The O.C. – IAMNOTASTALKER

July 8, 2020July 7, 2020

Malaga Cove Plaza from “Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story”

They say the ocean is good for the soul. So I was thrilled to head out to Palos Verdes Estates last week on a gorgeous Southern California morning to do some stalking. It is the second season of Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story that led me out that way. Not only is the supposed La Jolla Shores house Betty (Amanda Peet) moved to post-separation from her philandering husband, Dan (Christian Slater), located in the beach city, but so is Malaga Cove Plaza, where Betty Christmas shopped with her friend Karen Kintner (Missi Pyle) in the episode titled “More to It Than Fun.” I first stalked the Italianate complex years ago after it appeared in a Season 2 episode of The O.C and have been back numerous times since. So I recognized it on sight when it popped up on Dirty John. Strolling through the sprawling marketplace on my recent visit, with striking blue skies overhead, salt from the nearby ocean crisp in the air, and the warm sun beaming down on my face, was indeed good for my soul! There’s a reason Malaga Cove has long been one of my favorite places to spend a breezy afternoon.

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Malaga Cove Plaza saw its beginnings in 1924 with the construction of the Gardner Building. The Spanish Renaissance-style structure, designed by Webber, Staunton and Spaulding, sits at the complex’s western edge and is pictured at the far right of the photos above and below. Palos Verdes’ first commercial building, it initially housed the local post office, as well as a few other businesses. You can see what it looked like in its early days here.

Six additional buildings, each designed by a different architect, were added to the complex in the decades that followed. Malaga Cove Plaza, as it stands today, was completed in 1963. Considering that seven different individuals had a hand in its design, the center is surprisingly cohesive and beautiful.

Declared a historic site by the Rancho de Los Palos Verdes Historical Society in 1981, the marketplace is easily one of Southern California’s most picturesque shopping centers.

Featuring exquisite brickwork,

sweeping archways,

countless adorable decorative elements,

well-placed greenery,

a plethora of tucked-away spots to sit and relax,

a smattering of charming shops and restaurants,

and a gorgeous mountain backdrop,

Malaga Cove Plaza is an idyllic venue to shop, dine and wander.

And at the center of it all is a towering fountain representing Neptune, Roman god of the sea.

The Carrara marble effigy, inspired by the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna’s Piazza del Nettuno, was constructed in the 1700s and initially stood at a villa in Venice, Italy. It was acquired by a Los Angeles gallery in the 1920s and then later by Malaga Cove Plaza developers, who dedicated it on February 16th, 1930. Sadly, Neptune soon became a favorite of vandals who broke, trashed and desecrated the piece to the point that it was removed in 1968. A smaller replica stood sentry in the years that followed, until 1999 when the original sculpture was returned to its post after an extensive $103,000 repair project spearheaded by the Malaga Cove Plaza Beautification Project.

The group gave the complex itself a facelift around the same time, performing much-needed repairs, planting new foliage, and generally upgrading the sexagenarian site.

Today, Malaga Cove Plaza is a gorgeous marketplace bustling with cute shops, restaurants and cafés.

It is there that Betty and Karen do some window shopping on Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story.

While wandering the plaza in “There’s More to It Than Fun,” Betty informs Karen of how much her marriage with Dan is improving. But throughout the segment, the scenery intermittently shifts to Dan’s office, where he is simultaneously meeting with a divorce lawyer, discussing how to stiff Betty financially. The bit brilliantly showcases the lengths which Dan went to mislead Betty during his affair.

In the scene’s opening, the ladies are shown walking in front of Malaga Cove Ranch Market. They then proceed to make their way east along the plaza.

It’s not hard to see how Malaga Cove Plaza came to be used on the San Diego-set series as it looks very much like the shops in downtown La Jolla.

The complex boasts a couple of other onscreen appearances on its filming resume.

A group of young skateboarders washes their faces in the plaza’s fountain in the 1965 Academy Award-nominated short Skaterdater.

And, as I mentioned above, it also pops up in an episode of The O.C. In Season 2’s “The New Era,” Malaga Cove Plaza portrays the Newport Beach bus stop where Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) and Lindsay Gardner (Shannon Lucio) finally admit that they like each other.

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: Malaga Cove Plaza, from the “More to It Than Fun” episode of Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, is located at the intersection of Palos Verdes Drive West and Via Chico in Palos Verdes Estates.

April 19, 2019April 19, 2019

The Cohen Mansion from “The O.C.”

Fire has ravaged far too many landmarks as of late – Paramount Ranch, Casey’s home from Scream 2, and now, Notre Dame Cathedral! The latter, at least, fared better than the Malibu estate that portrayed the Cohen residence on fave show The O.C., which was completely destroyed by the Woolsey Fire last November. I was alerted to the sad loss by a fellow stalker named Steve and was shocked at the news, especially considering I was fortunate enough to visit the home several years back thanks to a very lucky twist of fate – one that I can still hardly believe occurred. While eating lunch with the Grim Cheaper and my friend Erika (you may remember her from this post) at the Malibu Country Mart in September 2011, I happened to bring up my love for the Fox series. The friendly couple at the adjacent table overheard and broke into our conversation to inform us that they owned the Cohen house! Absolutely flabbergasted, I peppered them with questions and then the unimaginable happened – after chatting for a bit, they asked if we wanted to come over to see the pad in person! I don’t even think I answered in the affirmative before making a Lindsay-shaped hole in the door on my way out to the car. Winking smile The rest of our afternoon was like a dream, which made the recent loss of the property all the more heartbreaking. Though I detailed the experience in a 2015 column for Los Angeles magazine, since the locale is no longer, I figured an update was due.

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The Cohen residence is actually a mash-up of two different dwellings, both situated in a small gated community of four properties off the Pacific Coast Highway. Most recognizable is the large two-story home at 6205 Ocean Breeze Drive which appeared in exterior and establishing shots.

Only the front of the 6-bedroom, 7-bath, 6,376-square-foot manse appeared on the series. [I absolutely love that there was a Range Rover just like Sandy’s (Peter Gallagher) parked in the driveway when we visited!]

A one-story home three doors down at 6210 Ocean Breeze Drive was utilized in The O.C.’s pilot for the interior and backyard scenes. Once the show got picked up, a set modeled after that residence was constructed at Manhattan Beach Studios (now MBS Media Campus). Why the two different locales, you ask? Producers loved the look of the inside and backyard of 6210, but ultimately wanted the Cohen family to reside in a two-level home. So they featured the front of 6205 and the interior and rear of 6210. It is the 6210 house that we were invited to tour. That’s it below.

The inaugural episode made significant use of the opulent pad. For me, the most recognizable spot was the kitchen. (That’s Erika pictured with me below. We are just a little bit thrilled to be standing in the famous Cohen kitchen!)

Stepping into it felt like walking right into my TV screen. I half expected Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) to come waltzing out to grab his morning cereal.

Because the set re-creation of the kitchen (which was used in all episodes following the pilot) was such a near replica to that of the actual home, being there was both incredible and surreal. As our new friends pointed out to us, a few portions of the kitchen were changed when the set was built. One of the main alterations was the tilework behind the stove. At the actual residence, there was a large painted piece on the wall behind the range, which was visible in the pilot. (I hate that the past tense is now required when speaking about the house. I still can’t believe it is gone.)

For the set, that painted piece was swapped out with a more simple backsplash.

The color of the island countertop was changed, as well, and the sink situated there moved to the opposite side. The Cohens were also given a stainless steel dishwasher. Other than those elements, though, it was a pretty spot-on re-creation.

The nook off the kitchen, which became the Cohens’ main dining spot in later episodes, also appeared in the pilot. Producers even chose to leave the owners’ real life hutch and decor intact for the shoot!

When the set (top image below) was built, that area was changed fairly significantly – but more on that in a minute.

The family room at the real house was situated off of the kitchen. It was there that Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) played video games with Ryan in the pilot.

For the set, though, the family room was moved adjacent to the kitchen nook, creating one big, long, open space. And the fireplace was also done away with.

Seeing the nook closed off in real life was utterly jarring!

The residence’s formal living room, which was connected to the family room in real life, was also re-created in another spot on set – just off the Cohens’ kitchen.

One of the home’s bedrooms was utilized as Seth’s room in the pilot, as well.

It, too, was then re-created on the studio set.

Even the pad’s main hallway was re-built in exacting detail!

Amazingly (and as most O.C. fans already know), the most famous element of the Cohen home, the pool house, was never an actual part of the property. It was constructed, fully-functional (meaning both the interior and exterior could be used for filming), in the yard of 6210 for the pilot and then was disassembled and subsequently rebuilt as part of the set when the series got picked up. There I am in the photo below standing at the edge of where it was situated in the inaugural episode. “Utterly jarring” is, again, the only way I can describe how odd the backyard looked without it.

The pool and spa of 6210 were also re-created on set . . .

. . . as was the rest of the backyard . . .

. . . including the BBQ island.

The Cohens’ backyard was actually quite a bit smaller than the real one.

And, because the soundstage floor could not be dug into to install the pool on set, it was actually built above ground. Hence the steps leading up to it on the show. In actuality, the home’s backyard was all one level.

Other than those alterations, though, it was such a dutiful re-creation that standing in the backyard of 6210 felt like being in an episode of the show.

I was pinching myself the entire time!

Tragically, all that is left of the house now is the backyard and pool, as you can see in the aerial view below which Steve got from an insurance website that provided real-time imagery of areas ravaged by the Woolsey Fire. (That website is no longer active, so I can’t link to it.)

The home used for front shots of the Cohen pad, fortunately, still stands, as does the property where Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) lived on the series, which is located next door at 6201 Ocean Breeze Drive.

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Steve for letting me know about this home’s sad fate.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The exterior of the Cohen mansion from The O.C. can be found at 6205 Ocean Breeze Drive in Malibu. The home used for interiors and backyard scenes in the pilot was just down the street at 6210 Ocean Breeze, but was, sadly, destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. Marissa Cooper’s house is on the same block at 6201 Ocean Breeze.

November 5, 2018November 4, 2018

Catherine Willows’ House from “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”

I’ll never forget the first time I saw CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It was back in 2003 and my parents had come home from a random stop at the video store (remember those?) with a DVD of the series’ inaugural season in hand. I had not heard of the show at the time and decided to give the pilot a watch with them. I was immediately transfixed, as were my parents. We proceeded to binge all 23 episodes (the old-fashioned way!) in pretty much one sitting and then ran right back out to the video store to grab Season 2. I continued to be an avid viewer of the procedural (as well as the spin-offs CSI: Miami and CSI: NY) for years. Then somehow it fell off my radar. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to receive an email this past August from a fellow stalker named Sacha who wanted to know if I had any intel on the house belonging to Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) in the series’ twelfth season. I headed over to Hulu to take a look at the residence Sacha was searching for and recognized it immediately. It’s a place I’ve not only stalked, but blogged about before! As it turns out, Catherine’s pad is none other than South Pasadena’s Cox House, which portrayed Oliver Trask’s (Taylor Handley) Palm Springs dwelling on The O.C. Because the property has since gone on to appear in an episode of Ray Donovan, I figured it was due for another write-up.

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The Cox House, named for original owner Paul Cox, was designed by local Pasadena architect John Galbraith in 1959.

The Mid-Century Modern masterpiece is also known as the “Tree House” thanks to the large conifer that grows right through the roof of its entryway.

The one-story pad, which boasts Miesian Modernist and Southern California Regional Modernist elements, features 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,032 square feet of living space, glass and stone walls, a massive tile fireplace, hardwood flooring, a 0.46-acre lot, multiple patios, a pool, and a hot tub.

The property last sold in December 2000 for $641,000.

You can check out some interior photos of it here.

While undeniably striking and cinematic, I am surprised the place wound up on CSI, which is set in Las Vegas, being that it doesn’t really have a Sin City vibe. A different home was actually utilized as Catherine’s in Season 5’s “Weeping Willows” (it’s at 17145 Nanette Street in Granada Hills) and it, too, had a decidedly Mid-Century Modern-style, though, so what do I know?

The Cox House first popped up on CSI in Season 12’s “Zippered,” which aired in 2011. Only the interior of the residence was shown in the episode, in the scene in which Catherine meets up with her old friend Laura Gabriel (Annabeth Gish).

The pad was subsequently featured in the next episode of CSI titled “Ms. Willows Regrets.” In the episode, Catherine returns home from visiting a crime scene and winds up ambushed herself. Both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the property were featured prominently in the episode.

The Cox House appeared again in the following episode of CSI titled “Willows in the Wind,” in which the team investigates Catherine’s attack.

As I mentioned earlier, the home was also featured on The O.C. In Season 1’s “The Links,” which aired in 2004, Oliver invites Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), and the rest of the Harbor School gang for a weekend visit to his parents’ Palm Springs pad, said to be located “right on PGA West.” Now the Cox House portraying a Palm Springs property I can certainly buy. The residence definitely bears that desert look.

While the home’s actual interior appeared in the episode (as well as some of the actual furniture) . . .

. . . the two bedrooms shown were just sets built at Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios (now MBS Media Campus), where the series was lensed.

Not surprisingly, the Cox House also popped up as a Palm Springs residence on Ray Donovan. In Season 1’s “Black Cadillac,” which aired in 2013, Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight), Bunchy Donovan (Dash Mihok), and Daryll (Pooch Hall) visit Daryll’s mother, Claudette (Sheryl Lee Ralph), at her supposed desert home. Upon arriving, Mickey proclaims, “What the f*ck kinda architecture is this?” It’s called Mid-Century Modern, Mickey! Mid-Century Modern at its finest!

The interior of the residence also appeared in the episode.

That built-in firewood holder is the stuff of dreams!

The Cox House’s backyard was featured in “Black Cadillac,” as well.

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: Catherine Willows’ house from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is located at 534 Arroyo Drive in South Pasadena.

June 7, 2017June 19, 2017

Old Tony’s on the Pier from "The O.C."

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon has been in full effect lately when it comes to Old Tony’s on the Pier, a Redondo Beach restaurant I stalked way back in January 2012 with my good friend Mike (he provided many of the images in this post), but have yet to blog about. First, Alison Martino, founder of the fabulous Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page, posted some photos of the nautical-themed eatery on her Instagram in May. Then last week, a link to an L.A. magazine article titled “100 Places Where You Can Experience Retro Los Angeles,” which featured a blurb on Tony’s, landed in my inbox. So I figured the universe was trying to tell me it was high time I dedicate a post to the place.

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Old Tony’s on the Pier was originally founded in 1952 by a commercial fisherman/World War II veteran named Anthony Trutanich, who figured that running a restaurant had to be easier than angling for ocean life. Initially known simply as “Tony’s,” the eatery was established inside of a small shack-like space overlooking the Pacific on the Redondo Beach Pier. Though the restaurant business proved just as demanding as commercial fishing, Tony’s quickly became a success.

Even celebrities were clamoring to get a table.

Just a few of the luminaries who have dined on the premises include Ronald Reagan, Michael Rapaport, Bob Hope, Ann-Margret, Florence Henderson, Phyllis Diller, Frank Sinatra, Danny DeVito, Johnny Carson, Barbara Streisand, Dean Martin, Candice Bergen, Telly Savalas, and Jay Leno. Tony’s entrance is wallpapered with autographed headshots of the restaurant’s many famous fans.

Tony’s proved so popular that Trutanich expanded it twice. In 1961, he added a large patio to the site and then in 1963, he installed an octagonal-shaped second story that he designed himself. The crow’s-nest-like space houses a circular bar known as “op o’ Tony’s.”

In 1969, Trutanich opened a sister restaurant just across from his inaugural eatery and dubbed it “Tony’s Fish Market.” It was at that time that the original site was renamed “Old Tony’s” or “Tony’s on the Pier.”

Though a fire destroyed much of the Redondo Beach Pier in 1988, Old Tony’s remained intact. Trutanich became the driving force behind the structure’s rebuild, earning the nickname “Godfather of the Pier.” Sadly, Tony passed away in 2007 at the age of 84. His two sons, Tony Jr. and Michael, subsequently took over running the restaurants. While they closed Tony’s Fish Market in 2008, Old Tony’s remains intact and is still going strong today, 65 years after its inception.

Very little of Old Tony’s kitschy décor has been changed since it opened (though some renovations are planned for the near future, unfortunately), which is perhaps why it has proved popular with both patrons and location scouts.

In the Season 3 episode of The O.C. titled “The Pot Stirrer,” Julie Cooper (Melinda Clarke) and Dr. Neil Roberts (Michael Nouri) met for a very brief lunch date at the eatery. Both the exterior . . .

. . . and the interior of the place were featured in the episode.

According to the super nice servers we spoke with while stalking the place (that’s them below!), Old Tony’s has also appeared in the television shows House M.D. and Riptide, though I am unsure of which episodes specifically.

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: Old Tony’s on the Pier, from “The Pot Stirrer” episode of The O.C., is located at 210 Fisherman’s Wharf in Redondo Beach. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

September 10, 2015September 4, 2015

New “L.A.” Mag Post – The Cohen Mansion from “The O.C.”

Be sure to check out my latest post for L.A.mag.com about the Cohen mansion from The O.C. My articles typically get published in the late morning/early afternoon hours.

November 7, 2014November 6, 2014

Porter’s Stowaway Tavern from “Revenge”

The Grim Cheaper and I recently became obsessed with Revenge. We randomly started watching the ABC series on Netflix one night in early September and could NOT stop. For the next three weeks, the two of us obsessively binge-watched episodes, to the extent that I’m kind of surprised no one staged an intervention. We headed to L.A. for a few days in the middle of our Revenge-fest and made sure to bring along our Apple TV so that our viewing would not be interrupted. And we ordered room service every single night while there so that we could stay in front of the television during dinner! I was relieved when we finally caught up to the series’ current season, as it meant I could go back to living a normal life. It also meant that I could finally stalk some of the show’s locations, the first of which was the storefront that masquerades as Porter’s Stowaway Tavern.

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Though the Stowaway is said to be located in Montauk, New York, the exterior of the watering hole owned by Jack Porter (Nick Wechsler) on the series can actually be found in a small shopping center named Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey.

The picturesque complex is made up of five brightly-colored New England-style buildings situated along a cobblestone promenade that lines the waterfront.

And what a stunning waterfront it is!

Fisherman’s Village is best-known for the tall blue and white lighthouse that sits at its center and houses a walk-up café.

Sadly, the 1.2-acre complex started to decline in popularity in the ‘90s and city officials are now looking at redeveloping it or possibly tearing it down and replacing it with a parking lot. I certainly hope that does not happen.

Though most of the shops were vacant, I found Fisherman’s Village to be extremely quaint and charming. I would love to see new businesses move in and revitalize the place!

Interestingly, the Revenge pilot was not shot in California, but at various locations in North Carolina. The Fishy Fishy Café at 106 Yacht Basin Drive in Southport masked as Porter’s Stowaway Tavern in the episode. (You can check out some photographs of the restaurant being dressed for the shoot here.) The exterior of the café (pictured below) does bear a striking resemblance to the buildings at Fisherman’s Village, so it is not hard to see why the shopping center was chosen for filming once the series got picked up and production moved to Los Angeles.

From the second episode of Revenge on, a building that stands in the middle of Fisherman’s Village has masqueraded as the Stowaway. In real life, the structure houses a bike shop named Daniel’s Bicycle Rentals & Sales, an ice cream stand named Daniel’s Ice Cream, and a few other small offices.

The two-story building is only used for faraway establishing shots, though . . .

. . . as well as some rare walk-bys.

All close-ups of the tavern’s exterior are actually shot on a set. I was so hoping to see the Stowaway’s entrance . . .

. . . and patio area, and was shocked to discover upon stalking Fisherman’s Village that they actually only exist inside of a soundstage at MBS Media Campus, where the series is lensed.

While typically only the western side of the Fisherman’s Village building is shown on Revenge, in the recently-aired Season 4 episode titled “Ashes,” in which the Stowaway catches fire, the opposite side was utilized.

The super-nice Daniel’s Bicycle Rentals & Sales employee that I spoke with even sent me a photo of the fire scene being set up. SO INCREDIBLY COOL! As you can see, a fake façade was put over a portion of the bottom floor of the building for the shoot.

For the filming of the pilot episode, the actual interior of the Fishy Fishy Café was used as the interior of the Stowaway.

A (much larger) set resembling that interior was then built at MBS Media Campus for all subsequent filming.

Revenge is hardly the first production to make use of Fisherman’s Village. In fact, it popped up in another of my favorite shows, The O.C. In the Season 1 episode titled “The Rescue,” the shopping center was where Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) and Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) grabbed pizza after helping Marissa to escape from the hospital. The scene was shot outside of what is now the Hornblower Cruises & Events office.

Later that season, in the episode titled “The Ties That Bind,” Seth and Ryan hung out on Seth’s boat which was docked at Fisherman’s Village.

The center was also the site of Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand on Arrested Development. On the series, the banana stand was situated directly in front of the Fisherman’s Village lighthouse.

And in the Season 3 episode of Greek titled “All Children . . . Grow Up,” Fisherman’s Village stood in for Myrtle Beach, where the CRU kids spent Spring Break.

On a side-note – I would like to wish my mom a VERY happy birthday today! I love you! xo xo xo

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Porter’s Stowaway Tavern from Revenge, aka Daniel’s Bicycle Rentals & Sales, is located at 13737 Fiji Way, in the Fisherman’s Village shopping center, in Marina del Rey. “The Rescue” episode of The O.C. was shot outside of the Hornblower Cruises & Events office located at 13755 Fiji Way. Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana stand from Arrested Development was situated in front of the Lighthouse Fountain & Grill, which is located at 13735 Fiji Way.

February 15, 2012February 14, 2012

Oliver’s Palm Springs House from “The O.C.”

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the Grim Cheaper and I have just recently started watching fave series The O.C. over again from the beginning and one location that popped up during the first season that I have been absolutely dying to find and stalk was the supposed-Palm-Springs-area house that belonged to troublemaker Oliver Trask (Taylor Handley) in the episode titled “The Links”. So imagine my surprise when fellow stalker Geoff, of the 90210Locations website, randomly emailed me last week, after seeing my post on Café-Club Fais Do-Do (which stood in for a Tijuana nightclub in one of The O.C.’s early episodes), to let me know that he had tracked down a few of the show’s more elusive locales, one of which was Oliver’s Palm Springs residence! I kid you not! As you can imagine, I was absolutely bowled over by this information and, as I told Geoff, would have run out to stalk the place right then and there had it not been pouring at the time. When the rain finally did subside the following morning, I, of course, rushed right on over to the house to finally stalk it. Yay!

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In “The Links” episode of The O.C., Oliver invites the Newport gang – Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), Luke Ward (Chris Carmack), Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson), and Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong) – to spend the weekend with him at his parents’ mid-century-modern-style home in Palm Springs, which he states is located “right on PGA West”. And while Geoff originally thought that the property was in Huntington Beach, near the Seacliff Country Club where the group played golf in the episode, he came up completely empty-handed after searching the area. Then, a few months later, while trying to track down a different locale in South Pasadena, he spotted a house on Arroyo Drive that looked vaguely familiar. He was unsure of where he had seen the residence before, but made a note of the address. It was not until a couple of weeks afterwards that he happened to re-watch “The Links” episode of The O.C. and realized that the house that had looked so familiar was Oliver’s. Nicely done, Geoff!

In real life, the 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 3,032-square-foot home, which was originally built in 1959 and sits on almost half an acre of land, is pretty darn spectacular! In fact, the main reason that I wanted to stalk the property so badly, besides the fact that it appeared on The O.C. of course, was that I had fallen in love with its mid-century-style architecture pretty much as soon as it had appeared on my TV screen. And I am very happy to report that, in person, the place did not disappoint.

As you can see above, the residence most definitely does look like a Palm-Springs-area home, so it is not very hard to see why producers chose to use it in “The Links” episode.

The real-life interior of the property, and even some of the real-life furniture – both of which you can see photographs of here – were also used in the episode.

I am fairly certain, though, that the bedrooms where Ryan, Marissa, Seth, and Anna stayed were just sets that were built inside of a soundstage at Raleigh Studios Manhattan Beach where the series was lensed, as they do not seem to match the real-life interior of the house.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Oliver’s Palm Springs house from “The Links” episode of The O.C. is located at 534 Arroyo Drive in South Pasadena.

February 6, 2012February 3, 2012

Café-Club Fais Do-Do from “Crossroads”

One location that I blogged about way back in March of 2009 and had been dying to re-stalk ever since – in order to snap some interior pictures – was Café-Club Fais Do-Do, the supposed New-Orleans-area karaoke bar that appeared in the 2002 movie Crossroads. (For those who did not catch my original post on the place, in the Spring of 2001 I was an extra in Crossroads and spent a full three days filming at the Fais Do-Do – a magical experience that I will never forget.) Because the club is typically only open at night for concerts and events, though, and because the Grim Cheaper has a major aversion to paying any sort of a cover charge, since the filming I had never been able to get back inside. Until last Wednesday afternoon, that is, when I tagged along with fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, on a scouting expedition. A couple of months back, Mike actually joined the Location Managers Guild of America under the title of Apprentice and, when I heard that he was in the process of building his portfolio, I immediately (and a bit selfishly) suggested that he visit Café-Club Fais Do-Do – with me accompanying him, of course. Don’t get me wrong – the place is incredibly unique and visually stimulating and I knew that he would not only shoot some incredible photographs of it, but that it would also be a highly useful locale to have in his scouting arsenal. But mostly, I just really wanted to stalk it myself. Winking smile

The Art Deco building which currently houses Café-Club Fais Do-Do was originally constructed in 1930 and is actually comprised of two separate sections – The Club (pictured above) and The Ballroom. In its original incarnation, The Club was a branch of the First Citizens Savings Bank and Trust, which explains the structure’s uniquely rich and ornate interior. Sometime in the 1960s, the bank was converted into a jazz bar/underground club, but thankfully most of its architecturally and historically significant detailing was kept intact. During its years as a jazz club, such musicians as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, BB King, Pearl Bailey, John Coltrane, and Billy Preston were all said to have hung out there.

The Ballroom (pictured above) was originally constructed as the single-screen Variety Movie Theatre and was where the filming of Crossroads took place. I am unsure of when exactly the Variety ceased showing movies, but in 1990 the entire building was purchased by a new owner who, while still keeping the two distinct areas separate, decided to turn the venues into a nightclub and bar which collectively would be known as Café-Club Fais Do-Do – “Fais Do-Do” meaning “nighty-night” in French. And while this post on the Lon’s Place blog states that The Club area was sold to a new owner in 2010, according the film liaison that we spoke with, the same person who bought the building back in 1990 still owns it to this day.

While we were stalking the Fais Do-Do, I was extremely sad to discover that the huge two-story bar that used to be located in the center of The Ballroom and on which I had sat in Crossroads had since been removed. To me, that bar, which had a dance floor on top of it, was the coolest, most unique aspect of the entire club and I cannot believe the owner did away with it! So incredibly sad.

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In Crossroads, Café-Club Fais Do-Do’s Ballroom was used for the interior of Club Bayou, where Lucy Wagner (Britney Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning) competed in a karaoke contest in order to win money to fix their car which had just broken down.

That’s me in the blue pants standing next to Ben (Anson Mount) in the above screen capture. Smile

The Fais Do-Do dressing room, which you can see a photograph of here, was featured in the scene in which Kit, Mimi and Lucy get ready to go onstage. Sadly, a film crew was using that area at the time that we were stalking the club so we were unable to take any pictures of it.

The GC and I recently started watching fave show The O.C. again from the beginning and, let me tell you, I just about fell off my chair when I spotted Café-Club Fais Do-Do pop up in a Season 1 episode. In “The Escape”, the Fais Do-Do’s Ballroom stood in for “Boom Boom”, the supposed-Tijuana-area club where Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) caught Luke Ward (Chris Carmack) cheating on her.

And, while scanning through “The Escape” to make screen captures for this post, I was shocked to discover that the little bar where Marissa almost overdosed on pain pills later in the episode was none other than the Fais Do-Do’s Club! The Club was remodeled in 2010 (as you can see in these photograph on the Lon’s Place blog) and looks a bit different now, but, amazingly enough, the actual bar where Marissa sat still looks exactly the same today as it did when the episode was filmed back in 2003!

After reading my original post on the Fais Do-Do back in 2009, fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, figured out that The Ballroom also stood in for Delloser Hall, the reggae club where Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) got stoned after inadvertently eating a pot-laced cake, in fave movie Never Been Kissed.

In the extremely odd 2006 film The Gymnast, the Fais Do-Do’s Ballroom was used extensively as the place where Jane Hawkins (Dreya Weber) and Serena (Addie Yungmee) learned aerial fabric acrobatics.

In the flick, you can clearly see the club’s former bar . . .

. . . as well as the dance floor above it.

Café-Club Fais Do-Do’s dressing room also appeared in The Gymnast.

And in one scene, a business card featuring the club’s actual address, fax number, and website was even shown. So incredibly cool!

Fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, also let me know that the Fais Do-Do had appeared in the Season 2 episode of Arrested Development titled “Queen for a Day”. In the episode, the exterior . . .

. . . as well as The Ballroom stood in for The Queen Mary, the bar that Tobias Funke (David Cross) purchased.

The Club was also used in that episode as the restaurant where Byron “Buster” Bluth (Tony Hale) took his new girlfriend, Starla (Mo Collins), out for a milkshake.

And the dressing room stood in for the Hot Cop stripper club, from which Lindsay Bluth Funke (Portia de Rossi) hired strippers to scare her husband into selling The Queen Mary.

Back in February of 2011, while doing research for my post on The Little Door restaurant, I discovered that Café-Club Fais Do-Do’s Club room was used in the Season 2 episode of Entourage titled “The Abyss”, in the scene in which the boys – Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (Kevin Dillon), and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) – gather together to watch Saigon perform.

I was shocked to discover (thanks to the Ron’s Place blog) that in 1994’s Reality Bites, The Club stood in for the bar where “Hey, That’s My Bike!”, Troy Dyer’s (Ethan Hawke’s) band, regularly played. The room was heavily dressed for the filming, though, and is almost unrecognizable in the movie.

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The Fais Do-Do Club was also featured in the Jane’s Addiction video for “Underground”.

As was the dressing room area.

Jane’s Addiction “Underground” Music Video–Filmed at Café-Club Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles

You can watch the “Underground” video by clicking above.

The Club also appeared in the Destiny’s Child “No, No No, Part 1” music video.

Destiny’s Child–”No, No, No Part 1” Music Video Filmed at Café-Club Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles

You can watch the “No, No, No, Part 1” video by clicking above.

This Is 40, the yet-to-be released sequel to 2007’s Knocked Up, also did some filming in Café-Club Fais Do-Do’s Ballroom in 2011. And while the Ron’s Place blog stated that The Big Lebowski and American Gangster were also filmed at the Fais Do-Do, I scanned through both movies while doing research for this post and did not spot the place anywhere.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Café-Club Fais Do-Do, from Crossroads, is located at 5253 and 5257 West Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles. You can visit the club’s official website here.

September 13, 2011September 13, 2011

The Surfrider Foundation’s 6th Annual Celebrity Expression Session

This past Saturday, the fabulous Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, invited me and the Grim Cheaper out to Malibu to do a little stalking of one of her very favorite celebrity events – the Surfrider Foundation’s 6th Annual Celebrity Expression Session, an hour-long free surf contest which was taking place at First Point at Malibu Lagoon State Beach. Much to the GC’s chagrin, I accepted the invitation which is how the two of us found ourselves heading out to the ‘Bu bright and early Saturday morning. Although, as you can see in the above photograph, the word “bright” is somewhat misleading being that the skies were quite grey when we arrived on the scene. The day turned out to be one of the best of my entire life, though, and, in what can only be described as an amazing act of divine intervention, we were not only invited to visit and tour the residence used as the Cohen House on fave show The O.C. (on which the sets from the series were very closely based), but we also spent about five hours at the property! I promise to blog about that INCREDIBLE experience in the very near future, but, for now, on with the Surfrider event!

Joining me, Pinky, and the GC in our morning beach-capade were our good friends, fellow stalkers Mikey, from the Mike the Fanboy website, and Scotty, or as Pinky likes to call us, the Motley Crew. Despite the fact that it started raining heavily while we were waiting for the celebrity surfers to arrive, we had an absolute blast hanging out together. As I have said on numerous occasions, when it comes to these types of events, which involve hours upon hours upon hours of waiting around, it is all about the journey. And I can think of no one else I would rather share that journey with than Pinky’s Motley Crew.

The first celebrity to arrive on the scene was Eric Avery from the band Jane’s Addiction.

Also in attendance was Jesse Spencer from House (SO cute! Sigh!);

Chad Lowe;

Eric Balfour from The O.C.;

Tate Donovan, also from The O.C. and also my girl Jen Aniston’s former main squeeze;

John Slattery, from Mad Men, Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City;

Brian Geraghty from The Hurt Locker;

Ross Thomas from Soul Surfer;

and Krysten Ritter – ALL of whom were so incredibly nice and friendly it was almost unbelievable! I felt like we all truly had a special little moment with each of them. Pinky and I got to chat with Chad Lowe about how much we both enjoyed his brother Rob’s autobiography; we joked with John Slattery about his – ahem – shower requests on Sex and the City; Ross Thomas took off his hat and sunglasses in order to provide us with a better photograph; Tate Donovan almost fell over when Scotty quoted several lines to him from Space Camp . . .

. . . and, as you can see above, Krysten and Pinky even spent some time hanging out together in the surf. Amazing, amazing day!

And Mikey managed to snap this super cute pic of me getting his prop “Victor Lang for Mayor” t-shirt from Desperate Housewives signed.

Our main reason for being there, though, was, of course, to see Pinky’s sweetheart, Sam Trammell, who plays Sam Merlotte on the hit series True Blood.

Sam spotted Pinky immediately and, of course, came right over to her to say hi. I cannot even imagine if one of my favorite celebrities knew me by name and regularly came up to me at events to say hi! I would absolutely DIE! Heck, if ANY celebrity knew me by name and came up to me to say hi, I would die!!! The kicker was when Pinky told Sam that she had finally found a job, he congratulated her and asked where she was working. The fact that he knew – and remembered – that she had been unemployed the last time they spoke was enough to make me gasp. SO INCREDIBLY COOL! That is Sam autographing some photos for Pinky in the above picture – all of which he signed with “much love” or “xoxoxo”. SIGH!

The entire event was extremely low-key and relaxed and all of the celebrities conducted their media interviews right there in the sand.

The surf contest got started at noon and I cannot tell you how much fun it was to watch them all suit up and head out. (As you can see in the photograph on the top left above, Baywatch star David Chokachi was also in attendance, but since I had already gotten a picture with him at the Pedal on the Pier 100 Mile-a-Thon in June, I did not want to bother him for another.)

Before hitting the water, the group posed for a few publicity shots and, thankfully, the GC got right in there among the press photographers and started snapping away. I’ve taught him well, folks.

Because the GC has gotten seriously into photography as of late, this was one celebrity event that he actually did not mind being dragged to and he managed to snap some pretty fabulous action shots while there.

My favorite being the one pictured above, which reminds me of the movie poster for The Endless Summer. So cool!

Until next time, Happy Stalking and Happy Voting – don’t forget to vote for me to be the new face of About Me!

Stalk It: Malibu Lagoon State Beach, aka Surfrider Beach, is located at 23200 Pacific Coast Highway, just north of the Malibu Pier, in Malibu. You can visit the Surfrider Foundation’s official website here.

September 8, 2011September 7, 2011

Wattles Mansion from “Troop Beverly Hills”

After re-watching Troop Beverly Hills a couple of weeks back and subsequently stalking the mansion where the Nefler family lived, I became just a wee bit obsessed with tracking down some of the other locales featured in the 1989 flick. Thankfully IMDB had quite a few sites listed on its Troop Beverly Hills filming locations page, one of which was Wattles Mansion – a historic and oft-filmed at Hollywood estate that, amazingly enough, I had never before heard of. So I immediately dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place the following weekend.

Wattles Mansion was originally built in 1907 by Myron Hunt and Elmer Grey, the legendary Los Angeles-area architects who were also responsible for designing the Ambassador Hotel, the Huntington Art Gallery, Pasadena’s Wentworth Hotel (now the Langham), Occidental College (aka California University from fave show Beverly Hills, 90210), the California Institute of Technology, and the Beverly Hills Hotel. The large Mission Revival-style dwelling was commissioned by a wealthy Omaha, Nebraska native named Gurdon Wallace Wattles to be used as his family’s winter residence. The estate, which sat on 49 acres and was called“Jualita”, featured 6,167 square feet of living space, seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a wood-paneled library with a hand-painted ceiling, black-and-white checkerboard marble flooring, a terracotta tile terrace, wood-beamed ceilings, and a full basement. The home’s extensive 5-acre formal garden area consisted of a Japanese Garden, an Italian Rose garden, a Spanish garden, an American garden, a palm court, sparkling ponds, and several fruit orchards. In an amazing show of generosity, Gurdon opened his beloved gardens to the public upon moving into his new home and it was not long before they became a wildly popular tourist attraction.

After Gurdon passed away in 1932, his widow, Julia Vance, and their son, Gurdon Wallace Wattles Jr., continued to live at the mansion. In 1968, they sold the property to the City of Los Angeles and the Department of Parks and Recreation subsequently took over. Sadly, the city lacked the money necessary to maintain the large estate and it quickly fell into a serious state of disrepair. Gurdon’s formerly glorious gardens were taken over by drug dealers, squatters, and vandals, and what they didn’t destroy, a series of mudslides in the 1980s did. Thankfully, in 1983 the Hollywood Heritage preservation group leased the property and began a massive restoration project before moving in and using the historic mansion as their headquarters. It was at that time that the abode, which is a City of Los Angeles Cultural Monument, became a popular filming location. For reasons that are not entirely clear, Hollywood Heritage was served with an eviction notice in 2008 and finally vacated the property in May of 2009. The mansion is currently being maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation once again. (I snapped the interior pictures through one of the estate’s front windows.)

The piece of property, which you can see in the above aerial view, is now made up of three separate areas.

The section denoted with a pink square above, which measures 4.2 acres, was turned into a community garden in 1975 and has been continuously maintained by local residents. It is private and not open to the public. The middle section, which is denoted with a blue square, is a park known as Wattles Garden Park. It is open to the public daily from dusk until dawn. The mansion and formal garden area, which is denoted with a purple square above, is not open to the public, but is available for use as a special event and wedding venue.

And although the formal gardens are not accessible to the public, from what was visible from the park, that area once again appears to be in a sad state of disrepair. According to sign a posted on the premises, a restoration is currently in progress, so hopefully they will not look that way for long.

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Wattles Mansion actually stood in for two different locations in Troop Beverly Hills. It first appeared as the Beverly Hills Rest Haven where Phyllis Nefler (aka Shelley Long) and her group of Wilderness Girls performed their community service requirement.

While there, Phyllis and her daughter, Hannah (aka Jenny Lewis), taught a group of senior citizens how to do the “Freddy” dance, so I, of course, just had to do a little recreation of that scene while I was stalking the place. Winking smile

In a later scene, the northern-facing side of Wattles Mansion and the formal garden area were used as the location of the “khaki” fashion show that was hosted by Robin Leach and featured cameos by Pia Zadora and Dr. Joyce Brothers.

Wattles Mansion was also used extensively as the demon-haunted home inherited by Jonathan Graves (aka Peter Liapis) in the 1985 horror-comedy Ghoulies.

The real life interior of the mansion, including the kitchen area and the formal library, appeared in Ghoulies, as well. You can check out some great interior photographs of the place here.

Randomly enough, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Mariska Hargitay made her feature film debut in Ghoulies. She is pictured in the grey sweater above. The actress was just 21 at the time that the movie was filmed.

Wattles Mansion also appeared in Diana Ross’ ultra-weird 1985 music video for her single “Eaten Alive”, which was co-written by none other than the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.

Eaten Alive Music Video–Filmed at Wattles Mansion

You can watch that video by clicking above.

In the 1989 movie Rain Man, Wattles Mansion stood in for the institution where the psychiatric evaluation of Raymond Babbitt (aka Dustin Hoffman) took place.

Wattles was where Jose (aka Jacob Vargas) first met Maria (aka Jennifer Lopez) in the 1995 flick My Family.

And finally, the mansion popped up in the Season 3 episode of The O.C. titled “The Man of the Year” as the supposed Montecito-area boarding school attended by Marissa Cooper’s (aka Mischa Barton’s) sister, Kaitlin (aka Willa Holland).

Until next time, Happy Stalking – and Happy Voting! Don’t forget to vote for me today to be the new face of About Me! Smile

Stalk It: Wattles Mansion, from Troop Beverly Hills, is located at 1824 North Curson Avenue in Hollywood. The interior of the mansion and formal garden areas are not accessible to the public, but Wattles Park is open daily from dawn until dusk. You can visit the official Wattles Mansion website here.