Studio City – IAMNOTASTALKER

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020

The “Blossom” House

The Blossom house has been found! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been wanting to write that sentence! Fans of the show are likely looking at the photo above, though, thinking ‘That doesn’t look anything like the Blossom house.’ And they’re right. Sadly, the pad has been remodeled past recognition. So how the heck did I identify it as the home where spunky teen Blossom Russo (Mayim Bialik) lived with her father, Nick (Ted Wass), and brothers, Joey (Joey Lawrence) and Anthony (Michael Stoyanov), on the popular NBC series, which ran from 1991 to 1995? I have fellow stalker Chris (whom you may remember from the posts here, here and here) to thank for that. Somehow, with no address number or background clues to guide him, he was able to pinpoint the property above, located at 3941 Ethel Avenue in Studio City, as the Russo residence with about 99% certainty! I then enlisted my friend Michael (guest-poster extraordinaire) to join the endeavor and we were able to eradicate the remaining 1% doubt. Read on for the story behind our hunt.

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I began my search for the Russo residence a good three years ago. Along the way, I brought some fellow stalkers in on the quest, but none of us were successful. Our failure wasn’t all that surprising considering Blossom aired almost three decades prior and the only clue we really had to go on was the fact that the home was situated on a street with no sidewalk or curb. Then in mid-May, after Chris identified the Victorian from Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, I asked if he might help in the pursuit and he was all too happy to do so! It was not long after that he wrote back with the 3941 Ethel address! Flabbergasted, I inquired how in the heck he had IDed it so quickly. He explained, “I found the Blossom house just by browsing around Studio City on Street View and making a list of potential streets/houses, with the intention of then looking at them in more depth later on using the historic aerials on Google Earth. I found a lot of roads in Studio City seemed to have no sidewalks, so I always thought it was the most likely place. Eventually, I came to Ethel Avenue and spotted this house, however initially it was more the background, lack of sidewalk and white fence that looked similar rather than the house itself, so I made a note of it and carried on. I then went into the next street, Mary Ellen Avenue, and it was this street that made me convinced I was in the right area as many of the houses had similar features – in particular, 3942 Mary Ellen Avenue, which had the same style fence, same shaped pathway and lantern as the Blossom house. For a while, I was convinced that it was somewhere on this road, but after being unable to match any of the houses, I went back to Ethel Avenue. Immediately after doing so, I noticed the roof of the house next door to 3941 had a similar shape to the one next door to the Blossom house and from that point on, started to notice more and more features that matched.” The neighboring roofline Chris mentioned is denoted with fuchsia arrows below. As you can see, its unique shape, as well as the placement and style of the chimney are direct matches to what appeared on Blossom.

Chris went on to explain, “I then learned that 3941 had been renovated in 1996 and after looking at building permits for the property, I found a sketch of the original house that also matched the shape of the Blossom house.” Chris was kind enough to outline the shape of the original dwelling in red on the drawing, which paints a pretty clear matching picture. As you’ll notice, the placement of the bay window, wings that jut out on either side, and indented front door outlined in the sketch all mirror those of the Russo residence.

He also noted that 3941 boasts a hedgerow and spider plants along the right side of the driveway, both of which were evident in Blossom establishing shots.

I was in awe at Chris’ findings! Talk about some elite-level detective work! Everything I saw gave me a strong feeling that he had correctly identified the right place. But you know me – I like to be 100% certain in my reporting. So I brought in Michael, who uncovered a slew of additional matching details. His email to me included the aerial below. As he noted, “The clincher for me is in looking at the blurry Historic Aerial from 1980 you can make out some important features that all match up with Blossom: uniquely angled front walk, bay window sticking out, two tiny dormers, and left roofline that stops short where it turns into a hipped roof.” It was all compelling evidence, but seeing that angled walkway gave me chills! I knew we most likely had the right spot! But still, we pressed on.

Michael furthered, “Also, on the Blossom cap there are crawlspace vents along the foundation of the house. You can more easily make out one of them on the right corner, and there’s another one slightly visible behind the shrubs centered with the window. The Blossom siding stopped even with the landing of the front entry. The current siding goes one slat lower (overlapping the vents). If you draw a line across them from the front landing, the vents are located in the right spots and at the right level.” Michael even provided the fabulous graphic below to illustrate the point.

As if that wasn’t enough, Michael zeroed in on the front yard, as well. He said, “The yard seems to slope down to the right. In the Blossom cap, taller plantings seem to be covering higher foundation on the right side of the house, compared to the left side. This is also true for the Ethel Ave location.” And he noted, “On the Blossom cap taken from the left of the house, you can see the corner of something boxy to the right of the gable on the right side of the house. I think this might be the brick chimney of the right-side neighbor.” Though that chimney is blocked from view a bit by 3941’s new roofline and portico, it is still partially visible looking much like what appeared onscreen.

Here’s a closer view.

I also spotted a trench running along the street in front of the Russo residence, an element that exists in front of 3941 Ethel, as well.

That 1% doubt still lingered in my mind, though. I know, I know. I can be relentless! But, thankfully, certainty soon hit. A couple of weeks later, a fellow stalker posted some screen captures of the Russo house from a Blossom DVD in a Facebook group. The imagery was much clearer than what was being streamed on Amazon Prime, so I promptly ordered a DVD set for myself and waited not-so-patiently for it to arrive. As soon as it did, I got my clarity! In the commentary featured on the pilot episode, Blossom creator Don Reo announced that the Russo residence was located in Studio City in real life. And in the shot below, the house number is pretty clear (even more so when watching on a TV). It definitely looks like “3941” to me!

The clearer caps also led Michael to notice the double-hung window situated on the right side of the Blossom house. He said, “There’s a window in that exact spot in your present-day photos. Also behind the trees past the gate on the caps you can sort of make out a straight vertical line. I think that’s a second window—which is also still in that location.”

But what really clinched things for me was the establishing shot below in which I spotted a stacked stone fence post attached to the property to the left of the Russo pad. Google Street View imagery shows that very post next to 3941 (denoted with fuchsia arrows in both pictures below), though it is not visible in any of my photos due to foliage that now stands in front of it. Not only that, but I saw that the edge of the neighboring house in the Blossom cap was covered in the same stacked stone. That is also true of the property next to 3941 (denoted with blue arrows below)! And there’s more! I also noticed a white fence attached to the left side of the Blossom house. 3941 has that same white fence (marked by purple arrows below)! All of this adds up to tell me that 3941 Ethel Avenue is, indeed, the Russo residence from Blossom! Eureka! Thank you, Chris and Michael!

The timing of the 1996 remodel also adds up being that Blossom went off the air in ‘95. Seems like the owners, who purchased the place in 1987, waited until the series ended before altering the house, which makes sense. They likely didn’t want to risk losing out on any possible filming revenue. Per the building permits, the remodel included a “2,130-square-foot addition” that added on a second level, expanded the first story, and included a new “irregular-shaped porte-cochère.” All of that gibes with the differences we see of the house as it appeared on Blossom compared to how it looks now. Post remodel, the dwelling, which was originally built in 1948, boasts 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, and 5,057 square feet. The decades-old renovation, completed so shortly after the show went off the air and long before internet-sleuthing was a thing, explains why the Russo home has not been identified until now.

Only the exterior of 3941 Ethel Avenue appeared on the series. The interior of the Russo pad was just a set built on a soundstage, first at Ren-Mar Studios Hollywood (now Red Studios Hollywood), then Sunset Gower Studios, then Fox Television Center (now Helen Bernstein High School). The production moved around quite a bit during its five-year tenure on the air.

As Michael pointed out, the Russos’ kitchen has a very Golden Girls feel. He said, “After looking through a few episodes trying to find establishing shots, it was funny how obvious it was that they used the same production designer as The Golden Girls. A cheesecake certainly wouldn’t have seemed out of place in that kitchen.” Certainly not, Michael!

The property in its original state was utterly charming – in my “opinionation,” at least! It really is sad, not just for us stalkers but in general, that it has been altered so.

So there you have it, the sad saga of the Blossom house and the long quest to track it down!

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Chris for finding this location and to fellow stalker Michael for helping with the verification process.

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 Russo residence from Blossom is located at 3941 Ethel Avenue in Studio City. It has, sadly, been remodeled beyond recognition. Drew Barrymore’s childhood home is across the street at 4002 Ethel.

June 26, 2020June 25, 2020

Bistro Garden from “Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story”

The ‘80s were, without a doubt, garish, splashy, and over-the-top. But the second season of the true crime anthology series Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, which covers the 1989 murders of Dan Broderick (Christian Slater) and his mistress-turned-wife, Linda Kolkena (Rachel Keller), at the hands of his first wife, Betty (Amanda Peet), sure makes the era look good! I am obsessed with Betty’s clothes – her oxford shirts, navy flats, ever-present gold chain, and, of course, that headscarf from episode 3’s beach scene! The locations are pretty chic, as well, none more so than the swanky restaurant Dan and Betty dine at in “Marriage Encounter,” which I recognized on sight as Bistro Garden. One of Studio City’s most oft-filmed spots, I stalked and blogged about the eatery way back in 2010 (hence the dated photo above), but figured it was time for a re-do.

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Bistro Garden was founded by Carolyn Pappas, daughter of famed restauranteur Kurt Niklas, and her husband, Gregory, in 1990. The establishment was an offshoot of Niklas’ two popular Beverly Hills eateries – The Bistro in Beverly Hills, which opened in 1963 at 246 North Canon Drive, and The Bistro Garden, which opened in 1979 just up the road at 176 North Canon. To distinguish the Studio City site from its similarly-named BH counterparts, it was originally given the name “The Bistro Garden at Coldwater.”

The stunning space, inspired by European winter gardens (aka large glass conservatories built to house tropical plants year-round), features two airy dining rooms, a handsome wood-paneled bar, thirty-foot ceilings, skylights, latticework, French doors, and trees strung with twinkle lights. It is easily one of Los Angeles’ most gorgeous restaurants.

Considering that little of the interior has been changed since its opening thirty years ago, the eatery’s use in Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story must have been a no-brainer!

In “Marriage Encounter,” Bistro Garden poses as the fancy La Jolla restaurant Dan and Betty begin frequenting after Dan finally lands a high-paying job at a law firm. It actually pops up three times in the episode, first in the scene in which Betty embarrasses Dan by mentioning to a friend they run into that they used to be on food stamps.

The couple dines there again later in the episode and Dan complains about having already grown bored with the place.

And finally, it is at Bistro Garden that Betty, after showing off her new Oscar de la Renta dress to friends at the bar, overhears Dan describing Linda to a co-worker as “just so beautiful.”

Dirty John is hardly Bistro Garden’s first onscreen foray.

Jerry (Cary Elwes) proposes to Audrey (Maura Tierney) there in the 1997 comedy Liar Liar.

That same year, Cooper Hargrove (Christopher Orr) presented Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen) with a diamond necklace at Bistro Garden in the Season 8 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Toil and Trouble.”

The restaurant masks as New York’s Plaza Hotel, where Lexi Sterling (Jamie Luner) meets with three ex-fiancés of Ryan McBride (John Newton) in the Season 7 episode of Melrose Place titled “How Amanda Got Her Groove Back,” which aired in 1999.

Andy (Steve Carell) and his pals attend a speed-dating event there in the 2005 comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Bistro Garden portrays the country club where Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) catches a news report that leads her to believe her husband, Carlos (Ricardo Chavira), has been killed in the Season 2 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “Remember: Part 1,” which aired in 2006.

Gabrielle returns to the restaurant the following year in Season 3’s “Not While I’m Around” in order to meet her secret admirer, who turns out to be Zach Young (Cody Kasch).

In the Season 6 episode of The Office titled “Double Date,” which aired in 2009, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) takes his new girlfriend Helene Beesly (Linda Purl) to Bistro Garden to celebrate her birthday and then promptly dumps her upon learning her age.

Julia Fitzpatrick (Jennifer Garner) poses as a waitress there to get back at her boyfriend, Dr. Harrison Copeland (Patrick Dempsey), whom she has just discovered is married, in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine’s Day.

And in the Season 1 episode of Why Women Kill titled “Positively Lethal in Every Way,” which aired in 2019, Simone Grove (Lucy Liu) celebrates her daughter’s engagement at Bistro Garden.

While IMDB claims that the second episode of the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives was lensed at the Studio City Bistro Garden, being that the restaurant did not open until 1990, we know that is not true. Filming actually took place at the Beverly Hills Bistro Garden. In fact, the BH outpost inspired Jackie Collins to write the novel on which the drama was based! Of the restaurant, which shuttered in 1996, Jackie is quoted as saying, “There’s a story at every table. It’s almost like Le Cirque in New York: a place to see and be seen, to get dressed up before you go, to wave across the room at your friends when you arrive.”

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: Bistro Garden, from the “Marriage Encounter” episode of Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, is located at 12950 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

November 4, 2019November 12, 2019

A “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Halloween

I usually start planning my and the Grim Cheaper’s Halloween costumes on November 1st each year. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say. This year I was a bit late to the game because by the time mid-summer came around, I still found myself with no ideas. And then, on July 28th, I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. One look at Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) donning a red kimono, a blender full of margaritas in hand, and I knew there was no one else the GC could be! I was unsure of my costume, at first, as there was no real female counterpart to Rick in the movie. Then my mom said, “Why not dress up as up as Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt)?” – duh! – and, voila, our costumes for Halloween 2019 were born!

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I opted to wear Cliff’s Hawaiian shirt/Champion tee ensemble featured on the movie’s poster.

Image result for once upon a time in hollywood poster

It turned out to be an easy costume to put together. I found the Hawaiian shirt first, at Walmart of all places – a pretty accurate facsimile of Cliff’s for $25! The Champion tee came from Red Bubble (I ordered the slim fit version), the Levi’s (men’s 511s) from a local thrift store, the belt from Etsy, the watch was my grandfather’s, and the leather bracelet and sunglasses I already had in my closet. I was most excited to find Cliff’s suede booties, though! The iconic Minnetonka Two Button Softsole Boot was first released in 1969 and recently reissued thanks to the popularity of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – (I got the women’s version, men’s are here). To complete the look, I pinned up my hair (my neighbor actually thought I cut it!) and there he was, Cliff Booth in the flesh!

The GC’s costume was easy, as well. I found the house slippers on Amazon (they run large, so size down), the kimono on Ali Express (we ordered “red black”), and the vintage blender was an eBay score (and pretty much the most expensive part of the ensemble, interestingly).

Though we both loved walking around in our costumes, the highlight of our Halloween came when Once Upon a Time in Hollywood costume designer extraordinaire Arianne Phillips, whom I had contacted a while back to inquire about the kind of slippers Rick wore in the movie, shared a photo I sent her, along with pics of a few others dressed in OUATIH garb, on Instagram! Say whaaa? Pretty darn cool, if you ask me!

In honor of our costumes, I thought it only appropriate to blog about Rick Dalton’s fabulous mid-century ranch-style pad today. Because the film has yet to come out on DVD (December 10th can’t come soon enough!), I was only able to forage the trailer for screen captures. As soon as I do get my hands on a copy of the movie, I will add more imagery and information (thank you, special features!) to the post.

I found the address of Rick’s house thanks to this CurbedLA article about OUATIH filming locations and ran out to stalk it while in the area a few weeks back. In real life, the 1964 pad boasts 3 bedrooms plus a den, 3 baths, 2,630 square feet, terrazzo and hardwood flooring, a pool, a 0.42-acre lot, and striking 180-degree views of the city. The residence was recently offered for lease at a whopping $9,000 per month. The listing even touts its Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cameo!

According to a 2019 Architectural Digest article about the movie’s set design, Rick’s supposed Cielo Drive property proved quite evasive to pin down. Author Cathy Whitlock says, “For Rick Dalton’s house, the design crew searched for the perfect ranch house only to encounter one obstacle after another. The goal of a one-story ranch-style midcentury with a sloped ceiling, soffits, and a pool with a great view meant shooting three separate locations instead of one.” (The “three separate locations” thing surprised and confused me, but more on that in a bit.)

Adding to the elusiveness of the locale was the fact that the production required a home with a gate and long winding driveway be situated next to Rick’s to stand in for the leased residence of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha). Assistant location manager Scott Fitzgerald told the Location Managers Guild International (LGMI) website, “The whole idea was that Rick Dalton and Sharon Tate lived in the same neighborhood. So we had to find two houses that would work. Quentin had these little pieces in his mind. Rick was a movie star, so his house had to be the house of a movie star. But movie star homes back then were not weird and wild like they are today. Some were modest ranch houses in a nice neighborhood. It was a sign of wealth.” Contributing even more difficulty to the hunt was a shot director Quentin Tarantino had in mind from the beginning. As production designer Barbara Ling told LGMI, “The real albatross was finding Rick Dalton’s house. We wanted to try to capture the Benedict Canyon of that time. The house needed to be very close to another house. Quentin is so visual as a director. He had this shot written into the script. ‘We’ve got to have Rick in the swimming pool, and we’ve got to be able to have a camera that moves over so you can see the other house.’ We looked everywhere. It was such a tricky combo of driveways and was very specific to the shot he needed.” In the same article, location scout Lori Balton furthers, “Tarantino was super specific about his needs. The exact geography was important. For instance, the camera is on Rick’s pool, then cranes up and over the hedges to Sharon and Roman in their car leaving the driveway.” The production team finally found exactly what they were seeking for the Dalton and Tate/Polanski residences at 10969 and 10974 Alta View Drive, respectively, in the hills above Studio City. (The MLS image of the pool below comes from 10969’s recent rental listing.)

10969 Alta View Dr, Studio City, CA 91604

Both properties are pictured below, though only the gate of 10974 is visible from the street.

Though the exterior of Rick’s pad wasn’t featured in the trailer, from my recollection it looks very much as it did onscreen – as does the carport area (which did make the trailer), minus the large movie poster bearing his face, of course.

Per the LGMI article, the shoot on Alta View Drive required 14 nights of filming! And it was all exterior work.

The interior of Rick’s house was nothing more than a set built on a soundstage at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. You can check out what the actual inside of 10969 Alta View looks like here. It bears little resemblance to what appeared onscreen, as you can see below. Of Dalton’s décor, Ling told Architectural Digest, “Rick is somebody who bought a house at the height of his career and hasn’t renovated since he was a bachelor. He was not into the pop culture of the moment. The development of the character was about a TV star in his era, and everything was given to him from a [studio] set, such as the saddle of a horse from a TV show or a movie poster.”

10969 Alta View Dr, Studio City, CA 91604

As referenced earlier, Architectural Digest contends that three different locations masked as Rick’s residence. The magazine stipulates, “For Dalton’s Cielo Drive house, the production team used the exterior of two ranch-style homes and created the interiors on a soundstage.” I think that info may be erroneous, though, as we know that both the façade and backyard of 10969 Alta View were featured as Rick’s. I don’t recall any other outside areas of his house ever appearing onscreen and cannot fathom what the secondary ranch exterior mentioned could possibly have been used for. I think the article may actually be alluding to the fact that two different homes were used to portray the Tate residence (more on that below), though neither of them is a ranch. But that is just a guess. Once I get my hands on the DVD, I will hopefully be able to piece things together.

So far, what I have been able to discern is that the production team meshed two different exteriors to play Sharon’s pad. The gate and driveway are, of course, at 10974 Alta View Drive.

Though aerial views make it hard to tell, I believe front exterior shots of the Tate/Polanski rental were also likely lensed there.

According to the LGMI piece, backyard scenes were shot at a different location entirely – the former residence of Western actor Lee Van Cleef. While initially scouting that property, Balton says, “ . . . just my luck, a guy was pulling down the driveway wondering what I was up to. After I explained myself, he got a funny look on his face at the mention of Quentin Tarantino. He explained it was Lee Van Cleef’s home — a ’60s time capsule — and filled to the brim with Hollywood memorabilia that he thought would interest Quentin. Quentin is a rabid Sergio Leone fan; Van Cleef was in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More. Van Cleef died in 1989, but his wife still lives there with her brother. We ended up shooting in their backyard.” Key assistant location manager Kirk Worley furthers, “It stood in for the backyard of the Tate/Polanski home.” Per property records and my friend E.J.’s Movieland Directory website, Van Cleef’s former pad is at 19471 Rosita Street in Tarzana. The backyard has a pool smack dab in the middle of it, which doesn’t much jibe with the layout of the actual Cielo Drive house Sharon and Roman rented, but I guess the production team was able to make it work.

On an interesting side-note – until researching for this post, I had no idea that there was at one time a “twin residence” to the real Tate/Polanski rental. Both pads were designed by architect Robert Byrd in 1941. The twin, situated below Sharon and Roman’s place on Cielo Drive, had an almost identical façade and footprint, as you can see here. Both properties have since been remodeled past recognition, sadly. What is odd, though, is that, despite being owned by different parties and renovated at different times, the two homes once again are almost identical! It is a bit eerie to see. For those interested in the history of the actual Tate rental, I direct you to this fabulous Curbed LA article.

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: Rick Dalton’s house from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is located at 10969 Alta View Drive in Studio City. Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski’s gate from the movie can be found next door at 10974 Alta View.

September 30, 2019September 29, 2019

The House from “The Bradys”

Today we are gifted with another stellar guest post penned by my friend Michael, whom you may remember from the myriad other columns he has written for IAMNOTASTALKER over the years. Like many of those, this one is Brady Bunch-related and, let me tell you, I am here for it! So, without further ado, take it away Michael!

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My guest posts have traditionally focused on previously unknown or unpublicized locations. Well, consider that paradigm thrown out the window of a 1950s split level, as this post is about one location that is certainly not without publicity—the Brady house. Its address has been long known, many an article has been written about it, and heck, there’s even a current television program centered around its iconic status.

When the house went up for sale in 2018, HGTV purchased it with the goal of altering the structure, so that not only would the exterior match 50-year old The Brady Bunch establishing shots, but the interior would also align with the show’s sets that were only ever a reality on the soundstages of Paramount. A Very Brady Renovation, currently airing on HGTV, documents the overhaul, complete with help from a slate of HGTV personalities, the original surviving Brady Bunch cast, and impressively exacting and talented project managers.

In order to properly Brady-ize the house, some architectural elements of the façade needed to be altered. With so much focus on making the old new(ly old) again, I thought it was time for a look back at the house pre-renovation and how it relates to Brady canon—specifically, the 1990 television drama The Bradys.

An hour-long weekly drama, The Bradys premiered in early 1990 following the success of the late-1988 television movie A Very Brady Christmas. Nearly the entire cast reprised their roles, with only Leah Ayres portraying Marcia for this incarnation. Like the preceding series, Mike and Carol’s home was prominently featured, and while the set remained architecturally the same, the interior décor was updated to a more contemporary pastel color story. Going without an update, however, were the exterior establishing shots of the Brady residence. The same shots filmed in the late-60s and 70s for the original series and recycled throughout most of the show’s iterations were dusted off again for the earliest episodes of The Bradys. The Brady kids may have grown, but the palm tree by the front door apparently never gained a frond.

Even though The Bradys was canceled after only six episodes, a wide variety of establishing shots were used—eventually including updated views of the house. In the third episode of the series, “A Moving Experience,” Mike and Carol nearly lose their house to freeway construction. Thanks to last-minute inspiration from Marcia’s son and his Legos, Mike and Carol decide to have the house moved to a new lot.

A live-action scene was optically produced on Paramount’s backlot to depict the move. Greg’s son, played by a young Jonathan Taylor Thomas, was swept from harm’s way as something vaguely resembling the Brady house—balancing like a teeter-totter on a flatbed truck—paraded through the city streets. Now, of course, this seems a little much, but as an 8-year-old when it first aired, I was fascinated by this scene.

The move also allowed for a charmingly vintage CGI shot of the house on its ‘new lot.’

After ‘the move,’ new establishing shots of the house were filmed. Since the real home never budged an inch, more 90s CGI was used to replace the familiar Studio City background with new skyscapes. Mike and Carol must have paid a fortune for all of the mature foliage—I suppose after living with an AstroTurf lawn, and a palm tree that hadn’t grown for 30 years, they didn’t want to take any chances.

Though never addressed on the show, the changes in paint color, windows, roof, and landscaping could have been explained away as post-move touchups.

As was done for the original establishing shots, a window (albeit sized and placed differently than the 60s/70s version) was added to the front gable of the house. Until HGTV’s recent project, the home never had a window on its front peak. It did, however, have a large window near the front door. This window was covered in the original establishing shots, but left alone for the 90s updates. HGTV’s crew recently closed off this ground-floor window to honor the original establishing shots.

The ornate wooden doors, not original to the vintage establishing shots, were also left on the house, even though they also didn’t match those on The Bradys soundstage set. These doors were also recently replaced with new blue doors at the actual home to match the style from the original establishing shots and the color from the first season of The Brady Bunch.

Viewers got an even better look at the now displaced window in the fifth episode of the series, “Bottom’s Up,” when a pixilated Marcia and her kids walked to a car in front of the house. This scene also has the historic privilege of elevating the Brady house from an establishing shot into a full-fledged filming location.

After six episodes, The Bradys halted production and was subsequently canceled. Airing opposite ABC’s TGIF lineup up of Full House and Family Matters, my 8-year old allegiances were tested from the first episode. Although far from the target audience, I faithfully set my VCR each week, while spending my Friday nights with Urkel and the Tanner family.

For me, the fun of filming locations, other than solving the mystery of where they’re located, is comparing what they look like in person to the perception gleaned from their time on the screen. Some places look exactly as you’d expect, and others surprisingly different. Until recently, pulling up to the Brady house meant seeing something familiar yet different—a fence, a warmer paint color, larger trees, missing windows, extra windows—not quite the Brady Bunch house tucked away in your memory, but close enough.

Having grown accustomed to the residence more closely resembling its stint on The Bradys rather than The Brady Bunch, I went by the house in May and was excited to see the exterior work progressing through its very Brady transformation. Imagination is no longer needed to match the house up with your mind’s eye thanks to the tremendous amount of effort HGTV has put into both the interior and exterior of this project, as evidenced each week on A Very Brady Renovation. Now, the question is, what will become of this 70s throwback after the program concludes?

[Editor’s Note – Thank you, Michael, for another fabulous – and fabulously retro – post! I have yet to see an episode of The Bradys or A Very Brady Renovation (I know, I know), but now you have me chomping at the bit to watch both!]

Stalk It: The house from The Bradys is located at 11222 Dilling Street in Studio City . Note: The residence now more closely resembles the 1970s exterior seen on The Brady Bunch and there is currently a temporary privacy fence surrounding the property.

June 24, 2019June 23, 2019

Dottie’s House from “A League of Their Own”

I am pretty sure Penny Marshall had some sort of direct line of sight into my soul. The late director was behind several of my most beloved films. And not just movies I enjoy, but ones I find incredibly poignant, moving and enduring – productions that left a mark on my heart and invariably bring me to tears no matter how many times I watch. Renaissance Man, Big, A League of Their Own, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash all fit that bill. Unfortunately, most of Marshall’s films were lensed outside of the L.A. area, the latter notwithstanding (you can read about a few of JJF’s SoCal locales here, here and here). Consequently, I haven’t put much time into researching spots from them. So I was absolutely shocked to recently come across a mention on The Movie District website that the house where C Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) lived in A League of Their Own is in Studio City! Up until that point, I had been convinced that the 1992 dramady was shot entirely in the Midwest, namely Indiana and Illinois. One look at Google Street View showed me that The Movie District was right, though – Dottie’s home can be found at 4222 Agnes Avenue in Studio City. Armed with the newfound information, I could hardly wait to head out to L.A. to stalk the place, which I did just a few weeks later.

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The property only actually shows up once in A League of Their Own, in the opening scene in which present day Dottie packs for her trip to the grand opening of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

As you can see, not much of the residence has been changed in the 27 years since filming took place. It’s really quite incredible!

The actual interior of the home also appeared in the film, which I was able to glean thanks to the MLS photos available online from when it was last sold in 2014. Areas used include the master bedroom;

the living room;

and the stairs.

In real life, Dottie’s picturesque 2-story Cape Cod home boasts 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,764 square feet of living space, multiple fireplaces, a chef’s kitchen with Miele and Viking appliances, a playroom, hardwood flooring and French doors throughout, a master bath with a standalone tub, a detached 2-car garage, a 0.34-acre lot, a large pool, a pebble garden, and a koi pond.

Chock full of curb appeal, the residence possesses an insanely idyllic Anywhere, U.S.A. aesthetic.

It’s like a perfect little slice of Americana.

I mean, throw on some bunting and you’ve got the quintessential spot to celebrate the 4th of July!

Considering that halcyon atmosphere, it is no surprise that location scouts have pegged it for numerous roles besides Dottie’s house in A League of Their Own.

In the 1988 comedy My Stepmother Is an Alien, the property serves as the Mills residence.

In 1992, it popped up as the supposed Moses Lake, Indiana pad where Clara (Marianna Elliott) babysat – and got killed – in the horror film Candyman.

The residence appeared as Debbie Jellinsky’s (Joan Cusack) childhood home – which she burnt down – in a slideshow shown at the end of 1993’s Addams Family Values.

Andy (Justin Kirk) and Silas Botwin (Hunter Parrish) stop by the dwelling to get some fake IDs in the Season 6 episode of Weeds titled “Felling and Swamping,” which aired in 2010.

And it masked as the Moody family residence in the 2011 film Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. Only the exterior of the house appeared in the movie, though. Per a commenter named Mari, interiors were filmed on a set built at Sunset Bronson Studios and backyard scenes were lensed at a property in Pasadena.

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

Big THANK YOU to The Movie District website for finding this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Dottie Hinson’s house from A League of Their Own is located at 4222 Agnes Avenue in Studio City.

June 7, 2019June 5, 2019

The Friends of Heaven Grief Retreat Hotel from “Dead to Me”

You wouldn’t expect a show centered around grief to be funny. But the Netflix original Dead to Me, about the recently-widowed Jen Harding (Christina Applegate) and her new BFF Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), whom she meets in the Laguna Beach chapter of the Friends of Heaven grief group, is downright hilarious! One episode in particular, “I’ve Gotta Get Away,” in which Jen and Judy attend a Friends of Heaven-sponsored retreat, had me LOLing throughout. So I, of course, had to blog about the supposed Palm Springs hotel where the event took place, which, as it turns out, is a mash-up of several different L.A. spots. Two I’ve previously blogged about and recognized on sight (that’s the Sportmen’s Lodge above, which you may remember from this post) and the third I did a bit of digging to track down. What can I say – I always go the extra mile for my fellow stalkers. Winking smile

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The bulk of the Friends of Heaven Grief Retreat took place at The Garland Hotel Studio City, a spot I spent a few days at in 2015 and later blogged about. Numerous areas of the retro-fabulous property, which does have a very Palm Springs feel, were utilized in the episode including the Cabrillo ballroom, where Jen follows her new crush, Jason (Steve Howey), to a seminar titled “Big Question.” Though I stalked the space during my Garland stay, unfortunately the photos I took don’t jibe with the angles shown onscreen. Regardless, you can still see that the carpeting, wall color and chair railing match.

And while I failed to snap an image of the Cabrillo’s entrance, which appeared on Dead to Me, I did get a pic of the doors to another of the hotel’s venues, the Beverly Garland Theatre, which bears the same look.

The lodging’s Garland Ballroom was utilized for the Lost Angels: Finding Yourself After Pregnancy Loss workshop that Judy attends.

Again, my photos were taken from different angles than what was shown onscreen, but you can see that the chandeliers, mirrored paneling and carpet all match.

One of The Garland’s hallways was utilized in “I’ve Gotta Get Away,” as well.

And the hotel’s picturesque courtyard pops up twice in the episode.

It first appears toward the beginning of “I’ve Gotta Get Away,” in the scene in which Judy and Jen head to their respective seminars.

Later, Jen has a talk with Pastor Wayne (Keong Sim) there.

I am unsure if the two hotel rooms featured on Dead to Me are actual Garland rooms (which you can see images of here) or studio-built sets.

Though both suites do look very much like those of the hotel, there are some structural differences. For instance, Jason’s room on the show has louvered double closet doors . . .

. . . while The Garland’s rooms feature flat single closet doors with raised blue paneling.

On Dead to Me, similar blue paneled doors instead lead to the bathroom.

But The Garland’s bathroom doors are made of frosted glass.

Jason’s room also boasts crown molding and numerous ceiling beams . . .

. . . which the actual rooms do not, as you can see in the image below from the hotel’s website.

While I’m leaning toward the Dead to Me rooms being sets, the wallpaper and carpeting in both suites match those of the hotel precisely. It seems like duplicating those two décor items in such exacting fashion would not only be difficult, but rather pointless considering most viewers have likely never been to The Garland and would have no idea what the accommodations look like. So I’m really torn on this one.

And oddly, while The Garland does have a beautiful pool . . .

. . . for whatever reason, cast and crew headed three miles west to the Sportsmen’s Lodge for Dead to Me’s pool scene.

I have stalked Sportmen’s Lodge countless times in the past (you can read about one instance here), so I recognized the pool – and its signature orange chaises – immediately. Somehow though, I had never taken any photos of the area and when I recently headed back to the hotel to do so, I found it under massive construction. Despite the detritus, the pool is still recognizable from its appearance in “I’ve Gotta Get Away.”

In another odd twist, producers chose not to utilize any of the restaurants located at either The Garland or Sportsmen’s Lodge for the Carry On-Oke event that supposedly took place at the hotel bar. They instead made use of a Hollywood watering hole named Black. Though I have yet to stalk the place and actually had never heard of it prior to researching for this post, it was not very hard to identify thanks to its unique retro aesthetic. You can check out some photos of it here.

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 Friends of Heaven Grief Retreat from the “I’ve Gotta Get Away” episode of Dead to Me took place at these three spots – The Garland Hotel at 4222 Vineland Avenue in Studio City, Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel at 12825 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, and Black bar at 6202 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood.

February 14, 2018February 15, 2018

Art’s Delicatessen & Restaurant from “Beverly Hills, 90210: Exposed!”

They say you should always listen to your mother. It’s good advice. Case in point – about a decade ago, while stalking in Studio City, my mom, my dad, the Grim Cheaper and I passed by Art’s Delicatessen & Restaurant on Ventura Boulevard and decided to pop in for a bite. During our meal, my mom encouraged me to take photos of the place as she figured it had likely been utilized for filming at some point or had a celebrity connection. I spent the next couple of minutes bothering the staff with inquiries about shoots on the premises, but no one was aware of any. I snapped a few pictures regardless, but never did further research on the subject. Flash forward to last month. On the advice of my good friend/fellow 90210 aficionado Mike, from MovieShotsLA, I ordered a copy of the book Beverly Hills, 90210: Exposed!, an authorized behind-the-scenes look at the series and its stars written by Bart and Nancy Mills in 1991. When I got to the chapter on Jason Priestley and read the words, “He is all smiles and apologies as he arrives at Art’s Deli half an hour late because work had detained him,” I just about fell over! Oh, how right my mom was! Not only does the restaurant have a celebrity connection, but to my favorite show of all time, no less! I was so thankful I had taken some pics of the place! The only trouble was that when I went to locate the shots, they were nowhere to be found. Fortunately, the GC and I had to head out to Burbank for an IKEA run last week, so we made a pit stop at Art’s while in the area.

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Art’s was established by New York native Art Ginsburg, who moved to Los Angeles as a teen and spent his junior college years learning the ins and outs of sandwich-making while working at a deli owned by his cousin. Armed with $3,000, a collection of family recipes, and the support of his then girlfriend/later wife Sandy, he purchased a small Studio City eatery boasting a scant three and a half booths and twelve counter seats and opened it as Art’s Delicatessen & Restaurant on June 22nd, 1957.

Art’s quickly developed into an area staple, popular with locals, tourists and celebrities alike who flocked to the deli in droves for its authentic Jewish delicacies, homemade soups, and spectacular sandwiches. It is the latter that the site became most famous for. Considering the restaurant boasts the tagline “Where every sandwich is a work of Art,” that is no surprise. Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold had this to say about the Reuben:, “Sometimes I suspect Ginsburg studies the Reuben the way other great scholars parse the Talmud — adjusting proportions, strength of dressing and sharpness of cheese, crunchiness and ooziness, sweet and tart, until the sandwich speaks simply if profoundly on its own. Art’s is a good deli, but after the Reuben, all else is commentary.” I did not sample that particular offering while there, but instead opted for the Turkey Club (with turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato on sourdough – along with added cheddar cheese) and it was honestly one of the best sandwiches I have ever had in my life. I can count on one hand the delis I would travel great distances to visit and Art’s is now on that list! (The others are Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese in Windsor Square, Sweet Lady Jane in Santa Monica and Sherman’s Deli & Bakery in Palm Springs.)

Thanks to the restaurant’s massive popularity, it was not long before Art’s needed to expand. The site has actually been enlarged four times throughout its sixty-year run, taking over five neighboring storefronts in the process, and its patronage only continues to grow. Today, the deli seats 170 – and is typically packed at most hours.

Art’s has also undergone a complete reconstruction. While it survived the Northridge earthquake of 1994 with only a cracked wall, it succumbed to a massive electrical fire caused by an aftershock early the following morning. There was never any doubt that Ginsburg would rebuild, though. As he told the Los Angeles Times the day after the blaze, “The sign has been up there since 1957; it’s still up there and it’s going to stay up there.” It took nine months to bring the eatery back to life, during which time the surrounding stores felt the brunt of the closure. According to a different Times article, “By some merchants’ estimates, business on the block is down 40% since Art’s 1,000 customers a day stopped walking off their meals by window shopping along Ventura Boulevard.” When the deli’s doors re-opened on October 19th, patrons were lined up outside anxiously awaiting their reunion with the best sandwiches in town. Art’s has been going strong ever since. According to a 1999 LA Weekly article, each week the restaurant goes through 1,000 pounds of corned beef, 4,800 bagels, and 480 pounds of turkey!

Ginsburg himself was just as much a pillar of the community as his restaurant. He not only founded the city’s business improvement district, but also sat on the board of the Los Angeles Valley College Foundation. Even after retiring in 2010 due to health issues, Art would still pop into the restaurant on a daily basis to hold court with his regulars. When he passed away in 2013, the entire neighborhood mourned. Ginsburg’s son, Harold, carries on Art’s vision today, running the eatery with the same aplomb and conviction as his father.

Thanks to Art’s gregariousness and the restaurant’s proximity to a multitude of studios, the place has long been a celebrity haven. Just a few of the luminaries who have been spotted dining on the premises include Delta Burke, Gerald McRaney, Tori Spelling, Leah Remini, Steve Martin, Rob Lowe, John Landis, Lew Wasserman, Ed Asner, Mickey Rooney, Richard Dreyfuss, Jaime Pressly, Ashley Tisdale, Sara Gilbert, Tom Green, Jonah Hill, Zoey Deutch, Lea Thompson, Howard Deutch, Sarah Silverman, and Justin Theroux. Billy Wilder even hung out there in Art’s early days. And in 2011, the deli was the site of an informal reunion for several St. Elsewhere cast members including Ed Begley Jr. and Abby Singer.

One of the most famous movies of the ‘80s was even born over breakfast at the deli. One morning in May 1983, Ivan Reitman, an Art’s regular, met up with Dan Aykroyd at the eatery to discuss a futuristic sci-fi flick the comedian was writing about teams of men who fought ghosts in outer space. As Ivan explained to The Hollywood Reporter of their talk that day, “I said, ‘Look, I love this idea that there are people whose job is to catch ghosts and act like firemen. But it should have a contemporary setting, a big city that we know, like New York. There’s something [better] about seeing apparitions in a context that we understand, like in our living rooms or on our city streets, rather than in a void in outer space in the future sometime. He said, ‘That’s cool.’ And I said, ‘Actually, the story of their formation would be good.’ And I pitched this idea that these guys were paranormal investigators — like, looking at paranormal studies at a university in some kind of postgraduate study program. They get in trouble, they get kicked out, and then they fortuitously set up a business. That was what I pitched at this breakfast and he said, ‘That’s all cool.’” The result of that meeting was, of course, Ghostbusters.

For his Beverly Hills, 90210: Exposed! interview, Jason Priestley chooses to meet with the authors at Art’s, a favorite deli of his that sits in close proximity to the studio where the series was shot. While there, over a meal of matzo ball soup and a bagel with a pickle on the side, he discusses his journey to becoming a household name through his iconic role of Minnesota teen transplant Brandon Walsh. The eatery is referred to by name several times in the book and figures prominently in the chapter on Priestley. One passage reads, “Sitting in Art’s Deli on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles, Jason racks his memory to come up with a reason why he chose his life’s work while he still had his baby teeth. To help himself think, he dunks his pickle in his soup.” I find it so incredible – and fabulous – that the restaurant is still in operation thirty years after that interview took place!

As my mom suspected, Art’s is also a filming location!

In the Season 5 episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee titled “Happy Thanksgiving, Miranda,” which aired in 2014, Jerry Seinfeld takes Amanda Sings (Colleen Ballinger) for a Thanksgiving meal at Art’s Deli. The exterior . . .

. . . and interior were utilized in the filming.

Chelsea Handler dined with members of ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) at Art’s Deli in the Season 1 episode of Chelsea titled “I Was a Ticking Time Bomb,” which aired in 2016. Both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the place appeared in the episode.

Sandy Wexler (Adam Sandler) drives past Art’s in a very brief scene near the end of the 2017 Netflix original movie Sandy Wexler.

According to our server, Guy Fieri also recently filmed something at Art’s, but I am unsure of exactly what.

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: Art’s Delicatessen & Restaurant, where Jason Priestley’s interview for the book Beverly Hills, 90210: Exposed! took place, is located at 12224 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

February 9, 2018February 12, 2018

Bookstar from “Beverly Hills, 90210”

I have certainly been revisiting the past lately, as evidenced here, here, and here. Maybe it has something to do with nostalgia hitting me after our recent move. Whatever the reason, here I am yet again with yet another redux. Today’s locale is a favorite, one that I originally covered in May 2008 – Bookstar, a former-theatre-turned-Barnes-&-Noble in Studio City. Back in 1991, when the venue was operating as Mann’s Studio Theatre, Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) took Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) there for their first date in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Isn’t It Romantic?” While I have visited the unique book shop countless times over the years, it was not until last December when I came across this post on Scouting Los Angeles (if you are not familiar with Scouting Los Angeles or its sister blog Scouting New York, be sure to check them out – they are hands-down two of the very best location sites out there!) that I realized how much of the property’s original theatrical detailing remains intact. So I decided I just had to re-stalk the place and do another, more extensive write-up on it.

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Originally established as the Studio City Theatre by the Laurel Theatres company, the understated Streamline Moderne-style structure was designed by architect Clifford A. Balch of Magnolia Theatre fame. The 65-foot wide, 881-seat, single-screen venue celebrated its grand opening on June 11th, 1938 with a showing of MGM’s Test Pilot. You can check out a photograph of the movie house shortly before it opened its doors here and another photo here taken in 1946 by which point its ticket booth had been overhauled and made more ornate.

The arena hit a hiccup almost immediately. Per the Los Angeles Movie Palaces website, Laurel Theatres sued Fox West Coast for excluding them from various distributions just a few weeks after the opening. The lawsuit turned out to be rather ironic considering the fact that Fox (a division of the National General Pictures conglomerate) wound up managing the venue for many years after the Laurel Theatres group bowed out. During Fox’s tenure, the site was known as Fox Studio City Theatre. In 1973, when Mann Theatre Corporation took over the cinema portion of National General Pictures, which included the Studio City movie house, it was renamed Mann’s Studio Theatre.

Sadly, by 1990 the ever-growing popularity of multiplexes had caused patronage of Mann’s Studio Theatre to wane. The company chose not to renew their lease and the venue was shuttered in February 1991. Instead of selling to developers as many locals feared, the site’s longtime owners, the Rothman family, decided to bring in a tenant that would not only take advantage of the place’s history, but also preserve its aesthetic. The Rothmans’ real estate broker Bruce Bailey told the Los Angeles Times that despite generous offers from several builders, “they won’t change the property unless it is falling down. They are against mini-malls. They like the look of Studio City. They’ve had tenants ask if they could clear a portion and they won’t do it.” Those words are absolute music to my ears! I wish more Los Angeles building owners shared that sentiment. The Rothmans wound up finding exactly what they were looking for in Bookstar, a division of Barnes & Noble that had refurbished San Diego’s Loma Theatre into a book shop the year prior. The result of the company’s efforts is a fabulous amalgamation of cinema and print. Though the theatre’s lobby appointments and auditorium seating are now gone, pretty much every other original detail remains intact.

That detailing includes the colorful exterior terrazzo flooring;

the gilded ticket booth;

the marquee and “Studio City” signage;

the ceiling lip above the former concessions stand, as well as the columns that flanked it (which you’ll see some screen captures of in a bit);

the movie screen;

the ceiling art;

and the projection booth, which, per Scouting Los Angeles, now houses the store’s offices.

Paying homage to its original incarnation, all of Bookstar’s signage boasts cinematic and Art Deco styling.

It is easily one of the most unique spots to shop in L.A.

Movie magic between the stacks!

Mann’s Studio Theatre pops up three times in “Isn’t It Romantic?” At the beginning of the episode, Brenda tags along with her twin brother, Brandon (Jason Priestley), and his BFF Dylan for a showing of Animal Crackers at the venue. Watching the show, you can really get a feel for how little the space has changed since Bookstar took over. As I mentioned above, though the concession stand has been removed, the pillars that once flanked it as well as the curved ceiling lip above it remain in place.

Even the decorative outline carvings on the ceiling are still intact!

The staircase visible to the right of the concession stand in the scene also remains, but is now largely obscured by displays.

A better view of it is pictured below.

Later in “Isn’t It Romantic?”, Dylan, Brenda, and Brandon make plans to catch another Marx Brothers movie at Mann’s Studio Theatre, but Brandon gets sick, leaving Brenda to go out with Dylan alone, much to her father, Jim Walsh’s (James Eckhouse), chagrin.

While waiting in line for tickets, the two decide to, as Dylan says, “shine on the movie” and instead go back to his suite at the L’Ermitage, where they kiss for the first time.

Something I’ve always found amusing about the scene is that the establishing footage of the theatre shown in it is actually re-used from the third segment of the episode that takes place at Mann’s. Though you don’t see her from the front, Brenda is visible pacing away from the camera in the fabulous navy and pink outfit she wears for her date with Dylan in the later scene.

In the theatre’s third “Isn’t It Romantic?” appearance, Dylan and Brenda make another date to see another Marx Brothers flick at the cinema, but, devastatingly, he stands her up, leaving her to pace in front of the venue for hours until the movie lets out. Brenda is so upset over the experience that she stays home from school the following Monday. Have no fear, though – it all works out in the end. Well, until that little home-wrecker Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) steps in and ruins things in Season 3. But I digress.

It is so amazing that despite the changeover from theatre to bookstore and the passage of almost thirty years, the locale looks pretty much just as it did when the episode was filmed.

Bookstar has popped up in a couple of other productions, as well. It appears as the the theatre “near Olympic and Western” where Sergeant Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) investigate a juvenile assault with a deadly weapon at the beginning of the Season 2 episode of Dragnet titled “The Grenade,” which aired in 1967. Only the exterior of the venue was utilized in the scene. Interiors were filmed on a set.

Thanks to fellow stalker Al, I learned that the site is featured in Wang Chung’s 1985 “Fire in the Twilight” music video, which you can watch here.

The theatre is also seen very briefly in the 1988 comedy Earth Girls Are Easy in the scene in which Wiploc (Jim Carrey) meets some “Finland babes” while cruising Ventura Boulevard.

Jerry Seinfeld and Miranda Sings (Colleen Ballinger) briefly park in front of Bookstar at the end of the Season 5 episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee titled “Happy Thanksgiving, Miranda,” which aired in 2014.

According to commenter YMike on the Cinema Treasures blog, Mann’s Studio Theatre also appears in an episode of the 1985 version of The Twilight Zone television series. I am unsure of which episode, though, and scanned through a copious amount of them in preparation for today’s post, but did not see it pop up anywhere. If anyone happens to know, please fill me in!

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: Bookstar, from the “Isn’t It Romantic?” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, is located at 12136 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. You can visit the shop’s official website here.

September 22, 2017August 21, 2019

The Former Site of the “Eight Is Enough” House

One of my biggest filming location pet peeves is when an unfound spot from an old movie or television show is explained away as having been demolished without any evidence to support that allegation. Like Whitney Houston, I wanna see the receipts! So when I recently came across an Eight Is Enough message board in which several commenters mentioned that the home where the Bradford family lived on the popular ABC series had been torn down years back, I was not quick to believe the claims and decided to look into the matter myself. As I eventually learned, the EIE house was indeed razed long ago, sadly. Because questions about the residence linger online, though, I figured it was worthy of a blog post – especially since my friend Michael (you may remember him from his many guest posts) was able to dig up some proof of its demolition.

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For those not familiar with Eight Is Enough, the show, which ran from 1977 to 1981, was based upon the 1975 memoir of Tom Braden, a Washington, D.C.-area political columnist who, with wife Joan, had eight children. For the series, the family’s last name was changed to Bradford and the setting shifted to Sacramento, where Tom (Dick Van Patten) and second wife, Abby (Betty Buckley), lived with their large brood – David (Grant Goodeve), Mary (Lani O’Grady), Joannie (Laurie Walters), Susan (Susan Richardson), Nancy (Dianne Kay), Elizabeth (Connie Needham), Tommy (Willie Aames) and Nicholas (Adam Rich) – in a charming two-story Colonial-style dwelling. (Diana Hyland, the actress who played Joan, Tom’s first wife and mother of the Bradford clan, sadly passed away in the middle of the series’ inaugural season and only appeared in the first four episodes. Tom then married Abby at the beginning of Season 2.)

A commenter on the Eight Is Enough message board had stated that the Bradford pad formerly stood right off Lankershim Boulevard at 10703 Chiquita Street in North Hollywood. Early on in my research, though, I unearthed a The Sacramento Bee article from 2015 in which associate producer Sandra Bice said that the property used on the show was located in Burbank. She explained that EIE location managers likely did some scouting of Sactown neighborhoods and then found a house in the vicinity of Warner Bros. Studio, where the series was lensed, that had a similar look and feel. I was not sure which source to believe, but felt an associate producer was likely more credible. To fulfill my due diligence, I did look into the Chiquita Street address, though. Number 10703 is no longer in existence, but, as Google showed me, that address falls at the end of a small cul-de-sac in Studio City, not North Hollywood. While there are several newly built homes situated in the cul-de-sac today, aside from a mid-90s construction date, I could find no other information on them or what stood there prior anywhere.

Seemingly stuck, without any sort of idea where to turn next, I brought Michael in on the hunt. Thankfully, he was able to work his usual magic, showing me the receipts via a 1984 Press Democrat article in which the home’s location was spelled out in literal black and white. As it turns out, the message board commenter was correct – almost. The Eight Is Enough house was once located at 10733 Chiquita Street (not 10703).

Running a search on that address, Michael then came across a building permit which showed that the residence was torn down in 1996.

The permit also provided a diagram revealing how the property was formerly laid out.

Armed with that information, I headed over to the Historic Aerials website to see if I could figure out exactly where the house and its detached garage used to be situated. Though a bit hard to see, the Bradford residence and garage are marked with pink and blue arrows, respectively, in the images below.

Using that imagery, along with the building permit, I was able to discern that the Eight Is Enough house and garage formerly stood in the areas denoted with pink boxes below.

That spot is pictured below in its current state.

The home, said to be at 1436 Oak Street in Sacramento on the series, was used extensively throughout Eight Is Enough’s 5-season run. Not only did the dwelling pop up regularly in establishing shots . . .

. . . but it also appeared in each episode’s opening credits . . .

. . . as well as in countless on location scenes. The residence was also featured in the 1987 made-for-television movie Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion and in 1989’s An Eight Is Enough Wedding, but, unfortunately, I could not find a copy of either production with which to make screen captures for this post.

Only the exterior of the dwelling appeared on Eight Is Enough. Interiors were filmed inside of a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studio.

Though the Bradford house is long gone, the road leading up to it still looks relatively the same.

Thanks to IMDB and the Eight Is Enough message board, I learned that the residence was an onscreen regular in its day, most likely due to its charming aesthetic, proximity to several studios, and Anywhere, U.S.A. feel. In the Season 2 episode of The Rockford Files titled “Where’s Houston?,” which aired in 1976, the Bradford pad portrayed the home of Houston Preli (Lane Bradbury).

I believe the property’s actual interior was also utilized in the episode.

The pad popped up on The Rockford Files once again two years later, this time as the supposed Sherman Oaks home belonging to Jay Rockfelt’s (John Pleshette) parents in Season 4’s “Dwarf in a Helium Hat.”

From the way the episode was shot, I can say with certainty that the real life interior was also featured.

The Eight Is Enough house was used in an establishing shot of the residence belonging to Rebecca Steck (Paula Hoffman) in the Season 2 episode of Valerie – or The Hogan Family, if you’re watching in syndication – titled “Caught on a Hot Tin Roof,” which aired in 1986.

Interestingly, the shot was actually borrowed from the pilot episode of Eight Is Enough, which makes sense being that both series were produced by Lorimar. Though the quality of The Hogan Family cap is terrible (I could not find a hi-res version of “Caught on a Hot Tin Roof” to stream), as you can see, the images above and below are one and the same.

In 1987, it popped up as the supposed Eden, Oregon-area Sitwell Mortuary where Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) met with some blackmail victims in the Season 4 episode of Murder, She Wrote titled “Trouble in Eden.” (Thanks to fellow stalker Dennis for the tip!)

The property’s interior also briefly appeared in the episode, though the main mortuary room featured was, I believe, just a set.

The Bradford home also portrayed the Conventry Presbyterian Halloween Spook House in the Season 3 episode of Quantum Leap titled “The Boogieman: October 31st, 1964,” which aired in 1990.

Thanks to fellow stalker AJM, I learned that the Bradford residence was used extensively as the home of Cus D’Amato (George C. Scott) and Camille Ewald (Lilyan Chauvin), where Mike Tyson (Michael Jai White) lived while training to become a boxer, in the 1995 biopic Tyson.

The interior of the pad also appeared in the movie.

Update – While perusing photographs of the 1938 Lankershim Bridge collapse, a fellow stalker named Paul spotted the Bradford home! He was kind enough to share the photos with me to post here. The image below is from the USC Libraries Digital Collection. The Bradford pad is denoted with a blue circle. Though not perfectly clear, it is a much better shot of the property than the ones provided by Historic Aerials. I love that, despite the somewhat fuzzy imagery, the home is still definitely recognizable from Eight Is Enough.

The second photo Paul shared comes from the Water and Power Associates website and, once again, the Bradford residence, which is pictured from the rear, is circled in blue. Though I have not been able to discern when precisely the property was originally built, at least we now know, thanks to Paul, that it was constructed at some point prior to 1938.

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Big THANK YOU to my friend Michael (you can read his many guest posts here) for helping to confirm this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Bradford home from Eight Is Enough was formerly located at 10733 Chiquita Street in Studio City. The residence was torn down in 1996 and a new house now stands in its place.

April 8, 2016April 1, 2016

Sara’s House from “Grandfathered”

I always find it amusing when the exterior of a home is changed between a television show’s pilot and its subsequent episodes (which happens often, as I have mentioned numerous times on this site), but the interior is kept the same. Such was the case with the ranch-style residence where Sara (Paget Brewster, who I just realized played Kathy on Friends!) lives on Grandfathered. While watching the pilot, I recognized the dwelling used as Sara’s immediately as I had stalked and blogged about it way back in 2009. (More on that in a minute.) By the time episode two aired, a different house was being used for exterior shots, but the interior remained largely unchanged. Such is Hollywood, I guess.

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In Grandfathered’s pilot, Sara is shown to live in a charming double-peaked-roof home which I recognized on sight as the same dwelling where Wendy (Courteney Cox) lived in the 2008 comedy Bedtime Stories. You can read a post I wrote about the house here.

In the episode, Jimmy (John Stamos) heads to the home to confront Sara about the fact that she never told him she had his baby 26 years prior. While there, he says “I’m standing here on a porch in East Bumpkinville.” Sara corrects him by stating, “Pasadena,” to which he replies, “Oh, this is Pasadena?” The house is actually located in South Pasadena, though, at 800 Adelaine Avenue.

In real life, the adorable property, which was built in 1925, boasts 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2,165 square feet of living space, and a 0.23-acre plot of land.

For one of the scenes in Bedtime Stories, some fake diagonal parking space lines were painted onto the street in front of the home.

Those lines were still visible, albeit faintly, when I stalked the place in 2009.

And they are apparently still visible today! I was absolutely floored to see them when Jimmy parked his car in front of the house in Grandfathered!

The actual interior of the home also appeared in Bedtime Stories.

And it was utilized in the Grandfathered pilot, as well. Then, once the series got picked up, that interior was re-created on a soundstage at CBS Studio Center in Studio City where the show is lensed.

Though some minor changes were made, for the most part the set looks very much like the actual house. Which is amusing because . . .

. . . by Grandfathered’s second episode, titled “Dad Face,” a different property, one located at 12660 Kling Street in Studio City, was being used for exterior shots. I am guessing the move was made due to the fact that the new residence is much closer to CBS Studio Center than the South Pasadena pad and therefore much easier for the cast and crew to travel to for shoots.

With its peaked roof and light green coloring, the Kling Street house does bear some resemblance to the Adelaine Avenue home.

In real life, the 1939 property boasts 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2,183 square feet, and a 0.20-acre plot of land.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Sara’s house from Grandfathered is located at 12660 Kling Street in Studio City. The home used in the pilot episode can be found at 800 Adelaine Avenue in South Pasadena.