My So-Called Weekend

Uni High

I know My So-Called Life has been off the air for over 8 years now, but I am still slightly obsessed with it.  When one of my co-workers told me that MSCL was filmed at his high school, University High School in West LA, I set out to have a My So-Called Weekend!

University High School, aka Uni High, is located at 11800 Texas Avenue.  Although the front of the high school is quite impressive, it was the back staircase that was actually used as Lincoln High in MSCL.  Uni High has a pretty impressive filming history – it was also used in Seventh Heaven, Drillbit Taylor, and Lizzie McGuire – just to name a few.

Staircase

As soon as I came to the bottom of Uni’s back staircase, I immediately recognized it as Angela Chase’s alma mater.  You might remember the staircase from the Halloween episode, when Rayanne spent a great deal of time waiting for Angela at the flagpole located at the top of the stairs.

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Now it was time to find the Chase Home.  I had a hunch the house was located in South Pasadena, as the producers of MSCL were also the producers of thirtysomething – which was filmed primarily in South Pas.  I knew that the address number of the MSCL house was 1110, thanks to the website www.mscl.com – which had several pictures of the real home used in the filming.  So – armed with a pretty big hunch that the house would be in the same vicinity as the thirtysomething houses – my boyfriend and I drove up and down South Pasadena streets looking at every single home with a 1110 address until we located the house.

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Success came pretty quickly when we found the home at 1110  Glendon Way.  The home has been painted since MSCL aired and looks a lot different, but it was still exciting to be there, standing in Angela Chase’s footsteps.  And I just had to take a picture mimicking that famous screen shot from the end of the pilot episode when Angela is standing in the middle of the street with her new red hair.  🙂

Stalk It: I would recommend visiting Uni High on a weekend because soccer games are held on the campus on weekends, and one is allowed to walk around without being bothered.  Uni High is located at 11800 Texas Avenue in West Los Angeles.  The Chase Home is located in South Pasadena at 1110 Glendon Way, just off Fair Oaks Avenue.  While you are in the neighborhood, stop by the Fair Oaks Pharmacy at 1526 Misson St. for an ice cream Sundae.  The Fair Oaks Pharmacy opened in 1915 and is an old time pharmacy with a real soda fountain – and it just happened to be used as a filming location in the movie Mr. Deeds.

Finding the Shark House!

The Shark HouseWell, it may have taken me months, but I finally found the property used as James Woods’ home on the CBS legal drama Shark.  Ever since watching the Sharkpilot episode I have been slightly obsessed with Sebastian Stark’s modern style wood and glass abode.  In recent months, though, the house had become the bane of my existence – the one filming location I just simply could not find!!  I Googled the terms “Shark filming locations” more times that I care to admit, I check and rechecked the Shark IMDB web page, and I even attempted to contact the creator of the “Shark Fan” website – all to no avail!

Usually when searching for filming locations, I can find clues somewhere in the background of a movie or a TV show by spotting a distant street sign or a neighboring house’s address.  But freeze-framing my TiVo’d episodes of Shark proved to be no help whatsoever.  Listening to the director’s commentary on a DVD can also provide some clues as to a location.  But since the first season of Shark had yet to be released on DVD , for this particular endeavor I was on my own.  But, like any good stalker, I refused to give up!

My persistence paid off, as one day a light bulb went off in my head!  My boss’ house is registered with one of the biggest filming location companies in Southern California.  It suddenly dawned on me that the Sharkhouse might just be registered with the same company.  After scouring their web-site’s “Modern Properties” section, I found the house!  At that point, I simply called my contact at the location company and voila! – he gave me the address – 2315 Live Oaks Meadow Road in the hills of Malibu, California!

For Sale!The very next day I set out to find the house in person – and how excited I was to find out once I got there that the home was for sale!  It is pretty small in person, as far as Malibu homes go, but extremely quiet and private and even more spectacular in person.  There are only four other homes on the entire street.  My boyfriend snapped some pics of the house as I walked up the driveway to snag a real estate flyer about the property and then we were on our way, this particular stalking adventure a success!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Shark House is located at 2315 Live Oaks Meadow Rd.  Take the Pacific Coast Highway to Las Flores Canyon Road and head up toward the mountains for approximately 2.5 miles.  Make a left on Live Oaks Meadow Road.  The house is three houses down on the right hand side.  If you have an extra $2.4 million to burn, you might even be able to call the Shark house your own!  And yes, of course, I did try to schedule a viewing of the house to see the interior in person, but the brokerage company wanted me to fill out way too much paperwork, so, as obsessive as I can sometimes be, I this one go.  You can see the interior of the home at www.liveoakmeadow.com.

Seinfeld’s Apartment

Seinfeld Apartment

Like most filming locations, the site used as Jerry’s apartment building on the hit TV show Seinfeld, can actually be found in Los Angeles, not Manhattan.  It is a nondescript little building that actually does look very reminiscent of New York.  I didn’t recognize the building in person, until I looked at it through the viewfinder of my camera, and I practically heard the be-bop-bop of the theme song in my head!  During Seinfeld’s day, the awning of the building was green, but today it is a drab brown.  In real life, the building is called “The Shelley.”  It is fun to visit, as it will bring you right back to the days of Must See TV!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Jerry’s building is located at 757 New Hampshire Ave. in Los Angeles.   Be careful when visiting – Seinfeld didn’t live in the safest neighborhood!

I am in love – and his name is Don Antonio!

Don Antonio’sLike most everyone who watches, I, too, think Spencer and Heidi from The Hillsare complete douchbags – but I still had to go find the restaurant they seem to visit on every episode – Don Antonio’s.   It was easy enough to find with a simple Google search and, with camera in hand, my boyfriend and I ventured out there one Friday night.   It is a cute little place, that is usually jam packed with people.  I thought at first that the many visitors were all Hillsfans like myself hoping for a Speidi sighting, but now that I have eaten there, I realize that most likely the hordes of people are there for the food and not the celeb sightings.  The food at Don Antonio’s is nothing short of INCREDIBLE!  The homemade chicken tamales, the special burrito, and the fajitas are my favorites – but no matter what you chose, you cannot go wrong!!!  My boyfriend and I now visit Don Antonio’s at least twice a week – alas with no sightings of Spencer and Heidi as of yet.  But we did see Anne Ramsay, who played Helen Hunt’s sister on Mad About You, in the bar one night.  Upon arriving I always ask if Spencer and Heidi are there eating, but I’ve never had the luck of being there at the same time.  According to the ultra-friendly employees, who now know me as “the girl who is always looking for Spencer and Heidi”, they dine at Don Antonio’s at least three times a week, usually around 7PM at night.  Hopefully one day I’ll get to see Speidi in the flesh, but until then, I am perfectly happy just enjoying the food at my new favorite restaurant!

Note – And no, according to employees, the “Spencer Steak” on the menu is not named after Spencer from The Hills.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It:Don Antonio’s is located at 11755 W. Pico Blvd. in West Los Angeles, near Overland Ave.  There is plenty of street parking most of the time, but on Friday evenings after 7PM, you’ll be lucky to even get a valet spot – and the wait is usually over 45 minutes.  Trust me, though – it is well worth it!!!  Come for the celeb sightings – stay for the food!  The prices are super reasonable, too.