The Reichman Mansion from “Major Crimes”

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The weather in L.A. has finally turned and there is now a crispness in the air ensuring that jacket season is finally upon us.  It is also, unfortunately, time to bid adieu to this year’s Haunted Hollywood postings.  Sadness!  For the next eleven months, I will just be writing about regular ol’ stalking locations.  So here goes.  In early October, when the Season 1 episode of Major Crimes titled “Dismissed with Prejudice” aired, I became absolutely enthralled with the gorgeous ultra-modern mansion that was featured in it.  So I immediately set about searching for the place (before the episode was even over) and, thanks to the fact that the residence is currently for sale, it was not too hard to track down.  A simple Google search of modern-style houses in the Hollywood area yielded this real estate listing, so I immediately dragged the Grim Cheaper, along with my good friends, fellow stalkers Lavonna and Kim who were in town visiting from Ohio, right on out to stalk it.

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In person, the house did not disappoint!  The abode, which was originally built in 1958, but has since been extensively remodeled (we’re talking completely gutted both inside and out), currently boasts 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, 3,906 square feet of living space, and a 0.25-acre plot of land.  Thanks to the Berg Properties website and fellow stalker E.J.’s The Movieland Directory, I learned that the dwelling has a fairly vast list of former celebrity residents.  For a time the place belonged to character actor Frank Marth and it was later owned by comedian Jack Black and his then girlfriend Laura Kightlinger, who purchased the pad in 2002 for $1,075,000.  When Jack and Laura broke up, he bought out her stake of the residence for $699,000 and then subsequently sold the place in 2007 for $1,210,000.  The remodel/knock down took place at some point thereafter.

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Reichman Mansion Major Crimes (1 of 6)

The dwelling that originally stood on the property looks to have been Spanish in style (as you can see in the image below which I got from the Historic Aerials website) and, measuring 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1,959 square feet, was much smaller than its successor.  You can check out a (not very great) photograph of the original home on an old real estate listing here.  At the time, the property was described as being a “spectacular ‘50s post & beam hacienda”.

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As you can see in the Google Street View images below, the house was changed drastically during the remodel.

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The result is nothing short of spectacular!  The dwelling, which was constructed primarily of steel and glass, features a butterfly roof, cruciform columns, polished concrete floors, a large saltwater pool, a waterfall, a koi pond, a BBQ area, and a master suite with a spa-like bathroom that encompasses the structure’s entire second floor.  And, if you have an extra $2,795,000 lying around, it could be yours!  You can check out the home’s real estate listing here.  According to several websites (which you can see here and here), the place is currently owned by a celebrity, though, much as I tried, I could not figure out by whom.

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Reichman Mansion Major Crimes (3 of 6)

In the “Dismissed with Prejudice” episode of Major Crimes, the residence belonged to Will Reichman (William R. Moses), an architect whom Lieutenant Mike Tau (Michael Paul Chan) put away for murder eight and a half years prior.  And I just have to say here that I absolutely LOVE me some Major Crimes!  While I was initially doubtful as to how The Closer spinoff would fare sans Kyra Sedgwick at the helm, I am very happy to report that the series is fabulous.  Bringing in the Rusty Beck character (played by the brilliant Graham Patrick Martin, who also starred as Eldridge Mackelroy on Two and a Half Men) was genius and gave the show – and Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) – a heart.  I cannot wait for it to start up again next season.

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For whatever reason, only the backside of the property was used in the episode.

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The interior – which is all open spaces, towering plate glass windows, and high ceilings (drool!) – was featured extensively, though.  Man, what I wouldn’t give to live there!

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The staircase is absolutely to die for!  LOVE IT!

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Thanks to fave website Curbed L.A., I learned that the dwelling was also featured in the Season 1 episode of Selling L.A. titled “Rock Star Real Estate”, as the home that former actress/Playboy Playmate-turned-Keller-Williams-broker Martha Smith showed one-time Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum.

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The episode aired on October 27th, 2011 and, at the time, the residence was for sale for $3.395 million and looked very much the same as it did in Major Crimes (although the yellow accent walls have since been painted over, thank God!)

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In the episode, Martha talks about the fact that the “small, sort of low-profile kitchen” was designed for a celebrity who “just didn’t care much about kitchens” (someone after my own heart! Winking smile).  I am not sure if said celeb ever lived on the premises or if he or she put it on the market as soon as the remodel was complete.  Either way, I am fairly certain that the place is currently vacant.

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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.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Reichman mansion from the “Dismissed with Prejudice” episode of Major Crimes is located at 8538 Eastwood Road in the Hollywood Hills.

The Ohara House – aka Miles’ House from “The Holiday”

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One location that my good friend/fellow stalker Lavonna suggested that I blog about during my Christmas-themed stalking week was the modernist abode where Miles (aka Jack Black) lived in the 2006 Nancy-Meyers-directed flick The Holiday.  Ironically enough, just a few days after my conversation with Lavonna, my mom and I happened to catch The Holiday on TV and when a scene showing Miles’ residence popped up onscreen, she said, “Oh my gosh, what a cool house!  Lindsay, you have got to find it!”  Talk about synchronicity!  So I started doing some research and quickly stumbled upon the flick’s production notes, which, amazingly enough, spelled out the property’s exact location.  Whoo-hoo!  I so love it when that happens!  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there to stalk the place this past weekend.

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The Holiday’s incredibly informative production notes stated, “Miles’ house was designed by Richard Neutra, the Vienna-born master of Southern California modernism and is situated on Neutra Place in L.A.’s Silverlake [sic] area, near downtown.”  As it turns out, in the 1950s and 60s, the legendary Neutra, who also designed the famous Kauffman house in Palm Springs which I blogged about last December, constructed ten residences on Silver Lake Boulevard and an adjoining cul-de-sac that is now known as Neutra Place.  All ten dwellings were built in the Pavilion style – a design characterized by box-shapes, horizontal planes, open floor plans, and large plate glass windows.  And towards the very end of that short Pavilion-home-lined cul-de-sac sits the property where Miles lived in The Holiday.  In real life, it is known as the Ohara house and it was originally built in 1961 for June and Hitoshi Ohara and their two daughters.  Sadly though, as you can see above, not much of it is visible from the street.

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Because I was absolutely itching to see the property in person, I just had to climb up the front steps a tiny bit to catch a better peek.  And I am very happy to report that the residence did not disappoint!  As you can see above, it is absolutely spectacular in person!  Even the Grim Cheaper, who is not fazed by much of anything, was impressed with it.  In real life, the Ohara house boasts 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,564 square feet of living space, and a .23-acre plot of land, and was last sold in December of 2003 for a cool $1.2 million.

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The exterior of Miles’ house showed up only once, and very briefly at that, in The Holiday.  I absolutely LOVE how it appeared in the movie, with its expansive front yard and cantilevered roofline all lit up.  Sigh!  What I would not give to live in a house like that!

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The interior of the property, which is also quite spectacular, was featured a few times in the movie, as well.

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On a celebrity side-note – While out doing some Christmas shopping in Beverly Hills this past weekend, the GC and I stopped into Madame Chocolat, which I blogged about back in January of this year, and who should be there but Madame Chocolat herself, Hasty Torres.  I had met Hasty once before at the shop and did not ask her for a photograph, which I have always regretted.  Well, believe you me, I was not going to make the same mistake twice and I am very happy to report that Hasty seemed seriously flattered when I approached her and could not have been more excited to pose with me.  Love it!  For those not in the know, Hasty is the proprietor of the ever-popular Madame Chocolat and has appeared in such shows as The Girls Next Door and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Ohara house, aka Miles’ house from The Holiday, is located at 2210 Neutra Place in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.