O.J. Simpson – IAMNOTASTALKER

August 26, 2019August 25, 2019

The Daisy – Where O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Met

I love a good true-crime podcast. One that recently got me hooked is Confronting: O.J. Simpson with Kim Goldman, which just finished its first season. In it, the sister of murder victim Ronald Goldman interviews numerous key players in the so-called Trial of the Century, including jurors, prosecutors, witnesses and one of the defense team’s private investigators. It is raw, real, heartbreaking and informative – I even learned a few new things about the case, which I didn’t think possible. Listening also reminded me of a Simpson-related location that I stalked way back when but have yet to blog about – the former site of The Daisy in Beverly Hills. It was at the tony members-only discotheque that O.J. first laid eyes on a young Nicole Brown, thereby setting off their turbulent 17-year relationship. It is sobering to think that without The Daisy there would be no O.J. and Nicole, the events of June 12th, 1994 would not have occurred, and the cultural landscape of Los Angeles, nay the world, would be very different today.

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The small brick building that housed The Daisy, which has long since been razed, was initially constructed as a private residence in 1941. Just two years later, famed restauranteur and self-proclaimed Russian prince Michael Romanoff enlisted architect Douglas Honnold to transform the dwelling into his eponymous nightclub, Romanoff’s. The lounge (you can see what it looked like here) would go on to become one of the best-known hot spots in Hollywood history. An entire post could be dedicated to Romanoff’s, in fact, but since this piece is about The Daisy, I’ll keep my reporting on it scant. The eatery’s patronage read like a Who’s Who of Tinseltown, with Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Chaplin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Jack Warner all counted as regulars. In 1951, when Romanoff’s moved a few blocks away to 140 South Rodeo Drive (that’s where Sofia Loren was famously snapped gazing disdainfully at Jayne Mansfield’s décolletage – one of history’s most iconic images), its former home became the Friars Club. That, too, relocated in 1961 and the following year The Daisy opened in its place. It was the first members-only disco to exist in Beverly Hills.

Established by Jack Hanson, who was best known as the founder of Jax, a wildly popular Beverly Hills clothier that outfitted the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, and Twiggy, The Daisy was a hit from the outset. The Hollywood elite who patronized it had to shell out an initiation fee of $250 and membership was limited to 400. The steep price tag did not curb the club’s popularity, which was packed to the gills most nights with such luminaries as Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, Sonny and Cher, Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Mia Farrow, Natalie Wood, Paul Newman, Grace Kelly, Bobby Darin, and Peter Sellers all dining, dancing, and playing pool on the premises. The extensive menu even had dishes named after many of its famous regulars, from Ray Bradbury to Katherine Ross. As Hanson told the press in 1977, “Seven nights a week for nearly 10 years, this place was filled with the biggest celebrities in the world. I was king of the town.”

The Daisy was the site of countless historic events in pop culture, not a surprise considering its elite clientele. Aaron Spelling met future wife Candy there in 1965, while they were both on dates with other people (she was doubling with Tina Sinatra and Sammy Hess). In the winter of that same year, Frank Sinatra had a terse exchange with writer Harlan Ellison over a pair of boots, which journalist Gay Talese famously chronicled for Esquire magazine. And it was at The Daisy that, on August 11th, 1969, Diana Ross introduced the Jackson 5 as Motown’s newest group. The place truly is hallowed ground when it comes to Hollywood history.

The late ‘60s brought a decline in The Daisy’s patronage, largely thanks to newer clubs like The Factory which were popping up all over L.A., and it eventually closed in 1970. At that point, Hanson rebranded the place into a health food restaurant/cabaret (where’s Luann de Lesseps when you need her?) that went by the same floral moniker. The eatery didn’t last long, though, and in 1976, Bryan MacLean, a founding member of the rock group Love, leased it, opening a Christian nightclub on the premises. Though initially popular, dancing was not allowed and alcohol was not served, and it, unsurprisingly, closed within a year. So Hanson quickly took over the reins again, reopening The Daisy at the site. This time initiation fees were $500, but, as before, the high fee did not deter customers. It was not long before the club was hoppin’ once more.

In 1977, Nicole Brown, then 18 and fresh out of high school, landed a job as a waitress at The Daisy. During her very first shift, she caught the eye of O.J., then 30, married, and one of the club’s regulars. (He, too, had a dish named after him – the “O.J. Simpson” consisted of scrambled eggs and a sliced orange. Let that sit for a minute.) Though Nicole had no idea who the sports star was at the time and despite the fact that he was not exactly single, the two began an affair and within months were living together. The rest is much publicized – and very tragic – history.

Along with being a pop culture phenomenon, The Daisy is also a screen star. It was there that Leon (Bill Duke) told Julian (Richard Gere) he had to go back to Palm Springs for a job in the 1980 drama American Giglio.

It was also at The Daisy that Ross Conti (Steve Forrest) and Elliot (Beverly Hills, 90210’s Joe E. Tata!) discussed some illicit images in the second episode of the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives.

While much has been reported about The Daisy’s early, popular years, I could not find any info whatsoever on its demise and have seen it reported that the club was closed and demolished in both the early 1980s and in 2005. Aerial views don’t provide much clarity, either. Whatever the year, at some point the building was razed to make way for new retail space. Today, the former Daisy site is home to the boutiques Saint Laurent and Moncler.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The former site of The Daisy, where Nicole Brown first met O.J. Simpson, can be found at 326 North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Anderton Court Shops complex is located right next door at 333 North Rodeo.

June 22, 2016June 21, 2016

Nicole Brown Simpson’s Gretna Green House

You’d think I would be sick of all things O.J. by now, what with the recent airing of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and the many stalkings I’ve done of the various locations associated with it over the past few months (you can read those posts here, here, here, here, and here). But when my friend Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, mentioned a couple of weeks back that a new five-part documentary about the famous fallen footballer and the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, would be airing on ESPN, I immediately set my DVR to record it. O.J.: Made in America did not disappoint. The Grim Cheaper and I were glued to the TV for its duration. After the airing of “Part Two,” Owen suggested I blog about Nicole’s former rental located at 325 South Gretna Green Way in Brentwood, which was featured prominently in the episode. Shockingly, not only had I never stalked the residence, but I had never so much as even looked at it via Google Street View. In fact, up until watching “Part Two,” I had been under the assumption that the place was Tudor in style. I was shocked to see that it is actually Spanish! I added the home to my To-Stalk List and was floored this past Monday when, in a random twist of fate, the GC and I happened to find ourselves in Brentwood passing Gretna Green. So we headed right on over to finally see the house in person.

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Nicole moved into the four-bedroom, five-bath, two-story, 3,424-square-foot pad upon separating from O.J. in January 1992 and remained there through January 1994, at which point she relocated to a Mediterranean-style condo at 875 South Bundy Drive, where she would be killed a short six months later.

In the spring of 1993, Brian “Kato” Kaelin, aka the world’s most famous houseguest, moved into the Gretna Green property. (His unusual nickname is a childhood moniker apparently derived from the character played by Bruce Lee on The Green Hornet.) Kato first met Nicole in December 1992 in Aspen, Colorado, where Simpson was vacationing with future The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Faye Resnick. The two apparently hit it off and the following month Nicole invited Kato to a party at her Gretna Green residence. During the soiree, he noticed the guest house on the property and asked if he could lease it. Nicole agreed. Kato paid a monthly rate of $500, which was offset by any time he spent babysitting the Simpson children. When Nicole moved out of the home in January 1994 and into the condo on Bundy, Kato was set to move with her and live in one of the downstairs bedrooms. O.J. apparently scoffed at the idea and instead invited Kato to stay in one of the guest rooms at his mansion on Rockingham, rent free. Kato accepted, thereby sealing his fate of being forever entwined with one of the most famous murder cases in history.

The gate leading to the backyard, where the guest house is located, can be seen on the very left hand side of the photo below.

Aerial views of the Gretna Green home are pictured below. Kato’s guest house, which is located on the southern side of the property, is denoted with pink arrows.

It was from the residence that Nicole’s infamous October 25th, 1993 calls to 911 were made. On that evening at approximately 10 p.m., O.J. showed up at the Gretna Green house unexpected, apparently upset over Nicole’s relationship with Mezzaluna restaurant manager Keith Zlomsowitch, and kicked in the back door to gain entry, at which point Nicole called the police. After talking to the dispatcher, she hung up briefly and then called back.

That call was chronicled in the O.J.: Made in America episode titled “Part Two.”

Several areas of the residence were shown in the episode, including the backyard, which provided us with a great view of Kato’s guest house.

Though no filming took place inside of the home, we were given a glimpse of the interior through the back windows.

I have to admit that I inwardly groaned when the camera ominously panned in on a large set of knives in the kitchen.

It was also at the Gretna Green home that, according to O.J.’s testimony from the civil trial, Simpson watched Nicole through a living room window while she was being intimate with Zlomsowitch.

Per Zillow, the 1937 residence, which sits on 0.17 acres of land, last sold in January 2000 for $630,000. I think that number may be slightly off, though, being that when the pad hit the market five years prior in 1995, it was listed at $1.275 million. During that sale, it was acknowledged that Nicole had made the infamous 911 calls from the property. According to the real estate agent, this was done “not as a come-on, but in an effort to disclose information so as not to take the buyer by surprise later on.”

You can check out some photos of what the house looked like shortly after the murders here, here, and here.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, for suggesting I stalk this location.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Nicole Brown Simpson’s former rental is located at 325 South Gretna Green Way in Brentwood.

May 23, 2016May 23, 2016

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

I do not think O.J. Simpson is guilty. I know how incendiary that statement is and, up until a couple of years ago, had I heard it come out of someone else’s mouth I would have found the sentiment absurd. But in November 2012 I read O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It, written by esteemed private investigator William C. Dear, and became convinced that the former footballer was actually innocent of the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Simpson. Now before you jump down my throat telling me how batsh*t crazy I sound, I urge you to read the book yourself. It’s incredibly well-researched, thought-provoking, and detailed. Moreover, Dear’s theory just makes sense. All the pieces fit together – without involving drug deals gone bad, frame jobs, or Cuban neckties. My fascination with the Simpson case did not start with O.J. Is Innocent. Not only did I live through the trial, but I have read countless books (A Problem of Evidence is another favorite) and articles (Dominick Dunne’s Vanity Fair columns are by far the best) about the events of June 12th, 1994. One aspect of the case I never gave much thought to, though, was the extreme hardship that the jury was under. So I was especially enthralled by the “A Jury in Jail” episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. I quickly became fascinated by the chosen twelve’s (and their alternates’) experiences – and also a wee bit obsessed with tracking down the hotel featured on the show and the hotel where the actual jury was put up in real life. It did not take me long to find both and I ran right out to stalk them back in early April.

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While watching “A Jury in Jail,” I noticed that two large fish tanks were visible in the lobby of the hotel where the jury was sequestered. Knowing aquariums are not a typical hotel feature, I figured they would be my key in identifying the locale. So I did a Google search for “Los Angeles,” “hotel,” “lobby,” and “fish tanks,” but unfortunately the results yielded nada. A few weeks prior, I had noticed that the IMDB page about the miniseries’ filming locations mentioned that some scenes were lensed in Torrance, so I did a second Google search, this time inputting “Torrance,” “hotel,” “lobby,” and “fish tanks.” The first result to come back was a TripAdvisor page about the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay. So I headed on over to the property’s website and, sure enough, it was the right spot!

It is not hard to see why producers chose to feature the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay as the jurors’ upscale “downtown L.A.” digs. The sprawling property does have a very tony feel to it and, though not outdated by any means, bears a very ’90s vibe.

In real life, the DoubleTree features a fitness center, a large outdoor pool flanked by several waterfalls and ponds, a hot tub, two eateries (Andre’s Restaurant and the Tea Tree Café), 16,000 square feet of meeting space, a business center, and complimentary Wi-Fi and parking. Bonus – the hotel is located just steps away from Del Amo Fashion Center, an oft-filmed mall with an incredible half-abandoned section that I will be blogging about soon.

Several areas of the DoubleTree were used in The People v. O.J. Simpson, including the exterior;

the front entrance;

the lobby;

the Crystal Ballroom – which was both where the jury received their sequester instructions . . .

. . . and argued over what TV shows to watch;

one of the rooms (though we did not check out any of the DoubleTree rooms while we were there, as you can see below, the room shown in the episode matches an image taken from the hotel’s website);

and Andre’s Restaurant . . .

. . . which appeared in several scenes.

Had to do it!

The hotel where the jury stayed in real life was also a fairly easy find. When I first started doing research on the subject, I came across a fascinating October 1995 Los Angeles Times article about the final evening of the juror’s 265-night sequester which stated that the group was put up at the Hotel Inter-Continental in downtown Los Angeles. Though the Inter-Continental is no longer in existence, a quick Google search told me that the property is now the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza located at 251 South Olive Street.

The 17-story, 453-room hotel was originally built in 1992, so when the jurors checked in on January 11th, 1995, it was practically brand new. The site has undergone two renovations since being taken over by the Omni brand in 2000, the most recent of which was a $15-million facelift completed in 2011.

The Four Diamond Omni Los Angeles Hotel boasts a heated outdoor pool, a fitness center, two restaurants, and a spa – none of which the jury was allowed to make use of.

The focal point of the spacious two-story lobby is a massive 3,000-pound glass-enclosed sculpture named “Yellow Fin” that was designed by David Stromeyer.

The Omni is situated adjacent to California Plaza, an outdoor gathering space popular with downtown workers that features restaurants, cafes, fountains, and walkways.

The hotel is also a filming location. It was seen briefly in the 2000 action flick Gone in 60 Seconds as the spot where Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) and Tumbler (Scott Caan) stole a car by pretending to be a rock star and his driver, respectively.

And playing itself, it was the hotel where Brig. Gen. Bill Marks (Bruce Davison) was staying in the 2002 thriller High Crimes. (Please pardon the craptastic screen captures below, which I got off of YouTube.)

During their sequester, the 12 Simpson jurors and 12 alternates (by the end of the trial, only two of those alternates remained) stayed in standard rooms on the fifth floor of the Inter-Continental. As depicted in The People v. O.J. Simpson, televisions were removed from the jurors’ rooms, as were telephones and all reading materials. Security was so tight and the jurors kept so far removed from civilization, in fact, that the entire fifth floor remained off-limits to other guests. Hotel elevators were set to bypass the fifth floor entirely and jurors were forced to make use of a guarded service elevator. On the final night of the sequester (after their verdict had been returned, but not yet announced), the group threw a party in the Inter-Continental’s 17th-floor presidential suite, complete with champagne and salmon canapés, to celebrate the fact that they were finally going home. Honestly, after seeing everything they went through, it comes as no surprise that deliberations lasted only a scant 4 hours. The jurors wanted to get out of dodge as quickly as possible. And who can blame them? Sure, they had a job to do, one that needed to be taken extremely seriously, but what Johnny Cochran and Marcia Clark did to them was virtually criminal (and yes, as was depicted in the series, I believe Marcia’s hands were just as dirty as Johnny’s when it came to putting the jury through ridiculous ongoing time-consuming nonsense). The O.J. Simpson case was a sad situation all around and in the end it served to do only one thing – make a mockery of the U.S. justice system.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay, aka the hotel where the jurors were sequestered in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, is located at 21333 Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance. You can visit the property’s official website here. Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, aka the former Hotel Inter-Continental where the Simpson jurors were sequestered in real life, is located at 251 South Olive Street in downtown L.A. You can visit the property’s official website here.

March 4, 2016March 3, 2016

O.J.’s Mansion from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

The Grim Cheaper and I are absolutely hooked on the new FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which is not surprising considering we have both been fascinated with the case since the beginning – as has the rest of the world. While watching the first episode, titled “From the Ashes of Tragedy,” I was shocked to see the real life former home of Robert Kardashian playing the role of itself. I stalked and blogged about the residence back in 2013 and recognized it immediately when it popped up onscreen. I recently wrote about the pad once again for Los Angeles magazine and, during my research for that post, came across this The Hollywood Reporter article which talked about some of the other locales used in the mini-series. One particular sentence had my interest especially piqued. Author Lacey Rose stated, “Many of the case’s famed landmarks will appear familiar, even if the series had to take some liberties with its locations. O.J.’s Brentwood home, for instance, was razed in 1998, so the location manager found a similar-looking Tudor in Beverly Hills and production designers recreated key touches of Simpson’s estate, including the life-size Simpson statue in the yard.” I, of course, instantly got started searching for the property.

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Thanks to an address number of “1006” that was visible on the curb in front of the house in “From the Ashes of Tragedy,” finding it was a snap! I simply began looking through 1000 blocks in Beverly Hills and quickly came across the right spot at 1006 North Rexford Drive. I didn’t get around to stalking the place, though, until this past weekend while the GC and I were in L.A.

The manse has appeared in several episodes of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, including “From the Ashes of Tragedy,” “The Run of His Life,” and “The Race Card.”

Numerous areas of the property have been shown onscreen, including the entrance gates;

the backyard;

and the real life interior, which you can see photographs of here.

The residence looks much the same in person as it does in The People v. O.J. Simpson and, though gated, quite a lot of it is visible from the street.

Unfortunately though, the estate sits on a heavily tree-lined street and, because we were there in the late afternoon, my photographs of it turned out rather dark.

For those who want a true American Crime Story experience, the house is available as a vacation rental for a whopping $14,000 a night. According to its HomeAway webpage, the massive property, which was originally built in 1923, boasts 7 bedrooms, 9 baths, 10,311 square feet of living space, a den, a library, 2 offices, multiple fireplaces, a game room, a gym, a sauna, a “laundry center,” an entertainment lounge with a bar, a 35mm projection screening room, a secluded 1.65-acre lot, a pool, a guest apartment (for the Katos in your life), a tennis court, a spa, and a playground.

The estate also boasts a Hollywood pedigree. According to my buddy E.J., of The Movieland Directory website, the dwelling, which last sold in March 1981 for $2,950,000, belonged to Warner Bros. Studio founder Harry Warner during the 1940s.

On a rather humorous side-note – the GC’s GPS is run through his iPhone and gives directions via Siri. When I asked Siri to direct us to “1006 North Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills,” she instead, rather ironically, gave us a listing of juice places in the area. Not joking! A photograph of the listing that popped up on the GPS screen is pictured below.

The whole thing was especially comical being that the video below had just been released a few days prior.

Since we were on an O.J. kick, the GC and I decided to also stalk the site of Simpson’s real life former residence, which was a first for me. While I have visited Nicole’s condo a few times over the years, for whatever reason, I had never been to “Juice’s” estate. As mentioned above, the home was razed in 1998, long before I moved to L.A., so I guess I always figured it was never worth the trip. Now that the case is front and center again, though, I was dying to see the place in person.

O.J.’s estate formerly stood at 360 North Rockingham Avenue in Brentwood. The football star purchased the 6,200-square-foot, Tudor-style manse for $650,000 in 1977 and lived there for the next twenty years (not counting the 474 days he spent in jail), until being evicted in 1997 after the house was foreclosed upon. The pad was subsequently purchased by Jerry’s Famous Deli owner/investment banker Kenneth Abdalla for close to $4 million. According to a 1998 CNN.com article, Abdalla contended that the property was in need of a large amount of repairs and figured it would be most cost effective to demolish it and re-build from scratch. I believe the tear-down had more to do with the pad’s notoriety than its condition, though, especially considering the fact that Abdalla also had its address changed to 380 North Rockingham.

Today, a large Mediterranean-style residence stands at the site. You can see aerial views of what the property currently looks like below and what it looked like when Simpson lived there here.

There is literally nothing left of Simpson’s former home. The gates, the fencing, the circular driveway, the pool, the waterfalls, the putting green, the guest quarters, the tennis court, and the playground have all been replaced.

You can check out an in-depth rendering of the layout of O.J.’s former estate here and see photographs of it here and here. It is amazing to me how much it resembles the house being used in The People v. O.J. Simpson.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: O.J.’s house from The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story is located at 1006 North Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills. The site of O.J.’s actual former mansion can be found at 380 North Rockingham Avenue in Brentwood.