The Site of Sanford and Son Salvage from “Sanford and Son”

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There’s pretty much nothing I relish more than diving into the nitty-gritty when proving or disproving a location – especially if that location is from an old production and/or is no longer in existence.  I love the challenge of it.  I recently had the pleasure of delving into one such case thanks to a fellow stalker named Dale who emailed me in October to ask if I had any information on Sanford and Son Salvage from Sanford and Son.  I never watched the hit series, which ran on NBC from 1972 to 1977 (it was a bit before my time), but started looking into things and quickly came upon this thread about the locale on the Sitcoms Online Message Boards website.  User shakespeares_bust started off the thread in August 2003 with the query, “Does anyone know the actual address of the exterior shot used for the opening of Sanford and Son?”  It was not until eight years later that he finally got a definitive answer thanks to user Shady Grady who in November 2011 stated that the storefront was located at 10659 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood.  When I inputted that address into Google Street View, though, it became apparent that the locale had either been greatly altered or demolished altogether and replaced with a new structure in the four-plus decades since filming took place.  Thankfully, Shady Grady had pointed out some neighboring landmarks still currently standing to prove he had uncovered the right spot.  I figured it was my duty to further his pursuit in a blog post, as well as dig into the history of the property.  So here goes.

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For those who, like me, aren’t especially familiar with the series, Sanford and Son revolves around the curmudgeonly Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx) and his longsuffering son, Lamont (Demond Wilson), who run Sanford and Son Salvage, an extremely cluttered junkyard said to be located at 9114 South Central Avenue in Watts.  The duo’s equally-cluttered home is situated directly behind the shop.  Interestingly, though it is the sitcom’s main location, the exterior of Sanford and Son Salvage does not ever appear in establishing shots or in the midst of any of the show’s 136 episodes.  The storefront only pops up in the opening credits (which you can watch here) . . .

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. . . and the closing credits (which you can watch here).

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The junkyard where each episode’s action takes place . . .

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. . . and the adjacent exterior of the Sanfords’ home . . .

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. . . as well as the ramshackle interior were nothing more than parts of an elaborate set built inside of a soundstage at NBC Studios (now The Burbank Studios) in Burbank where the series was lensed.

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The storefront’s rather limited screen time did not provide many clues as to its whereabouts, making the job of tracking it down a laborious and lengthy one.  Doing so was certainly a group effort on the part of the Sitcoms Online Message Boards users.  Clarity on the subject started to take form in September 2003 when member pawson wrote in to say that the junkyard exteriors were shot on Magnolia Boulevard near Cartwright and Denny Avenues, though no proof or further information was given.  It was not until user Retrotek posted a comment in April 2011 stating that the Sanford and Son Salvage location had also been featured in the Season 3 episode of Emergency! titled “Alley Cat” that some headway was made.  Using pawson and Retrotek’s intel, Shady Grady began lining up elements of the Sanford and Son exterior with the “Alley Cat” junkyard and then matching those elements to current Street View images of the stretch of Magnolia between Denny and Cartwright.  It wasn’t long before he landed on 10659 West Magnolia as the right spot.

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Though the building at that address, which currently houses a plumbing service named Power Plumbing, is one story and rather small, it otherwise bears no resemblance to Sanford and Son Salvage.  Enter Shady Grady once again.  As I mentioned earlier, he graciously pointed out several landmarks seen in Sanford and Son and Emergency! to verify his find.  I thought I’d take things one step further by providing some graphics to go along with his comments.  I must apologize beforehand, though, as I did not snap any photos of the neighboring structures while I was stalking the place, so Google Street View imagery will have to suffice for this endeavor.  I also have to take a moment to say a big thank you to fellow stalker Richard Yokley for the Emergency! screen captures that appear in this post.  “Alley Cat,” which originally aired in 1973, is not available for streaming anywhere, so I called upon Richard, who is a huge fan of the series – he even penned the book Emergency!: Behind the Scene – to make some grabs of the episode for me and he happily obliged.  Thank you, Richard!

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In “Alley Cat,” the Squad 51 paramedics are called to a scrapyard to help a junk dealer who has gotten his foot stuck in a bear trap.  Shady Grady explains that as the firefighters head to the scene “they pass an intersection, and a streetlight next to a power pole, then a vacant lot, then the store.”  As the street sign visible in the background of the segment (denoted with blue arrows below) shows us, the intersection the rescuers drive through is that of Magnolia and Cahuenga.  Amazingly, the 7-Eleven they pass (marked with pink arrows) is still there today, though its signage no longer looks as it did at the time of the filming.

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When the paramedics exit their vehicle, a portion of the junkyard’s green, yellow and white awning is visible.  That awning should be familiar to Sanford and Son fans.  As Shady Grady notes, it is a perfect match to the S&S Salvage awning – even down to the bent grim trim!

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Shady Grady goes on to say, “Pay attention to the buildings in the background and then go to the address above [10659 West Magnolia Boulevard] in Google Earth.  As you look around in street view, you’ll see the stores across the street are still the same.”   Though the corner building (denoted with pink arrows below) at 10626 West Magnolia looks a bit different today, it still bears the rounded shape it did on Emergency!  The billboard seen in the episode (blue arrows), as well as the scaffold holding it (purple arrows) and the vacant area where it is situated are all direct matches to what appeared on “Alley Cat.”  The overhang and door and window configuration of the building just east of the billboard (green arrows) at 10644 West Magnolia also remain frozen in time to when Emergency! was filmed.

Magnolia Boulevard Sanford and Son

When “Alley Cat” was shot, the junkyard was located next to an empty lot.  That is now where the Actors Forum Theatre (10655 West Magnolia) stands.  Adjacent to that was a thin one-story building (denoted with pink arrows below).  That site now houses a Poquito Más outpost (10651 West Magnolia) and still looks much the same as it did onscreen in 1973.  Across the street from that structure was some sort of auto supply store (blue arrows).  Little of that spot has changed in the ensuing years.  In fact, it is still home to an automotive store – San Fernando Tires & Wheels (10637 West Magnolia).

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Shady Grady finishes up by saying, “Compare that to the opening credits of Sanford and Son and it falls into place.  As Lamont pulls in the driveway, you can see a sign in front of the house, to the right of the driveway [pink arrow] and a power pole to the left of the driveway [blue arrow].  Both are in the Google earth photo.”  The building with the angled overhang [purple arrow] seen in the background of the opening credits also remains the same today.

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Being that the locale portrayed a junkyard in two different productions, I figured it was likely one in real life, too – at least at the time each was lensed.  User waterguybob had written in to the message board in September 2014 to say that he had grown up three blocks away from 10659 West Magnolia and that it was indeed the site of Sanford and Son Salvage (he had even witnessed the filming!).  While he said that the property housed a junkyard known as “Joe’s Junk Shop” during the shoot, I could not find any mentions of that name online or any definitive proof of his assertion – until I registered with newspapers.com, that is.  Thanks to the incredible (albeit pricey!) stalking tool, I was able to uncover quite a bit of the locale’s history.  Via the advertisement pictured below, which ran in the September 21st, 1967 issue of The Los Angeles Times, we know that 10659 Magnolia was the site of an actual junkyard at least as far back as that date, though it appears to have had no name at the time.

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I hit pay dirt thanks to the October 8th, 1977 Valley News article below, which detailed the locale’s transition from a junkyard named “The Select Shoppe” into a theatre.  Yep, you read that right.  According to author Bobbi Zane, somewhere around late 1975, proprietor Joe Lawler turned his long-running scrapyard into a live performance venue known as the Junk Yard Theater.  As Zane states, “He’d been donating props occasionally for various productions and his shop was well known to many actors.  One day an actor strode into the shop and suggested, ‘Why don’t you make a theatre out of the junk yard?’  The idea struck home, and in short order Lawler had cleared the yard and had his first production underway.  It was ‘Everybody Loves Opa [sic],’ appropriately concerning a man who runs a junk store.”  Though the place still had the feel of a wrecking yard, with Zane stating “old furniture, bicycle parts, kitchen utensils, tools line the path every patron has to make his way through to get to the theater,” Lawler did add Astroturf, two fish ponds, and plenty of foliage, transforming the site into a “lovely” space.

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I am unsure of what year the Junk Yard Theater shuttered, but per various newspapers ads and blurbs plays were running on the premises through October 1978.

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I could not find any articles detailing the razing or remodeling of the site, so I next headed over to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety website to search building records and quickly discovered that the Sanford and Son Salvage storefront, along with the property next to it at 10661 West Magnolia, were demolished in March 1989.  New structures were subsequently built in their place that same year.  So while some have surmised that the locale might have merely been altered in the years since filming took place, I can safely – and sadly – say that is not the case.  Sanford and Son Salvage no longer exists.

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During my research, I came across the Sanford and Son publicity shot pictured below.  (You can see similar images here, here, here, and here.)  Interestingly, though a sign reading “Sanford and Son Salvage” is positioned on the fence, the photo was obviously not lensed at the Magnolia Boulevard location, being that no house was ever situated there.  I am unsure of where exactly the picture was taken or why a different locale was used for it, but if anyone happens to know, please fill me in.

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Dale for asking me to look into this location and to fellow stalker Richard for providing the Emergency! screen captures.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The former site of the Sanford and Son house and junkyard can be found at 10659 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood.  Sadly, the building was razed in 1989 and a new structure now stands in its place.

Atlas Sausage from “Surviving Christmas”

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My blog is likely to be light on content over the next month, as I have quite a few trips and excursions planned.  As such, I figured there was no time like the present to begin my Christmas-themed postings.  So here goes.  (I also have a very exciting non-Christmas-related article hitting the blog next week, so stay tuned for that!)  Finding filming locations is often akin to solving puzzles for me – and I love solving puzzles.  So when I spot a clue in the background of a movie or television show, no matter how brief or insignificant the scene, it seems to call to me and I cannot help but attempt to figure out where the segment was shot.  Such was the case with the butcher shop featured fleetingly in Surviving Christmas.

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For those who have yet to watch the 2004 Christmas comedy (and you really should – it’s fabulous), it centers around millionaire ad exec Drew Latham (Ben Affleck), who, after finding himself alone at Christmastime, returns to his childhood home in Arlington Heights, Indiana and pays the family who now lives there $250,000 in exchange for them allowing him to move back in for the holidays.  During his stay, he upsets patriarch Tom Valco (James Gandolfini) by polishing off all of his beloved salami.  So Tom heads to his local butcher to replenish his processed meat supply, donning a Santa hat per Drew’s request.

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While watching the scene, I spotted a sign pasted on the butcher shop door.  Though pictured backwards and partially cut off, it was apparent that the lettering spelled out “Atlas Sausage.”  Even though the segment was brief (like blink-and-you’ll-miss-it brief), seeing that sign was like kryptonite to me – I couldn’t not at least attempt to track the place down.  It turned out to be a short hunt – one quick Google search for “Atlas Sausage” and “Los Angeles” yielded a listing for a market by that name at 10626 Burbank Boulevard in North Hollywood.  While the exterior of the butcher shop was not shown in Surviving Christmas, I knew I had hit pit dirt when I saw that the diagonally-placed entrance door visible via Street View matched the diagonally-placed door that appeared onscreen.  Sadly, Atlas Sausage closed down in the summer of 2003, shortly after Surviving Christmas filmed there in February of that same year, but I still headed right on out to stalk the locale nonetheless.

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Atlas Sausage, or Atlas Sausage Kitchen as it was also known, was established in the 1940s and was a Valley landmark for the 60-plus years it remained in operation.  All of the sausages sold at the market were made by hand – on the original wooden smokehouse that was in place since the day the store opened.

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After the market closed in July 2003 (much to the chagrin of SoCal meat lovers, some of whom would travel from as far as San Diego to get their hands on Atlas’ links), the site sat vacant.  In August 2006, Big Papi’s Rib Shack, or Big Papi’s Barbeque as it was also called, set up shop on the premises.  Google Street View images of the property during its Big Papi’s tenure are pictured below.

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The eatery did not last long, shutting its doors in January 2008.

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Today, the space houses State Automotive Supply, which is rather ironic as a 1992 Los Angeles Times article about Atlas Sausage described the market as being “located in an industrial neighborhood with more than its share of automotive repair shops.”

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I ventured inside State Automotive while I was stalking the place and, sadly, the interior looks entirely different today than it did when it appeared in Surviving Christmas.  The space has actually been remodeled twice since Atlas Sausage closed, first when Big Papi’s moved in.  The inside of the restaurant is pictured below via images I snapped from this “How to Serve BBQ Sausage” tutorial that was filmed on the premises.  As you can see, it does not resemble the Surviving Christmas butcher shop in the slightest, though the rear brick wall that was visible in the movie was still intact at the time.  The site was then remodeled once again prior to State Automotive’s opening.  I did not take any photos of the inside as it is now rather cramped due to the fact that the vast majority of the building is currently used as storage for the shop’s inventory, which leaves just a small alcove area accessible to the public.  When Atlas Sausage was in operation, the Los Angeles Times said this of its interior, “Plain shelves on plain walls hold scores of mustards and dozens of rye breads.  The enormous collection of German beers, hidden away in a nondescript cooler, could easily be overlooked.  A deceptively modest display of sausages and unsliced cold cuts occupies several utilitarian butcher cases.”  All of that gibes with what was shown in Surviving Christmas.  Oh, how I wish I could have seen the place back then!  I absolutely love local specialty shops!

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

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: State Automotive Supplies, aka the former Atlas Sausage from Surviving Christmas, is located at 10626 Burbank Boulevard in North Hollywood.

Econo Inn & Suites from “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”

Econo Inn & Suites from CSI-17

Well, I am definitely on a hotel kick as of late, because here I am with my third post in a row of the inn variety.  Today’s lodging was featured prominently in the Season 9 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled “Turn, Turn, Turn,” which just so happens to be the production in which a one Miss Taylor Swift made her acting debut.  When the episode first aired in 2009, I had not watched CSI in ages, nor was I a particularly big Swift fan (nothing against her, but at the time I was not familiar with much of her music – that’s no longer the case, today “Blank Space” is pretty much my go-to karaoke song!), so I am unsure of how or why I came to tune in.  Tune in, I did, though, and I absolutely loved it.  The episode is truly gripping, albeit profoundly sad.

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“Turn, Turn, Turn” centers around Nick Stokes’ (George Eads) dealings with various crimes over a one-year period at a local “Las Vegas” lodging named the Park Pines Motel.  Taylor portrayed the manager’s daughter, Hayley Jones, in the episode.

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Park Pines was the main location featured in the episode . . .

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. . . and it was used extensively throughout.

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I spent quite a bit of time searching for the Park Pines location back when “Turn, Turn, Turn,”  first aired, but never wound up tracking it down.  Then, while watching the Season 2 finale of How to Get Away with Murder, which was titled “What Did We Do?,” I spotted a motel that I thought might be the one I had been looking for.  Upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn’t, but I, of course, got the itch to start hunting again.  (For those interested, the motel featured in HTGAWM is the Hollywood Premiere Motel located at 5333 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Feliz.)

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Thankfully, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” is available for streaming on Hulu – actually all 337 episodes of CSI are!  (Side note – the Grim Cheaper and I just got a subscription to Hulu and it is downright amazing!  Netflix is for sure the better platform for movies, but when it comes to TV, Hulu can’t be beat!  Every single episode of Law and Order: SVU is on there!  I mean, come on!)  So I re-watched it and was floored to see that the signage of several storefronts was visible across the street from the Park Pines in the episode.

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Econo Inn & Suites from CSI-3

One sign was for a salon named Hollywood Hair & Nails.  A quick Google search kicked back a listing for a shop by that moniker located at 10759 Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood.  Sure enough, when I went to that address on Google Street View, there was the Park Pines Motel located right across the street!  Woot!

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Econo Inn & Suites from CSI-4

Though CSI would have you believe that the motel was located in Las Vegas (gotta love the spectacular use of CGI Winking smile) . . .

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. . . it can actually be found at 10750 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood.

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In real life, the 25-unit motel is named Econo Inn & Suites.

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Econo Inn & Suites from CSI-5

Sadly, most of the areas that appeared in “Turn, Turn, Turn” are located at the rear of the property and are not visible from the street.

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What can be seen, though, is very recognizable.

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Several of the motel’s actual rooms were also used in the filming.

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

Econo Inn & Suites from CSI-11

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Econo Inn & Suites, from the “Turn, Turn, Turn” episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, is located at 10750 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood.

The Garland Hotel from “Parks and Recreation”

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A couple of years ago, I drove by a hotel that looked like a little slice of retro heaven and became transfixed.  I made a mental note of its name and vowed to research it further.  As soon as I got home, though, I realized the name had escaped me and, because I have no sense of direction whatsoever (my mom says I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag!), I did not even really remember where it was located.  Then this past November, fate stepped in.  While the Grim Cheaper and I were driving to the Valli Tropics apartments from Wicked City, we randomly passed by the hotel and I just about did a dance of joy!  This time I took note of its name, The Garland, and vowed to book a stay there in the near future.  In a synchronistic twist, fellow stalker Michael of The Golden Spoon Café and Downtown Christmas Shopping District from The Brady Bunch fame, happened to mention in an email just a few days later that he had stayed at the Garland on a recent trip to L.A. and loved it.  So when it came time to book a hotel for my and the GC’s Christmas shopping trip shortly thereafter, The Garland was the only hotel I looked into.  And it turned out to be even better than I had imagined!

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The Garland stands on a seven-acre parcel of land once owned by Gene Autry.  Fillmore Crank, the real estate developer husband of actress Beverly Garland, purchased the large, undeveloped lot in 1970 with thoughts of building an apartment complex there.  His good friend baseball player Casey Stengel convinced him to construct a hotel on the land instead.  So the couple partnered up with Las Vegas hotelier John Kell Houssels Jr., secured a 20-year deal with The Howard Johnson Company, and in 1972 the Beverly Garland Howard Johnson Motor Lodge opened to the public.

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The 155-room hotel was not constructed in the typical Howard Johnson fashion with an angled red roof, but in the Mission style as a nod to its Southern California location.

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When the contract with Howard Johnson ended, Beverly and Fillmore ran the hotel independently for a short while before eventually signing on with the Holiday Inn, at which time it was renamed the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn.  To locals and frequent guests, though, it was known as the “Beverly Garland” or “The Garland.”

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In 2000, Beverly and Fillmore’s son, James Crank, took over management of the hotel, though Beverly could still often be seen flitting around the property, helping guests.  When the Holiday Inn contract expired in 2013, James decided to once again operate the site as an independent hotel that he redubbed “The Garland.”  He also began a $20-million renovation of the place at that time, the results of which are absolutely spectacular!

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From the Instagram-able lobby . . .

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. . . to the unique retro touches at every turn . . .

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. . . to the lively décor . . .

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. . . The Garland is honestly like no other hotel I’ve ever seen.

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The Christmas decorations were also majorly on point.

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Today, the 257-room hotel boasts a large outdoor pool (which sadly, due to the seriously frosty weather, we were unable to partake of) . . .

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. . . countless outdoor spaces . . .

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. . .  a myriad of activities for families, children and couples, including a foosball table and board games set up in the courtyard. . .

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. . . gorgeous vistas . . .

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. . . literally everywhere you look (yes, that’s a wall of flying butterflies!) . . .

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. . . whimsical design elements around seemingly every corner, which I had fun with . . .

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. . . and a massive outdoor garden event space designed by famed landscape architect Jonny Appleseed.

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The Garland also offers free shuttle service to Universal Studios and Universal City Walk, complimentary Wi-Fi, a plethora of onsite classes including poolside macramé and garden tai chi yoga, a business center, a gym, a fabulous gift shop that carries all sorts of California- and L.A.-themed goodies, and over 16,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Front Yard, the hotel’s onsite restaurant.

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Upon checking in, we received a coupon for two complimentary cocktails at The Front Yard, so we decided to try the place out and wound up staying for dinner.  The GC and I both opted for the TFY Burger – a ground short rib burger with a potato bun, truffle dijonnaise, wild mushrooms, Point Reyes toma cheese, and red onion balsamic jam.  It was uh-ma-zing!  So good that the GC was literally craving it all day the next day and couldn’t wait for dinnertime so that we could rush back there.

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Oh, and our room wasn’t too shabby, either.  It was the perfect combination of retro and modern, with whimsical touches throughout.

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All in all, The Garland is a fabulous hotel and I couldn’t more highly recommend a stay there.

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To add to the allure, The Garland is also a popular filming venue!  The site has been a location scout favorite from the beginning, in fact.  Back in its early days, it appeared in everything from Quincy, M.E. to Falcon Crest to Switch.  In the book Beverly Garland: Her Life and Career, author Deborah Del Vecchio quotes Garland as saying, “They’ve also done a Six Million Dollar Man and Police Woman [at the hotel].  In fact, they’ve done just about all the big shows here.  They have filmed everywhere in the hotel – inside at the desk area, around in the back, jumping off of balconies – and the guests just love it.  Of course, it is a mess when they do film because they’ve got cables running everywhere.  They’ve done commercials around the pool and the tennis courts.  We always put a sign up saying, for instance, “Universal is filming Six Million Dollar Man here today” so that our guests will know that sometimes they would not be able to get to the front desk for a while or do certain things that they’d like to do.  And yet they get a kick out of that.  Most people enjoy the fact that they are in Hollywood and that the studios are filming here at the lodge.  And it’s good publicity for us and we like it!”  Couldn’t have said it better myself, Beverly!

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The Garland appeared no less than five times on the popular television series Knight Rider.  One such instance was Season 1’s “Forget Me Not.”

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The episode made use of the hotel lobby and really gives a feel for what The Garland looked like pre-remodel.

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An actual room was also used in the filming.  It cracked me up to see how different the rooms were back in 1982 when the episode was shot.

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In 2012, The Garland masked as Pawnee Supersuites in the Season 4 finale of Parks and Recreation titled “Win, Lose or Draw.”  It was in the hotel’s Garland Ballroom, renamed the Jermaine Jackson Ballroom for the episode (LOL!!!), where Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the rest of the Parks gang waited for the City Council election results.

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Very little of the ballroom was actually visible in the episode, though, due to all of Leslie’s campaign decorations.

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Nevertheless, it is still recognizable from its appearance.

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Pre-remodel, the Garland Ballroom appeared in the Season 2 episode of Knight Rider titled “Speed Demons,” which aired in 1984.  The room looks so incredibly different now, it is hard to believe it is the same place where Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) tried to help a down-on-his-luck dirt bike racer.

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The “Win, Lose or Draw” episode of Parks and Recreation also made use of one of The Garland’s smaller ballrooms.

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That ballroom is pictured below.

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In the 2012 comedy The Guilt Trip, The Garland portrayed the Virginia Mountain Motor Inn.

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One of the real life rooms was featured in the movie, as well.

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

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Garland, from Parks and Recreation, is located at 4222 North Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood.  You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

Valli Tropics from “Wicked City”

Valli Tropics Wicked City-12

Locations, locations, locations!  Aside from Ed Westwick, locations were easily the best aspect of the now cancelled ABC series Wicked City.  The show took place in Los Angeles circa 1982 and the location manager did a fabulous job of securing spots evocative of that era.  None was more spectacularly retro than the apartment building where Betty Beaumontaine (Erika Christensen) lived.  I became obsessed with the place, and all of its pink-accented glory, while watching Wicked City’s pilot episode, but, unfortunately, had a heck of a time tracking it down.

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In the pilot, a sign with the name “Valli Tropics” was prominently shown posted outside of Betty’s apartment.  Because the complex had somewhat of a tropical aesthetic, I figured the name might be legitimate and did a Google search for “Valli Tropics” and “Los Angeles.”  It yielded nada, though, so I abandoned my hunch that the name was real and began searching for images of tropical-style apartments in L.A.  I poured through countless photographs, but none was of the right spot.  I then looked through all of my local architectural guidebooks to see if the complex was pictured, but came up empty-handed.  So I abandoned the hunt for a bit.

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When the third episode, titled “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” aired and Betty’s apartment was featured prominently, I decided to start the pursuit up again.  I revisited my original hunch that the name might be legit and this time did a search for “Valli Tropics Apartments” and “Los Angeles,” which led me to a yelp review written by the manager of a Valli Tropics in Studio City.  From there, the complex was a snap to find.  I honestly cannot believe that I spent so many fruitless hours searching for the place, when the name of it was right in front of me the entire time!  The blonde factor was strong with this one.

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In person, Valli Tropics did not disappoint!

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Every square inch of the place was just begging to be photographed.

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And the vintage signing was to die for!

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I was floored to see that the retro-ish sign that had been so prominently featured in Wicked City was a real life element of the building.

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Surprisingly, other than the fact that it was built in 1956, I could find virtually no information online about Valli Tropics.

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The complex is actually situated in an odd way, with the front entrance running diagonal to the street.  One could easily drive right past it without noticing its architectural splendor.

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Valli Tropics was featured repeatedly throughout the three episodes of Wicked City that made it to the airwaves.  Besides the front exterior, the courtyard was also utilized on the show.

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I am fairly certain that the interior of a real life Valli Tropics unit was used for the filming of the pilot . . .

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. . . and that a set re-creation appeared in the other two episodes.

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Oddly, while a brief shot of the exterior of Valli Tropics was shown in Wicked City’s second episode, which was titled “Running with the Devil” . . .

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. . . a scene that was supposed to take place there was actually shot about five miles away, on the corner of Kittridge Street and Wilkinson Avenue in Valley Glen.

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Thanks to the Litany of Schist blog, I learned that the Valli Tropics masked as the apartment of murder victim Jason Devereaux (Ben Feldman) in the Season 10 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled “Working Stiffs.”

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In the episode, Jason was said to live at 1120 Marapasa Parkway in Las Vegas, the numbering of which meshes with Valli Tropic’s real life address of 11120 Acama Street.  The crew failed to remove the extra “1” from the building’s address placard, as well as from the Valli Tropics sign for the shoot, though, so the scripted address didn’t end up gibing with what appeared onscreen.  Whoops!

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Valli Tropic’s courtyard was also used in the filming of CSI.

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As was the interior of one of the apartment units.

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In the Season 11 episode of Criminal Minds titled “A Badge and a Gun,” the Behavioral Analysis Unit investigates a murder at the Valli Tropics, which is said to be in Atwater Village.

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

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Valli Tropics, aka Betty’s apartment from Wicked City, is located at 11120 Acama Street in Studio City.

The Federal Bar from “Parks and Recreation”

The Federal Bar Parks and Recreation (6 of 26)

It’s shaping up to be Parks and Recreation week at IAMNOTASTALKER.com, as here I am with yet another location from the series.  I actually came by today’s locale accidentally.  While scanning through P&R’s “Operation Ann” episode for yesterday’s post about the Hamburger Hamlet in Sherman Oaks, I spotted The Federal Bar, a North Hollywood watering hole that I stalked back in May of last year because of its appearance on fave show Perception.  For whatever reason, I had yet to blog about it, though, and, thanks to the P&R kick I’ve been on lately, figured today was the perfect time to do so.

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The ornate brick building that currently houses The Federal Bar was originally constructed as a branch of Security Trust and Savings Bank in 1926.  It was designed by John and Donald Parkinson, the father-and-son architectural team who also created Union Station (which I briefly blogged about here), Bullocks Wilshire (which I blogged about here) and Los Angeles City Hall (am oft-used filming locale that I have, shockingly, never stalked).  Parkinson and Parkinson built several similar-looking bank buildings for the Security Trust chain across Los Angeles throughout the years.  The one located at 5601 North Figueroa Street in Highland Park is a virtual twin to The Federal Bar.  That structure, which I have yet to stalk, has appeared countless times onscreen.  It is currently featured each week as the police station on the new CBS series Battle Creek.

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The Federal Bar Parks and Recreation (23 of 26)

For many years, The Federal Bar space operated as Paperback Shack Books, an independent bookstore owned by Earl Spar.  In the mid-2000s, the proprietors of Fred 62 (a popular restaurant/filming locale in Los Feliz that I blogged about here) acquired the location and began an extensive, three-year renovation process to turn it into a restaurant/nightclub.  They named the new venture “Bank Heist,” which I think was a rather unfortunate dubbing considering one of the bloodiest bank heists in L.A.’s history took place just a little over two miles away.

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The Federal Bar Parks and Recreation (4 of 26)

Bank Heist opened in late September 2007, but never really had a chance to establish itself.  Less than four months later, on January 7th, 2008, it was gutted by a fire.

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In 2010, Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis spotted the architecturally stunning building while taking his children to a martial arts class (I am guessing that class was held at the dojo from The Karate Kid, which is located less than a block south) and thought it would make the perfect place for a new Knitting Factory music club (his insanely popular Hollywood Knitting Club outpost had closed in 2009).  The historic look of the building caused him to eventually rethink his plans, though, and, after leasing the place, he decided it was better suited to house a gastropub.

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The Federal Bar Parks and Recreation (2 of 26)

Of the neighborhood, Margolis stated in a Los Angeles Daily News article, “I was really trying to get to the next area I felt was going to move forward, and North Hollywood seems to be transitioning consistently.  A lot of other areas were also moving up – i.e. Silverlake, Los Feliz, downtown – but I felt like they were already getting saturated.  There are also a lot of great architectural spaces that I like that are hard to find in certain areas.  I like a lot of brick, I like old buildings, auto garages and warehouses.  I like high-beamed ceilings.  This area seems to have an abundance that is popping up.  And I found an area where I felt like you could still touch the square footage at the right price.”

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After a bit of renovation, The Federal Bar was opened in early 2011.  According to a 2012 Los Angeles Times article, it turned a profit the following month and has continued to do so every month since.

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The 5,000-plus-square-foot space, which was fashioned by interior designer Rod Sellard, boasts four (yes, four!) bars, a second floor special events area with a stage, and an outdoor patio.

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The Federal Bar is nothing short of spectacular, both inside and out, and it is not very hard to see why the place has become popular with location scouts.

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The Federal Bar Parks and Recreation (17 of 26)

In the Season 4 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “Operation Ann,” Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) headed to The Federal Bar to spy on Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), who they thought was out on a secret date with her boss Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe).  As Leslie and Ben soon discovered, though, Ann was actually on a date with Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari).

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While scanning through the episode to make screen captures for yesterday’s post, I immediately recognized The Federal’s intricate exterior.

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In the scene, Tom and Ann were sitting in the southwest area of The Federal’s bottom floor and Leslie and Ben spied on them through the windows located on Weddington Street.

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The Federal Bar Parks and Recreation (19 of 26)

The Federal portrays the Philadelphia bar where the Dunder Mifflin gang crashes a trivia contest Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) is participating in in the Season 8 episode of The Office titled “Trivia.”

The Federal popped up as two different places in the Season 2 episode of Perception titled “Wounded.”  One of the bars on the main floor was used as the watering hole where Kate Moretti (Rachael Leigh Cook) told Blake Rickford’s (Logan Bartholomew) date that he was a suspected rapist.

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And one of the upstairs bars was where Kate spied on Blake later in the episode.

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The exterior of The Federal was also used in that scene.

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The Federal also popped up in flashback scenes in Perception’s next episode, titled “Warrior.”

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In 2013, The Federal masked as Sudz in the Season 9 episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia titled “The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award.”

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Only the interior of The Federal was used in the episode, though.  The establishing shot that was shown was of Alla Spina restaurant, located at 1410 Mount Vernon Street in Philadelphia, which I found thanks to this amazing map of the series’ City of Brotherly Love locales.

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Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) attend a “jazz brunch” with Amy’s ex, Teddy Wells (Kyle Bornheimer), at The Federal in the Season 4 episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine titled “The Audit,” which aired in 2017.

The women of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills debrief on the latest Lisa Vanderpump drama while at The Federal in the Season 9 episode titled “A Wolf in Camille’s Clothing.”

In 2013, Morgan Margolis opened a second Federal Bar inside of another former Security Trust and Savings Bank building.  It, too, has appeared onscreen.  Located at 102 Pine Avenue in Long Beach, the space formerly housed Madison steakhouse, which was where Brad’s (Vince Vaughn) company Christmas party was held in the 2008 comedy Four Christmases.

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

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for taking many of the photos that appear in this post.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Federal Bar, from the “Operation Ann” episode of Parks and Recreation, is located at 5303 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.  You can visit the bar’s official website here.

Phil’s Diner from “The X-Files”

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When I was in L.A. last week, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I spent two full days stalking.  Our adventures took us from one end of Los Angeles to the other.  At one point, while in North Hollywood, we passed by Phil’s Diner at 5230 Lankershim Boulevard and stopped to snap some pics.  I figured the historic-looking restaurant had to have appeared onscreen at some time, so I did a quick Google search on my iPhone and just about fell over when I learned that the eatery had been used in my very favorite episode of The X-Files EVER, Season 2’s “Humbug.”  (“I’ve seen the future and the future looks just like him!”)  Talk about a lucky twist of fate!

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Phil’s Diner was constructed in 1926 for the J.F. Phillip restaurant chain (hence the name).  It was designed in a train-car style by Charles Amend and originally stood (according to this article) near the intersection of Ventura and Lankershim Boulevards.  The eatery was relocated at some point to 11138 Chandler Boulevard, where it spent the bulk of its years.  (There are several online articles which state that the café was moved countless times throughout its history, once sitting on Crenshaw Boulevard, near the corner of West Adams.  I am fairly certain that information is incorrect, though.   I believe that storefront was a different Phil’s outpost – one that is no longer standing.)  You can check out some fabulous early photographs of Phil’s at its Chandler Boulevard location here.

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Phil's Diner the X-Files (26 of 27)

For over two decades, beginning in the 1970s, Phil’s Diner was run by Charles and Wendy Hong, a native Korean couple who served up no-fuss American comfort food with an Asian flair.  The restaurant flourished under their leadership.  Then, in the mid-90s, nearby MTA Red Line construction and tunneling caused a severe downfall in patronage and in 1997 the couple was forced to shutter the café.  While it was purchased by a man named Casey Hallenbeck the next year, it stood abandoned for the following decade.  The structure was eventually moved to a vacant lot in 2009, where it sat on blocks in a sad graffiti-covered state.

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Phil's Diner the X-Files (17 of 27)

While sitting abandoned, Phil’s vintage signage was stolen and never ended up being recovered.  The sign that currently stands in front of Phil’s is a replica.

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In 2011, Phil’s was moved to its current location and plans were made to reopen it as part of the new NoHo Commons complex.  After a $1.1-million restoration, the eatery opened in April 2011, but sadly only lasted eight months.  By December, the restaurant, which is California’s oldest dining car and the only surviving outpost of the Phil’s chain, was shuttered.  It remains closed to this day.

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Though closed, I managed to snap a few photographs of Phil’s interior through the windows.

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Phil's Diner the X-Files (7 of 27)

As you can see, despite being out of operation for several years, the eatery is still in great shape.  The wood-detailing is simply gorgeous!  And what I wouldn’t give to catch a close-up glimpse of those headshots lining the ceiling!

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Phil's Diner the X-Files (5 of 27)

Thanks to its historic look, Phil’s Diner has been featured in numerous productions over the years.  Phil Everly, of the Everly Brothers, shot the cover of his 1974 solo album, aptly titled “Phil’s Diner,” in front of the eatery.

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The diner was visible in the background of a 1977 informational video for the Emergency Medical Service titled “Life or Death,” which you can watch here.

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Phil’s Diner briefly appeared in 1986’s Night of the Creeps, in the scene in which Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) raced to a death scene.

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In the Season 2 episode of The X-Files titled “Humbug,” Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) travel to Gibsonton, Florida to investigate a murder that took place in a rural community of sideshow circus performers.  Upon first arriving in town, the duo head to a local café to speak to Sheriff Hamilton (Wayne Grace) about the killing.  Phil’s Diner was used for the establishing shot of that café.

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Interior filming took place elsewhere, though – somewhere in Vancouver where the series’ first five seasons were lensed.  As you can see below, the interior of the diner that was used was substantially larger than the interior of Phil’s.

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Phil’s Diner was also featured in episodes of Baretta, The Millionaire Matchmaker, Hart to Hart and The White Shadow, and in one of the Friday the 13th movies.  I am unsure of the particulars of those productions, though, but if any of my fellow stalkers have information on the filmings, please fill me in.

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For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Phil’s Diner, from the “Humbug” episode of The X-Files, is located at 5230 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.  The restaurant is currently closed.

Jason Priestley’s Former Apartment

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I haven’t been getting much sleep the past few nights and it’s all Jason Priestley’s fault.  His new book, Jason Priestley: A Memoir, has me burning the midnight oil.  The chapters are brief (most only a page or two) and begging to be perused.  I find myself repeatedly thinking ‘I’ll just read one more,’ and the next thing I know it’s midnight.  Ah, well, the fatigue has been worth it.  The tome is fabulous and enthralling.  I cannot more highly recommend it – especially since JP includes the addresses of quite a few stalking locations, one of which is the apartment building where he lived shortly before landing his life-changing role on Beverly Hills, 90210.  So Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I ran right out to stalk the place last week while I was in L.A.

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In the fall of 1987, 18-year-old Jason and his good friend/fellow actor Bernie Coulson moved into a two-bedroom unit at the Klump Regency apartment building located at 5050 Klump Avenue in North Hollywood.  JP describes the place as “your basic Valley craphole.”   During the eight months that he lived on the premises, JP would vary between traveling back and forth to his native Vancouver for small film and television roles and auditioning in L.A. where he was trying to make it big in Hollywood.  On one occasion after returning home from a Canadian shoot, Priestley walked into his bedroom to find a “tall skinny” guy asleep in his bed.  That lanky man turned out to be none other than a young Brad Pitt!  Brad, whom JP calls “the nicest Midwestern guy imaginable,” Bernie and Jason continued to live in the apartment for the next few months, with Pitt crashing on the couch.

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Jason Priestley's Former Apartment (4 of 16)

In mid-1988, Brad rented a two-bedroom duplex on La Jolla Avenue in West Hollywood (where he lived for several years afterwards, according to Jason) and invited JP and Bernie to move in with him.  Because the Writers Guild of America strike was making roles hard to come by at the time, Jason chose instead to temporarily relocate to Vancouver.  It was not long before he returned to L.A., though, and landed the role that would turn him into a household name.

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Jason Priestley's Former Apartment (15 of 16)

Thanks to Jason’s not-so-keen description of the place, I was expecting Klump Regency to be rather dingy, but it is actually pretty nice.  You can check out some interior photographs of one of the building’s two-bedroom apartments hereAccording to Zillow, the 50-unit complex features a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, gym and laundry facilities.  Not too shabby digs for a bunch of struggling actors!

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Jason Priestley's Former Apartment (2 of 16)

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here

Jason Priestley's Former Apartment (7 of 16)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Klump Regency, Jason Priestley’s former apartment building, is located at 5050 Klump Avenue in North Hollywood.