San Marino – IAMNOTASTALKER

December 8, 2017December 8, 2017

Thornton Gardens from “Funny Girl”

I have never been a big Barbra Streisand fan. Sure, she’s an undeniably talented singer – and actress and director, for that matter – but I’m just not that into music. And that whole Rosie-O’Donnell-having-to-rearrange-her-stage-to-showcase-Barbra’s-better-side thing really turned me off. I won’t even get in to her absolutely cringe-worthy Inside the Actors Studio interview. Nevertheless, when I came upon this 2016 Outlook Newspapers article which mentioned that the movie Funny Girl had done some filming at a house located at 1155 Oak Grove Avenue in San Marino, I took note – and was utterly shocked. Though I had never seen the 1968 musical biopic, I knew it was a tremendous hit, one that put Babs on the map. I have no idea how I lived in Pasadena for over 15 years – and spent pretty much all of my waking moments traversing the area stalking, no less – yet failed to realize it had been lensed nearby! So I immediately added the address to my To-Stalk List and headed right on over to see the place in person a few weeks later.

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Prior to stalking the locale, I had not done any research on it. I hadn’t even so much as looked at an aerial view. Because the Outlook article described the site as a “house,” I assumed it was just that – a regular single-family residence. So I was shocked upon arriving to discover an absolutely massive front gate – easily the largest gate I’ve ever encountered – with no sign of a house anywhere.

As it turns out, the “house” mentioned in the article is actually a mansion – an enormous 2-story, 11,700-square-foot, Tudor Revival-style structure that boasts 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, and a whopping 9 acres of land. Sadly, outside of the impressive gate, none of it is visible from the road. But you can catch a glimpse of it in the aerial view below. Known as Thornton Gardens, the massive residence is named for its current owner Charles Thornton Jr., who bought the pad in 1989. For years though, it was known as the Katherine Sinclair Emery Estate, in honor of the woman who commissioned it in 1927.

After her husband, tobacco heir Frank Whitney Emery, passed away in 1920, Katherine decided to “downsize” from the sprawling 24-room mansion at 1400 Hillcrest Avenue in Pasadena that she had called home since 1914. (That pad has, sadly, since been demolished with several residences built in its place.) She hired renowned architect Myron Hunt to design a new estate for her on a large plot of land in nearby San Marino. His creation, which boasted a grand entry hall with a massive staircase, oak walls, leaded-glass windows, and a conservatory, was completed in 1928. The grounds were designed by landscape architects Florence Yoch, Lucille Council and Katherine Bashford and included a motor court, manicured gardens, and a reflecting pool. At various points during her tenure, Katherine, I guess hoping to downsize even further, subdivided her land. When she passed away in 1939, the residence was sold first to a wealthy couple who used it as a winter home and then, in 1945, to Colonel J.G. Boswell and his wife, Ruth Chandler Williamson, daughter of Harry Chandler. Though Boswell re-purchased some of the estate’s lost land, when he passed away in 1952, Ruth sold it off once again. Upon her death in 1987, the manse was acquired by Thornton and his wife, who painstakingly revitalized it and bought back much of the subdivided parcels. Doing so made the couple San Marino’s second largest landowners, the largest being The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens! You can see some interior and exterior photographs of the spectacular property, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, here.

In Funny Girl, Thornton Gardens masquerades as the supposed Long Island mansion that Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif) and Fannie Brice (Streisand) purchase after getting married.

Both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the property were utilized in the movie.

Though the Barbra Streisand Archives website mentions that Thornton Gardens belonged to producer Ray Stark at the time that Funny Girl was lensed, that information is incorrect. Per the California Office of Historic Preservation, the property was owned by Ruth Chandler and her third husband Sir William Charles Crocker when filming took place in 1967.

Thanks to IMDB, I learned that Thornton Gardens also pops up in 1950’s The Big Hangover as the home of John and Martha Belney (Percy Waram and Fay Holden, respectively) and their daughter, Mary (Elizabeth Taylor).

The front gate even makes an appearance in the flick.

The interior shown in the movie was just a set, though, and not Thornton Gardens’ actual interior.

As you can see in these photographs as compared to the screen captures above and below, the inside of the Belney home does not look at all like Thornton Gardens.

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: Thornton Gardens, aka Nick and Fannie’s “Long Island” mansion from Funny Girl, is located at 1155 Oak Grove Avenue in San Marino.

October 13, 2017October 12, 2017

Madeline and Ernest’s Mansion from “Death Becomes Her”

It’s Friday the 13th! Friday, October 13th! Could anything be better? This Haunted Hollywood season, the universe has really been pushing me to watch Death Becomes Her. I had never seen the 1992 flick and, while I knew it was about two longtime female rivals obsessed with aging, always assumed it fell into the comedy genre and, for whatever reason, never had much interest. But while researching Lacy Park recently in preparation for this post, I came across a 2016 Outlook Newspapers article that chronicled filming in San Marino. One of the area locales featured in the blurb was a mansion at 1125 Oak Grove Avenue, which author John Gregory mentioned had a cameo in Death Becomes Her. I jotted the address in my stalking notebook and didn’t give it much more thought. A short time later, while perusing Instagram, I happened to glimpse one of Hello Gorgeous blogger Angela Lanter’s stories and just about fell over when she stated that she and husband, Matt Lanter (my fave actor), had been engaging in a scary movie marathon to get into the Halloween spirit and that they were planning to watch Death Becomes Her, one of Matt’s favorites, that night. I was thrilled to learn the flick would fit in with my Haunted Hollywood theme, moved the mansion straight to the top of my To-Stalk List, and sat down with the Grim Cheaper for a Death Becomes Her viewing. The film did, indeed, turn out to be more funny than spooky (although, truth be told, what’s more frightening than getting old?!?), but I figured the estate was still worthy of a post.

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The mansion mentioned in the Outlook Newspapers article was actually the main home featured in Death Becomes Her. In the film, the massive Mediterranean-style estate masked as the supposed Beverly Hills residence of actress Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and her plastic-surgeon-turned-reconstructive-mortician husband, Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis).

The palatial pad was featured numerous times throughout the movie.

Despite the passage of 25 years and aside from a change in paint color, the sprawling estate looks much the same today as it did onscreen.

While watching, I had a hunch that only the mansion’s exterior was utilized in Death Becomes Her and that the ornate interior of Madeline and Ernest’s home was a set.

With its towering staircase, colossally tall ceilings, and massive fireplaces, the interior just seemed a bit too grand to be real. Then I came across this Entertainment Tonight interview with Death Becomes Her production designer Rick Carter which confirmed my hunch. In it, Carter talks about his creations for the movie and his initial fear that the sets he designed might be too large and monumental for the shoot. He says, “I remember the first day Meryl Streep shot on that set and her first lines were ‘Ernest!’ and the whole place just filled with her ego. And there she was! The set had come alive. ‘Cause I was a little bit concerned, had I made it all too big? Could any personality fill that? And within the first nanosecond of the performance by Meryl Streep, there it was, filled.”

I would love to see what the inside of the San Marino mansion looks like in real life (I imagine it’s far more modest), but unfortunately, I could not find any interior images of it online.

Madeline and Ernest’s backyard was also just a set.

The home’s actual backyard, which you can see in the aerial views below, is quite a bit larger than its onscreen counterpart.

In real life, the 2-story mansion, which was built in 1921, features 9 bedrooms, 7 baths, a 0.98-acre lot, and a pool.

Per Zillow the pad boasts 6,334 square feet, though I would have guessed it to be much, much larger.

Thanks to Chas, from It’s Filmed There, I learned that the estate also appeared in another Bruce Willis movie, 1992’s The Last Boy Scout, in which it portrayed the residence of Sheldon Marcone (Noble Willingham).

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! And Happy Friday the 13th! Smile

Stalk It: Madeline and Ernest’s mansion from Death Becomes Her is located at 1125 Oak Grove Avenue in San Marino.

September 20, 2017September 19, 2017

Lacy Park from “Say Anything . . . “

Despite having lived in the San Gabriel Valley for 15 years, I somehow never visited Lacy Park in San Marino. I had heard of it, sure (the kids I used to babysit would watch fireworks there every Fourth of July), and knew it was a popular recreation spot, but was never exactly certain of its location. Lacy Park is often called one of San Marino’s “hidden gems” and now that I have been there, I can see why. Those unaware of its presence could easily drive right by without noticing it at all. Largely unmarked by signs and its parking lot hidden from view, the site isn’t exactly easy to find. And, for whatever reason, I never sought it out. But when Greg Mariotti, from The Uncool website, informed me that a scene from Say Anything . . . had been lensed on the premises (while the two of us were working on our guide to the 1989 movie’s Los Angeles locations), I knew I had to get over there ASAP to see it for myself.

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The spot where Lacy Park is now situated was originally home to a lake. Yes, a lake! Lake Avenue in Pasadena is named after it, in fact. Created by streams that poured down from the nearby mountains, the reservoir served as a water supply for the Gabrielino-Tongva Indian tribe in its early days.

In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries descended upon the area and dammed up the lake in order to use it for power.

The mere got further use – and slowly began to dry up – in 1854 when a vintner named Benjamin D. Wilson purchased it, as well as a significant amount of surrounding acreage, and started employing the water to irrigate his vineyards. He eventually allowed owners of neighboring land to also utilize the spring, which he dubbed “Wilson Lake,” depleting it significantly.

In 1900, the site, which had been renamed “Kewen Lake,” was still large enough for swimming and George S. Patton, who grew up in the area, would take regular dips there. (There’s even a memorial to the General on the property – it’s pictured below.)

In the ensuing years, the reservoir continued to reduce in size, becoming little more than a pond. The city of San Marino decided the grounds would be better utilized as a public park and began re-imagining it as such in 1924.

City councilman William Hertrich and landscape designer Armin Thurnher helped devise the bucolic space, which opened to the public as Lacy Park, named in honor of San Marino’s then mayor Richard H. Lacy, in 1925.

The 30-acre idyll is easily one of the most beautiful parks I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Situated in the center of the peaceful glen is a huge, open expanse of rolling lawn, surrounded by two walking loops (one measuring 3/4 mile and the other measuring 1 mile) framed by a mass of trees on all sides. Much of the foliage, which includes oak, sycamore, and palm trees, was donated by railroad mogul Henry E. Huntington, whose estate – now the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens – is located just blocks away. Lacy Park also boasts a rose arbor, six tennis courts, a baseball field, and a children’s jungle gym.

In Say Anything . . . , Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), Diane Court (Ione Sky) and the rest of Lakewood High’s Class of ‘88 gather with friends and family at Lacy Park immediately following their graduation.

While there, Lloyd surreptitiously poses next to Diane while his BFF Corey Flood (Lili Taylor) snaps a photo.

Lacy Park also pops up in the 2002 thriller One Hour Photo as the spot where Seymour Parrish (Robin Williams) watches Jakob Yorkin (Dylan Smith) play soccer.

Supposedly Bill Cosby shot a movie at Lacy Park, as well, though I am unsure of which movie. Fellow stalker Chas, of the It’s Filmed There website, recently asked me how I identify all of the productions that have been lensed at a particular location. My answer? “I Google the sh*t out of places.” Winking smile Well, today’s locale definitely provided the most unusual tip I’ve ever unearthed regarding filming information. While up to my usual Google tricks researching Lacy Park, I came across a deposition from the Cosby case (which you can see here and here) in which a plaintiff asserts that she met the actor while he was filming a movie at Lacy Park “in or about 1974.” Despite the rather unusual nature of the lead, I, of course, felt compelled to figure out which movie she was referring to, but, unfortunately, as of yet, I have not been able to. The only two that fit the bill as far as timing goes are Let’s Do It Again and Uptown Saturday Night. While the former is not available for streaming anywhere, I was able to scan through the latter. Though it does feature a park scene (pictured below), because of the mountains visible in the background and the arid nature of the foliage, I am 99.9% certain that it was shot at Griffith Park, not Lacy.

And while this Outlook Newspapers article says that Monster-in-Law also did some filming at Lacy Park, I scanned through the 2005 movie and did not see it pop up anywhere.

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: Lacy Park, from Say Anything . . . , is located at 1485 Virginia Road in San Marino. Be advised – non-area residents have to pay a $4 fee to enter the grounds on weekends.

July 24, 2015July 23, 2015

The White House Gates from “Scandal”

My life as of late seems to be absorbed by Scandal. As I mentioned last week, the Grim Cheaper and I have recently become addicted to the ABC series. Besides watching it during pretty much every free waking moment, I have also been furiously researching the show’s filming locations. While set in Washington, D.C., Scandal is lensed in Los Angeles. The crew does some seriously amazing work to hide that fact, though. Gary, from the Seeing Stars website, uncovered a few key Season 1 locales a while back, including the White House gates, which I was beyond floored to learn were located at Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (one of my very favorite spots in all of L.A.). The explanation as to the gate’s precise location was a bit hazy, though, so I set out to remedy that this past week while I was in Pasadena.

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The White House gates from Scandal are located just beyond Huntington Library’s main entrance, which is on Orlando Road.

Upon entering the property and driving past the guard shack, head south on Palm Drive towards Huntington’s massive parking lot.

About 700 feet south of the main entrance, there is a sign that directs visitors to turn left into the parking area. That sign is pictured below.

Just beyond the sign, Palm Drive intersects with a small tree-lined road named Mausoleum Drive. The eastern entrance to Mausoleum Drive is denoted with a pink arrow below.

The White House gates can be found just beyond that eastern entrance.

I was just a little excited upon finding them!

The gates’ exact location is denoted below. Because they are situated near the parking area, you can actually see them without having to purchase a ticket to enter the Huntington Library grounds. Though why anyone would not want to enter the grounds is beyond me. It’s honestly one of the most beautiful places on earth and a spot I’ve long considered a Must-Stalk location for visitors to L.A.

The gates have appeared twice on Scandal. They first popped up in the Season 1 episode titled “Dirty Little Secrets.”

On the series, the gates are manned by White House security guard Morris Elcott (Troy Winbush). Though minor, Morris is a fabulous character who, for some odd reason, stopped appearing after Season 3. I really wish they’d bring him back.

The gates were next featured in the Season 1 finale titled “Grant for the People.”

A green screen is used, rather convincingly I might add, to make it appear as if the White House is located just beyond the gates in the series.

What is actually located beyond the gates is a single lane tree-lined road that leads to Huntington Library’s Mausoleum. Ah, the magic of television!

The same gates were also used as the entrance to Helen’s (Rose Byrne) mansion in Bridesmaids.

For reasons that most likely had to do with convenience, a different set of gates was used as the White House gates in the Season 3 episode of Scandal titled “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

It took me for-ever to track those gates down, but I finally did so while writing this post. They are actually Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s Gower Street gates. Though dressed a bit for filming, they are definitely recognizable from their onscreen stint.

Several areas of Huntington were used in Scandal’s “Dirty Little Secrets” episode, including the Mausoleum, which masked as a Washington, D.C.-area park . . .

. . . and the American Art gallery, which masked as the exterior of the White House.

And in “Grant for the People,” the property’s Boone Gallery masqueraded as the exterior of the White House.

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 Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens are located at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino. The White House gates from Scandal can be found just beyond the property’s main entrance, at the intersection of Palm and Mausoleum Drives. The gates used in the Season 3 episode titled “Mama Said Knock You Out” are Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s Gower Street gates and can be found at approximately 900 North Gower Street in Hollywood.