Malibu – Page 3 – IAMNOTASTALKER

March 1, 2010February 28, 2010

Kristin Cavallari’s Beach House from “The Hills”

Just down the street from Jennifer Aniston’s former beach house, which I blogged about on Friday, is the residence that Kristin Cavallari called home during this past season of fave reality show The Hills. So, since we were already in the area a couple of weeks ago, I just had to drag fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA – who I am sad to say is not at all a fan of the MTV show – over to stalk the place. I found this location thanks to fellow stalker Virginie who posted Kristin’s former address in the comments section of my site way back in October of last year and it’s been high up on my “To-Stalk” list ever since. Thank you, Virginie! Unfortunately, though, since I so rarely get out to the ‘Bu, I had yet to stalk the residence. And while I realize that The Hills ended its current season over two and a half months ago and that I am just slightly late to the game on this one, as I always say, it’s far better to be late than never. 🙂

The four bedroom, four bath beach house pictured above, which was built in 1969 and measures 2,972 square feet, first showed up when Kristin Cavallari joined the cast of The Hills in the Season Five episode entitled “It’s On Bitch”. But she didn’t stay there long. The Laguna Beach alum moved out of this location just ten episodes later, on the show’s season finale which was entitled “Boys of the Summer”. I am fairly certain that Kristin never actually rented this house, though, and quite possibly never even truly lived there, but that the property was leased by MTV solely for filming purposes.

And quite a bit of filming did actually take place on location at the residence. In fact, the house showed up in all ten episodes which featured Kristin during Season Five. The back side of the property was the area most often featured on the show . . .

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. . . and was the site of Kristin’s many beach parties and get-togethers. Oh, how I wish I had stalked this place back when The Hills was still filming so that I could have seen her little tiki bar and patio furniture in person. Sadly, all of the outdoor decor that appeared on the show has long since been removed.

And, of course, I just had to get a picture of the house’s back stairwell, which appeared numerous times on the show. I so wanted to pose for a picture while standing on the stairs, too, but being that someone was inside the property while we were stalking the place, I didn’t think that would be a very smart move. 😉

The inside of the home was also featured numerous times on the show and while I have to say that the residence’s interior is absolutely GORGEOUS, it doesn’t, in my opinion at least, really match up to the exterior, which seems to be a bit dated and weathered.

For whatever reason, the front entrance to the house was only ever shown once on The Hills, at the very beginning of the “It’s On Bitch” episode, in the scene in which Kristin is shown getting into her car and driving off on Pacific Coast Highway on her way to make an appearance at Spencer and Heidi’s “Welcome Home” party.

Amazingly enough, while doing research for this post I discovered that appearing on The Hills isn’t the home’s only claim to fame. The property actually has a long and storied Hollywood history. According to this article, in the early ‘80s the beach pad belonged to music executive Jerry Goldstein. In the ‘90s, it was purchased by another music man, record promoter and Giant Records president Charlie Minor. Sadly, on March 19, 1995, Minor, who had worked with both Sting and Janet Jackson during the course of his highly successful career, was murdered in the house by a former girlfriend named Suzette McClure who shot him nine times after catching him in bed with another woman. But the house’s notoriety doesn’t end there, for it was also used as one of the locations of the Silver Spoon Beach House – the notorious party pad where throngs of young Hollywood stars would hang out during the summer months. Just a few of the celebs who were seen there include Lindsay Lohan, Ali Landry, The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Slade Smiley (Ugh, gag me!) and Gretchen Rossi, Brody Jenner, and ironically enough, even Kristin Cavallari, who not only partied at the house, but also once did a photo shoot there.

A big THANK YOU to Virginie for finding this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Kristin Cavallari’s beach house from The Hills is located at 22058 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Jennifer Aniston’s former Malibu home is located just a few houses east of Kristin’s at 22164 Pacific Coast Highway.

February 26, 2010June 16, 2011

Jennifer Aniston’s Former Beach House

While out stalking the ‘Bu with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a couple of weeks ago, I just about had a complete heart attack as the two of us passed by my girl Jen Aniston’s former beach house and I noticed that the door to the front gate was standing WIDE OPEN! Let me tell you, I must have screamed for a good sixty seconds over that one! Once Mike regained his hearing ;), he made an immediate U-turn across Pacific Coast Highway so that the two of us could head over to the house to get a peek behind the gates. I’ve actually stalked Jen’s former Malibu bungalow a few times in the past – and have even blogged about it once before – but being that this was the first time I was catching a glimpse of her front courtyard area, I figured the place was worth a re-post. And let me tell you, I was pretty much dying the whole time I was there. I mean never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d get to see past that front gate!

As we walked up to the house we noticed some workers standing out front, so I, of course, struck up a conversation with them. The workers told us that they were doing some landscaping in the front courtyard area of the residence, which is why the gate was open. When I asked one of them if he knew that Jennifer Aniston used to live on the property, he looked at me like he had absolutely no idea who Jennifer Aniston even was. LOL

I didn’t want to overstep my bounds or get the landscapers in any sort of trouble while I was stalking the place, so I stayed on the sidewalk area while taking the above pictures, but believe me I was absolutely dying to venture in for a closer look!

I did manage to catch a glimpse of the glass front door, though, which you can just barely see in the above pictures.

While there, I was so focused on seeing Jen’s former courtyard area that I didn’t even realize the garage door to the house was open. It wasn’t until Mike elbowed me and whispered really loudly in my ear, “GET A PICTURE OF THE GARAGE! GET A PICTURE OF THE GARAGE! That’s where Jen did her laundry!” that I even noticed it. LOL I so wanted Mike to ask the landscaping guys if we could peek inside the house, but he refused as he felt like that would definitely be crossing a line. And I have to admit I agree with him – which is why I didn’t want to ask the workers myself. 😉 But, oh, what I wouldn’t give to see the inside of that house!

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During the time Jen rented the home, the glass walls of the back patio area were actually covered over with some sort of black paneling which shielded the star from the prying eyes of not only the paparazzi, but stalkers such as myself. So, I was beyond floored when Mike and I traveled to the back side of the property and noticed that those panels were no longer there, which meant that Jen’s former “backyard” was visible. YAY! It’s actually very surprising to me that the notoriously press-shy Aniston ever lived in this house – especially during her divorce, when the media frenzy was at an all-time high – being that the public beach access walkway is located just a few feet to the east of the property. Because the area was so easily accessible, the paparazzi used to supposedly camp out night and day on the beach directly behind her house. Ugh!

Jen moved into her wood-shingled Malibu beach bungalow in early 2005, immediately following her separation from now ex-husband Brad Pitt. She leased the property, which is supposedly owned by Oracle C.E.O Larry Ellison, through the end of 2007 for a reported $30,000 a month. Despite the fact that it is located right on the sand, thisclose to the ocean, Jen’s former beach house is fairly modest by celebrity standards. The residence, which was built in 1945, boasts two bedrooms, three bathrooms, and measures a scant 1,531 square feet. And I have to say that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the place. The house is incredibly charming and so very, for lack of a better word, cute and I would give anything to live in something similar. I am so enamored of the place in fact that I would consider it my dream pad, even if it hadn’t been previously lived in by Jen. 😉 The two-story bungalow is actually the place where the actress conducted her infamous first post-split interview which ran in the September 2005 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. According to several other interviews which also took place at the home, Jen decorated her bachelorette pad with mostly white furnishings adorned with white candles, white flowers, and quite a bit of Asian-inspired decor. She also reportedly kept a little vase filled with loose Merit brand cigarettes on an end table next to the couch for her guests to partake of. Apparently Jen remodeled the home a bit, even though it was a rental, before moving in. Vanity Fair author Leslie Bennetts says, “Although the bungalow was dark and depressing when she first saw it, a quickie makeover has transformed it into a cozy sanctuary that’s far more representative of Aniston’s personal taste than the showplace she and Pitt shared, where the decor seemed all hard edges and unforgiving materials.” Bennetts goes on to ask Jen what she likes best about being separated from Brad, to which the actress responds, “I can have a comfortable couch.” LOL

On a side note – Early last year fave website Big Time Listings reported on another (possible) former rental of Aniston’s in the Laurel Canyon area. And while Big Time Listings can’t actually verify that the actress ever lived in the home, according to the September 2009 issue of Elle Magazine, Jen did rent a house in Laurel Canyon during her pre-Friends days, so it’s a definite possibility.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Jennifer Aniston’s former beach rental is located at 22164 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

May 7, 2009May 6, 2009

The “Biggest Loser” Ranch

This past weekend, I dragged my boyfriend out to Calabasas to stalk the King Gillette Ranch, otherwise known as The Biggest Loser Ranch. I found this location thanks to the couple we met while stalking the Adamson House a few weeks back. Our new friends, who just recently got engaged, have been traipsing all over the Los Angeles area touring wedding locales. Many of those locales also happen to be filming locations! I swear, if my boyfriend ever gets off his butt and proposes, a whole new stalking world is going to open up for me. 🙂 Anyway, our friends recently toured King Gillette Ranch and immediately called me up to let me know that it is where The Biggest Loser is filmed. And even though I’ve never watched the show, I just had to run right out and stalk it! 🙂 THANKS Nancy and Eric! 🙂

Actually, I did see one brief segment of The Biggest Loser on Talk Soup a few months back when Joel McHale showed the above clip of trainer Bob Harper absolutely FREAKING OUT at a contestant. LOVE IT! LOL LOL LOL I think I need to hire that guy to be my trainer!!! 🙂

King Gillette Ranch was originally built by King Camp Gillette (yes, that’s an actual name), the founder of the Gillette Safety Razor Company. King purchased the 588 acre property in 1926 and commissioned famed architect Wallace Neff – who designed Brad and Jen’s famous former home– to built a 26,000 square foot Mediterranean style mansion on the site. When Gillette died in 1932, his widow sold the extensive property to movie director Clarence Brown. Clarence threw so many elaborate Hollywood parties in the mansion that he ended up building his own private airstrip so that his famous guests could land directly on the property ! LOL In 1952, the Ranch was sold to Bob Hope and his wife, Dolores, who donated the entire 588 acres to the Claretian Order of the Catholic Church. They used the property as a seminary for the next 25 years, until eventually selling it to New Age leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Elizabeth planned to use the property as the headquarters for her religious movement, the Church Universal and Triumphant, but faced much government opposition and ended up selling it to Soku University of America in 1986. The Ranch was finally collaboratively purchased by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, California State Parks, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, and National Park Service, who opened the property to the public on June 30, 2007. It is currently a nature and wildlife reserve featuring numerous hiking trails, a former Chumash Indian settlement, walking paths, a man-made lake, and picnic grounds.

And, of course, it’s also a filming location! For the past two years, beginning with Season 4, King Gillette Ranch has been used as the location where contestants vie to become The Biggest Loser. While we were stalking the place, we had the good fortune of running into one of the Biggest Loser crew members who was busy setting up for Season 8, which begins filming in a few weeks. He was INCREDIBLY nice and pointed out all of the areas featured on the show, including the gym, which, as you can see in the above photograph (which was taken through a closed window! LOL ) was empty at the time;

the pool –

which was flanked by fake flowers!!! LOL;

the production offices;

the “dormitories” where the contestants sleep – which is actually just a section of the main house;

the patio area;

and the Administration Building –

which is used for the filming of the elimination ceremonies. Again, the above photographs were taken through a closed window, so they aren’t the greatest.

Evidence of the filming of The Biggest Loser could be found all over the Ranch, which I, of course, LOVED seeing! There was a leftover tape marker that was stuck on the ground outside of the elimination room;

wire cords were strung up on all of the buildings;

and those yellow signs that I so love were posted at the entrance gates. 🙂

King Gillette Ranch is a truly beautiful place. It is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon outdoors, go for a long hike, take a bike ride, or just sit back and nature watch.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: King Gillette Ranch is located at 26800 Mulholland Highway in Calabasas. The park is open daily to the public from 8 a.m. to sunset. Dogs are not allowed. Parking costs $5 per day. The Ranch is also available as a wedding or event location.

May 6, 2009June 16, 2011

The Mansion Where Brad and Jen Got Married

There are some events in history that people remember as if they occurred just yesterday. For instance, my mom remembers exactly where she was, right down to what she was wearing, on November 22, 1963 when she found out that President Kennedy had been murdered. Well, I wasn’t alive when JFK was assassinated or when man first walked on the moon. But I do remember exactly where I was and what I was wearing on July 30thof 2000 when it was announced that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had finally gotten married. 🙂 Now, some may not qualify that event as being historic, or even memorable, but for me it was. I was in Hawaii with my family at the time and the day beforehand I had found out that one of my closest friends had passed away. I was absolutely inconsolable. My parents didn’t really know what to do with me, so they decided to bring me down to the hotel bar in the hopes that a cocktail and a sunset might bring me some sort of comfort. As we sat at that outdoor bar watching the waves crash on the sand, I heard Jennifer Aniston’s name on the television set behind me and my ears perked up. The announcer stated that sources had confirmed that my girl Jen had married Brad Pitt in a ceremony on a Malibu bluff the previous evening. And it was the first time I smiled in days. 🙂 So, a few weeks ago, when I found the location of the mansion where Brad and Jen tied the knot, I just had to go stalk it.

I had read long ago that Brad and Jen had tied the knot at a five acre seaside estate belonging to television producer Marcy Carsey (of 3rd Rock From the Sun, Roseanne, and The Cosby Show fame) that was located on the 33000 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. But I had no idea of the home’s exact location. Until I found this fabulous website, which led me to the right spot. 🙂 Yay! From what I can tell from the few photographs released of the couple’s nuptials, the actual wedding ceremony took place on the circular patch of lawn located in front of Marcy’s home. Their reception took place in a large tent on an empty parcel of land located just south of the estate. You can see the wedding set up in the above paparazzi photograph, which was taken the day of Brad and Jen’s wedding.

Unfortunately, virtually none of the home is visible from the street. 🙁

If you head a few hundred feet up nearby Decker Canyon Road, you can just make out the outline of the mansion’s roof . . .

. . . and you can see the empty patch of land where Brad and Jen’s reception was held. But other than that, sadly, there’s not a whole lot to see. 🙁

Which is why God created aerial images. 🙂 LOL You can see a great aerial photo of Brad and Jen’s wedding mansion here.

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According to People Magazine, Brad and Jen’s wedding cost over $1 million and featured 50,000 flowers, a 13 minute fireworks display, four live bands, and a gospel choir! Their 200 person guest list was strictly A-List, and included Courteney Cox and David Arquette, Edward Norton and Salma Hayek (who were dating at the time), Cameron Diaz, Melissa Etheridge (who serenaded the couple), David Schwimmer, Kathy Najimy, Dermot Mulroney, Jon Lovitz, David Spade, and Lisa Kudrow. During their vows Jen promised to always make Brad’s “favorite banana milkshake” and Brad vowed to “split the difference on the thermostat”. Knowing how things turned out after that little homewrecker Angelina Jolie got her claws into Brad, doesn’t the whole thing kinda bring a tear to your eye? 🙁

Located directly next door to the estate where Brad and Jen got married, is the 19,340 square foot mega-mansion originally owned by Verna Harrah, widow of William F. Harrah, who was the founder of the famous casino hotels of the same name. In December of 1999, Verna sold her collosal mansion to Mark Reynolds Hughes, creator of Herbalife Vitamins, for a cool $27 million. Less than six months later, Hughes passed away of an alleged prescription drug and alcohol overdose in the master bedroom of the home. He was 44. The manse was subsequently purchased by billionaire venture capitalist Howard Marks.

And it looks to me as if Howard also purchased the once empty parcel of land where Brad and Jen held their tented wedding reception and which originally belonged to the Carsey estate. As you can see in the above aerial photographs of the two neighboring properties, it looks as if the Howards moved their property line over quite a bit.

Even though not much of Brad and Jen’s wedding mansion can be seen from the street, I was still floored to finally be stalking it. And even though their wedding occured during a difficult time in my life and their marriage ended rather unamicably, somehow thinking back on the day when I learned about my idol’s nuptials still manages to bring a smile to my face. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Brad and Jen’s wedding mansion is located at 33148 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Mark Reynolds Hughes’ former house is located directly next door at 33064 Pacific Coast Highway. For the best views of the homes, head a few hundred feet up Decker Canyon Road, which is located just south of the properties.

April 16, 2009December 6, 2013

Paradise Cove

One location I have been wanting to stalk ever since I first moved to L.A. nine years ago – has it really been nine years??? – is Malibu’s Paradise Cove. Countless movies have been filmed at the Cove, but I wanted to stalk it for one reason and one reason only. Back in April of 1999, it was the location where Britney Spears filmed the music video for her hit song “Sometimes”. And I absolutely LOVED that video. I can still remember the first time I watched it on TRL just about ten years ago. And ever since that day I have been dying to see the white pier featured in the video in person. So, this past Saturday, I finally did just that. When I happened to mention to my mom that morning that I was on my way to stalk the Cove and the reason why, she said “Oh Lindsay, when are you going to get over this Britney obsession?” LOL

Paradise Cove, as we know it today, came to be in the early 1950s when a man named Joe Morris purchased two adjacent parcels of land and combined them into 70 beachfront acres complete with a private cove and a beach cafe. In the beginning, the area was a fisherman’s hangout, a place for sea-weary workers to not only launch their boats, but to kick back and grab a drink after a long day on the open water. The Cove gradually turned into a beachfront community, a place for local families, tourists, and celebrities alike to hang out by the sea. In the 70s, Joe sold his land, his beachfront restaurant, and his private cove to the Kissel family, who turned the area into a waterfront mobile home park. Joe’s son Bob was heartbroken over the sale and in 1998, he returned to Paradise Cove and purchased his father’s former restaurant. He renamed it Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe and remains the owner to this day. The above photograph is of a picture on display at the Beach Cafe of my girl Marilyn Monroe posing on a cliff above the restaurant many moons ago.

Most of the action of Britney’s “Sometimes” video takes place right on the Paradise Cove pier. In the video, while hanging out at her beach house, Britney spies a cute boy playing nearby in the sand. She rushes down to the local pier, where her back-up dancers, dressed all in white, are waiting for her. The group then performs a very “Britney” dance routine (of course, I memorized it!) for the boy. I know, I know, the premise sounds incredibly lame, but – trust me – the video is adorable! You can watch the “Sometimes” video here.

In person, the pier looks exactly the same as how it appeared in Britney’s video. The only difference is that, in real life, there is no “Kenny’s Cove” sign located over the entrance. Apparently the video’s producer, Nigel Dick, thought an entrance sign similar to the one that adorns the Santa Monica pier was needed for decoration. He decided to name the cove after the video’s location scout, Kenny. 🙂 Love it!

Had to do it! 🙂

Paradise Cove has been featured in countless productions over the years. In American Pie 2, the Michigan lake house the boys spend their summer at was actually a facade the producers built on the beach at Paradise Cove just North of Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. That’s the Paradise Cove Pier behind the boys in the above screen capture. Producers also built a fake lighthouse on the end of the pier for the production.

In Lethal Weapon 4, Mel Gibson and Rene Russo lived in a trailer/house also located just to the North of the Beach Cafe. Their house was also just a facade built for filming. You can see the Cafe’s exterior just to the right of Mel Gibson in the above screen capture.

The pier is featured twice in Indecent Proposal. It first shows up as the location where Woody Harrelson proposes to Demi Moore in the beginning of the movie. Then, at the very end of the movie, it is where the two reunite.

Other productions filmed at the Cove include Rockford Files (James Garner lived in a trailer on the beach), Gidget, Monster-in-Law (JLo and Michael Vartan explored the Cove’s tide pools in the beginning of the movie), Alias, Charlie’s Angels, X-Men (Spider-Man creator Stan Lee served hot dogs by the sea) and The House of Sand and Fog. The Beach Boys also shot the cover for their Surfin’ Safari album at the Cove (pictured above).

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I HIGHLY recommend stalking the Cove – but be forewarned, it’s not cheap! Parking there costs $25! Yes, you read that right! Which is the very reason it took me nine years to stalk the place. Stealing a term from my friend Mandy, I long ago dubbed my boyfriend the “Grim Cheaper” because the guy just hates spending money. Five years ago, when we went to stalk the Cove for the first time, he took one look at that $25 parking sign and turned the car right around. LOL What we didn’t realize at the time is if you grab a bite to eat at Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe and spend more than $20, the parking fee drops to $3, which is not bad at all. So, after stalking the Cove this past Saturday we marched right into the cafe and parked ourselves on some bar stools. And while we had a good time and the food was definitely yummy, I think we actually missed the boat on that one. What we didn’t realize is that there is actually a back patio area where you can sip a cocktail while sitting outside under the sun, watching the surf. But the rules for the back patio are pretty confusing because while the cafe provides the outdoor seating, they do not actually own that particular area. So, you can buy a bottle of wine or beer inside the restaurant to take outside, but the bottles have to remain closed until you reach your sandy destination. If you open your beverages before you leave, you will have to finish them inside. Confused? So was I.

Basically, Bob Morris’ Beach Cafe acts as a liquor store and sells full bottles of wine and beer that you can purchase at the bar and then take outside to drink on the back patio area. I SO wish I had known that at the time, as the patio looks like a really fun place to grab a drink, put your toes in the sand, and watch the sun set. Oh well, it looks like I’ll just have to go back to stalk the place again. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Paradise Cove is located at 28128 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. You can visit the Paradise Cove website here.

April 15, 2009April 14, 2009

The Adamson House

I spent all last week on the hunt for a location from my fave 90s TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. The spot I was looking for was the location that stood in for Baja, Mexico in the Season 2 episode entitled “Mexican Standoff”. In the episode, Brenda sneaks off to a Mexican resort town for the weekend with Dylan without telling her parents. I knew from this amazing website that the “Mexico” scenes were actually shot near the beach in Malibu, so I started my hunt there. And it wasn’t long before I found the right spot!

While watching the “Mexican Standoff” episode, I noticed an abundance of intricate Spanish tile in the background of pretty much every scene. (You can see an example of that tile behind Dylan in the above screen capture.) The tiles were my big tip-off, as there is actually a famous house in Malibu that is known for its exquisite tile work. In fact, the house has been deemed the “Taj Mahal of tile”. I had done some research on the home a few years back when I was working and immediately thought of it when I watched the “Mexican Standoff” episode this past week. The home, which is named the Adamson House, is owned by the State of California and has been open to the public as a museum since 1983. So, I, of course, dragged my boyfriend right out there this weekend for a tour.

In 1891, a man named Frederick Hastings Rindge purchased what is now known as the city of Malibu for the bargain price of $10 per acre. Rindge’s wife, May, was fiercely protective of her family’s privacy and did everything she could to keep outsiders out, including fencing off the 17,000 acre property and hiring armed guards who patrolled the area day and night. For close to forty years the Rindges were Malibu’s only occupants. But in the 30s, May ran into some financial trouble and had to sell off parcels of her property. Not wanting to sell to just anyone, May made sure she sold her land to wealthy, distinguished individuals who understood the need for privacy. Most of those individuals were movie stars. And thus, the city of Malibu, celebrity haven, was born. It was Frederick and May’s daughter, Rhoda Agatha Rindge, and her husband Merritt Adamson who in 1930 built the 4,000 square foot Mediterranean style home that is now known as the Adamson House.

Rhoda and Merritt’s custom home, which was designed by Stiles O. Clements, took a year and a half to build and is situated directly above the Malibu Lagoon. May Rindge, who was a tile connoisseur and owned her own tile company named Malibu Potteries, commissioned all of the custom, handmade tile that eventually made her daughter’s home so famous and, in the end, saved it from demolition. In 1966, four years after Rhoda’s death, the State of California was granted eminent domain on the Adamson House and its surrounding property. The state purchased the home from Rhoda’s heirs for $2.6 million and set about razing the property to build a beach parking lot. Unbelievable!! Thankfully, the Malibu Historical Society and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation stepped in and fought to stop the demolition of the home. That fight turned into a ten year battle. During that time, the chancellor of Pepperdine University leased and lived in the property. In 1976, thanks to the home’s unique tile work and its historical significance to the city of Malibu, the house was saved from the wrecking ball. In 1983, after a lengthy renovation process, the home was opened to the public as a museum. The Adamson House is currently both a California Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

And, let me tell you, it is an absolutely incredible place to visit. The tile work in the home is nothing short of A-MA-ZING! I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life and doubt I ever will again. I was shocked when I heard that construction on the home took only a year and a half to complete, as the detailing is so incredibly intricate and elaborate that I would have expected it to have taken much longer. Everything from the clock in the kitchen to the heater grates in the ceiling are made from hand-painted tiles! The house could not be more exquisite and I HIGHLY recommend taking the tour to see it for yourself.

That being said, I have to say that the actual tour was one of the most BIZARRE experiences of my life. There are simply no words to accurately describe our tour – or our docent for that matter. I’m not quite sure what was wrong with her, but I think it is safe to say she was a few bricks shy of a load. A sample bit of her dialog from the tour: “Now we are in the upstairs . . . the ceiling . . . has . . . and you can see . . . and there are . . . this piece of . . . . . . . . . . . . . string . . . during World War II . . . there were bombs . . . who can guess why there are no lights?” And I’m pretty much QUOTING her! LOL When I asked why the Rindge family sold the Adamson House to the State of California she told me it was because “they were tired of it”. LOL LOL LOL At one point during the tour, my boyfriend turned to me and said “Please don’t ask if 90210 was filmed here – that might just make her head explode!” Within the first five minutes I became convinced we were on a hidden camera show – I was hoping it was I Get That A Lot – and at any moment a camera crew was going to jump out at us from behind a wall. I was actually laughing so hard on more than one occasion that I had to completely turn away from the group and stare at the wall. LOL I haven’t laughed that hard in a really long time, so I guess the tour wasn’t a total bust! In fact, as I sit here writing about it, I’m STILL laughing. 🙂 We even made friends with another couple, who were just as bewildered over our docent’s behavior as we were. At the end, one of them said to us, “I realize that they are all volunteers, but isn’t there some sort of screening process???” LOL But I must say that despite our nimrod of a tour guide, seeing the house in person is still an experience I’d recommend.

Oddly enough, only a very small section of the Adamson House was used in the “Mexican Standoff” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. Of course our docent had no clue whatsoever where, or even if, 90210 had filmed on the property back in 1992 and I had a surprisingly difficult time locating the exact spot used on my own. After the tour on Saturday, I went home and watched the “Mexican Standoff” episode once again and finally figured out where it had been filmed. Unfortunately, I had only taken one photograph of that spot while on the tour. LOL So, I actually had to drag my boyfriend BACK to the house the following day to take some more pictures. Thank the lord our docent was nowhere to be found. 🙂 The area featured on Beverly Hills, 90210 was the little porch and driveway located to the side of Adamson House garage.

In the scene, Brenda and Dylan get into an argument over a girl that Dylan dated the previous summer. Brenda is in quite the little snit until a mariachi band strolls over and serenades them with a Spanish version of the Morris Albert song “Feelings”. The two make up and then dance the night away under the Mexican sky. GOD I LOVE THAT SHOW! 🙂 The new one doesn’t even compare!!! You can watch the scene filmed at the Adamson House here.

The “Baja” beach where Brenda and Dylan surf the following morning is very obviously the Malibu Lagoon State Beach, which is located directly in front of the Adamson House.

The location where Brenda and Dylan run into Jake Hanson in the beginning of that same episode is the beach parking lot located just south of the Adamson House. It is actually the place where you must park your car if you are going on an Adamson House tour. That’s the Malibu Pier in the background behind Dylan.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Adamson House is located at 23200 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The grounds are open daily to the public from sunrise to sunset. You do not need to be part of a tour to walk around the grounds. The interior of the house is only made available to the public via docent led tours. Tours are held Wednesday through Saturday from 11am to 3pm, with the last tour beginning at 2pm. Tours cost $5 per adult and $2 per child under the age of 16. Kids 5 and under are free. You can visit the Adamson House website here.

April 14, 2009April 13, 2009

Taverna Tony

This past Saturday afternoon my boyfriend and I met up with my former boss and his wife for some coffee at the Malibu Country Mart – where we sat next to Brian Grazer in the playground area for a good 45 minutes. But that’s a whole other story. 🙂 After hanging out at the Mart for a bit, we decided to grab a bite to eat and I could not have been more floored when my boss’ wife suggested the famous Greek restaurant and celebrity hotspot Taverna Tony. Tony’s is a veritable celeb mecca in Malibu and pretty much anyone who’s anyone has dined there. I’ve been absolutely dying to stalk the place for years, but somehow just never got around to it. Until this past Saturday night! 🙂

Google the terms “Taverna Tony” and “celebrities” and a whole smorgasbord of famous names will appear, including Pamela Anderson, Courteney Cox, Kate Moss, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Brooke Burke, David Charvet, Paris Hilton, Benji Madden, Salma Hayek, Shannen Doherty, Al Pacino and my girl Jen Aniston (who is of Greek descent) – all of whom have dined at the Malibu restaurant. Unbelievably, we did not spot any celebs on Saturday night, but to be honest, for once, I wasn’t paying very close attention. I was too busy gabbing. LOL But I get the feeling that seeing a celeb at Tony’s is pretty much a sure thing, so you can bet I’m going to return in the near future. 🙂

Before dining at Tony’s on Saturday night, I had never sampled Greek food, so I had no idea what to expect. Well, let me tell you, it was FABULOUS! I have to say that Tony’s serves up some of the BEST food I’ve ever eaten in my life. The servings are absolutely ENOURMOUS and the prices are extremely reasonable – especially considering it’s located in Malibu. Tony’s is the type of place where you can eat a healthy meal or completely throw your diet out the window. I opted for the latter. LOL If you’re game for doing the same, I must suggest the Flaming Saganaki Cheese appetizer! Second to fried calamari, it is probably the worst thing on earth you could possibly eat, but OH-MY-GOD! It is A-MA-ZING! I could have eaten an entire platter of just that! LOL

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I honestly cannot recommend stalking Taverna Tony enough! Even if you’re not into the whole celeb thing, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll love this place. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Taverna Tony is located at 23410 Civic Center Way, in the Malibu Country Mart shopping center, in Malibu. The feature live music and belly dancing nightly. You can visit their website here.

March 18, 2009January 30, 2011

Tad Hamilton’s House

Another day, another Tad Hamilton location! Last week while searching for the Sex and the City honeymoon house I ran across aerial views of a Malibu home that looked very familiar to me (pictured above). It didn’t take long before I realized the house was used as Tad Hamilton’s ultra-modern white mansion in fave movie Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. So, of course, I dragged my boyfriend right out to stalk it! 🙂

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When I first saw Win A Date back in 2004, I assumed Tad’s house was just a set. I knew the pool area was most likely authentic, but the interiors seemed far too stylized to be real. But it turns out that Tad’s house is actually a real home located right on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

In Win A Date, both the interior and the exterior of the real home were used quite extensively. The pool area shows up most prominently in a scene that was deleted from the actual movie, but that is featured in the DVD’s deleted scenes section. In the scene, Paris Hilton parachutes from an airplane into Tad Hamilton’s pool in an attempt to meet the movie star (pictured above).

Also featured in Win A Date is Tad’s entryway;

the front of the home;

the living room area;

and the wet bar.

I can’t even imagine living in a place like Tad’s. It’s just so modern and so . . . what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, yeah, “blue”. In real life and in the movie the home has an odd blue tint to it, as you can see in all of the screen captures pictured above. It does look like a great place to have a party, though. 🙂 And it’s not hard to see why producers chose it as the home of the gorgeous, but somewhat shallow and morally empty movie star Tad Hamilton. You can compare the above screen captures to these real life interior photos of the house.

This same home was also featured in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day where it was used as the residence of computer scientist Miles Dyson and his family. It is this home that Linda Hamilton shoots up in an attempt to kill Miles towards the end of the movie. As you can see in the above screen captures, the interior of the home has been extensively remodeled since then and looks nothing like it did when Terminator 2 was filmed there over 18 years ago.

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In fact, at first glance the Win A Date house and the Terminator 2 house seem like different homes altogether. But they’re not. Although it is slightly hard to see, the above screen captures show that the stairs leading down to the living room area, the doorway leading to the kitchen, and the stairway and landing that lead to the second level are in the exact same position. The house has been given a major facelift, but structurally it’s the same as it was all those years ago in Terminator 2.

I can’t really say that I recommend stalking Tad Hamilton’s house. The above photographs show what you can see of the home from the Pacific Coast Highway – which is minimal. Aside from a white cabana-like structure, exterior pool lights, and a cement sign with the address number on it, virtually nothing is visible from the street. So Tad Hamilton and Terminator 2 fans will just have to be satisfied with cyber-stalking the home instead.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Tad Hamilton’s house is located at 30065 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

March 11, 2009March 11, 2009

Samantha Jones and Smith Jerrod’s Beach House

This weekend after stalking Carrie’s honeymoon villa from Sex and the City: The Movie, I dragged my boyfriend about 15 miles south to stalk yet another location from the film – Samantha and Smith’s beach house. Thanks to fave book Sex and the City: The Movie, which stated that the home was located on Malibu Road, this location was a snap to find! Smith and Samantha’s house, with its curved glass and steel architecture, is quite unique and it’s not hard to see why producers chose it as the residence of SATC’s trendy P.R. exec and her young movie star boyfriend.

In person, the house is absolutely breathtaking. Located right on the sand in Malibu, the home has five separate cantilevered balconies that seem to just hang right over the Pacific Ocean. I can only imagine what the views must be like at sunset! I’m not usually a big fan of modern houses, but this one is pretty special. At the time of filming the home was on the market for a cool $17 million (the price has now dropped to $14,500,000). I believe it was also vacant, which would have made filming there much easier than in a home that was occupied.

Filming of the Samantha/Smith scenes took two weeks to complete and both the interior and the exterior of the real life beach house were used extensively. Featured in the movie were the kitchen area (where Samantha cooks Smith homemade sushi),

the living room where Samantha and Smith celebrate New Year’s Eve in front of a fire,

and the master bedroom, where Smith asks Samantha to stop running off to New York every chance she gets. You can compare the above screen captures to the interior photos of the home shown on its real estate website and on this website. From the looks of it, it seems producers even chose to use the home’s real bedroom furniture for the filming.

The front of Samantha and Smith’s home wasn’t shown in Sex and the City: The Movie, but you can catch a glimpse of it in the above pic. Ironically, the front of the house looks like a normal everyday modern style home and doesn’t give any clue as to the amazing architecture located just on the other side of it. And while the front of the house will not be familiar to Sex and the City fans, the back definitely will be. Public beach access is located fairly close to the house, so if you would like to see the back view – and I really suggest you do – it’s less than a five minute walk down the beach.

The house directly next door to Samantha’s should also be recognizable to SATC fans. It was used as the home of Samantha’s hunky neighbor Dante (played Gilles Marini who is currently competing on Dancing With The Stars) on whom she develops quite a crush. As for Dante’s outdoor shower, I couldn’t find it anywhere. It is my guess that either another home was used for that scene, or a special shower was created especially for filming purposes that was later removed.

Also missing in real life – the balcony hot tub that Samantha relaxes in towards the beginning of the movie.

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Samantha’s house is absolutely beautiful in person and I highly recommend stalking it – or purchasing it if you have the means! If you don’t have $14,500,000 on hand to buy the home, it is also available as a rental property at the rate of $75,000 per month. Being that I’ve never made that amount in an entire year, let alone a month, I think I’m pretty much out of the running on this one. LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Samantha and Smith’s beach house is located at 24826 Malibu Road in Malibu. Dante’s house is located directly next door at 24822 Malibu Road.

March 10, 2009February 4, 2010

The Sex and the City Honeymoon House

Ever since Sex and the City: The Movie premiered last May, I have been absolutely dying to stalk the hotel where the girls stayed during Carrie’s non-honeymoon. In the movie, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte spend a week at what is supposedly a private villa located on the grounds of a Mexican resort. In actuality, though, not only were the Mexican hotel scenes not filmed in Mexico, but they weren’t even filmed at an actual hotel. LOL In reality, two different locales situated over forty miles apart from each other stood in for Carrie’s honeymoon hotel. The villa the girls stayed in is actually a private home located right off the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. And the hotel restaurant where Carrie and the girls drank margaritas is actually a ballroom located at an equestrian compound in Simi Valley named Hummingbird Nest Ranch. And while I have yet to stalk the Ranch – something which I am planning to do in the near future – I did drag my boyfriend out to stalk Carrie’s villa this past weekend.

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My first clue in locating the villa came from fave book Sex and the City: The Movie, in which Sarah Jessica Parker mentioned that the honeymoon scenes were filmed in Malibu. Knowing that there is no hotel anywhere near Malibu that looks at all like the one Carrie and the girls stayed at, I started searching the internet for a private home near the coast that had an infinity pool flanked by two huge built-in planters holding palm trees. And I located the home almost immediately. Then when I came across these close up photos of the house, I knew for certain that it was the place where Carrie spent her honeymoon.

At first I couldn’t figure out why producers didn’t use a real Mexican resort to shoot the honeymoon scenes. But then I remembered that Kim Cattrall and Jason Lewis were already shooting on location in Malibu, so it would have made sense to shoot the honeymoon sequence there, as well. Apparently, the producers were even given the opportunity to film for free at a Caribbean resort (in exchange for a pretty prominent plug of the hotel, I’m sure), but they loved Carrie’s “Mexicoma” joke so much that they decided to keep the honeymoon in Mexico. I actually thought that joke was pretty lame and I can’t even believe they gave up a free five-star filming location to keep it in the script! LOL

Carrie’s honeymoon house is absolutely stunning in person and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was quite a lot of it visible from the street.

Even the pool area, which was the part of the house featured most prominently in SATC, can be seen from the road! Love it! Quite a bit of the property can be seen from the Pacific Coast Highway, as well.

There is even what appears to be a chapel located on the property, so I am guessing that the owners must rent out their house quite often for weddings. Even though the place didn’t prove to be good luck for Carrie, it still looks like a pretty amazing place to get married. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Sex and the City: The Movie honeymoon house, aka Villa Lizton, is located at 4440 Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu. To see the house’s pool area, you have to drive a bit south of the property.