Movie Star Homes – Page 7

December 8, 2008February 15, 2009

The Dakota

Today is the 28th anniversay of John Lennon’s death, so I thought I would devote today’s blog to him. I have never really been much into music (my idea of a music icon is Britney Spears, if that tells you anything!) so I was never a fan of John Lennon or the Beatles. My mom, however, loved The Beatles (especially Ringo Starr) and during her teenage years even climbed up the side of a Japanese hotel where the Beatles were staying to try to catch a glimpse of him. She also snuck backstage during a Beach Boys concert, ran up to Dennis Wilson, kissed him on the lips, then ran back out, but that’s a whole other story. Now at least you know where I get it from. 🙂 Anyway, since my family always takes a New York vacation during the first week of December, I often find myself in Manhattan on the anniversary of John’s murder. Last December 8th my boyfriend and I decided to stop by both John’s former apartment building and his memorial to see if anything was going on. And boy was there!

Johns’ memorial, which is called Strawberry Fields, is a 2.5 acre tear-dropped shaped section of Central Park that was commissioned by Yoko Ono and designed by landscape architect Bruce Kelly. The memorial, which is considered an international peace garden, was opened to the public on October 9, 1985 (John’s birthday). The garden consists of 161 different varieties of flowers and plants, one representing each country of the world. Each year, on the anniversary of his death, countless fans make a pilgrimage to the memorial to honor his memory. Last year there were so many people there I couldn’t even get a picture of the famous “Imagine” plaque which was donated to the memorial by the Italian city of Naples. It’s amazing to me that 28 years after his death John can still draw such a huge crowd. On the anniversary of his death, most mourners pretty much camp out at the memorial for the entire day, singing Beatles songs, sharing John Lennon stories, and grieving the death of the legendary musician. It is really a site to behold. Last year, amid news crews conducting interviews, musicians singing tributes, and tourists taking photographs, I just had to snap a photo of the “Designated Quiet Zone” sign which sits at the entrance to the memorial. LOL

After visiting Strawberry Fields, I dragged my boyfriend across the street to John Lennon’s former residence, the Dakota apartment building. It was at the entrance to this building that John was killed 28 years ago today. On December 8, 1980, after finishing a session at a recording studio, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were driven by limo to their Upper West Side apartment just a few minutes before 11pm. As they made their way to the entrance of the building, deranged fan Mark David Chapman shot Lennon four times in the back. John collapsed in the entryway of the Dakota and was pronounced dead a short time later while on an operating table at Roosevelt Hospital.

The beautiful and unique Dakota apartment building has long been a celebrity haven. John and Yoko weren’t the only stars to call it home. Lauren Bacall, Judy Holliday, Jack Palance, John Madden, Judy Garland, Rosemary Clooney, Gilda Radner, Paul Simon, Connie Chung and Boris Karloff have all lived at the building at one time or another. The Dakota is also a popular filming location! It was featured in Vanilla Sky (as Tom Cruise’s apartment), Rosemary’s Baby (as Mia Farrow’s pad), and House of Strangers.

Construction was completed on the famous Dakota Apartment building in the year 1884. It was built by architect Harry J. Hardenbergh, who also designed the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Carnegie Hall and, my favorite building in all of New York, the famed Plaza Hotel. The Dakota is very similar in looks to the Plaza, actually, with the same peaked slate and copper roofs, corner turrets, and French chateau accents. The Dakota is absolutely stunning in person and I highly recommend stalking it – even if you aren’t a Lennon fan!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Dakota is located at 1 West 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of New York. Strawberry Fields memorial is located just across the street from the Dakota in Central Park. The entrance to the 2.5 acre memorial begins at Central Park West and 72nd Street.

September 2, 2008August 6, 2018

Matthew Perry’s Former House

A few weeks ago, while doing some stalking with my boyfriend, I set out to stalk Matthew Perry’s former home. I got the address of “Ms. Chanadaler Bong’s” former residence thanks to E.J. over at The Movieland Directory. I must admit I was pretty disappointed upon arriving at the house, as there is just not all that much to see from the street other than Matthew’s ugly mailbox, which appears to be broken and unable to close.

I still don’t get what is up with the stars and their hiddy mailboxes!! LOL Anyway, while Matthew’s former house is pretty anti-climatic to stalk, what is significant about this home is that it was while living there that Matty crashed his Porsche into a neighbor’s front porch.

Back in June of 2000, on the very same day the troubled star was released from Cedar Sinai Medical Center after a stint with pancreatitus, Matthew crashed his car into the stairs leading up to the front door of a neighboring house (pictured above). According to reports, the house was unoccupied at the time. Apparently Matthew swerved to avoid an oncoming car and in doing so lost control of his Porsche and crashed. No drugs or alcohol were found in his system at the time. Driving along his street, though, it was not hard for me to see why Matthew lost control of his car. The roads surrounding his house are extremely narrow, with countless twists and turns, and I was actually worried I was going to get into a car accident while stalking.

The home Matty crashed into is a really cute little place. I am not sure if it looked like this before the crash, or if a hefty settlement from the Friends star is responsible for the house’s curb appeal Apparently the front stairs of the home were completely destroyed during the crash and had to be rebuilt entirely.

While I wouldn’t really recommend stalking Matthew’s former home, as there is just not much to see, you can catch a good Zillow view of the home here. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Matthew Perry’s former house is located at 7204 Chelan Way. The neighboring home he drove his porche into can be found just down the road at 2233 Chelan Drive.

August 29, 2008December 6, 2013

Marilyn Monroe’s First, and Last, Home

UPDATE – this house is currently for sale. You can see interior photographs of it on the Curbed LA site.

Just finished another excellent book about the life and times of Miss Marilyn Monroe. The book, Goddess , was recommended to me by a staff member at Vroman’s – even though it is currently out of print – who said it was the definitive biography about the star. See why I love that bookstore?!? 🙂

Anyway, reading the book reminded me that a couple of years back, on our annual Haunted Hollywood tour, my boyfriend and I did a little stalking of the house where Marilyn Monroe took her final breath. This was actually the first, and last, home Miss Monroe every owned. She purchased the house in 1961, but didn’t officially move in until March of 1962, just six months before her death.

While shopping for homes in 1961, Marilyn decided she wanted a place close in both proximity and looks to her therapist, Dr. Ralph Greenson’s, home. The Spanish style home on Fifth Helena Drive fit the bill, as it looked very similar to Dr. Greenson’s home and was located only a few short miles away. According to Goddess, Marilyn actually cried while signing the final papers as she said she never imagined she would be purchasing a home alone. Ironically, after moving in to the home, Marilyn had a plaque placed above her door which read “Cursom Perificio”. Translation – “My Journey Ends Here”. How right she was.

Sadly, there isn’t a whole lot to see of the home from the street as there is a huge wall surrounding it. But it was still very cool to visit, and I highly recommend stalking it if you are at all Marilyn fan. According to Goddess, Marilyn absolutely loved her little Spanish bungalow and was personally handpicking all of the furnishings before her death. She even made a trip to Mexico shortly before her death to pick up some decorations for the home. (In the above photo a large green home is visible above Marilyn’s gate – that is a neighbor’s house, not hers.)

Remember to be courteous when stalking and not to disturb the home’s current residents. From what I have read they do not take kindly to tourists taking pictures in front of their house. Which begs the question – Then WHY in the heck did they buy one of the world’s most famous houses?? LOL

You can read a brief history of Marilyn’s home here.

UPDATE:

Are you a Marilyn Monroe fan? Visit BarrysTickets.com for Marilyn Tickets to see a play based on the legendary Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe fans visiting the L.A. area will be excited to hear that tickets to a new stage show chronicling the starlet’s life are currently available at Barry’sTickets.com. Marilyn – the Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical, comes to Los Angeles from London’s West End and recounts the tragic behind-the-scenes life of the world’s most iconic blond. The musical, which was choreographed and directed by the Oliver and Evening Standard award-winning director Peter Schaufuss, provides audiences a glimpse of the private world Marilyn rarely shared with the public – the world of a woman who achieved every success imaginable, except for true happiness. The show features a cast of fifteen remarkable actors and showcases fifteen lively song and dance numbers including Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”, which the singer originally wrote in honor of Marilyn in 1973, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the hit movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” from the 1960 movie Let’s Make Love. Don’t miss Marilyn – The Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marilyn’s final home is located at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood. The house can be difficult to find as there are many streets in the area with the name “Helena”. Take South Carmelina Avenue past First, Second, Third and Fourth Helena Drive and then you will see Fifth Helena, where Marilyn’s home is located.

August 18, 2008February 17, 2009

Brad and Angelina’s Malibu Manse

While partying with The Hills cast at the Project Beach House last Thursday, I got to do a little stalking of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Malibu home. Brangelina’s place is located directly next door to the Project Beach House and being that there are no gates in between the two properties, I had a great view of the Jolie-Pitt’s manse. I have stalked the outside of their house before, but sadly no part of the home is visible from the street. So I was absolutely FLOORED at the up close and personal view of Brangelina’s that the Project Beach House afforded me. 🙂

Brad bought the house in March of 2005 shortly after he left Jen and long before he started dating Angelina Jolie (yeah, right!). Ironically Jen also moved to Malibu following their separation – I guess the two really can’t get away from each other. Brad purchased his five bedroom, three bath, 4,088 square foot home for $8,410,000 and lived in it only briefly. In 2006, Brangelina pretty much deserted the Malibu property and made Brad’s Los Feliz compound, which is located on a private gated road, their primary LA residence. I heard from a Malibu real estate agent a while back that the Jolie-Pitts were quietly shopping their Malibu house trying to unload it, but not having much luck.

According to one of my many star maps, the ultra modern home has a custom made sandblasted glass kitchen countertop, top of the line appliances, an outdoor fireplace and sweeping views of the Pacific. There’s even an adorable little lawn area below the house, set up with two chaise lounges which looks like the perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon. The house is really beautiful in person and – even though I am 100% on Team Aniston – I was still really excited to see it up close and personal!!!

Check out some great pictures of the interior of the house here and here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Brangelina’s Malibu home can be found at 32316 Pacific Coast Highway, directly next door to the Project Beach House which is located at 32340 PCH. I can’t say that I’d really recommend stalking either house, as there just isn’t that much to see from the street. I would suggest doing a little cyberstalking instead, as Zillow provides some good views of both houses. Click on the following links for the Zillow pages on Brangelina’s house and the Project Beach House.

July 11, 2008December 6, 2013

Marilyn Merlot

I am still very much in the throws of my Marilyn Monroe obsession, and it is definitely true what they say – the more you think about something, the more you attract that thing to you. My father happened to be going through his wine collection last week and discovered a bottle of “Marilyn Merlot” wine that he had purchased almost a decade ago. No one in my family has ever been a big Marilyn fan, so it was a fairly random purchase. My dad says he came across the wine one day many years ago in a grocery store and he grabbed it thinking it might one day be a collector’s item. Due to my recent obsession, he of course gave the bottle to me and I quickly put it on display in my kitchen. Flash forward to this past weekend, when my parents were vacationing in Monterey, California. They made a visit to their favorite wine shop there, Terranova Fine Wines, and lo and behold, sitting on a shelf in the store was a vast collection of the Marilyn Wines, including the one my father had just given me. It’s present day worth? $225!! Guess he was right about it one day being a collector’s item. 🙂

Bob, the owner of Terranova, filled my dad in on the history of the Marilyn Wines. Apparently, in 1985 two Napa area brothers gained exclusive rights to Marilyn’s name and certain images of the starlet and decided to use them on bottles of wine. Beginning in ’85, the brothers released a new vintage of Marilyn Merlot each year on her birthday – June 1 – each with a different photograph of the screen legend. The wine was not extremely popular until its fourth vintage when it caught the attention of a Japanese businessman who formed a partnership with the brothers. They agreed that 60 percent of each year’s vintage would be sold exclusively in Japan, as Marilyn is still a huge icon there. They also agreed to only release a limited quantity of each year’s wine, so as to prevent overflooding of the market. Today the wines are hugely successful, with some vintages costing upwards of thousands of dollars. The brothers have branched out and now also produce Marilyn Cabernet, Norma Jeane Wines, the Velvet Collection, and Blonde de Noirs, their latest creation of sparkling wines. All royalties from the sales of the wines go to Anna Strasberg, the wife of Marilyn’s beloved acting coach, Lee Strasberg, to whom Marilyn left everything in her will. Anna allocates the money to the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the Anna Freud Fondation in London.

That same day that my parents learned the history of the Marilyn Wines, my boyfriend and I were actually stalking the Beverly Hills home Marilyn shared for a few short months with husband Joe DiMaggio. Monroe and DiMaggio rented the house in April of 1954 while Marilyn was in town filming There’s No Business Like Show Business. The home, which is most often referred to as Joe and Marilyn’s honeymoon home, is a very cute, but nondescript Elizabethan style house. It is amazing to me to that she lived in such a normal home at the height of her career.

On October 6, 1954 a distraught Marilyn held a press conference on the front lawn of this home announcing her divorce from Joe DiMaggio. The press were out in force that day, camped out in Marilyn’s front yard, to document the event. Marilyn vacated the home shortly thereafter. You can see a slide-show of the press conference that took place that day here. Although it is a very long slide-show, there are quite a few photographs where you can see the home in the background.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marilyn and Joe’s honeymoon home is located at 508 North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills, just off Santa Monica Boulevard. Terranova Fine Wines is located at 315 Calle Principal in Monterey, California. If you visit the store, be sure to ask for Bob, who has a vast knowledge of Marilyn Monroe and the Marilyn Wines. You can also visit the Terranova website here.

June 29, 2008December 6, 2013

Marilyn Monroe’s Former Home

For some reason lately I have been obsessing on Miss Marilyn Monroe. I never really had any interest in her until recently, had never even seen any of her movies all the way through, and generally never really had an opinion about her one way or another. But that all changed about two weeks ago when my acting teacher recommended that I study some of Marilyn’s films. I rented The Seven Year Itch and ever since have become completely obsessed. I had no idea how absolutely adorable Marilyn was! She completely lit up the screen anytime she was on it. For those of you who have yet to see any of her movies, I highly recommend renting The Seven Year Itch. My favorite scene is when she leans out of her second story window and announces to her neighbor “I just washed my hair!” with the same excitment as if she had just booked a movie role. It’s hilarious! 🙂

So last week, when I found the address of one of Marilyn’s first residences, a small studio apartment, in my fave stalking book, I dragged my boyfriend right out to stalk it. Marilyn lived in the property during the year 1942. At the time, Marilyn, who was then known as Norma Jean Baker, was 16 years old and had just married her first husband Jim Dougherty. Some refer to the studio as her “first honeymoon home”. But when we arrived at the address, we discovered that Marilyn’s former home is no longer there. 🙁

When my boyfriend and I pulled up to the address, we saw a sign announcing an apartment for rent in what I assumed was Marilyn’s former building. In what definitely constitutes a stalker maneuver, we called the phone number and asked for a tour of the available apartment. 🙂 I was hoping the vacant apartment was the one Marilyn had actually lived in back in 1942. But the super nice property manager explained to me that long ago there used to be a single family home and a small studio sized guest house located on the property. The guest house is where Marilyn lived in 1942. Both homes were torn down many years back to make room for the apartment building that is standing there today. Today stalkers can only visit the land where Marilyn’s former home once stood.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The apartment building where Marilyn’s former home used to be located can be found at 4524 Vista Del Monte in Sherman Oaks. The property manager said tourists flock to the building constantly to take pictures. He said he’s even seen news-people holding newscasts in front of the building on occasion. 🙂

March 12, 2008November 8, 2010

Owen Wilson’s Former House

In honor of Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson’s rekindled romance (pictures of the two frolicking in Miami surfaced on the pages of US Magazine this week), I decided to stalk Owen’s Santa Monica abode. Several months back, I had read an article on TMZ which chronicled Owen’s suicide attempt and listed his home’s general location as the 900 block of 23rd Street. A different article published at the same time described his home as “gated”. So, this past Saturday, armed with those two clues, I set out to find his house.

Success came rather easily, being that there is only one gated home located on the entire 900 block of 23rd Street. 🙂 I am continually shocked by the normalcy of so many celebrity homes, and Owen’s was no different. While large and beautiful, his home was in a very normal Santa Monica neighborhood and I would never guess a movie star lived behind the tall hedges.

Owen lives in an adorable white clapboard residence and, although much of the house is blocked by tall palm trees and other foliage, you can catch a good view of the side of it by walking along 23rd Street. You can see the back of the house by driving down the alleyway in between 23rd and 24th Streets.

Update: Just got a comment from JJ saying that Owen moved out of this house and into a new Malibu house. Did a little research and apparently JJ is correct. Looks like I have a new location to stalk!! 🙂 From what I can find online it seems Owen still owns this Santa Monica house.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Owen Wilson lives at 947 23rd Street in Santa Monica, in between Idaho Avenue and Washington Avenue. After stalking Owen, you can visit Courteney Cox’s former home, which is located in the same neighborhood at 606 Alta Drive.

January 27, 2008August 6, 2018

Rainy Day Stalking at Jennifer Aniston’s Former Beach House!

I am still reeling over the fact that I got to meet Kristin Cavallari last night! I am still pinching myself! Anyway, I digress . . .

In honor of today’s rain storm, I thought I’d blog about a rainy day stalking adventure I had a few years back – the day I found Jennifer Aniston’s Malibu beach house. Jen rented this beach house shortly after her separation from Brad Pitt. Sad to say, this location was a very hard one for me to find. I had been looking for it for quite some time, being that I am totally and completely obsessed with all things Jen, and I knew from several blogs that it was located on a stretch of beach known as Carbon Beach – but I still could not seem to locate it!

Then one VERY rainy day, US Magazine published a really good picture of Jen’s beach house and I knew that, using the picture as a resource, I would most likely find the house! So, as usual, I dragged my poor boyfriend to Malibu – in the pouring rain – to do some stalking. We spotted the house right away while we were driving along Pacific Coast Highway and then parked to get a beachfront look. Thankfully Jen’s house is fairly close to the public beach access for Carbon Beach, so we didn’t get completely drenched walking in the rain to her house.

Jen’s house was absolutely adorable!! One of the most darling houses I have ever seen! It is a fairly small, two story, brown shingled home, and it just looks so Jen! I loved it! Sadly, Jen no longer rents this house, which is owned by Oracle C.E.O. Larry Ellison. She has permanently moved to a new Hal Levitt designed home in Beverly Hills. But I’ll save that one for a future post!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Jen’s former Malibu beach house is located at 22164 Pacific Coast Highway. Just a few houses south of Jen, at 22126 Pacific Coast Highway, is the ginormous beach house of David Geffen. Don’t get too close to Geffen’s house, though, as he is not too keen on sharing his beach with the public. Remember, these houses are private residences, so don’t trespass or disturb the owners! After stalking Jen’s house, head to the Malibu Country Mart, located at the corner of Cross Creek Road and PCH, for some star studded shopping and dining. Nobu, one of Jen Aniston’s favorite restaurants, and Britney’s preferred Starbucks, are both located there.