Hollywood scandals – IAMNOTASTALKER

Growing up, I absolutely loved Murphy Brown. This was largely due to the antics of zany housepainter/nanny Eldin Bernecky, played by actor Robert Pastorelli. I adored Eldin so much in fact that when Pastorelli left the show in 1994, I stopped watching. I was heartbroken to learn of his death a decade later and was even more heartbroken when news came to light that he was being investigated as a suspect in the 1999 killing of his then girlfriend, Charemon Jonovich, at the time. Not surprisingly, the case fascinated me, so when I came across a Curbed LA article back in 2009 about the Hollywood Hills house where both deaths occurred, I immediately added the address to my To-Stalk List. And while I made it over there shortly thereafter, somehow in all of this time I never managed to blog about it. I had actually forgotten about the place until a couple of weeks ago when I sat down to look through all of my old stalking photographs in order to compile a database of yet-to-be-blogged Haunted Hollywood locales. As soon as I spotted the images, this one was moved right to the top of the list!

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The story of Robert Pastorelli’s life is a sad one. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1954, Robert set out on a path to become a professional boxer. A near-fatal car accident at the age of 19 derailed those plans and he began battling a drug problem shortly thereafter. During his twenties, Pastorelli moved to New York and became involved with the theatre scene. He eventually relocated to L.A., where he found success with small movie and television roles before finally hitting the big time when he landed the part of Eldin in 1988. He got clean around that same time, but just two years later tragedy struck when his then girlfriend died of AIDS, apparently the result of repeated drug use.

When Murphy Brown creator Diane English left the show in 1994, Pastorelli followed suit. Though he landed a starring role in another English sitcom, Double Rush, almost immediately, it was cancelled after only 12 episodes. Robert continued to work in Hollywood in the ensuing years, though not very successfully. Then in 1999 things really got bad. According to reports, at approximately 9:50 p.m. on March 15th of that year, Pastorelli’s 25-year-old live-in girlfriend Charemon shot herself in the head during an argument with the actor while in the master bedroom of their shared home. She died instantly. Their one-year-old daughter was asleep in another room. Pastorelli cooperated with authorities and the coroner ruled Charemon’s death “undetermined.” That ruling was later changed to “homicide,” though, according to Inside Edition which cited “staging of the crime scene and scientific evidence the firearm was handled after discharge” as the reasoning behind the adjustment. Pastorelli became the police’s number one suspect.

According to numerous articles, including this one from the Daily News, Pastorelli knew he was being investigated and that detectives were closing in and an arrest was likely imminent. He began using drugs again and on March 8th, 2004 the actor was found by an assistant, slumped over on his toilet with a syringe in his arm, dead from an accidental heroin overdose at the age of 49. It’s a sad story all around.

Pastorelli purchased his Hollywood Hills home in 1989 for $487,000. After his death, it was sold to a PR exec, who, in turn, put it on the market for $1.095 million in 2009. Per the listing from that year, the gated contemporary 1962 pad boasts 2 bedrooms, 1 ¾ baths, 1,726 square feet of living space, an open floor plan, a remodeled kitchen with stainless appliances, a fireplace, 360-degree views of the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory, and an “oversized party shower with direct access to the outdoor deck.” I’m not really sure what an “oversized party shower” is, but I’m guessing it’s not something I want. The residence wound up selling for $976,000 in May 2010. The photos below are from the 2009 MLS listing. You can check out some more images of the house here (and yes, the master bedroom, bathroom, and oversized party shower are pictured).

Though I have not been inside the house, I can attest to the fact that the views are stunning. The Hollywood Sign is literally right there!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Robert Pastorelli’s former house is located at 2751 Hollyridge Drive in the Hollywood Hills. Heidi and Spencer’s home from Season 5 of The Hills is located just up the street at 3132 Hollyridge Drive.

One of the most infamous (and humorous) scandals to ever rock Tinseltown involved my girl Miss Marilyn Monroe and her second ex-husband, legendary baseball player Joe DiMaggio. (Their relationship wasn’t always sunshine and roses.) Known as the Wrong-Door Raid, it occurred in the late night hours of November 5th, 1954, but did not become public knowledge until almost a year later. I stalked the apartment building where the raid took place – at 8122 Waring Avenue in West Hollywood – last summer, initially planning to blog about it as a Haunted Hollywood locale. As I got to researching the events of that evening, though, I realized they were far more comical than scary and decided to postpone the post until now.

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After a scant 274 days of marriage, Joe and Marilyn divorced on October 27th, 1954. Convinced the starlet was finding solace in another man’s arms (namely her voice coach, Hal Schaefer), DiMaggio hired private detective Barney Ruditsky to tail her. On the night of November 5th, Ruditsky gave DiMaggio some news – Marilyn had just arrived at an apartment building on Waring Avenue in West Hollywood, quite possibly to meet up with a paramour. Joltin’ Joe was dining at the Villa Capri with close friend Frank Sinatra at the time and, hoping to catch Marilyn in the act, the two men rushed out of the restaurant and headed over to West Hollywood. (What they planned to do when they “caught” her is unclear.) On the sidewalk outside of the building, they met up with Ruditsky and a second private eye named Philip Irwin. Some other cohorts were also apparently on the scene, but reports vary as to who. Camera (as well as, supposedly, an ax) in hand, the men broke down the back door of one of the building’s ground floor units shortly after 11 p.m. and stormed inside. They did not find Marilyn, though. Instead, they surprised a spinster named Florence Kotz, who had been asleep in her bed. The group had somehow mistakenly entered the wrong apartment. Marilyn was in an upstairs unit with her friend Sheila Stewart (and quite possibly Schaefer as well, although that has not been proven) during the incident.

Florence immediately called the police, but the perpetrators had already run off, disappearing into the night. Not much was made of the events and the poor woman was left wondering why a group of strange men had broken down her door and taken a photograph of her in bed. Then in September 1955, Confidential magazine published an article telling the true story behind the raid. The sh*t quickly hit the proverbial fan. Frank was eventually served a subpoena on February 16th, 1957 at his Palm Springs home via two detectives who, in a karmic twist, knocked on his front door at 4 a.m., waking him up. Ironically, he filed a complaint. He later testified that he was a participant in the Wrong-Door Raid, but had never entered Florence’s apartment, choosing instead to stay behind in the car. His version of events was largely disputed, though. No one was ever prosecuted for the crime, but Florence did sue the group for $200,000, eventually settling for $7,500.

All I can think when reading about the events of the Wrong-Door Raid night is, ‘What a bunch of morons!’ Love makes people do crazy, ridiculous things, I guess. As Amanda Peet said in fave movie A Lot Like Love, “If you’re not willing to sound [or act, in this case] stupid, you don’t deserve to be in love.”

Years later, Schaefer came forward and “confessed” that he had been with Marilyn in Sheila’s apartment that night. I tend not to believe him, though. While he might well have been in Sheila’s home, I highly doubt it was because Monroe had any romantic interest in him. The guy seems like a total creeper – especially in the video below when describing the events that took place in the hospital with Marilyn following his suicide attempt.

There are several differing reports as to which unit DiMaggio and Sinatra actually broke into and which unit Marilyn was actually in during the raid, but according to the book Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites, written by fellow stalker E.J. of The Movieland Directory, Florence’s apartment was the one located at 754 North Kilkea Drive.

And Sheila’s apartment was the one at 8122 Waring Avenue.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Wrong-Door Raid apartments are located at 8120/8122 Waring Avenue/754 N. Kilkea Drive in West Hollywood.

Tag: Hollywood scandals

Robert Pastorelli’s Former House

The Wrong-Door Raid Apartments