Liberace’s Third Palm Springs House

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (21 of 23)

Shortly after moving to the desert back in January, I took my dad to a doctor appointment and, while in the waiting room, happened to pick up the November 2012 issue of Palm Springs Life magazine.  It turned out to be a fortuitous choice because in it was an article titled “Living With Liberace” about a recently-remodeled Old Las Palmas-area residence that had once been owned by the legendary pianist.  The article, of course, piqued my interest, but, let me tell you, I just about fell out of my chair when I read that the property’s new owners, accountant Garth Gilpin and his wife, doctor Elizabeth Smalley, originally hailed from Pasadena, the city that I had just migrated from!  I decided I had to stalk the home as soon as possible – especially considering all of the hoopla that was then (and is still now) surrounding the recently filmed HBO biopic Behind the Candelabra (which finally aired this past Sunday) – and I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to do just that a few days later.

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Liberace, who was born Wladziu Valentino Liberace and who was at one time the world’s highest-paid pianist, purchased the one-story desert dwelling on North Kaweah Road in 1968.  It was his third Palm Springs home.  Lee, as he was known to his friends, actually owned six Coachella Valley-area properties throughout his lifetime (including one that he purchased for his mother and another that he purchased for his brother).  Of his penchant for buying residences, he said, “Some people collect stamps, I like to collect real estate.  I am a firm believer in the good earth.”

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (9 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (11 of 23)

During Liberace’s years there, the four-bedroom, five-bath, 3,101-square-foot abode, which was originally constructed in 1952 and sits on a 0.33-acre plot of land, was decorated in a French Provincial style and boasted a Louis XIV room and a large fountain.  According to the Palm Springs Life article, Mr. Showmanship would play his piano nightly, much to the joy of his neighbors, and each Halloween, would pass out silver dollars, much to the joy of local trick-or-treaters.  Garth told the magazine that the man who formerly lived next door (he has since passed away), would share anecdotes of Lee’s time on North Kaweah, saying “He told us how Liberace would come over in the mornings, in his bathrobe, and go into his icebox and chow down on his fried chicken leftovers.  Then at night he’d hear him playing the piano.  It’s such a great Palm Springs story, isn’t it?  ‘I lived next door and got to hear Liberace playing the piano for free.’”

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (7 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (17 of 23)

Liberace purchased his final desert residence, which was named The Cloisters (you can read my blog post on it here), in 1967.  It was in disarray at the time and the pianist immediately began a long restoration process, to the tune of $136,000, while still living on North Kaweah Road.  He finally moved into The Cloisters in 1972, at which point he offloaded the Kaweah property.

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (6 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (19 of 23)

When the Kaweah house was put on the market in 2009, it boasted a price tag of $995,000 and was in quite a state, as you can see below.  There are quite simply no words for the monstrosity that the interior had become.  Wait, I take that back.  There are words.  Two of them, in fact.  Hot mess!

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Shockingly, the extravagant décor was not a leftover from Liberace’s days, but was the brainchild of the home’s then owner who was apparently a huge fan of both Mr. Showmanship and Elvis.  You can check out additional photographs of the residence’s unique interior on its real estate listing here.

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Garth and Elizabeth wound up buying the property in May 2010 for $625,000.  Of their first tour of the dwelling – a viewing which rendered the couple “speechless” – Elizabeth says, “There were painted cherubs on the ceiling, a room that was Dalmatian and cow print, fake flowers, red velvet, gold, with Elvis and Liberace everywhere.  It was the most dysfunctional house we’ve ever seen.  Nonetheless, we thought, how can we not do this?”  Shortly after purchasing the residence, they hired designer Christopher Kennedy to help them “honor and respect Liberace’s original vision without, you know, recreating it” and “to make it feel Liberace without looking Liberace.”  You can see the result – which is fabulous – on the Palm Springs Life website here.  Hard to believe it’s the same house as the one shown in the photos above!

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (22 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (20 of 23)

Thankfully, subtle reminders of the pad’s famous former owner were left on the exterior of the property, as well, including music notes on the front gates.

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (18 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (23 of 23)

And a piano-shaped mailbox, which I fell in love with!

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (15 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (13 of 23)

The house is even named “Piazza di Liberace” and bears a sign informing visitors of that fact.  Love it!

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (12 of 23)

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (14 of 23)

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Liberace's Third Palm Springs House (10 of 23)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Liberace’s third desert home is located at 1441 North Kaweah Road in the Old Las Palmas section of Palm Springs.

Rent-A-Swag from “Parks and Recreation”

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (10 of 15)

Back in early May, fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, emailed me to let me know that he had just tracked down Rent-A-Swag – the supposed Pawnee, Indiana-area high-fashion rental store for teenagers owned by Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) on fave show Parks and Recreation. So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk it – Starbucks in hand (but to be fair when do I not have a Starbucks in hand? Winking smile) – while visiting Los Angeles this past Memorial Day weekend.

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While watching the Parks and Rec Season 5 finale, which was titled “Are You Better Off?”, Owen had spotted an address number placard with a missing digit (120-9) on the exterior of the Rent-A-Swag storefront. His eye was immediately caught by that missing digit and his interest piqued, so he decided to begin searching for the locale. Thankfully, the hunt was an easy one and he wound up finding the shop at 12059 Ventura Place in Studio City.

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And while Owen and I had both assumed that the 5 had been removed during the Parks and Rec shoot in order to thwart the efforts of us stalkers, that does not appear to have been the case. As you can see below, the digit is missing in real life, too, which I was shocked to discover!

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (5 of 15)

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (6 of 15)

In real life, the Rent-A-Swag storefront is vacant and looks to have been so for some time, which is probably how it came to be used on Parks and Recreation. The 4,000-square-foot space, which is currently divided into two separate units, most recently housed a branch of the US Postal Service. In January, EaterLA reported that the property was rumored to be the site of the future Valley outpost of the popular mid-city restaurant Joan’s on Third. And while Joan’s founder Joan McNamara did talk about opening a cafe in a former post office on Ventura Place in this April 2012 Los Angeles Times article, as you can see below, the site is still presently available for lease, so that venture appears to have fallen through.

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (2 of 15)

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (1 of 15)

Unfortunately, the GC and I showed up to stalk the site on Sunday morning, smack-dab in the middle of the highly-popular Studio City Farmers Market which takes place directly in front of Rent-A-Swag, so I was not able to get the greatest of photographs.

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (3 of 15)

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (13 of 15)

Rent-A-Swag first showed up in the Season 5 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “Pawnee Commons” and has been featured fairly regularly ever since.

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In “Pawnee Commons”, Tom rents out a space, which he states in a later episode is located on Durham Avenue, to house his latest brainchild – a store in which he will lease his expensive threads to tweens. Of the new venture, he says, “I started a business where I rent my fancy clothes to teens so their parents don’t have to buy them nice things they’ll just grow out of. So if you see a 14-year-old kid wearing a Louis Vuitton cravat, you know who to thank – me . . . and Louis Vuitton, for making some dope-a*s cravats.” LOL In “Pawnee Commons”, Tom enlists his Parks and Recreation Department co-workers to help him get the space, which is in pretty dire straits, ready for the grand opening. The real life interior of the store, which you can see pictures of here, was also used in the episode, as well as in several episodes since.

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The group’s first go at the renovation turns out rather dire, as well, so they wind up remodeling it twice in the episode.

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The final result is pictured below.

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In an odd twist, while scanning through Season 5 episodes of Parks and Recreation to make screen captures for this post, I discovered that the other side of the Rent-A-Swag storefront (as I mentioned earlier, the space is currently divided into two separate units) was used as the Pawnee VideoDome/XXX Adult DVD Emporium in the episode titled “Bailout”.

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (9 of 15)

In “Bailout”, Councilwoman Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) petitions the city council to declare Pawnee’s local video store, Pawnee VideoDome, a historical landmark to prevent its impending closure. Leslie succeeds, but the site winds up re-opening as a pornographic video shop – owned in part by the government. LOL

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The real life interior of the space was also used in the episode.

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I was shocked to learn, while doing research for this post, that the very same location was used in another of Owen’s favorite shows – Seinfeld. The Rent-A-Swag storefront popped up briefly in the Season 4 episode titled “The Trip (2)”, which aired in 1992, as the spot where Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) and George Costanza (Jason Alexander) watched as two policemen arrested a man for attempted robbery. At the time, the space housed the Bicycle Shack bike store and looked quite a bit different than it does today. Although, structurally still the same, since the time that Seinfeld was filmed, a large awning has been added, significantly altering the look of the place.

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The location also appeared in 1994’s Beverly Hills Cop III, in the background of the scene in which Det. Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) jumps out of a car to escape from Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo).

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for finding this location! Smile

Rent-A-Swag Parks and Recreation (7 of 15)

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Rent-A-Swag from Parks and Recreation is located at 12059 Ventura Place in Studio City.

The Darkroom from “The Big Picture”

The Big Picture Restaurant (9 of 19)

Sometimes I think Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I are one brain living in two different bodies.  Case in point – one of my most beloved movies of all time is the little-known 1989 sleeper The Big Picture, which I saw with my mom shortly after it originally came out almost two-and-a-half decades ago.  In the years since, I had never met anyone who had ever even heard of the flick, let alone loved it as much as I did.  So imagine my surprise when, during one of our first stalks together in 2008, Mike and I drove by the historic Vista Theatre in Los Feliz and he mentioned that it had been featured in one of his favorite films of all time . . . The Big Picture.  Yep – one brain, two bodies.  It was not until last year, though, that the two of us decided to track down the many locales used in the movie, the most important of which (for me, at least) was the extremely unique Indian restaurant that appeared in one of the opening scenes.  The trek was far easier said than done, though.

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The Indian restaurant in The Big Picture boasted a very unusual, camera-shaped façade.  Figuring that an eatery matching that description would be an easy find, I did a quick Google search for every permutation of “Indian restaurant shaped like a camera” that I could possibly think of, but none yielded any sort of result.  I then ordered I Killed Charles Bronson’s Cat, a book written by The Big Picture’s location manager, Barry Gremillion, hoping it would provide a lead.  And while the tome did prove to be a fascinating read and proffered information about several of the movie’s locales, maddeningly not a word was mentioned about the Indian eatery.  My next step was to track down Barry himself, which I managed to do via Facebook.  I sent him a message asking about the restaurant location and, amazingly enough, he wrote back less than ninety minutes later!  Barry informed me that while the eatery was no longer in operation, the camera façade could still be found on Wilshire Boulevard.  From there, tracking it down was a snap.  And ironically enough, it was a place I had actually been to before!

The Big Picture Restaurant (5 of 19)

The Big Picture Restaurant (4 of 19)

The programmatic/Streamline Moderne-style camera-shaped storefront was originally designed by architect Marcus P. Miller sometime during the late 1930s.  (There seem to be differing reports about the exact year of construction everywhere you look online, varying from 1935 to 1936 to 1937 to 1938).  The site, not surprisingly, originally housed a photography supply store named The Darkroom.  Miller assembled the whimsical façade, which consists of a nine-foot-tall replica of a 35-millimeter Argus camera, complete with a shutter speed indicator, winder and dual rangefinders, out of black Vitrolite glass.

The Big Picture Restaurant (2 of 19)

The Big Picture Restaurant (3 of 19)

A porthole window comprises the camera’s lens, on which, according to the book Images of America: Los Angeles Art Deco, newsreels were at one time projected to passersby.  (I absolutely love the photograph below in which a reflection of Mike taking my picture is visible in the porthole.)  The Darkroom, the façade of a which is a Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument, became so iconic and synonymous with the Miracle Mile area of L.A. that it inspired replicas at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, Disney Studios Paris, and Universal Studios Orlando, all of which you can see photos of on the Yesterland website here.  And you can check out a historic picture of The Darkroom when it was still in operation here.

The Big Picture Restaurant (8 of 19)

Sometime during the mid-80s, an Indian restaurant named Sher-e Punjab opened at the site.  It was during that time that The Big Picture was filmed.  In late 1999, the fine dining establishment La Boca del Conga, which was owned in part by Jimmy Smits, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Rodriguez, and Sheila E., moved into the space.  It was there that I attended a party back in 2000.  Today, the property houses a Tex-Mex restaurant named El Toro Cantina and it looks pretty much exactly the same as it did during the La Boca del Conga days, which explains why I did not recognize it.  Most of the façade has, unfortunately, been hidden behind foliage and a large awning and, as you can see below, has been rendered inconspicuous.  You can read an interesting story about what became of The Darkroom signage here.

The Big Picture Restaurant (17 of 19)

The Big Picture Restaurant (19 of 19)

In The Big Picture, budding filmmaker Nick Chapman (Kevin Bacon) dines at Sher-e Punjab with his girlfriend, Susan Rawlings (Emily Longstreth), and friends, Emmet and Jenny Sumner (Michael McKean and Kim Miyori, respectively), after winning a prestigious student film award.

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The interior of the restaurant was also used in the filming.

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That interior looks quite a bit different today.

The Big Picture Restaurant (12 of 19)

The Big Picture Restaurant (15 of 19)

And for some odd reason, there is currently a fish tank covering the inside of The Darkroom’s iconic porthole window.

The Big Picture Restaurant (11 of 19)

The Big Picture Restaurant (16 of 19)

Sher-e Punjab also made a very brief appearance in 1993’s Falling Down.  In the movie, William ‘D-Fens’ Foster (Michael Douglas) walks past the eatery before heading to the “Swap Meet” next door to purchase his daughter a snow globe.

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Be sure to check out more Big Picture locations on Mike’s website, MovieShotsLA.

The Big Picture Restaurant (1 of 19)

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: El Toro Cantina, aka The Darkroom, aka Sher-e Punjab from The Big Picture, is located at 5370 Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles.  You can visit the Cantina’s official website here.

The Ladies’ Villa from Season 1 of “The Bachelor”

Bachelor Ladies' Villa Season 1 (4 of 5)

Another location that I became obsessed with tracking down thanks to the Best of The Bachelor DVD that my girl Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, recently gifted me was the so-called “Ladies’ Villa” – the Mediterranean-style manse where the female contestants lived during the filming of the popular reality series’ inaugural season.  And fortunately, it was quite the easy find.

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In the second episode of the series, which was titled “Week Two”, not only did The Bachelor host Chris Harrison mention that the Ladies’ Villa was a “beachfront Malibu mansion”, but aerial views of the property were also shown.

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In one of the faraway aerial views, I happened to notice two fairly large landmarks – a red-roofed condominium complex (denoted with a blue arrow below) and a beachside road (denoted with a pink arrow below).  So I began searching Bing Maps for those two landmarks and found them fairly quickly in the Point Dume Riviera section of Malibu.  From there, tracking down the huge oceanside estate, which is located at 7107 Birdview Avenue, was a snap and I ran right out to stalk it while in L.A. just a few days later.

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Sadly though, as you can see below, virtually none of the property is visible from the street.  But you can check out some fabulous interior photographs of the home on the Malibu Rents website here.  According to the website, the six-bedroom, six-bath, 5,032-square-foot mansion, which was originally built in 1996, boasts a 1.04-acre plot of land, a pool with several waterfalls, a ten-person spa, two guest houses, a tennis court, a wine cellar, and a private staircase leading down to both Westward and Zuma beaches. The estate rents for (a measly Winking smile) $4,000 per night or $28,000 per month.

Bachelor Ladies' Villa Season 1 (2 of 5)

Bachelor Ladies' Villa Season 1 (1 of 5)

The Ladies’ Villa appeared regularly throughout the first season of The Bachelor.  Areas of the property that were utilized during the filming include the front exterior;

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the rear of the residence;

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the backyard and pool and spa;

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the living room;

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the kitchen;

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a bedroom;

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a bathroom;

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and a massive custom closet that the girls went gaga over (and yeah, I would have, too!).

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Ironically enough, for over a decade Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss lived just a few doors down from the Ladies’ Villa at 7163 Birdview Ave.  He purchased the home in April 2002, shortly after the first installment of the series started airing, so while he did not live there during the filming, I am guessing that he might have discovered the place thanks to his time spent at the Villa.

Bachelor Ladies' Villa Season 1 (3 of 5)

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Bachelor Ladies' Villa Season 1 (5 of 5)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Ladies’ Villa from Season 1 of The Bachelor is located at 7107 Birdview Avenue in Malibu.

The Mansion from Season 1 of “The Bachelor”

The Bachelor Mansion Season 1 (6 of 7)

My girl Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, recently gifted me with Best of The Bachelor, a DVD compilation of condensed episodes from the popular reality series’ first season as well as a slew of special features and not-shown-on-TV bonus footage. Well, because this stalker absolutely loves herself some The Bachelor, I just about died from excitement upon receiving it, especially since I had not seen any of Season 1 since it originally aired in early 2002, over a decade ago! (How in the heck has it been that long??) I, of course, watched the DVD the very same night that I received it and immediately became obsessed with tracking down the Mediterranean-style mansion – or “The Bachelor’s Villa” as it was called on the series – where the inaugural Bachelor, 31-year-old management consultant Alex Michel, lived. The good news is that the mansion was quite the easy find. The bad news is that it is no longer standing. But more on that later.

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Thanks to the spectacular ocean views that were visible in the episodes, I knew that The Bachelor’s Villa had to be located somewhere near the coast in Malibu.

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So I began scanning through Bing Map’s aerial views of the ‘Bu coastline looking for the property’s uniquely-shaped pool, which I figured would be easily recognizable.

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Thankfully, it was.

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When I zoomed in for a closer look, though, I was saddened to discover that the mansion had been torn down and a new dwelling was being built in its place.

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And while Bing aerial views only show the new residence mid-construction, you can catch a glimpse of what it looks like in a mostly completed state below, thanks to Google Maps.

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Even though the mansion is no longer, I figured it was still worth a stalk and a blog post being that there are most likely other stalkers out there who are curious as to its location.

The Bachelor Mansion Season 1 (4 of 7)

The Bachelor Mansion Season 1 (1 of 7)

According to Zillow, the now-defunct mansion, which was originally built in 1987, boasted four bedrooms, four baths, 6,967 square feet of living space, a 1.7-acre plot of ocean-front land, a lighted tennis court, an infinity pool with his-and-her cabanas, a 2,200-square-foot guest house, several stone fireplaces, a motor court, 22-foot-high beamed ceilings, hand-carved wooden doors, a sauna, and panoramic ocean views. Unfortunately though, aside from the top floor of the massive guest house (seriously, that thing is bigger than most homes!), no part of the property is visible from the street.

The Bachelor Mansion Season 1 (3 of 7)

The Bachelor Mansion Season 1 (2 of 7)

The manse was used extensively throughout Season 1 of The Bachelor. The dwelling was not only where Alex lived during the duration of the seven-week filming, but it was also where all of the rose ceremonies and cocktail parties took place. Areas of the property that appeared in the series include the front entrance . . .

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. . . where Alex was first introduced to the 25 women;

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the driveway;

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the huge living room, where the rose ceremonies were held;

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and the backyard, where the final rose ceremony – in which Alex rejected future Bachelorette Trista Rehn and offered his final rose (but not a ring!) to Amanda Marsh – took place. Not surprisingly, Amanda and Alex broke up less than a year later and rumor has it that he pulled the ol’ switcheroo by then (unsuccessfully) attempting to rekindle the flame with Trista. It appears, though, that Alex, who for the most part has stayed out of the spotlight since the series ended, finally found marital bliss with a woman named Carly in June 2010.

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I am unsure of how many seasons of The Bachelor were shot at the mansion, but I am guessing that it was only Alex Michel’s season. At some point after the year 2005, filming moved to an Agoura estate (which I blogged about here), where it has remained ever since.

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You can watch a great interview with Alex, thanks to the Obsessed with Samantha Ettus website, by clicking below.

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

The Bachelor Mansion Season 1 (5 of 7)

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The former site of the mansion from the first season of The Bachelor, which has since been torn down, is located at 24834 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

Trudi’s Apartment Building from “L.A. Story”

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (13 of 19)

Last month, when I published my post on the location of the iconic talking freeway sign from L.A. Story, a friend named David, whom I met in an acting class years ago, sent me a Facebook message letting me know that the unique, modern-style apartment building where Trudi (Marilu Henner) lived in the flick was located at 884 Palm Avenue in West Hollywood.  David also informed me that the building still looked pretty much exactly the same as it did 22 years ago when filming took place, which, of course, had me salivating.  So I ran right out to stalk it shortly after visiting the house belonging to Harris K. Telemacher (Steve Martin) in the 1991 comedy, which I blogged about yesterday.

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Amazingly enough, despite the building’s unique look, I could find virtually no information whatsoever about its history online.  The only fact that I was able to glean – thanks to views of the property on the Historic Aerials website – was that it was constructed sometime between the years 1980 and 1987.

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (1 of 19)

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (2 of 19)

When L.A. Story was filmed in 1991, the site was known as the Palm Square Apartments.  The 29-unit, upscale building, which is currently named NMS Apartments @ West Hollywood, features a pool, a Jacuzzi, an executive gym, and gourmet kitchens and hardwood flooring in each suite.

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (11 of 19)

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (6 of 19)

The building is most well-known for the unusual artwork located at its entrance.

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (9 of 19)

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (8 of 19)

The piece, which is named “Stairway Sculpture”, was created by artist Paul Betouliere in 1987 as part of the West Hollywood Urban Arts Collection.

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (18 of 19)

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (16 of 19)

NMS Apartments @ West Hollywood popped up twice in L.A. Story – first in the scene in which Harris not-so-patiently waits for Trudi to finish her “abstract busyness”, including putting on “thirty-minute lips”, before heading to a brunch.

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Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (12 of 19)

The Stair Sculpture was shown prominently in that scene.

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Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (10 of 19)

NMS Apartments @ West Hollywood next appears in the scene in which Trudi informs Harris about the three-year affair she has been having with his agent, Frank Swan (Kevin Pollak).  After breaking up with her over her indiscretions, an elated Harris dances down the front steps of the building.

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So I, of course, just had to imitate him while I was there.  Winking smile

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Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (15 of 19)

Thanks to a real estate listing that I found on Zillow, I can confirm that the actual interior of one of the NMS units was used as the interior of Trudi’s apartment in L.A. Story.  As you can see below, the setup of the kitchen in the listing matches up to what appeared onscreen.

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As does the curving staircase.  Even the railing is still the same – albeit a different color, thank God!  Winking smile

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to David for telling me about this location!

Trudi's Apartment L.A. Story (7 of 19)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Trudi’s apartment building from L.A. Story is located at 884 Palm Avenue in West Hollywood.

Harris’ House from “L.A. Story”

Harris' House L.A. Story (14 of 14)

Another L.A. Story location that production designer Lawrence Miller talked about in “The L.A. of L.A. Story” featurette included on the 1991 comedy’s 15th Anniversary Edition DVD was the Spanish-style dwelling where wacky weatherman Harris K. Telemacher (Steve Martin) lived.  And even though the address of the home had been listed on the L.A. Story filming locations page for years, I figured the place was still worthy of a blog post.  So I ran right out to stalk it – Starbucks latte in hand, of course – while visiting Los Angeles a couple of weekends ago.

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In real life, according to Property Shark, the West Hollywood abode, which was originally constructed in 1923, is not a private residence after all, but a multi-family dwelling consisting of four separate units that contain a total of four bedrooms, four baths and 3,366 square feet of living space.

Harris' House L.A. Story (4 of 14)

Harris' House L.A. Story (8 of 14)

Unfortunately, the site currently bears little resemble to its onscreen counterpart.  In fact, when we first pulled up, I thought I had the wrong address!  Boo!

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Harris' House L.A. Story (9 of 14)

The two-story house was one of the main locations used in L.A. Story and popped up repeatedly throughout the movie.

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In “The L.A. of L.A. Story”, which was taped in 2006, Miller said, “The director had a concept of L.A. being a desert where people brought water to it and created paradise.  This little compound here was selected primarily because of the beautiful trees and greens and foliage that sort of embraced the driveway.  This location caused us a little bit of a problem in that the week before we were to shoot here, the neighbor next door decided he wanted to prune all of his greens, all of the trees, all of the things that we loved so much and it forced us to bring in Greensmen to try to duplicate what it was that was there.  And it’s interesting looking at it fifteen years later and seeing that it still hasn’t all grown back.”  (The screen captures below were taken from “The L.A. of L.A. Story.”)

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Sadly, since the filming of the featurette, the foliage that once covered the front of Harris’ house has also been removed, completely changing the look of the place, despite the fact that the structure of the home itself has not been altered.  Goes to show the aesthetic power of trees!

Harris' House L.A. Story (5 of 14)

Harris' House L.A. Story (7 of 14)

Miller also said that the home’s real life front door was swapped out during the filming for a custom-made leaded glass door.

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And that the alarm keypad that controlled Harris’ fake barking dog was just a prop.

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Unfortunately, that area of the house is not very visible from the street.

Harris' House L.A. Story (10 of 14)

Harris' House L.A. Story (11 of 14)

I was shocked to learn, thanks to Miller’s interview, that the real life interior of the home was also used in the filming.  I would have bet money on it being a set!  Areas of the property that appeared in the movie include the kitchen;

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the bathroom, with the “slo mo” faucet;

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the living room;

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and the bedroom, which is, oddly enough, situated right next to the front door, as you can see below.

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It was in that bedroom that Harris famously wrote “Bored Beyond Belief.” on a window.

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The exact pane that Harris wrote on is the top middle panel of the window located just north of the front door, as denoted by the pink arrows below.

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Harris' House L.A. Story (12 of 14)

According to “The L.A. of L.A. Story”, the then owner of the property was paid a whopping $35,000 for its use in the movie (and we’re talking 1991 dollars!) and filming on the premises took five weeks to complete, including prep time.  $35,000 for five weeks?  Yeah, I’d take that!  Winking smile

Harris' House L.A. Story (3 of 14)

Harris' House L.A. Story (1 of 14)

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Harris' House L.A. Story (6 of 14)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Harris’ house from L.A. Story is located at 1206 North Orange Grove Avenue in West Hollywood.

The “L.A. Story” Intersection

L.A. Story crash intersection (6 of 10)

The locale from L.A. Story that I was most interested in tracking down was also the one that I thought for sure I would never find – the intersection featured in the movie’s opening montage.  Because the intersection was fairly non-descript, only shown briefly and no clues as to its location visible in the scene, and because over two decades had passed since filming had taken place, I figured it would be a virtually impossible find.  Enter fellow stalker Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, whom I had sent a couple of screen captures to in the hopes that he would assist in the hunt.  Amazingly enough, he emailed me back 24 hours later with an address!  Somehow, Owen had managed to track down several of the flick’s crew members (have I mentioned he missed his true calling by not joining the FBI?), all of whom had gotten back to him almost immediately.  Most did not recall the intersection’s location, but thankfully one did remember that it was in the vicinity of the Santa Monica Airport.  And while it took a bit of time searching aerial views of all of the four-way stops near SMO, Owen did manage to pinpoint the place.  So I ran right out to stalk it two weekends ago while in L.A.

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L.A. Story opens with a montage of clips showing everyday life in Los Angeles.  And while the segment is seemingly satiric, I can attest to the fact that most of the bits are truthful.  You can watch that montage by clicking below.

In my favorite part of the segment, four cars meet at a four-way stop and each driver waves the others on.  In a hapless twist, all of the drivers wind up hitting the gas at the same moment and crash into each other in the middle of the intersection.  I cannot tell you how many times I have been in that exact same scenario – minus the crash, thankfully – and I can’t help but laugh every time I watch the scene.  It is just so L.A.

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I was absolutely thrilled to discover that the intersection and houses visible in the background of the scene still look pretty much exactly the same today as they did in 1991 when L.A. Story was filmed.

L.A. Story crash intersection (1 of 10)

L.A. Story crash intersection (5 of 10)

Ironically enough, if you look closely at the scene, you will notice that more than four cars were actually used in the filming – a behind-the-scenes tidbit told to Owen by one of the crew members.  In fact, he said, “I recall we wrecked about 16 cars on the various takes on that scene.”  How cool would it have been to see that in person?

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Even more interesting is the fact that the actual crash portion of the scene was not shot at the intersection, but at a random parking lot (I think a parking lot at the Lantana production center in Santa Monica where the L.A. Story production offices were located).  The crew member informed Owen, “To crash the cars on the street, I would have had to close down those streets and permit for the crash.  That would have required too much time since the crash is shot from overhead, in other words, it required a crane.  So we would have shot the crash/crane part of it in a parking lot.”  I absolutely LOVE learning little bits of trivia like that, especially being that there was never a commentary made for L.A. Story, something that I am still in shock over.

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for finding this location!  Smile

L.A. Story crash intersection (3 of 10)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The four-way stop from L.A. Story is located at the intersection of Butler Avenue and Kingsland Street in West Los Angeles.

The “L.A. Story” Fundraiser House

L.A. Story fundraiser house (10 of 10)

Another L.A. Story location that I was desperate to track down was the sloped-roof residence where Harris K. Telemacher (Steve Martin) and Sara McDowel (Victoria Tennant) attended a “private art museum” fundraiser in the 1991 comedy.  Because the home was so architecturally unique, I was sure that it would be an easy find.  I was wrong.  After scouring countless online film location libraries and architectural databases and coming up empty-handed, I decided that I needed to call for reinforcements.  I sent a few screen captures to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, to see if he recognized the place and, as luck would have it, he did!  During a visit to Los Angeles a couple of years back, Geoff and his wife had done some sight-seeing in the Palos Verdes area.  They happened to drive by the L.A. Story house that day and took note of it due to its distinctive roof.  All Geoff had to do was retrace their steps and, voila, he found the place in a snap.  Yay!  So I ran right out to the South Bay to stalk it while in L.A. two weekends ago.

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In real life, the residence is known as the Bowler house, named for John Bowler, the industrial building contractor who commissioned it.  The dwelling, which was constructed in 1963, was designed by Lloyd Wright, son of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and was composed of concrete, glass and Santa Maria stone.  Lloyd also designed all of the property’s furnishings (which were angled to match the design of the house), cabinetry and vast landscaping.

L.A. Story fundraiser house (2 of 10)

L.A. Story fundraiser house (3 of 10)

Thanks to the triangular, pitched roof, which was manufactured out of blue corrugated fiberglass, the property is also sometimes called the Bird of Paradise house, which is something of a misnomer, as Lloyd had actually based the design on a diamond module.

L.A. Story fundraiser house (4 of 10)

L.A. Story fundraiser house (5 of 10)

The residence, which was renovated by Eric Lloyd Wright, Lloyd’s son, in 1991, features 3,904 square feet of living space, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a library, a formal dining room, a master suite, a laundry room, an in-ground swimming pool, separate guest quarters, and a 0.89-acre plot of hilltop land boasting 180-degree ocean views.  The site was put on the market in mid-2008 for $2.5 million and wound up selling in January 2009 for $1.895 million.  You can check out the real estate listing and some great interior photographs of the house here.

L.A. Story fundraiser house (6 of 10)

L.A. Story fundraiser house (7 of 10)

In L.A. Story, Harris and Sara head to the Bowler house to attend a formal fundraising dinner in which a man is trying to raise city funds to found an art museum that will not be open to the public.  LOL  Pictured below are the screen captures that I sent to Geoff when I asked for his help in tracking down the residence.  It is amazing to me that he was able to recall a home pictured in dark, very limited screenshots simply from driving past it several years back.  My hat is definitely off to him!

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The real life interior of the home also appeared in the scene.

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On a side-note – I would like to wish a HUGE congratulations to my girl Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, who not only just got a big promotion at work (she can now get herself – and me! – into Disneyland for FREE anytime she wants!), but, most exciting, also recently got engaged . . . to Keith Coogan (yes, that Keith Coogan!).  I am over-the-moon happy for her and wish her and Keith all the joy in the world!

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I got to meet Keith this weekend (at Disneyland) and I cannot express how much fun it was to run around quoting lines from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead with him.  When he randomly said, “Rock and roll!” at one point during the day, I just about died!  He is also really into filming locations, so, Pinky, I approve.  You chose well!  Winking smile

Keith Coogan (1 of 1)

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location!  Smile

L.A. Story fundraiser house (8 of 10)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Bird of Paradise house, aka the L.A. Story fundraiser house, is located at 3456 Via Campesina in Rancho Palos Verdes.

The California Colonic Institution from “L.A. Story”

California Colonic L.A. Story (1 of 12)

When I began my search for all of the missing L.A Story locations a few weeks back, I emailed about a million-and-a-half screen captures to fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, in the hopes that he would be so inclined to help me out with the hunt.  Thankfully, he was.  One locale that we found at the exact same time (we literally texted each other with the address at the same moment!) was the California Colonic Institution, where SanDeE* (my girl Sarah Jessica Parker) took Harris K. Telemacher (Steve Martin) for a high colonic, aka an enema, in the 1991 flick.  While I had known that the site was located somewhere along Venice Beach and had tracked it down by looking up and down the coastline using Google Maps, Mike had actually recognized the place immediately thanks to the fact that, unbeknownst to me, it had also appeared in the 1993 thriller Point of No Return.  How random is that?  So, while in SoCal this past weekend, I ran right out to stalk it.  (I am amazed that I was able to snap the above photograph sans any people, by the way!  Anyone who has ever experienced the hustle and bustle of Venice Beach knows what a feat that was!)

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In real life, the California Colonic Institution from L.A. Story is known as the Blu House (or the Nike Blu House, as Nike, Inc. used the site as office space for many years) and, at over a century old, is one of the most historic residences still standing in Venice Beach.  The two-story bungalow was originally built in 1901 and since that time it has served as everything from an event venue (one fete was even hosted by Jerry Springer, apparently!) to a clothing store to an art gallery to a medical marijuana facility.  And while several websites have also stated that both Jim Morrison and Charlie Chaplin lived on the premises at different points in time, I believe that information is actually incorrect.

California Colonic L.A. Story (7 of 12)

California Colonic L.A. Story (8 of 12)

The beachfront house, which boasts three bedrooms, one bath, 2,656 square feet of living space, a 1,500-square-foot deck, and a tiny 0.10-acre plot of land, currently serves as the headquarters for Snapchat – at what is apparently a rate of $20,000 a month!

California Colonic L.A. Story (12 of 12)

California Colonic L.A. Story (10 of 12)

The California Colonic Institution only shows up once in L.A. Story and very briefly at that, in the scene in which SanDeE* takes Harris on a date . . . for an enema.  Romantic, huh?  It is there that SanDeE* says of the experience, “God, it really clears out your head!”  To which Harris says, “Head?  Head?  You should go back in there and tell them they’re doing it wrong.”  LOL

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Only a very tiny portion of the property, namely the front porch area, was shown during the scene.

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That front porch in its current state is pictured below.  As you can see, while the front doors have changed from a single door to double doors, the site still looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did in 1991 when L.A. Story was filmed.

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California Colonic L.A. Story (2 of 12)

Because so little of the residence was shown, I was only able to pinpoint its location due to the fact that it was apparent from the filming that the front door was situated at an angle diagonal to the boardwalk, as you can see below.  Thankfully, only one property in Venice fit that description.

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California Colonic L.A. Story (5 of 12)

I also matched up the buildings that were visible in the background of the scene.  Ironically enough, while doing research on the Blu House, I learned that the brick building located just north of it is known as Gingerbread Court and was apparently built by none other than Charlie Chaplin.

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California Colonic L.A. Story (6 of 12)

It was not until making screen captures for today’s post that I spotted an address number of 523 behind Steve Martin in the scene.  D’oh!  Would have made my search so much easier had I realized that earlier!

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I am fairly certain that the same location was used for the brief montage scene in which SanDeE* attended a spokesmodel class in the movie.  The palm trees visible through the windows and the framing of the interior French doors seem to match up to those of the Blu house.  That is just a hunch, though.

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In Point of No Return, the Blu House was where assassin Maggie Hayward (Bridget Fonda) rented an apartment upon arriving in Venice Beach.

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As you can see below, the property still had a single front door at the time of the filming.

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I am guessing that the interior of Maggie’s apartment was just a set and not the actual interior of the Blu House.

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According to the Venice-Mar Vista Patch, the Blu House was also the setting of an MTV summer reality series, although I am unsure of which one.

California Colonic L.A. Story (10 of 12)

California Colonic L.A. Story (4 of 12)

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for helping me to find this location!  Smile

California Colonic L.A. Story (3 of 12)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Blu House, aka the California Colonic Institution from L.A Story, is located at 523 Ocean Front Walk in Venice Beach.