The 13 Going On 30 Bar

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Those of you who read my blog regularly know that the restaurant where Jennifer Garner hit on the 13-year-old boy in fave movie 13 Going On 30  has long been a thorn in my side.  For whatever reason, it seems that no matter how hard I tried or how badly I wanted to stalk it, I just couldn’t seem to track the place down!  I came fairly close last year, when Mike, from MovieShotsLA, managed to find what was used as the exterior of the restaurant on a cobblestone street in New York’s SoHo neighborhood.  But, as fate would have it, the SoHo location turned out to be a clothing store that was used solely for exterior filming, while the interior scenes were shot at another location altogether.  But where????  Finally, last week, I decided to enlist the help of fellow stalker Owen, who promised to  track down a few of the 13 Going On 30 crew members and hopefully get an answer for me.  Ironically enough, I had told Owen that time was of the essence in this particular stalking endeavor as I wanted to stalk the restaurant during my upcoming trip to New York.  Well, come to find out, much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, it turns out that the location I was searching for was right in my own backyard the whole time!  🙂  It wasn’t an hour later that I got a text back from Owen which read “Interested in hitting on 13-year-old boys?  Head to Hal’s Bar at 1349 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice”.  Well, let me tell you I almost fell over right then and there!  I could NOT believe that the this WHOLE TIME the restaurant had been in L.A., literally right under my nose!  LOL  So, of course, I immediately dragged my boyfriend right out to FINALLY stalk it.  🙂

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For those who have never seen 13 Going On 30, the scene that takes place at Hal’s restaurant involves Jennifer Garner (as a 13-year-old stuck in a 30-year- old’s body) drinking some cocktails at a bar in New York with BFF Judy Greer.  At one point, Judy leans over and whispers to Jennifer “Mr. Hottie behind you is totally scamming on you right now!”  So, of course, Jennifer gets up to go talk to him, but instead of walking up to the older gentleman standing at the bar, she heads over to a 13-year-old boy sitting in a booth and tells him she thinks he is cute. Judy freaks out, grabs Jennifer, and says “What do you want to go to jail?  I meant that guy!” to which Jennifer replies, “The man?  Oh, gross!”   LOL LOL LOL  You can watch the entire scene here.  

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Amazingly enough, while the decor of the 13 Going On 30  restaurant is pretty much exactly the same in person as it was in the movie, I had a really hard time recognizing the place once there.  In fact, even though I have been actively searching for this location for years, had I randomly eaten at Hal’s, I probably never would have recognized it as the 13 Going On 30 restaurant.  LOL  As you can see in the above screen captures and photographs, while most of the background paintings were changed for the filming, for the most part the restaurant looks very much the same in real life as it did onscreen.  One of the things that threw me, though, was the fact that, in real life, Hal’s is a fairly large restaurant, but, because 13 Going On 30  only showed one small section of it, it appeared to be tiny in the movie.    When I first walked in, I was shocked at how big the place actually was.  

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But the biggest shock for me was actually the lighting.  In real life, Hal’s is extremely bright and open, with one wall made up almost entirely of windows.  In the movie, though, the place seemed very dark and cozy, much like a real New York restaurant would be.  As you can see in the above photograph and screen capture, producers actually had all of Hal’s front windows covered over for the shoot, which really made a difference in the look and feel of the restaurant.  In fact, the entire time we were there, I kept saying to my boyfriend “This place is so bright, but it was dark in the movie!!!!  I don’t get it!”  LOL  Ah, the magic of Hollywood!  

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In an ironic side note – While attempting to locate the restaurant, I had spent WEEKS trying to figure out what the sign behind Judy Greer in the above screen capture spelled out.  Countless times, I had Googled the terms “New York” along with all sorts of different combinations of words ending with “–ECKAS” and the phrase “bar & grill” to try to figure it out – all to no avail.  Which makes sense now, being that the sign was a fake put up for decoration at the New York location where exterior filming took place. 

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But what doesn’t make sense is that when I finally got to stalk the restaurant, I noticed that producers had used part  of the Hal’s Bar & Grill logo for their fake sign in New York.  You’ll notice in the above screen capture and photograph that the oddly-placed “S” in the Hal’s Bar & Grill logo is EXACTLY the same as the oddly-placed “S” in the fake restaurant sign that was at the New York location.  I’m not sure why producers went to all the trouble of creating a fake name and a fake logo that incorporated a part of the real restaurant’s real logo.  Why not just use the real thing???  LOL  But that’s Hollywood for you!  🙂

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And, as if getting to eat at the 13 Going On 30 restaurant was not excitement enough for one day, while walking to our car afterwards we happened upon Desperate Housewife Marcia Cross sitting on a bench outside of a nearby shop.  Ironically enough, the only reason I noticed her at all was because, as I walked by, she looked up and gave me an absolutely ENORMOUS smile.  I was a bit taken aback by that as people in L.A. don’t typically smile like that at strangers.  And it was while smiling back at her that I all of a sudden realized she was Marcia Cross!  I so wanted to ask her to take a picture with me, but, as it was an extremely busy afternoon on Abbot Kinney Boulevard,  I didn’t want to attract a bunch of attention to her.  But, after we walked across the street, I begged my fiancé to snap a quick paparazzi pic of her for my blog – for which she also smiled.  🙂  So cool!!!   

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I cannot recommend stalking Hal’s Bar & Grill enough!  The food is EXCELLENT – especially the burgers! – and I had an absolute blast being there. 

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Hal’s Bar and Grill, aka the 13 Going On 30  bar, is located at 1349 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.  You can visit their website here.

The Warner Grand Theatre

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This past Saturday, my family and I returned from Catalina Island via the Catalina Express high speed catamaran that docks in San Pedro Harbor.  When the captain announced that we had finally reached our destination, I suddenly realized that a filming location I have LONG been dying to stalk was actually located in the very city where we now found ourselves!  The Warner Grand Theatre, where Rosalee Futch took Tad Hamilton on a date in fave movie Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, was in fact located just a few miles away from where our boat had just docked.  🙂  I have absolutely no idea why I hadn’t realized it sooner.  So, I begged my dad to drive me over to the theatre as soon as we gathered our luggage and, amazingly enough, he obliged.   Thank you, dad!

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Warner Brothers first opened the Warner Grand Theatre on January 20, 1931.  It was co-designed in an Art Deco style by architect B. Marcus Priteca, who also constructed the Pantages Theatre, and interior designer Anthony Heinsbergen.  Priteca and Heinsbergen had also created two other theatres for the Warner Brothers Company – one in Beverly Hills and one in Huntington Park.  Unfortunately, though, the Warner Grand is the only one of the three that is still intact.  In 1982, the City of Los Angeles declared the 1,400 seat theatre a Cultural and Historic Monument.  Sadly, though, in the 1990’s it fell into a serious state of disarray and was almost demolished.  The theatre was saved in January of 1996 when the City of Los Angeles stepped in and purchased it for $1.2 million and began a slow, painstaking restoration process.  It has since been named a National Historic Place.  The Grand is currently open for business, showing foreign and independent films on its fifty foot screen almost every weekend and showcasing various events including concerts, plays, and even graduations.  And it is also a frequent filming location!  🙂

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The Warner Grand actually shows up three times in Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, where it stands in for the local Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia movie theatre.  The movie’s very first scene takes place at the theatre, in which Rosalee, Pete, and Cathy watch Tad’s latest film entitled A Man Called Jackson.

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Later on in the movie, Rosalee takes Tad to the Warner Grand for their second date.

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It is at the theatre that one of my favorite lines from the movie is spoken.  In the scene, while walking by a poster for one of Tad’s movies, Rosalee says “You look so sad there”, to which Tad replies “Give me a break.  I just lost my wife . . . and my goat.”  LOL LOL LOL  

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The theatre last shows up in what was to be the movie’s original ending, which is shown in the DVD’s Special Features section.  In the scene, Pete, Cathy, Rosalee, and Rosalee’s father are at the Warner watching A Good Man is Hard to Find, Tad’s latest movie which tells the story of his relationship with Rosalee.

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The Warner has also been featured in countless other productions.  In the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor, the Warner Grand was the Oahu theatre where Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett watched the MovieTone News clip about the war. 

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Later on in the scene, they grab a bite to eat at the “Black Cat Diner”, which is located directly next door to the theatre and which, in reality, is an art gallery named the Findings Art Center.   Unfortunately, I didn’t snap any photos of the Black Cat location as I didn’t learn about its use in Pearl Harbor until after I got home and started researching the theatre.  🙁

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In the same scene, while Kate and Josh are eating inside the Black Cat Diner, their friend Ray proposes to his girlfriend Betty on the street outside the Warner Grand. 

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In the Season One episode of The O.C. entitled “The Proposal”, the Warner stood in for the Newport Beach theatre where Ryan, Seth, and Summer took Marisa to cheer her up after she had discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Luke, was sleeping with her mother.  Nice mom, huh?

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After seeing the movie, the gang heads over to a Jamba Juice located in the Arcade Building on Sixth Street directly across the street from the theatre, where they run into – you guessed it – Marisa’s mother and ex-boyfriend, Luke. 

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Because my parents were not too keen on waiting around while I stalked all of West 6th Street, I didn’t get to venture inside the Arcade Building. But I did manage to snap the above pic from across the street.

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The Warner has also been featured in the television series Cousin Skeeter, 7th Heaven, Melrose Place, Party of Five, and ESPN’s Reel Classics, and the movies Wharf Rats to Lords of the Dock, Worth Winning, Seabiscuit, Ghosts of Mississippi, Invasion Earth: The Aliens are Here,  and What’s Love Got To Do With It  (where it stood in for Harlem’s Apollo Theatre).

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The Warner is an absolutely beautiful place and I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally be stalking it!  Sadly, though, the lobby area wasn’t open while we were there, so I didn’t get to venture inside.  But you know what that means!  I’ll just have to go back to stalk the place again!  🙂  According to the Warner’s website, though, the theatre’s original seats were just recently restored, so the interior looks quite different now than how it appeared in the many movies pictured above.  🙁

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Warner Grand Theatre is located at 478 West 6th Street in San Pedro.  You can visit their website here.   The Black Cat Diner from Pearl Harbor, aka the Findings Art Center, is located at 470 West Sixth Street, next door to the Warner.  The Arcade Building on Sixth Street, which was featured in The O.C., is located at 479 West Sixth Street, directly across the street from the theatre. 

The Independence Day House

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One of the locations at the very top of fellow stalker Owen’s “To Find” list was the house belonging to Captain Steven Hiller, aka Will Smith, and his girlfriend Jasmine Dubrow, aka Vivica A. Fox, in the 1996 blockbuster movie Independence Day.  So, a few weeks ago, Owen enlisted the help of master stalker Chas and, amazingly enough, the two of them found the house in just a few short hours!!!!  So, of course, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I immediately ran right out to stalk it!  Mike had actually been looking for this house for quite some time, but had become convinced that it was a fake house that had been built solely for the production on a studio backlot somewhere.  Well, thanks to Owen and Chas, we can now say for certain that the Independence Day  house was, in fact, very real!   🙂

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Both Mike and I were absolutely SHOCKED to discover that the Independence Day  house looks EXACTLY the same today as it did thirteen years ago when the movie was filmed!!!  The paint color, the shutters, and the foliage are all still pretty much identical to how they appeared in the movie.  SO LOVE IT!  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good screen capture from the movie which showed the entire house.  🙁

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The thing I was most shocked about seeing in person was the little “6033” address plaque hanging from the front porch which was also featured in the movie (pictured above).  I could NOT believe that little plaque was there in real life, too!  I thought for sure it had been a movie prop.  SO DARN COOL!

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  The Independence Day  house only pops up in a few brief scenes at the very beginning of the movie.  It is first shown in the scene when Will Smith walks outside to get his morning paper only to discover a large flying saucer hovering above his neighborhood.  We next see it when Will says goodbye to his girlfriend and her son before driving off to go save the world from alien invaders.  And, from how it appears in the movie, I am pretty convinced that the real life interior of the home was used for the filming, as well. 

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There actually was one major part of the house that was changed for the filming of the movie – the view.  Producers actually cheated quite a bit regarding the home’s location in the movie.  In the scene when Will Smith first notices the flying saucer while standing in his front yard, he looks to his left and sees the above pictured valley and freeway system.

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In reality, though, while the home is located on a bit of a hill, it doesn’t really overlook anything.  What Will really would have been looking at in that scene is pictured above.  🙂

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I highly recommend stalking the ID4  house to all fans of the movie!  Especially since it still looks so similar to how it appeared onscreen!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Captain Steve Hillard’s Independence Day  house is located at 6033 74th Street in the Westchester area of Los Angeles.

Paco’s Tacos Cantina From Jerry Maguire

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Last Friday, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I spent an entire twelve hours stalking together!!!  Yes, you read that right – an ENTIRE TWELVE HOURS!!!  I’m not exaggerating!!  The two of us literally drove from one end of L.A. to the other – we covered Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Eagle Rock, El Segundo, and even Santa Monica – and back again!  It was FABULOUS!  🙂  One of the places at the top of our day’s stalking list was a little restaurant called Paco’s Tacos Cantina, which was featured in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire.  

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Mike discovered this location back in the ’90s.  At the time he worked just a few blocks away from Paco’s and used to frequent the restaurant regularly for lunch.  One day he noticed a poster of Jerry Maguire  hanging on the wall (pictured above) and asked the owner about it.  Well, it turns out that a pretty major scene from the movie had actually been filmed at the Cantina.  So, of course, I made Mike take me there for lunch so I could stalk the place!  🙂

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In the movie, Paco’s Tacos Cantina is the restaurant where Jerry Maguire, aka Tom Cruise, takes Dorothy Boyd, aka Renee Zellwegger, on their very first date.  It is before that date that Jerry says one of my very favorite movie lines ever – well, besides “You had me at hello”, of course!   🙂  When Dorothy walks out in her LBD (that’s Little Black Dress for all of you guys out there), Jerry says, “Wow!  That’s more than a dress.  That’s an Audrey Hepburn movie!”  LOL  Love it!   Please excuse the above photographs as I wasn’t able to take them from the exact same angles from which the scene was filmed.

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And, of course, Mike and I just had to sit next to the fish tank like Jerry and Dorothy did in the scene.  🙂

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I HIGHLY recommend stalking Paco’s Tacos!   As I’ve mentioned before, I am a VERY picky eater, but I have to say that I absolutely loved Paco’s!  The tacos were to die for – with all white meat chicken, no less!!!!  And the chips and homemade tortillas were pretty amazing, too!    While there, Mike and I got to meet Paco himself, who really could not have been nicer!  He was even sweet enough to pose for a couple of pictures with us.  🙂  Paco told us that his Cantina was also featured numerous times in the ’70s television series CHiPs.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It:  Paco’s Tacos Cantina, aka the Jerry Maguire  restaurant, is located at 4141 South Centinela Avenue in Los Angeles.  You can visit their website here.

Montrose Bowl

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A few weeks ago, while out stalking the city of Montrose with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, the two of us happened to stumble upon a little bowling alley named Montrose Bowl, which has been featured in countless movie and television productions.  Even though the bowling alley is currently closed to the public – it is only available as a venue for private parties – we just had to step inside for a little looksie.  🙂  The owner truly could NOT have been nicer to the two of us and gave us a complete run-down on the bowling alley’s filming history.  He even let us poke around to snap a few pictures.  🙂

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Montrose Bowl, which opened up back in 1936, has been a family owned and operated business for the past twenty-five years.  The 1950’s style, eight lane bowling alley is one of the smallest alleys in all of Los Angeles.  It is definitely a unique little place and it’s not hard to see why it has been featured in so many productions.  Walking through the doors of Montrose Bowl is truly like stepping back in time.

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The first production ever to film at the alley was the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie Teen Wolf.  Montrose Bowl shows up twice in the movie as the basketball team’s post-game hang-out spot.

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In 1991, Montrose Bowl stood in for the New York bowling alley where Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino hung out in the romantic comedy Frankie and Johnny.  One of Montrose Bowl’s bathrooms was also featured in a scene from the movie.

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Montrose Bowl’s interior was changed significantly for the filming of the movie Pleasantville, where it portrayed the bowling alley frequented by William H. Macy and J.T. Walsh.  Much of the decor from the filming of Pleasantville has been left up, so the alley currently looks very similar to how it appeared onscreen in the 1998 comedy about a 1950s television family.

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The exterior of the Pleasantville bowling alley was built on a studio backlot, but as you can see in the above screen captures and photograph, quite closely resembles the real life exterior of Montrose Bowl.

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Montrose Bowl has also been the site of countless celebrity parties.   Back in his heyday, Phil Spector hosted an annual party at the bowling alley, with guests like Stevie Nicks, Van Halen, Gene Simmons and KISS in attendance.   Bruce Willis, Dustin Hoffman, and the L.A. Kings hockey team have also hosted parties there.  Once I heard that Montrose Bowl was somewhat of a celebrity hotspot, I just had to ask if my girl Jen Aniston had ever bowled there – and I was absolutely FLOORED to find out that indeed she had!  🙂  Apparently Ms. Aniston was a guest at a birthday party  that Vince Vaughn threw for his sister at the alley a few years back.  🙂  Love it!

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Montrose Bowl is a VERY cool place and I highly recommend stalking it if you get the chance.  It also seems like a GREAT place to throw a party!!!!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Montrose Bowl is located at 2334 Honolulu Avenue in Montrose.  You can visit their website here.  The bowling alley is currently closed to the public and only open for private events.  But if you’re lucky, you may be able to stick your head in the door for a quick peek.  🙂

The Nightmare on Elm Street Houses

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While all of my friends and family are, for the most part, very supportive of my stalking endeavors, I still quite often get asked the question, “Do people really care about this stuff?” and “Can you explain your website to me, because I just don’t get it.”  LOL  One of the people who “just doesn’t get it” the most is my good friend, and fellow actor, Blaze.  So, the other day, while the two of us were out and about in Hollywood, I decided to show him what my website is all about.  🙂  Blaze has long been a huge fan of the horror movie genre, and when I say a huge fan, I mean a HUGE fan.  So, since we were in the area, I asked him if he wanted to see the two main houses from his very favorite horror movie,  A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Blaze was absolutely shocked – and appeared somewhat skeptical – that a) the Nightmare on Elm Street  houses were located in the L.A. area, and that b) I actually knew where to find them.   Oh ye of little faith! 

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As I drove up to the home which stood in for Nancy’s in the movie – with a very smug smile on my face, I might add! –  Blaze started SCREAMING his head off saying “OH MY GOD!   OH MY GOD!  OH MY GOD!  IT’S THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET  HOUSE!!”  LOL  He  hopped out of my car before I had even come to a complete stop and ran right up to the home’s front door to take a picture.  He truly could not have been more excited!!!  It’s stalking moments like this that I absolutely love – showing someone a location from a favorite movie and having it resonate with them just as much as it does with me.  It’s the whole reason I started my blog.  🙂  And I’m pretty sure that Blaze now “gets it”. 

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I am very happy to report that Nancy (aka Heather Langenkamp’s) house looks pretty much exactly the same today  as it did when A Nightmare on Elm Street  was filmed there back in 1984.  Blaze kept saying “Even the colors of the house are still the same!”  🙂  Nancy’s house also showed up in A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge, as the residence of Jesse Walsh.

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Located directly across the street from Nancy’s house is the house that was used as Glen (aka Johnny Depp’s) in the movie.  And I am happy to report that Glen’s house also looks pretty much EXACTLY the same as it did in A Nightmare on Elm Street.  I find it amazing – and refreshing – that both Nightmare On Elm Street  houses look the same today as they did in a movie which filmed over twenty-five years ago!

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On a sidenote, it turns out that A Nightmare on Elm Street  was Johnny Depp’s very first acting role.   According to IMDB, Johnny was accompaning his good friend, actor Jackie Earle Haley, on an audition for the movie.  While there, he was spotted by director Wes Craven, who took one look at him, liked what he saw, and asked him to audition for the part of Glen.  Johnny won the role and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history!  🙂  Check out Johnny’s crop top in the above pic.  LOL LOL LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Nancy’s house from A Nightmare on Elm Street  is located at  1428 North Genesee Avenue in Hollywood.  Glen’s house is located right across the street at 1419 North Genesee.

Santa Anita Park

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This weekend, I dragged my fiance out to Santa Anita Park, aka the Santa Anita race track, in Arcadia for some major stalking.  Our original plan was to catch a movie at the theatre located next door to the track, but a funny thing happened on the way to the show. 🙂  While driving to the movies, I got an email from fellow stalker Owen who told me that Santa Anita Park stood in for the entrance to Walley World in fave 80s movie National Lampoon’s Vacation.  Needless to say, I was absolutely SHOCKED!   All this time I’ve lived in L.A. and had no idea that Walley World was literally right in my own backyard.  So, I made my poor fiance detour the car and, with Owen’s directions in hand, the two of us headed over towards the racetrack.  🙂

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Santa Anita Park first opened its doors on Christmas Day of 1934 and has the distinction of being known as Southern California’s oldest race track.  Elias Jackson, aka “Lucky”, Baldwin had originally built a horse racing track on what is now the Arcadia County Golf Course in 1907.  Sadly, though, just two years after its opening, the government passed the Walker-Otis bill, which outlawed gambling and forced Lucky to close up shop.   Twenty-five years later, after California had legalized parimutuel betting, a company named the Los Angeles Turf Club opened up a race track just a few blocks from the former track’s site.  The Los Angeles Turf Club was owned by movie producer Hal Roach and a doctor named Charles H. Strub.  Roach and Strub commissioned their new track to be built in the Art Deco style by architect Gordon B. Kaufman, who is most well-known for designing both the Hoover Dam and the L.A. Times Building.  The original exterior of the race track building still stands at Santa Anita Park to this day.  Santa Anita has hosted a number of memorable competitions over the years, including the equestrian events of the 1984 Olympic Games and Seabiscuit’s big win – and final race – which took place on February 9, 1940.  Because of the involvement of movieman Hal Roach, the race track has long been associated with the silver screen.  Celebs like Bing Crosby, Louis B. Mayer, Alex Trebek, Errol Flynn, and Spencer Tracy all owned horses that raced at Santa Anita at one time or another.  And, of course, the track has also shown up in several Hollywood productions.

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I have actually been dying to stalk the race track ever since it appeared in my favorite episode of the television series Las Vegas.  In the Season Three episode, entitled “Everything Old Is You Again”, Danny McCoy (played by – sigh – Josh Duhamel) has a flashback of sorts in which he fantasizes about what it would be like to run a 60’s era hotel and casino named the Jubliee.  In the episode, the entire cast dons 60’s regalia, uses terms like ” Poindexter” and “It’s a gas”, and dances to the Twist.  Everyone, that is, except for poor Danny, who doesn’t quite have the moves to the latest dance craze down yet.  He spends pretty much the entire episode begging people to teach him how to do the Twist.  I’m telling you, it is SUCH a cute episode!    And, it just so happens that the Club House at Santa Anita Park stood in for the Jubliee Hotel and Casino in the episode.  My fiance immediately recognized it when we first saw the show a few years back.  So, I really could not have been more excited to stalk the place this weekend!!    In a lucky twist of fate, while we were snapping some photos out front, an INCREDIBLY nice valet came up and started talking to us.  I told him that the Vegas episode that had filmed at the Park was my very favorite and he asked if my fiance and I wanted a tour of the areas used in the episode.  IF we wanted a tour????  IF we wanted a tour????  LOL  OF COURSE we wanted a tour!  🙂

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Both the interior and the exterior of the Club House were used as the Jubilee Hotel and Casino in the “Everything Old Is You Again” episode.

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The main entrance to the Club House also served as the main entrance to the Jubilee.

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According to the valet, hundreds of casino gaming tables and slot machines were brought in to turn the main room of the Club into the casino’s main floor.

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Other areas of the Club where filming took place include the bar where Sam (aka Vanessa Marcil) “worked”, which is, in reality, a cafeteria counter;

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the main lobby area;

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the Club’s cafe, where Mary worked in the episode . . .

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which is also the same area where Mary taught Danny to do the Twist  :);

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the steps located just outside of the cafe doors, where Danny asks Mary out on a date;

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and the Jubliee’s “pool” area.  Because Santa Anita Park doesn’t actually have a pool, the Jubilee’s “pool” was in actuality just the Club’s back porch area.  Producers simply added some chaise lounges, a handful of bikini-clad women, some wet cement, splashing sounds, a bit of movie magic, and voila – they had themselves a hotel swimming pool!  🙂

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At the end of the episode, Danny finds himself in the lobby of the present day Montecito Hotel and Casino, where Chubby Checker just happens to be on hand to entertain the guests . . .

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 . . . and to lead everyone, including Danny, in a rousing rendition of the Twist.  See, I told you it was a cute episode!  🙂

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The racetrack was also featured in the Season Two Valentine’s Day episode of Beverly Hills, 90210  entitled “And Baby Makes Five”.  In the episode, Andrea finds some luck at the track by betting on horses with names such as Lovesick, Unrequited, and Grand Amour.  Notice a theme here?  😉

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And, as mentioned in my introduction, the Park was also used in National Lampoon’s Vacation.  In the movie, an un-used portion of the track’s parking lot stood in for Walley World’s main entrance.  According to IMDB, a painted backdrop was installed behind the above pictured overpass to give the illusion of roller coasters in the foreground.  Love how you can still see the yellow divider lines in the road that were used in the filming!!

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The racetrack’s GINORMOUS parking lot area stood in for Walley World’s parking lot, where Clark and his family race each other- with “Chariots of Fire” playing in the background – to the theme park’s entrance.  Again, a huge painted backdrop was used in this scene to create the illusion of roller coasters.

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Walley World’s main entrance – where Clark, upon hearing the news that the park is temporarily closed, punches Walley Moose in the nose – is actually Santa Anita’s South Entrance.  The entrance was dressed up quite a bit for the filming, so in person it looks much different than how it appeared onscreen in Vacation.  Also adding to the difference in appearance is the fact that the movie was filmed in 1983, long before Santa Anita’s main tower, which you can see in the above photograph, was built.   An interesting sidenote – it’s fairly common knowledge among locationites that Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia was used for the filming of the scenes inside of Walley World.  So why, you ask, was Magic Mountain’s real entrance not used in the movie?   Well, apparently, the original ending of Vacation  involved Clark W. Griswold and family leaving the “temporarily closed for repairs” Walley World and heading over to Roy Walley’s house, gun in hand, to demand that he entertain them.  When that ending didn’t fare well with test audiences, the finale we all know and love was shot on location at Magic Mountain.   Rather than waste money re-shooting the parking lot scenes, producers just used the scenes that had already been filmed at Santa Anita Park.   And the rest, as they say, is history! 

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Santa Anita Park has also been featured in Seabiscuit, A Day at the Races, The Dark Horse, and the television series Jockeys, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Santa Anita Park is located at 285 West Huntington Drive in Arcadia.  Las Vegas was filmed at the Park’s Club House.  The entrance to Walley World was really the South Entrance of Santa Anita Park. 

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The overpass that the Griswold’s drive under when entering the Walley World parking lot is a bit tricky to find.  It is located directly off of Huntington Drive, near 659 West Huntington Drive.  The overpass leads to Westfield -Santa Anita Shopping Center and runs over one of the un-used areas of the racetrack’s parking lot.  You can see its exact location in the above map.

The Bedtime Stories School

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Last week, while searching for the Bedtime Stories  house, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I decided to also try to find the school featured in the movie.  We started our search by looking at street views of different elementary schools in the Los Angeles area, but pretty much came up empty-handed.  So, I decided to once again ask my friend who had worked on the movie if she happened to remember where the school was located.  She, of course, did not, but what she did remember was that the school from the movie wasn’t actually a school at all, but a public library.  She said that the exterior of the library had been changed quite extensively for the filming and made to look a lot bigger than it actually is.  Two whole wings were actually added to one side of the building to make it look more like an elementary school.  So, armed with that little bit of information, off I went to search local libraries.  And, sure enough, it wasn’t long before I found the right one!  🙂

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In real life, Daniel Webster Elementary School is, in fact, the Los Angeles Memorial Branch Library which was constructed in 1930.  It was built to honor twenty alumni of Los Angeles High School, which is located directly across the street, who had lost their lives in the first World War.  Students had originally purchased a small parcel of land across the street from the high school in 1922 and turned it over to the Park Commission with the decree that a memorial park, in honor of all alumni who had fought in the war, would be built on the premises.  Today, that park is known as L.A. High Memorial Park.  The following year, students and alumni purchased an additional parcel of land adjacent to the park.  In 1929, the City of Los Angeles decided to build a library on that adjacent piece of land and commissioned the architecture firm Austin and Ashley, who had also designed the high school, to build it.  The library was designed to match the English Tudor style architecture of the high school, which had been built twelve years beforehand.    A stained glass window, designed by Judson Art Studio, with the names of the twenty alumni who had lost their lives, was installed in the adult reading room.  The library officially opened to the public on April 29, 1930.   

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Sadly, the original Los Angeles High School building was badly damaged in the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake and was quickly condemned by the City of Los Angeles.  Preservationists tried to stop the demolition of the beautiful building, but a mysterious fire gutted the school, thereby sealing its fate.  The building was completely demolished later that same year and a huge blue and gold cement monstrosity was built in its place (pictured above).   That monstrosity even pops up in Bedtime Stories, in the scene when Adam Sandler picks his niece and nephew up from school.  You can see pictures of what Los Angeles High School used to look and pictures of its demolition here  and here.   So sad!!!! 

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Ironically enough, the original Los Angeles High School building was a frequent filming location, showing up in A Kiss Before Dying (1956), Compulsion, and the television series Room 222.  You can watch the intro to Room 222, in which the school is featured prominently, here.

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As you can see in the above screen capture and photographs, the Los Angeles Memorial Branch Library looks much different and much smaller in person than how it appeared onscreen.   You can also see the wing that was added to the right side of the building.

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The front door of the library is very recognizable from the film, though.  🙂

Because the real interior of the library looks nothing like an elementary school, the interior scenes were shot about 20 miles away at McKinley School in Pasadena.  And, according to the  librarian who I talked to while stalking the place, the interior of the Memorial Branch Library, but not the exterior, was featured in the 1987 movie Baby Boom.  Go figure.  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Bedtime Stories school is really the Memorial Branch Library located at 4625 West Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles.  The interior school scenes were filmed at McKinley School located at 325 South Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena.

The Pantages Theatre

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As promised earlier in the week, I thought I would dedicate today’s post to the historic Pantages Theatre in Hollywood where I saw Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage  last Tuesday night .   And let me tell you, the Pantages Theatre is a site to see, in and of itself!  The Art Deco landmark was built in 1930 by vaudeville theatre mogul Alexander Pantages for a whopping $1.25 million – and we’re talking 1930’s money!!!!  It was designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, who conceived most of the theatres in the Pantages chain.  But, in an ironic twist of events, when the theatre first opened to the public on June 4, 1930, it was not opened as a Pantages, but instead under the Fox Theatre name.  In 1929, while the Pantages was being built, Alexander was knee-deep in a scandal involving another of his many theatres.   It seems Alexander, who was in his sixties at the time, was accused and found guilty of raping one of his sixteen year old female ushers at his theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.    After being sent to jail, he was forced to open his new Hollywood theatre under a different name.  In 1931, Pantages appealed the case and was awarded a new trial.  His defense in the second trial maintained that rival theatre company RKO along with Joseph Kennedy (yes, that Joseph Kennedy) had framed him in order to purchase his theatre chain at a low price.  Since the broom closet where the rape had supposedly occured was too small a space for two people to fit in, the jury acquitted him and Alexander was released from prison.  But Pantages never regained his luxor in Hollywood.  Alexander Pantages passed away only two months after his release from prison, broke and broken. 

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The Pantages has gone through a succession of owners during its almost eighty year history. In 1949, Howard Hughes purchased the theatre and renamed it RKO Pantages.  His offices were located above the theatre on the building’s second floor.  During the RKO years, from 1949 to 1959 , the Pantages hosted ten Academy Awards ceremonies. It was also home to the Emmy Awards through 1977.  In 1967, the Pantages was taken over by Pacific Theatres, who in 1977 joined forces with the Nederlander Theatre Organization to refurbish the property and turn it into a live theatre venue.  In October of 2000, Disney opened its hit show The Lion King  at the Pantages, which ran for over two years and almost 900 performances.  Just prior to The Lion King’s  opening, the Pantages underwent a painstaking $10 million renovation process, bringing the theatre back to her original splendor.  Since that time, the theatre has been home to over 45 live stage productions including Mama Mia, Annie, Rent, Cats, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

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The Pantages is an absolutely beautiful theatre and a stunning example of Art Deco architecture. 

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  From its sweeping staircases . . .

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. . . to its sparkling Art Deco chandeliers, I was absolutely mesmerized by the architectural detail throughout.  The Pantages is truly a wonder and I HIGHLY recommend stalking it, if you get the chance!   

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The Pantages is no stranger to the silver screen, either.  It was featured in The Bodyguard, as the site of the Academy Awards ceremony where Whitney Houston was a presenter;

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the exterior of it shows up very briefly in The Black Dhalia, as Josh Hartnett makes his way into the Frolic Room which is located right next door;

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and in L.A. Confidential, as Kevin Spacey does the very same thing;

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and its stage was featured in Michael Jackson’s music video for the song “You Are Not Alone”.  The Pantages also showed up in Season Two of Ugly Betty (it’s the “New York” theatre where Henry takes Betty to see the musical Wicked), Paparazzi (it’s the site of Cole’s movie premiere at the very end), Ed Wood, The Jazz Singer, Money Talks, and Batman Forever.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

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Stalk It: The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.  You can visit their website hereDirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage  is currently running at the Pantages now through June 28th.  Upcoming shows include Legally Blonde: The Musical  and How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

Kyra Sedgwick’s Walk Of Fame Star Ceremony

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I found out a few weeks ago that Kyra Sedgwick would be receiving the 2,384th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the morning of Monday, June 8th.  So, I immediately called up my good friend Blaze and asked him if he wanted to join me in watching the ceremony.   He, of course, said yes, so today the two of us made our way out to Hollywood to watch Kyra receive her star.  And, even though  I had already seen the entire Closer  cast in person, I was still SUPER excited to attend this event because ever since Footloose  came out, I have absolutely LOVED me some Kevin Bacon.  🙂

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Kyra’s ceremony was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., and unlike Hugh Jackman’s Hand and Footprint Ceremony, this event actually started on time.  🙂  Amazingly enough, for some reason there weren’t that many people in attendance.  I’d say about forty-five fans and another fifty reporters and photographers were there.  Because there weren’t a lot of people in the audience, we were able to stand fairly close to the stage area, which I was thrilled about.  Up until just around 11:25, that is, when security guards led all of the media people into the area directly in front of the fans, completely blocking everyone’s view.  It was SUCH a bummer.  To make matters worse, many of the press photographers pulled out stepladders to stand on and propped their cameras up on huge tripods!  UGH.   So, even though I was standing right in the front row, I didn’t have the best view.  🙁  I have no idea why bleachers were not set up for the event, as this definitely would have rectified the situation.  Note to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce – next time you have an event like this, invest in bleachers!  LOL 

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Right at 11:30 a.m. on the nose, Kyra Sedgwick and husband Kevin Bacon arrived and the event got underway.  Kyra looked absolutely adorable and I just about died over her salmon-colored dress.  I have got to get me one of those!!!!   What I was most impressed with, though, were her arms!!!!  I couldn’t take my eyes off of them the entire time!  As you can see in the above photograph, they are absolutely rock-hard!  Not bad for a 44-year-old mother of two!!!  I am so jealous!  I mean, I’m 31 and have no children and my arms don’t look nearly as good as hers!  LOL  Anyway, Kyra was introduced by  Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler, who gave us a brief background on Kyra and her career as an actress.  One of the many tid-bits of information he told us was that, contrary to popular belief, Kyra was actually born in Manhattan, not the South, and yes, her Closer  accent is a fake.  🙂

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After Leron’s introduction, Lee Daniels, who produced the 2004 movie  The Woodsman, which starred Kyra and her husband, got up to say a few words.  And when I say “a few words”, I literally mean a few words. LOL  I think the guy had maybe two sentences to say about Kyra.  It was kind of disappointing.  If you’re going to get up on a stage to honor someone during an awards ceremony, I’m of the opinion that you should spend a little bit of time writing your speech.  Brief and to the point is nice, but so is saying something meaningful.  LOL  All Lee basically said was that while working with Kyra on The Woodsman, she had taught him to “live in the moment”.   To quote Chelsea Lately, “What . . . a douchebag!!”  LOL 

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Next up was Kyra’s Closer  co-star, and my fave actor from the show, G.W. Bailey.  G.W. gave a FABULOUS – and absolutely hilarious – speech about Kyra and their experiences starring together on The Closer.  He started off his speech by listing the questions he most commonly gets asked about Kyra – such as is her accent real (no), is she really that tiny in person (yes!), is her hair real (yes), do she and Kevin Bacon really love each other that much (absolutely!), and what is she really like in person.  In answer to that last question, G.W. had this to say, “Kyra is a mix of Mary Poppins and Cruella DeVil.  If you come to the set on time and know your lines, she’s a spoonful of sugar.  If you come to the set late and haven’t done your homework, she’ll skin you alive and make a jacket out of you.  But then she’ll feel bad and end up giving the jacket to the homeless.”  LOL  I absolutely LOVED that quote, as one of my biggest pet peeves in acting class is lazy actors who don’t do their homework and don’t memorize their lines!!!!  You go, Kyra!  🙂

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G.W. called Kyra one of the most giving actresses he has ever worked with and said that the cast nicknamed her “Mama” early on because of the way she takes care of everyone.  I was actually an extra on The Closer a few months back and was able to witness firsthand how Kyra takes care of her crew.  At one point while I was there, Kyra held up filming for a few minutes in order to write out a grocery list of cold remedies and medications before sending someone out to pick them up for a make up artist who was feeling under the weather.  She is definitely a “Mama”.  🙂   G.W.’s speech was so sweet that he ended up making Kyra cry.  So cute!

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Next up was Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, who ironically enough is the son of The Closer’s  consulting producer Gil Garcetti, who presented Kyra with a Hollywood Walk of Fame plaque.

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Then Kyra came to the podium to make a speech.  She announced at the very beginning that her speech would be brief due to the fact that her feet were already hurting from standing up for such a long time. 🙂  Kyra said that she wanted to be an actress since the age of 12, when she landed a role in a school production of Fiddler on the Roof.  She said that acting in that production made her “soul dance” and she knew at that moment that she never wanted to do anything else.

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But the best part of Kyra’s speech was when a Hollywood tour bus drove by!!!!   The tourists on board went absolutely crazy, so, Kyra stopped her speech and said hello to them using her Brenda Leigh Johnson accent!   LOL LOL LOL  Only in L.A.!  🙂

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Then, Kyra’s star was unveiled.  But, unfortunately, thanks to the press standing in the way, fans see couldn’t see it at all.  🙁  Such a bummer!!!   Kyra seemed absolutely thrilled to be receiving her star, though, and it made me tear up to think how special it must be to be honored as an actress in that way.   🙂

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Kyra was also given a plaque with a replica of her star on it.  Oh, how I want one of those!!!!!!!  With my own name on it, of course!!!!  🙂

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Then, the press asked if Kevin Bacon would come onstage and I just about died!!  During most of the ceremony, Kevin had been standing in the audience laying low.  I am pretty sure he didn’t want to steal any of his wife’s thunder during the event, so he just remained on the sidelines the entire time.  I had been trying to snap a photograph of him throughout the ENTIRE ceremony, but for some reason could just not get a good shot.  So, when he finally came onstage, I was FLOORED!  KB is still a total cutie after all these years and I could not have been more excited to see him in person.  🙂     

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Also on hand to celebrate with Kyra were her Closer castmates Corey Reynolds, Robert Gossett,  Anthony John Denison, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond Cruz, Phillip P. Keene, and Jonathan Del Arco, along with series consulting producer Gil Garcetti.

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Also in attendance was series creator James Duff. 

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After the ceremony was over, all of the stars – including Kyra and Kevin – came out into the audience to sign autographs and take photographs with the fans.  And I could not have been more excited!!!!!!   So, of course, I just had to ask my two favorite actors from the show for a pic – G.W. Bailey,

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and Anthony John Denison.  Unfortunately, I was using my dad’s huge paparazzi style camera at the event, and Blaze couldn’t figure out how to zoom out to take the above photograph.  LOL LOL LOL  Can you say “extreme close-up”??  Oh well, at least I got a pic.  🙂

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I so wanted to take a picture with KB, but, unfortunately, wasn’t standing near him when he came out into the audience.  But I did manage to snap the above pic of him as he was walking to his car. Sigh!!!!

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About an hour after the ceremony, I returned to see Kyra’s star unveiled, at last.  🙂

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As you can see in the above photograph, because it’s brand new, Kyra’s star is much shinier than any of the others on Hollywood Boulevard. 

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Kyra’s star is right next to husband Kevin Bacon’s, which makes them the only married couple in history to have side by side stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  🙂

If you find yourself in the Hollywood area during a Walk of Fame Star Ceremony, I HIGHLY recommend attending one!  I had an absolute blast seeing all of the stars, listening to the speeches, and being a part of a historic Hollywood event!   It was definitely a better experience for me than the Hand and Footprint Ceremony and I am so thankful that I got to be a part of it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Kyra Sedgwick’s star is located in front of Cinespace Nightclub, which is located at 6356 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.