, producers chose to use a different window located deeper inside the property, behind the exterior fence.

The window which appeared in the movie is denoted with the pink arrow above and, sadly, if you aren’t visiting Henry’s to pick up a towed car, you won’t be able to see it. 🙁 Such a bummer!

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The real life cashier’s window – which is a part of Henry’s main office – does appear very briefly in Liar Liar, though, towards the end of the towing scene when Fletcher walks Audrey to her car. The two walk past the perimeter fence – which at the time did not have black tarp covering it – and towards the real life cashier’s window while she tells him about the wish his son made the previous evening.

The window looks a bit different today than it did during filming, though, as the little wooden awning which appeared above it in the scene has long since been removed. Henry’s main office has also been painted a different color in the years since filming took place.

The back side of the main office can also be seen in the background during Fletcher’s meltdown.

While not much of Henry’s Towing Yard is visible from the street, I still absolutely loved seeing it in person and the memories of the movie that being there brought back. I do have to admit, though, that the guys working the counter thought Mike and I were BEYOND weird for stalking the place. And even though I explained to them that we were big fans of the movie Liar Liar and were taking the pictures for our respective stalking websites, I am fairly certain they thought we were angry patrons whose cars had been recently towed and that the photographs were for a pending lawsuit, as they kept a VERY close eye on us the whole time. LOL Don’t they know a stalker when they see one? 😉

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding this location. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Liar, Liar towing yard, aka Henry’s Towing Service, is located at 1100 Westminster Avenue in Alhambra.

February 24, 2010
Disneyland’s Club 33

I must preface today’s blog with an apology, as this is one post that is far too long overdue! Well over six months ago – yes, I am talking about waaaaaaaaaay back in July of 2009 – my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry invited me to share in her birthday celebration at the Happiest Place on Earth, aka Disneyland. But this wasn’t just any ordinary birthday celebration as Kerry had magically secured us a reservation at the park’s ultra-exclusive, members-only, virtually-impossible-to-get-into Club 33 restaurant. For those non-Disney fanatics, unlike myself, Club 33 is the “secret”, private, fine-dining establishment that Walt Disney had built inside of New Orleans Square. To eat there one must either be a member (and there are only 487 of them at the present time) or know a member who would be willing to make them a reservation. Like I said, it’s virtually impossible to get in. But, thankfully, Kerry doesn’t know the meaning of the word impossible. So when she called me up in early 2009 to tell me that she had made it a goal to spend her July 29th birthday at Club 33, I had no doubt she’d make it happen. And, sure enough, she did! Through a big-wig at ESPN whom she has known for years, she was able to secure a lunch reservation for 6 – Kerry and her husband, Jim, their friends Ken and Anita, who flew in from Washington for the occasion, and me and my fiancé. And, let me tell you, I could NOT have been more excited as I had been dying to eat at Club 33 for just about as long as I can remember.

Walt Disney originally envisioned Club 33 as an elegant, but private sort of VIP lounge where he could entertain visiting dignitaries, movie stars, and Disneyland’s corporate sponsors.   He was inspired to build the club after seeing similar such establishments at the 1964-1965 World’s Fair. Disney enlisted artist Dorothea Redmond to paint the original conceptual drawings of the club and then commissioned interior designer and former studio art director Emile Kuri to design and decorate the space. Walt then traveled to New Orleans, along with his wife, Lillian, and designer Kuri, to purchase authentic Bayou-inspired decor and antiques to furnish his restaurant, which he dubbed Club 33. There are varying reports as to how Walt came up with that name, the two most persistent being that the name was derived from the club’s address – 33 Royal Street – and also that it was christened in honor of Disneyland’s 33 original corporate sponsors. No one has ever been able to say for sure, though, and the name remains one of the club’s greatest mysteries. Club 33 finally opened its doors in May of 1967. Sadly, though, Walt never got to enjoy it, as he passed away five months prior to its completion. His brainchild enjoyed immediate success, though, and fairly soon memberships were being offered.   As of 2007, the club had 487 registered members, all of whom belong either individually or through a corporation. But, let me tell you, the cost of belonging is steep! An individual membership has an initiation fee of $9,500 and annual dues of $3,175, while corporate memberships cost $5,925 in annual dues with a $20,000 initiation fee. The only way a new membership opens up is when a current member drops out of the club, which rarely ever happens. Rumor has it that people on the waiting list can expect to wait over 14 years before a spot becomes available! Not kidding! And sadly, the waiting list is currently at full capacity and is not accepting any new applicants. Also not kidding! And while not a filming location, because of its excellent food and shroud of secrecy, the club has long been a celebrity magnet. Just a few of the stars who have dined there over the years include Barbra Streisand, Robert Wagner, Mickey Rooney, Sammy Hagar, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Phoebe Cates, Fess Parker, Bernard Fox, Geena Davis, Mira Sorvino, Christopher Backus, Elton John, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tommy Smothers, Michael Eisner, John Lasseter, Mike Ness (from the band Social Distortion), Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Kline, and Buddy Ebsen. Club 33’s most famous guest, though, has to be none other than the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, who was a frequent visitor. 🙂 The entrance to Club 33 (pictured above) consists of a non-descript grey door sandwiched between the Blue Bayou Restaurant and the Le Specialty Gourmet Shop. One could easily walk right past it without knowing anything was there. Save for a mirrored plate featuring the Club 33 logo and two tiny gold speaker boxes, the entrance is largely unmarked.

And, let me tell you, we were just about dying of excitement as we walked up to it! 🙂 To gain access to the club, one must press a button on the top gold speaker box located to the left of the front door and speak the name of the person who holds the reservation. No sound will come back to greet you, but if your name is on the hostess’ list, the grey door will magically open. The whole thing is very hush-hush and reminded me of what a speakeasy must have been like back in the day. 🙂 Apparently at one time, members would simply slip their membership cards through a little slot located in the speaker box to gain access to the club, but that is no longer the case.   Pictured above are both me and Kerry at the front door.

Just beyond the entrance door lies a tiny lobby area lobby whereupon one checks in and is given the option to either use the wraparound staircase to access the club’s second floor . . .

. . . or to take a ride in the famous antique glass elevator, which Walt had built in exact replication of one he had seen in a Parisian hotel. Kerry and I, of course, opted to take the elevator.

I just about died when we got up to the second floor as the place is absolutely beautiful inside. Club 33 has a very old-Hollywood feel to it, with dark wood flooring, deep red walls, antique wall sconces, wooden chandeliers, and ornate detailing throughout.

And there are arrangements of fresh flowers literally everywhere you look!

Once we reached the second level landing, the hostess led us to our table. The club is made up of two eating areas, the first of which is known as the Main Dining Room and it features carved wooden chandeliers . . .

. . . and a private balcony area which overlooks New Orleans Square and the Rivers of America.



The second dining area is Club 33’s legendary Trophy Room, which is where we got to eat.



The Trophy Room is famous thanks to the fact that Walt originally envisioned it to have an array of animatronic creatures on display, all of whom would be able to hold conversations with his guests, thanks to the use of hidden microphones and an actor who would be voicing the animals from inside the confines of a hidden sound booth. And while his plan never saw fruition, an animatronic vulture from Walt’s original design is still on display in the Trophy Room to this day, although it sadly does not talk to the Club 33 patrons. 😉

The Trophy Room is richly decorated with cypress wood walls,

large and ornately carved display cases,

original Disneyland concept drawings,

and a few pieces from Walt’s wife Lillian’s butterfly collection.

The 33 logo is present on pretty much everything at the club, from the menus,

to the china,

to the post-meal mints. And, let me tell you, Kerry, Anita, and I pretty much wanted to take home anything and everything that featured that logo. We even stuffed a few Club 33 cocktail napkins in our purses. 😉 Not kidding!

A meal at Club 33 costs about $100 per person when all is said and done, but along with a reservation comes free admission to both the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks, so the meal pretty much pays for itself. 🙂 From what I hear, Club 33’s lunch menus are changed seasonally, but usually consist of five different dining options, all of which cost the same amount. I opted for the certified organic free range chicken with truffled mac & cheese. And, let me tell you, it was A-MA-ZING! Especially the mac & cheese!!!!!

But before our meals were served, we were instructed to graze at the club’s amazing buffet. Pictured above is the hallway which leads to the buffet room . . .

. . . which is where the famous harpsichord that was custom made for Lillian Disney is displayed. The harpsichord, which is trimmed in real life gold leaf and features a Disney artisan hand-painted picture of New Orleans Harbor circa the Nineteenth Century, is in working order and may be played by guests of the club. According to several of the staff members I spoke with, Elton John even played an impromptu performance on it once. Love it!

Also on display in the hallway is a table that appeared in the movie Mary Poppins, but unfortunately I didn’t get a great picture of it.

Club 33’s extensive buffet consists of a salad bar, a fresh fruit and imported cheese bar, a shellfish and oyster bar, and a freshly baked bread and cold cuts bar. And I swear I could have dined on just the buffet items and been happy as a clam!



Oh, and did I mention there’s also an all-you-can-eat dessert bar, as well? Diners are even invited to partake in the desert bar before their meal is served, if they’re so inclined. LOVE IT!

Club 33’s most famous desert is its S’mores martini, which is, unfortunately, only available on certain days of the week. And even when it is available, only a select few are made and once they run out, they run out. So, when we arrived at the club, Kerry, Anita, and I immediately headed over to the desert bar to snatch up a martini. Sadly, though, once there we discovered that we were dining on a non-martini day. But being that this was Disneyland – purveyor of the finest customer service in the world – once our waitress heard how disappointed we were over the lack of S’more martinis, she ran directly to the kitchen and had a batch made up especially for our table! How incredibly cool is that???? And I have to say that they also were pretty A-MA-ZING! In fact there wasn’t a single item served at the club that wasn’t A-MA-ZING! I literally could have gorged myself there all day! In fact, being that our meal took over two and a half hours from start to finish, by the time I had finished my desert and had carefully documented the entire place in photographs, I could have easily sat back down to do it all over again. LOL

Oh, and because it was her birthday, Kerry even got a special Mickey Mouse desert. 🙂 Love it!

Club 33 also has a full bar and is, in fact, the ONLY place in Disneyland that serves alcohol. So, I, of course, had to partake in a glass of champagne while there. 🙂

Just around the corner from the bar is the club’s foyer area,

which features the famous Club 33 display case where various items featuring the Club 33 logo are for sale. Said items can only be purchased at the club – or on eBay, of course – and because of that are pretty hot commodities.

Also on display in the foyer is the antique glass phone booth which was used in the 1967 Disney movie The Happiest Millionaire. The phone is in working order and is available for use by Club 33 guests.



And, of course, I just had to take a few pictures of the women’s restroom, as well. 😉

And yes, I sent my fiancé into the men’s room with camera in hand, too! 🙂

My experience at Club 33 was nothing short of magical and was a definite once-in-a-lifetime! As the Disneyland Encyclopedia states, “There’s never been a mention of Club 33 in any of the park’s souvenir books, naturally, and while people may have heard of it and even more have unknowingly walked right by the entrance, only a very few will ever be able to say they’ve been inside.” Thanks to my good friend Kerry, I am now one of those very few. 🙂 Can’t THANK YOU enough, Kerry! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Club 33 is located at 33 Royal Street, in between the Blue Bayou Restaurant and Le Gourmet Specialty Shop, in the New Orleans Square area of Disneyland. Sadly, the club is private and not open to the public. For further Club 33 reading, be sure to check out the unofficial Club 33 website.

February 22, 2010
Paul Rudd’s Parents’ House from “I Love You, Man”

A few weeks ago while doing some stalking in the Valley, I dragged my fiancé out to visit the house where Peter Klaven’s (aka Paul Rudd’s) parents, Oswald and Joyce Klaven, who were played by J.K. Simmons and Jane Curtin respectively, and his brother Robbie (aka Andy Samberg) lived in fave movie I Love You, Man. And even though the Klaven house only appeared in one very brief scene in the movie – a scene which barely lasted over 2 minutes – because fellow stalker Owen had tracked down the location for me a few months back, I just had to go see the place in person. I also wanted to stalk the residence because fellow stalker Gary, from fave website Seeing Stars, recently put together a highly detailed catalog of all of the filming locations featured in I Love You, Man – all of the locations, that is, except for the Klaven house. So, to complete Gary’s collection, I just had to run right out and stalk the place. 🙂



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The Klaven house shows up at the very beginning of I Love You, Man in one of my favorite scenes in the movie – the absolutely hilarious scene in which Peter takes his new fiancé Zooey (aka Rashida Jones) to his parents’ house for dinner and they get into a detailed discussion about his lifelong lack of male friendships. It is at this dinner that Peter learns the shocking fact that, along with a random man named Hank Mardukis, his younger brother, Robbie, is his father’s very best friend. LOL



Besides the exterior of the house and the front door area, I am fairly certain that the real life interior of the home was also used in the filming of the dinner scene, as well.

Because the Klaven’s house from I Love You, Man is extremely long and has that Anywhere, U.S.A.-type look to it, it actually reminds me quite a bit of Matthew Perry’s residence from fave movie 17 Again, a location which I stalked back in September of last year. In person, the Klaven house is very large, much larger than it appeared onscreen in I Love You, Man. The residence, which was built in 1942, boasts three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and measures 3,224 square feet. The home is very cute in person and is located on an absolutely ADORABLE street in an absolutely ADORABLE neighborhood.   According to fave website Virtual Globetrotting, actress Jo Anne Worley lives just across the street from the I Love You, Man house and from 1993 to 2000 Denzel Washington lived just around the corner. Love it!

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Paul Rudd’s parents’ house from I Love You, Man is located at 4727 Arcola Avenue in either North Hollywood or Toluca Lake, depending on which map you consult.

February 16, 2010
The “Hangover” House

A few weeks ago, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, called me up to let me know that he was on the hunt for the main house used in fave movie The Hangover. The two of us both had a pretty good inkling that the residence was located somewhere in the Pasadena area, we just weren’t sure exactly where. Randomly enough during that same conversation, I happened to mention that I had just read on OnLocationVacations – my go-to-stalking guide 🙂 – that 90210 had been filming all week at a large gated home located at 465 South Grand Avenue in Pasadena. Well, it wasn’t five minutes after we ended our call that Mike phoned me up a second time, extremely excited, and said “I found The Hangover house and you’ll NEVER guess where it is!” As it turns out, the house was located just two doors down from the residence where 90210 had been filming! Apparently, while looking at aerial images of the 90210 location, Mike noticed a neighboring property that bore a striking resemblance to the Hangover house. Turns out, it was the Hangover house! 🙂 So, I guess it’s true what Walt Disney once said . . . It really is a small world, after all! Well, when it comes to filming locations, at least. 🙂 So, that same weekend, Mike drove out to meet me in Pasadena so the two of us could do a little Hangover stalking.

In The Hangover, the house pictured above belongs to the parents of Doug’s (aka Justin Bartha’s) fiancé, Tracy (aka Sasha Barrese). The residence is featured several times throughout the film. It first shows up at the very beginning of the movie as the spot from which Doug and his soon to be brother-in-law Alan (aka Zach Galifianakis) leave for the infamous Vegas bachelor party.

And, as you can see in the above screen capture and aerial image, the real life backyard, which is absolutely HUGE, was used in several scenes as well, including the scene in which Phil (aka Bradley Cooper) calls Tracy, while she is sunning herself by the pool, to let her know that the guys have been unavoidably detained in Vegas an extra day.

The movie’s final wedding scene also took place in the home’s real life backyard.

As you can see in the above aerial image, the house has a fairly large covered back porch area. That porch is where Stu (aka Ed Helms) finally breaks up with his belligerent girlfriend Melissa (aka Rachel Harris) while Alan and the rest of the wedding party look on. I am also fairly certain that the real life interior of the home was used in the filming of several scenes, as well.

The Hangover house is absolutely beautiful in person. Although, thanks to its size, calling it a “house” is actually a bit of a misnomer. The place is really more of a mansion. It is absolutely HUGE in person, much bigger than I expected it to be. Even though it did appear quite large in The Hangover, trust me when I say that in real life it is far, far larger – gargantuan actually! I can’t even imagine living there. The 7 bedroom, 7 bathroom house, which was built in 1930, measures a whopping 7,892 square feet. And while the property is gated, I am happy to report that quite a bit of it can be seen from the street. 🙂

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding this location!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The house from The Hangover is located at 415 South Grand Avenue in Pasadena.

February 9, 2010
April’s House from “Glee”

As I have mentioned countless times before, I am absolutely, irrevocably, one hundred percent obsessed with the television show Glee. So obsessed that I’ve been watching my “Road to Sectionals” DVDs over and over and over again to bide my time until the series returns from its absurdly long hiatus on April 13th – which still seems like such a far off date. I honestly don’t know how I am supposed to wait another 65 days before getting my Glee fix. Why, oh, why are you holding out on us Fox? But I digress. As you’ve probably ascertained by now, I literally cannot get enough of the show! So, imagine my absolute – pardon the pun – glee when I stumbled upon the house where April Rhodes (aka Kristin Chenowith) was caught squatting in the Season One, Volume 1 episode entitled “The Rhodes Not Taken”. I happened to be doing be some cyberstalking of the Encino area at the time – looking for a Beverly Hills, 90210 location, no less – and randomly happened upon the Glee house. And, let me tell you, I just about died from excitement! And, since my fiancé and I were already in the area last weekend enjoying our little “staycation” at the Westlake Village Inn, I just had to drag him out to stalk the place. YAY!

In “The Rhodes Not Taken” episode, Will Schuester (aka cutie Matthew Morrison) decides to reenlist former Glee club star April Rhodes at William McKinley High School so that she can join his glee team and lead them to glory at the upcoming sectionals competition. He tracks down April, whom he hasn’t spoken with in years, via a Google search and ends up sending her an instant message asking if she remembers him from their high school days. She immediately responds with an address where he should meet her along with an instruction to bring buffalo wings. LOL

That address is 35 Bontempo Road in Lima, Ohio and producers even went so far as to put a fake address placard on the front of the house for the filming. As you can see in the above photograph and screen capture, though, the fake address sign is an exact match to the home’s real one. 🙂 In reality, of course, April’s home is not located on Bontempo Road in Ohio, but about 2,000 miles west on White Oak Avenue in Encino. I swear, it’s a good thing I accidentally stumbled upon this location, otherwise I never would have found it in a million years! When I first watched “The Rhodes Not Taken” episode, actually, I had wrongly assumed the property was located in Pasadena, so my search would have been way off!

While Will is visiting with April inside the home, a real estate agent barges in and informs him that April is a squatter who been residing in foreclosed-upon, bank-owned properties as of late. And, as you can see in these photographs from a 2007 real estate listing, the home’s real life interior and real life furniture were used for the filming of that scene. So cool!

After being booted out of the house, Will and April – and her box of wine LOL – then head outside and have a conversation on the sidewalk, whereupon he convinces her to return to high school to finally graduate – and to join glee, of course.

While stalking the house, I just had to take a picture while sitting in the same spot where Will and April were sitting in that scene. 🙂 I guess my memory was a little off on this one, though, as I wound up taking the picture about four feet too far to the left. Whoopsie!

In reality, April’s house is a 6 bedroom, 7 bathroom dwelling, which was built in 2001 and measures a whopping 7,280 square feet. It boasts maid’s quarters, a central vacuum system, a second family room located upstairs, Viking appliances, and a 400 square foot back patio with a built-in BBQ, fire pit, fireplace, and a large pool and spa. It looks like a pretty plush pad – no wonder April was squatting there. 😉

On a Matthew Morrison side note – I just recently re-watched the Sex and the City episode from Season Two that he guested on back in June of 1999. The episode was entitled “They Shoot Single People, Don’t They?” and Matthew played a very young busboy who waits on Carrie in the final scene. His sole line in the episode is “Waiting for someone?” The spot was Matthew’s first ever television appearance and he was so very young in it and oh so darn cute. 🙂 Sigh!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The house where April Rhodes’ was caught squatting in “The Rhodes Not Taken” episode of Glee is located at 4777 White Oak Avenue in Encino.

February 8, 2010
The Westlake Village Inn

This past weekend, my fiancé and I decided to take a little “staycation” at a hotel named the Westlake Village Inn located about thirty miles away from where we live. I had read about the hotel while doing some cyberstalking a few weeks beforehand and because it was touted as a frequent filming location was absolutely dying to stay there. The Inn also looked like the perfect spot for a romantic weekend getaway and, thankfully, in person, it did not disappoint. The 17-acre hotel, which was originally named the “Westlake Motor Lodge”, was first opened in 1968 by Swiss born developer John L. Notter and consisted of 75 simple rooms. Today, the property, which was remodeled last year, is made up of seven different buildings which are comprised of 141 European-style hotel rooms, no two of which are exactly alike, and beautiful manicured grounds. Besides being a frequent filming locale, the Inn has also long enjoyed a rich celebrity following. Just a few of its famous past guests include Arnold Palmer, Hulk Hogan, Sean Connery, Tiger Woods, Julio Iglesias, and politicians Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Nancy Reagan, and Ronald Reagan, who was a regular. The hotel even created a Ronald Reagan Suite at the behest of the nearby Reagan Library. The suite, which is decorated with the late president’s photographs and memorabilia, is available to all guests, but was created especially for visiting political dignitaries and even features a special adjoining room for secret service agents to stay in.



One of the most exceptional aspects of the Westlake Village Inn is its extremely reasonable room rates – according to Notter the hotel is underpriced by about twenty percent. Because Notter has owned the Inn for over 42 years, his debt is fairly small and he can therefore keep the rates substantially lower than his competitors. And thanks to those low rates, I was able to book one of the hotel’s 400 square foot “Business Suites” at a cost of only $150.00. Even the Grim Cheaper was amenable to staying in a suite at that low price. 🙂

Our room, which I absolutely LOVED, featured a sitting area,

a king size bed,

a fireplace,

a HUGE bathroom (with a TV!), and a private patio.

My fiancé and I spent quite a bit of time walking the manicured grounds of the hotel, which are truly beautiful with trellis-covered walkways;

landscaped courtyards;

rock waterfalls;

and large ponds.



The pool area, with its covered cabanas, is also extremely inviting, but unfortunately it was far too cold in Westlake last weekend – about 50 degrees Fahrenheit – to take a dip. 🙁   I was so tempted, though!

Upon checking into the hotel, the lobby of which is pictured above, I was asked to sign an agreement stipulating that I would not be throwing a party in my room that night. Being that I’ve never had to sign such an agreement, I found it a bit of an odd request, but didn’t think much of it . . . until about 2 o’clock the following morning, when the people above us returned to their room and screamed out “THE PARTY’S HERE!” I called the office to complain, but, unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do a whole lot of good as the noise continued until about 5am. It wasn’t just the people above us, either. Outside our patio, another group seemed to having a party, as did even another group still that was located a bit farther away. Come 2am, it seems, the place turns into one big party. The hotel is actually a very popular wedding facility and no less than three ceremonies were being held on the grounds during our stay. Weddings at the Inn have to conclude by 10pm due to noise restrictions, but there is also a bar/nightclub on the property named Bogies, which doesn’t close until 2. So, I am fairly certain that come 10 pm, wedding parties simply move from the reception areas over to Bogies to get their groove on. Then once Bogie’s shuts down for the night, groups move back to their hotel rooms to continue the party there. Being that I had to sign the “no parties” contract, I am guessing that what I experienced is a fairly common problem at the Westlake Village Inn. And, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if they’ve figured out quite how to deal with it. So, while we had a nice time there and absolutely loved our room, I wouldn’t exactly recommend the place as a good spot for a quiet weekend getaway. 🙁

The Westlake Village Inn staff truly could NOT have been nicer to us, though, especially one of the front desk employees who answered all of my silly questions about the filming that has taken place there over the years. And, let me tell you, there’s been quite a bit of it. The Inn popped up in the Season Three episode of Desperate Housewives entitled “A Weekend In The Country” as the hotel where Gaby runs into her former lover John. The area used in that scene is the covered pathway located directly across from the hotel’s main entrance. The hotel room and elevator area where Gaby hides in a suitcase in that episode were filmed elsewhere, though.

Both the hotel’s pool . . .

. . . and its two story, 1,500 square foot “Villa Suite” were also used in that same episode during the scene in which Orson is daydreaming about his upcoming honeymoon with Bree. According to the hotel employee I talked to, another episode of Desperate Housewives was also filmed on location at the Inn. The episode consisted of one of the ladies kicking her husband out of their house, whereupon he checks into the Westlake Village Inn. Unfortunately I can’t figure out which episode that was, though. Does anyone out there remember it?

In the movie XXX, the hotel stood in for the Capital Country Club where Vin Diesel steals a member’s Corvette and then proceeds to drive it through a tiny covered walkway. XXX was filmed before the hotel’s recent remodel, though, so, as you can see in the above screen captures and photograph, the valet area looks a bit different today.

And according to the employee I talked to, a real life Corvette was actually driven down the walkway pictured above during the filming of that scene. Amazing!

The employee also said that producers brought in a new valet desk for that scene – even though said desk was only visible for a split second – and the hotel ended up keeping it and is still using it today. 🙂 So cool!

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The hotel was also used for a large car crash scene in an episode of the television series Eli Stone.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Westlake Village Inn is located at 31943 Agoura Road in Westlake Village. You can visit their website here.

February 5, 2010