Growing up I absolutely loved the movie Grease. My friend Nat and I used to dress up in her mother’s wigs and act out scenes from Grease in front of the TV. So how excited was I to discover the location of Rydell High School in my go-to stalking book “The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book“? Although three different high schools in Los Angeles were used to depict Rydell during the filming of Grease, Venice High was the one used for all exterior shots. The first day of school scenes, the Summer Lovin’ number, Danny’s track practice and sports team tryouts were all shot at Venice High. If you venture out behind the school, you will definitely recognize the bleachers from Summer Lovin’ and the track Danny jogged on.
The producers of Grease: You’re the One That I Want, the reality show from 2006, chose Venice High as the location for their Grease Boot Camp. Contestants sang and danced for two weeks in the famous footsteps of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.
Besides gaining infamy as the Grease high school, Venice High was also the filming location for Britney Spears’ very first music video, . . . Baby One More Time. So, of course, I had to venture inside the school on my visit there, so that I could shimmy down the hallways, too! BritBrit used the interior hallways, the gym, and the lunch area to film the video. Venice High was also used as Nicolas Cage’s daughter’s school in Matchstick Men, and in the movie American History X and the TV show American Dreams.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Venice High School is located at 13000 Venice Boulevard in Venice. There used to be a statue in front of the high school of actress Myrna Loy and the statue can actually be seen in Grease. It’s interesting to note that Myrna modeled for the statue while she was still a Venice High School student, long before she became famous. The statue was vandalized in recent years and removed from its home in front of the school, but a restoration is currently in progress. I recommend visiting the school during off hours or on a weekend, when there is more freedom to walk around and see the sites. 🙂 Don’t be afraid to break into song!