Beau Burroughs’ Mansion from “Rumor Has It”

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (1 of 18)

Back in April, when fellow stalker Geoff, of the 90210Locations website, let me know that he had found the Fundraiser House from L.A. Story (which I blogged about here) at 3456 Via Campesina in Rancho Palos Verdes, I remembered that a few years prior I had tracked down a different Palos Verdes locale – the supposed Half Moon Bay-area mansion where Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) lived in the 2005 romantic comedy Rumor Has It. Because I very rarely find myself in that part of town, though, I had never actually stalked it. So I moved the dwelling to the top of my To-Stalk list and headed right on over there while in the neighborhood visiting the L.A. Story pad just a few days later. And wouldn’t you know it – there was a truck parked right in front of the place when I showed up! Boo!

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The mansion appeared once in Rumor Has It – in the scene in which Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) woke up at Beau’s residence after spending the night with him – and, unfortunately, very little of the actual home was ever shown. The only areas of the property that appeared in the flick were the backyard –

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with its gorgeous ocean views;

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part of a back door;

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and a tiny portion of a bedroom.

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Despite the fact that I had so little to go on, though, this location was a fairly easy find. Thanks to the Rumor Has It production notes, I knew that at least one scene had been lensed in the seaside city of Palos Verdes and, because Beau’s manse was shown to be situated on a cliff overlooking the ocean, I decided to begin my search there. While watching the flick, I had noticed that the dwelling was located on some sort of a promontory that was directly across from another promontory. On that second promontory sat an immense Mediterranean-style mansion.

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So I used Google Maps to search for that house, which I found fairly quickly thanks to its size, and from there tracked down Beau’s place. As you can see below, the residence sits perched above a site named “Honeymoon Cove.” Um, love it!

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In real life, the mansion, which was originally built in 1973, boasts five bedrooms, seven baths, 6,126 square feet of living space, and a 0.59-acre plot of oceanfront land. The property last sold in October 1995 for $2.5 million.

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (3 of 18)

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (4 of 18)

Upon arriving, I was happily surprised to discover how much of the residence is actually visible from the street. I had not expected to be able to see any of it.

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (8 of 18)

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (10 of 18)

As the words on the two pillars that flank the front gate seem to indicate, the residence is named “Punta Vento”, which, according to Google Translate, means “peak wind” in Italian.

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (6 of 18)

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (7 of 18)

I was shocked to discover, thanks to the fabulous Seeing Stars website, that the same home was also used in the 1987 classic Lethal Weapon, in which it portrayed the mansion belonging to Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins). In the movie, a great exterior view of the property was shown.

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The backyard and pool area also appeared;

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as did a small portion of the interior of the house.

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Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for even more stalking fun! And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Beau Burroughs' mansion Rumor Has It (5 of 18)

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Beau Burroughs’ mansion from Rumor Has It is located at 2817 Via Segovia in Palos Verdes.

The “L.A. Story” Fundraiser House

L.A. Story fundraiser house (10 of 10)

Another L.A. Story location that I was desperate to track down was the sloped-roof residence where Harris K. Telemacher (Steve Martin) and Sara McDowel (Victoria Tennant) attended a “private art museum” fundraiser in the 1991 comedy.  Because the home was so architecturally unique, I was sure that it would be an easy find.  I was wrong.  After scouring countless online film location libraries and architectural databases and coming up empty-handed, I decided that I needed to call for reinforcements.  I sent a few screen captures to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, to see if he recognized the place and, as luck would have it, he did!  During a visit to Los Angeles a couple of years back, Geoff and his wife had done some sight-seeing in the Palos Verdes area.  They happened to drive by the L.A. Story house that day and took note of it due to its distinctive roof.  All Geoff had to do was retrace their steps and, voila, he found the place in a snap.  Yay!  So I ran right out to the South Bay to stalk it while in L.A. two weekends ago.

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In real life, the residence is known as the Bowler house, named for John Bowler, the industrial building contractor who commissioned it.  The dwelling, which was constructed in 1963, was designed by Lloyd Wright, son of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and was composed of concrete, glass and Santa Maria stone.  Lloyd also designed all of the property’s furnishings (which were angled to match the design of the house), cabinetry and vast landscaping.

L.A. Story fundraiser house (2 of 10)

L.A. Story fundraiser house (3 of 10)

Thanks to the triangular, pitched roof, which was manufactured out of blue corrugated fiberglass, the property is also sometimes called the Bird of Paradise house, which is something of a misnomer, as Lloyd had actually based the design on a diamond module.

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L.A. Story fundraiser house (5 of 10)

The residence, which was renovated by Eric Lloyd Wright, Lloyd’s son, in 1991, features 3,904 square feet of living space, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a library, a formal dining room, a master suite, a laundry room, an in-ground swimming pool, separate guest quarters, and a 0.89-acre plot of hilltop land boasting 180-degree ocean views.  The site was put on the market in mid-2008 for $2.5 million and wound up selling in January 2009 for $1.895 million.  You can check out the real estate listing and some great interior photographs of the house here.

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L.A. Story fundraiser house (7 of 10)

In L.A. Story, Harris and Sara head to the Bowler house to attend a formal fundraising dinner in which a man is trying to raise city funds to found an art museum that will not be open to the public.  LOL  Pictured below are the screen captures that I sent to Geoff when I asked for his help in tracking down the residence.  It is amazing to me that he was able to recall a home pictured in dark, very limited screenshots simply from driving past it several years back.  My hat is definitely off to him!

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The real life interior of the home also appeared in the scene.

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On a side-note – I would like to wish a HUGE congratulations to my girl Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, who not only just got a big promotion at work (she can now get herself – and me! – into Disneyland for FREE anytime she wants!), but, most exciting, also recently got engaged . . . to Keith Coogan (yes, that Keith Coogan!).  I am over-the-moon happy for her and wish her and Keith all the joy in the world!

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I got to meet Keith this weekend (at Disneyland) and I cannot express how much fun it was to run around quoting lines from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead with him.  When he randomly said, “Rock and roll!” at one point during the day, I just about died!  He is also really into filming locations, so, Pinky, I approve.  You chose well!  Winking smile

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You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

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

L.A. Story fundraiser house (8 of 10)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Bird of Paradise house, aka the L.A. Story fundraiser house, is located at 3456 Via Campesina in Rancho Palos Verdes.