television shows – Page 9

October 28, 2010September 29, 2017

The “Thriller” House

Today, in honor of Halloween, I thought I’d blog about what is arguably the most famous haunted house of all time – the Victorian-style residence that was featured in the 1983 music video “Michael Jackson’s Thriller”. Even though I’ve actually already blogged about this location once before (way back in December of 2007 when I first started my site!), because I mixed it in with a post about Halliwell Manor from Charmed which is located on the same street, I thought it was about time that the “Thriller” house was given proper recognition with its very own post. Especially since my dad recently transferred our VHS recording of “The Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller” onto a DVD so that we could finally watch it again, being that neither of us has owned a working VCR in about five years time. I used to watch the “Making Of” special almost weekly as a child and was absolutely ENTRALLED with it. And I am very happy to report that over twenty-seven years later, the behind-the-scenes special is JUST as enthralling. 🙂 I wish the Jackson family would release it on DVD as I’d love to have a copy that wasn’t taped off of television.

In real life, the property is known as the Sanders House and it was originally built in 1887! Yes, you read that right – the residence is over 123 years old! It was commissioned by a man named Michael Sanders who ran a storage warehouse in Los Angeles at the time. The Queen Anne/Eastlake-style home boasts 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and 3,532 square feet of living space – which I was shocked to discover as the residence looks to be much smaller from the street. The property was originally a single family residence, but has since been converted into a duplex-type dwelling, and has been undergoing an extensive restoration project for the past decade. In 1971, the home was declared a cultural historic monument and the entire 1300 block of Carroll Avenue, where the “Thriller” house is located, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. You can see some fabulous historic photographs of the “Thriller” house and its neighboring homes here. And you can read a more in-depth write-up on the history of the Sanders House on fave website Big Orange Landmarks here.

I was only at the “Thriller” house for about ten minutes yesterday and no less than three different groups of fellow stalkers showed up to take pictures of the place while I was there – and it was in the middle of the day no less! Simply amazing! I was really hoping that the “Thriller” homeowners would have decorated their abode for Halloween, but as it turns out they are not currently very thrilled about the publicity that their property’s famous history generates. According to a SUPER nice neighbor whom I spoke with while I was stalking the place yesterday, shortly after Michael Jackson passed away in June of last year, a deplorable fan stole the mailbox from the “Thriller” house and the homeowner is still pretty upset about it – especially being that the mailbox was the original one which was installed when the residence was first built over 123 years ago! I can’t even believe that a person would have the audacity to not only trespass on someone else’s property, but to then steal something from that property while doing so. It is people like that who give us harmless stalkers a bad name and it makes me madder and madder the more I think about it. Not only did that thief sour the residents on the magic of owning and living in the “Thriller” house, but they also destroyed part of a historic landmark in the process. UGH! Don’t even get me started!

The super nice neighbor also informed me that the 1300 block of Carroll Avenue is THE place to be on Halloween. One year he counted over 2,000 trick-or-treaters knocking on his front door alone! Halliwell Manor from Charmed (pictured above) is already decked out for the occasion, but the neighbor said that all of the houses on the block – not just the famous ones – typically have lines of about twenty to thirty people standing out in front of them all night long. Amazing! I would SO love to stalk the neighborhood on Halloween, but I already have plans to spend the holiday in Santa Barbara this year. Ah well, there’s always next year.

Only the exterior of the “Thriller” house was used in the filming of the music video.

All of the interior scenes were shot on a soundstage somewhere in Los Angeles.

You can watch the video “Michael Jackson’s Thriller” by clicking above.

The “Thriller” house was also used as the residence of Finn (aka Reynaldo Rosales) in the Season 4 episode of Charmed titled “Size Matters’”.

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And fellow stalker Angela from Florida alerted me to the fact that the dwelling was also used as the residence of Madam Serena (aka Zelda Rubinstein) in the 1989 movie Teen Witch. It is quite ironic that the house belonged to a woman named Serena in the flick, as the star of Teen Witch was none other than Robin Lively – real life sister of Blake Lively, who plays the famous Serena van der Woodsen on TV’s Gossip Girl.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The house from “Michael Jackson’s Thriller” is located at 1345 Carroll Avenue in the Angelino Heights section of Los Angeles, just a few miles north of Downtown. The Halliwell sisters’ house from Charmed is located two doors east of the “Thriller” house at 1329 Carroll Avenue. And Holly’s Nashua house from the “Employee Transfer” episode of The Office is located just around the corner at 1347 Kellam Avenue. If you stalk any of these locations, please, please do not trespass and, for God’s sake, do NOT steal, touch, or destroy ANYTHING while there!

October 11, 2010October 11, 2010

My Picture on “SNL” and Hanging Out With Michael Vartan!

This past Saturday was an incredibly lucky and, as my best friend later described, celebrity-fueled day for me. My family, the Grim Cheaper, and I had headed down to San Diego for the weekend to do some relaxing after the stress of my parent’s recent move. While we were walking around Coronado Island on Saturday morning I got an email from a photo licensing coordinator over at NBC Universal who wanted to know if I would grant him permission to use one of my stalking photographs of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School, aka William McKinley High School from Glee, on that evening’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which was being hosted by actress Jane Lynch. Well, let me tell you, I just about had a heart attack right then and there and immediately granted permission for the above photograph to be featured on the show. The coordinator told me he wouldn’t know for sure whether the pic would actually be used or not until Saturday Night Live aired that evening, so I called up my best friend Kylee (who lives in San Diego) and asked her to come over to our hotel, the Coronado Island Marriot Resort, so that we could all watch the show and celebrate together.

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Because my dad wasn’t feeling well, Kylee, the Grim Cheaper, and I ended up heading over to the hotel’s Tides Lounge to watch the show and grab some celebratory cocktails, which turned out to be a very lucky move because not long after we got there, Kylee looked to her left and said, “Isn’t that Jennifer Garner’s ex-boyfriend sitting over there?” I turned my head to catch a quick glimpse and, sure enough, there was cutie actor Michael Vartan sitting at a table just a few feet away from us! I have no idea how in the heck I didn’t notice him, but I do have to admit that Kylee is an absolute master at spotting celebrities in public – dare I say it, even better than me. Kylee is actually the one who spotted actress Julianne Moore while the two of us were in line at Magnolia Bakery in New York a few years back, but I digress. Anyway, I, of course, just HAD to go up to Michael and ask for a picture and, let me tell you, the guy could NOT have been nicer! When I apologized to him for interrupting his evening out with friends, he told me not to worry about it “at all”. And when I told him that I absolutely loved the movie Never Been Kissed, he said, “Oh, that’s back when I was young!” LOL A few hours later, as Michael was leaving the bar he passed by our table and made it a point to say good-bye to all of us. SO INCREDIBLY NICE! Sigh!

But my luck didn’t stop there! Right after snapping my photograph with Michael, I received an email from the SNL photo coordinator who informed me that my photograph was indeed used on the show that night! A celebrity sighting AND one of my pictures appearing on national TV all in the same day?? It was almost too much for me to bear! So, at around 11:30 p.m., I asked the Tide’s bartender to put the TV on Channel 4 so that we could watch SNL, and sure enough, just a few minutes later my picture appeared on the screen! SO INCREDIBLY COOL! The sketch which featured my pic centered around the SNL character Gilly (aka Kristin Wiig) joining the McKinley High Glee club and wreaking her usual havoc in the process. After gluing a crown to Kurt’s head, shooting Finn with a bow and arrow, and pushing Artie and his wheelchair offstage, she brings in a bomb and blows up the school, which is the point when my photograph was featured.

You can watch the Saturday Night Live Glee sketch which features my photograph by clicking above.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Coronado Island Marriott Resort is located at 2000 Second Street on Coronado Island in San Diego. We met Michael Vartan in the hotel’s Tides Lounge. You can visit the resort’s website here.

December 15, 2009December 15, 2009

Chelsea Lately’s “The Case of the Douche Bag Actor”

Those of you who are regular visitors to my site will remember that, back in May, my good friend Blaze Foster was hired to be part of a “Detective Lately” skit on the Chelsea Lately show. His scene was originally scheduled to be filmed on May 8th and I, of course, tagged along with him to the set, where I got to meet Chelsea’s assistant Chuy Bravo and “Staff Homosexual” Guy Branum. YAY! As fate would have it, though, Chelsea and crew ended up running out of time that day and Blaze’s segment was shelved. And while Blaze was devastated over not being able to shoot his scene, I actually considered the whole thing to be a blessing in disguise – as they so often are! – as I had a feeling he would be invited back to do it all over again – with me tagging along! Which is pretty much exactly what happened! 🙂 Blaze ended up filming his Detective Lately segment just a few weeks later on May 27th, and I, again, accompanied him to the studio. I have yet to blog about my experiences that day, though, as I wanted to wait until the segment aired on TV, which FINALLY happened this past Thursday night – a full SIX MONTHS after it was actually taped! So, without further ado, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of Blaze’s segment, aka “The Case of the Douche Bag Actor”!

On our first visit to the Chelsea Lately set, Blaze and I spent most of our time in the show’s main green room. On our second visit, though, we were seated in the studio’s alternate green room, which I could NOT have been more excited about, as that meant that I actually got to see BOTH of the Chelsea Lately green rooms in person!!!! I mean, just how lucky can one girl get? 🙂

Chelsea’s second green room looks very much like her first and I, of course, had to take photographs of EVERYTHING, including the door, which had Twilight actor Peter Facinelli’s name written on it as he was the last actor to hang out there pre-show,

the modern-style couches and coffee tables, which hold several entertainment magazines for actors to peruse while they wait to go on camera,

the ubiquitous make-up chair,

and a large television set. I was actually most excited about the TV because an episode of Chelsea was being taped when we arrived at the studio and, thanks to a live feed, we were able to watch it as it was being filmed. LOVE IT! The guest that day was former Blossom star Mayim Bialik, but unfortunately we didn’t spot her at all while we were on the set. 🙁

Pretty much immediately after that day’s episode was finished being taped, Blaze was called into the studio. I, unfortunately, was not allowed to watch the filming and had to stay behind in the green room. Thankfully, though, the green room was situated just a few feet away from the Detective Lately set and I could hear almost everything as it happened. 🙂 Blaze was informed prior to the taping that the original mystery idea he had pitched – “Why Isn’t My Agent Getting Me Any Auditions?” – had been changed to “The Case of the Douche Bag Actor” LOL LOL LOL, in which Blaze would be hiring Chelsea to investigate his acting teacher to see if she was defrauding him. No script had been written for the segment and, although I am fairly certain that Chelsea and the writers had created a brief outline of what they wanted to occur during the scene, for the most part the whole thing was improvised. Blaze’s only instruction prior to filming was to play things straight and not to try to be funny. Because Chelsea is the star of the show, they didn’t want Blaze pulling focus away from her. Which strikes me as absolutely HILARIOUS because if anyone is going to steal the spotlight in a scene, it’s Blaze! I’ve been in acting class with the guy for over a year now and, let me tell you, pulling focus is just something he does. Blaze is very flamboyant, very hyper, very funny, and attention is just drawn to him naturally. So, they really couldn’t have picked a worse man for the job in this particular case!!!! I can’t tell you the number of times I heard the producer tell him to “Stop being funny!” during the filming. 🙂 I also heard the direction “Blaze, stop laughing!” on quite a few occasions. 🙂 Blaze said that Chelsea was absolutely HILARIOUS during the scene and that he had a very hard time keeping a straight face while filming with her.

The entire segment only took about 90 minutes to shoot. Because I had a sinking feeling that I wouldn’t be able to meet Chelsea while there, I was really hoping that Blaze would be able to pose for a photo with her after the taping had been completed. Amazingly enough, though, outside of the actual filming of the scene, Blaze had absolutely no interaction with Chelsea whatsoever! When he was initially brought onto the set, Chelsea was not yet there. The first time Blaze actually saw her was when she walked into the detective office at the top of the scene, after the cameras had already started rolling. She also left the set before filming had been completed. As soon as producers thought they had gotten enough footage of Chelsea, she was rushed off the stage and Blaze didn’t even get a chance to say thank you or shake her hand. After she left, Blaze had to stay behind to shoot some brief close-ups of him saying “Yes” and “No” to Chelsea’s empty chair. LOL Such a bummer, as I had so wanted a photograph of the two of them. 🙁 Randomly enough, though, Chelsea did poke her head into the green room to say “Hi” to me as she walked by on her way off the set. 🙂 It was a very quick exchange, but I was SUPER excited nonetheless.

Blaze’s skit, which you can watch above, was absolutely hilarious. I was really impressed with the amount of screen time he got, too. The only thing I was really disappointed about was the fact that my favorite line ended up on the cutting room floor. 🙁 At one point during the scene Chelsea asks Blaze, “What do you think, you’re some sort of Tony Danza?” to which Blaze says nothing. In reality, though, when Chelsea asked Blaze that question during the filming, he responded with, “Who’s Tony Danza?”, to which she said, “You know GOD DAMN WELL who Tony Danza is!” LOL LOL LOL I literally could not stop laughing when I heard her say that during the filming and was extremely impressed at how well she and Blaze played off of each other while improvising. I am not a person who thinks well on her feet, so I am always in awe of people who have the ability to be funny off the cuff like that. That’s why I was completely shocked when I saw the finished product and realized it was lacking Blaze and Chelsea’s little Tony Danza exchange. 🙁 I am guessing the reasoning behind the cut had to do with the fact that producers wanted Chelsea to be the one delivering the funny lines, so even though her line trumped Blaze’s, they just decided to cut out the entire segment. Such a bummer. Otherwise though, “The Case of the Douche Bag Actor” skit was great! And, for those who are wondering, everything Blaze said in the scene was true – he is 24 years old, he really did play a bad guy in The Brave One, and he also played a drug dealer in a commercial starring Carmen Electra.

On a side note – When my fiancé I watched “The Case of the Douche Bag Actor” this past Thursday night, one of the first things out of his mouth was, “How did Chelsea come up with the idea of making Blaze’s hair stick straight up like that?” Well, I just about fell off my chair laughing at his question because, in actuality, the There’s Something About Mary style ‘do just happened to be how Blaze was wearing his hair at that time. The guy is nothing if not flamboyant! 🙂 I can only imagine what Chelsea was thinking when she walked onto the set and saw Blaze – and his hair – for the first time. I’m surprised she didn’t bow down right then and there and start thanking God for bringing in an actor who had so much, er, material for her to work with. 🙂

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Chelsea Lately is filmed at the Digital Media Center, which is located at 12312 West Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles. You can get tickets to watch a live taping here. If you don’t live in the area, you can still catch Chelsea weeknights at 11 p.m. on E! And you can watch Blaze’s skit, “The Case of the Douche Bag Actor”, here.

August 4, 2009August 3, 2009

Watching the Filming of The Mentalist!

Last week, while out and about stalking in Pasadena, I just happened to run across a large production crew filming underneath the Colorado Street Bridge, so, of course, I just had to pull my car over to ask what was being filmed. 🙂 Well, when I found out the filming was for my new favorite TV show The Mentalist,I just about flipped my lid with excitement!!! And I was even more excited when one of the crew members told me that I was welcome to hang out onsite for as long as I wanted to watch all of the action that was taking place! YAY!

The Mentalist was being filmed in a little wooded clearing in the Lower Arroyo section of Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco Canyon. To stay out of the way of the cast and crew, I parked myself on a walking trail located just above the clearing, which turned out to be the PERFECT spot to watch the filming, but, unfortunately, did not offer me the best vantage point from which to take photos. 🙁 So, please accept my apology for the less than stellar pics. 🙁

When I first walked up to watch the filming, none of the actors were yet on set. So, I just had to ask one of the crew members if cutie Simon Baker would be filming that day and I just about spazzed out right there on the spot when he told me yes! LOL As I’ve mentioned before, I absolutely LOVE me some Simon Baker!!! 🙂 Then, literally, the next thing I knew, out walked the ENTIRE Mentalist cast and, let me tell you, I just about died!!!!! On site besides SB were actors Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Amanda Righetti, and Owain Yeoman. When I watched The Mentalist being filmed this past March, only actor Tim Kang was in attendance, so, as you can imagine, I was SUPER excited to see them all this time around.

I am very happy to report that Simon Baker is JUST as cute in person as he appears to be on TV. 🙂 And, let me tell you, I just about fainted when I saw that he was wearing his cute little Patrick Jane vest and carrying that ubiquitous stick of his for the filming!!!!! SO CUTE!!!! The highlight of the day for me came during a break from the filming, when SB looked up at me, waved, and said “Hello!” Sigh! I could have died a happy girl right there on the spot!!!! 🙂 SB seemed very sweet and very friendly in person, but unfortunately I never got close enough to him to ask him to pose for a picture with me. 🙁 Such a bummer!

The actor who I thought looked most different in person was Owain Yeoman, who plays Detective Wayne Rigsby on The Mentalist. While Owain is just okay-looking on the show, let me tell you, in person he is downright dreamy!!! 🙂 I was shocked! Owain is much taller and much thinner than he appears to be on TV and actually looks quite a bit like Josh Duhamel. And you all know how I love me some Josh Duhamel! 🙂

The scene I watched being filmed involved (what I am assuming was) the murder investigation of a woman who had been pushed off of a Sacramento area bridge. And while the above picture shows the actors filming around a mannequin, for most of the takes there was a real woman lying on the ground playing the murder victim.

The filming of The Mentalist was an absolutely HUGE production!!! On site were hundreds of crew members, numerous filming trucks, a myriad of props, and a large machine on wheels which provided shade for the area being filmed (pictured above). It was pretty incredible to see!!! At one point I looked down at my watch to check on the time and was SHOCKED to see that three hours had passed since I’d first arrived on the set! LOL Like they say, time flies when you’re having fun! After the scene I was watching had been wrapped, one of the crew members was nice enough to invite me to watch more filming later that afternoon on top of the Colorado Street Bridge, but unfortunately, because that was a closed set, I couldn’t take any pictures while there. It was EXTREMELY cool to see, though!

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The spot where The Mentalist was filmed is actually a very popular filming location that has also been featured in NCIS, The Shield, and JAG. Ironically, it’s also the same spot where I watched The Closer being filmed last October.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Mentalist was filmed underneath the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, just off North Arroyo Boulevard. Filming also took place on the Colorado Street Bridge. Look for the episode to air in about six to eight weeks.

February 12, 2009February 14, 2009

Quake!

The other night while driving home from the hospital – yes, my dad is in the hospital yet again – I happened to hit a red light at the corner of Green Street and Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena. The light took a really long time to change and while waiting I just happened to gaze off to my left. What I saw almost made me run my car right off the road! LOL Just down the street from me on Green Street, I saw what looked a whole lot like the exterior of Quake Restaurant from the television series Charmed. Even though I never watched Charmed while it was on the air, I have been slightly obsessed with finding Quake’s exterior ever since some Charmed fanatics challenged me to find it this past summer. And let me tell you, it was one difficult location to find!

For Christmas Mike from MovieShotsLA bought me the entire Charmed series on DVD and I just started watching the first season last week. By scrutinizing some screen captures I could tell that the exterior of Quake was not the exterior of a real restaurant. Basically Quake’s entrance consisted of two pillars and an archway that producers spruced up a little by adding some foliage, potted plants, and a sign reading “Quake”. My best guess was that the pillars were the entrance to an apartment building or a commercial driveway of some sort. But trying to find two random pillars in L.A. proved to be quite difficult and to tell you the truth I had no idea even where to begin looking. Due to the vagueness of what was shown on TV, this is one location I had no hope of ever finding. Until Sunday night, that is!

What caught my eye as I drove by Green Street the other night were the twinkle lights covering “Quake’s” archway (pictured above). I’ve probably driven by this location about a hundred times in the past, but in the daylight I never really noticed it. At night, though, the bright twinkle lights caught my eye and triggered something in my mind. I immediately pulled off to the side of the road, snapped a few photographs, and sent them off to Mike. He called me back right away and said that the Green Street location was, indeed, Quake!!!!

It turns out that in real life the exterior of Quake is the entrance to an office building named the Pasadena Livery Building. The lit archway in front leads to a small brick courtyard located at the Livery’s entrance. While the archway and courtyard area are very cute in person, I’m sure it will be pretty disappointing for Charmed fans to find out that in real life Quake is just a nondescript office building that one could easily drive right by without even noticing. LOL I was still SUPER excited to find it, though!!

Now that I can check Quake off my must-find locations list, I can pour all of my stalking attention yet again into finding the ever elusive Girls Just Want to Have Fun apartment . LOL For some reason not even Mike, master stalker, can locate that apartment building. But like I told him the other day, if we can find two pillars and an archway that were used in the filming of a television series over 11 years ago, surely we can find the Girls Just Want To Have Fun apartment!!!! LOL

And it’s definitely true what they say – every cloud does have a silver lining. Because while my dad might have spent all week in the hospital, had I not been driving home from visiting him late at night I never would have discovered Quake. Sometimes you’ve just gotta keep your eyes open to what the universe is trying to show you. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The exterior of the fictional Quake restaurant is really the entrance to the Pasadena Livery Building located at 101 East Green Street in Pasadena.

January 20, 2009June 2, 2010

The New York County Courthouse from “Law and Order”

One New York filming location that will look familiar to anyone who passes it – unless they’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years – is the New York County Courthouse. This massive building, with it’s hundred foot wide grand staircase and towering granite colonnade, has been featured in thousands of productions over the years. But it should be most recognizable to fans of the crime show genre as the courthouse from all of the Law and Order series. It is at this courthouse that McCoy and Briscoe, Benson and Stabler, and Eames and Goren see all of their cases tried. Besides being featured weekly on the three Law and Order series, the courthouse has also been featured in Miracle on 34th Street, Twelve Angry Men, Legal Eagles, Regarding Henry, Nuts, Wall Street, Good Fellas, The Devil’s Advocate, Married to the Mob, City Hall, The Hurricane, Kojak, Cagney and Lacey, Naked City, NYPD Blue, The Equalizer, The Godfather, and Aftershock: Earthquake in New York.

Fellow stalker Ivan just alerted me to the fact that the Courthouse also appeared in the Season 2 episode of the Batman television series titled “An Egg Grows In Gotham” (pictured above). Thanks, Ivan!

The New York County Courthouse was built back in 1919 by Boston architect Guy Lowell, who also built the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Guy actually won the commision of the building in a 1913 design contest. His original winning design for the courthouse featured a circular shape, but plans changed and he ended up building the courthouse in a six-sided, hexagonal form (bird’s eye view pictured above). Looking at the building from the front, one would never know it was built in this way. Very cool! The building, which was made a New York City Landmark in 1966, is absolutely beautiful – and overwhelming – in person. I am telling you, we don’t have anything like this in L.A.!

In the Sixth Season of Sex and the City Carrie reported for jury duty at the United States Courthouse, which is located right next door to the Law and Order Courthouse. In the episode, entitled “Hop, Skip and A Week”, Carrie and her boyfriend Berger share a “Hollywood kiss” on the courthouse steps just before she checks in to perform her civic duty. At first I thought Carrie and Berger had their kiss on the steps of the Law and Order Courthouse, but upon closer inspection I realized it was a different Corinithian-style building altogether. The two courthouse buildings look amazingly similar, and are both very beautiful, especially because they are situated right next to each other. They create quite an imposing view as you come upon them. The U.S. Courthouse was built in 1933, a bit later than the New York County Courthouse. It was designed by Cass Gilbert, who also designed New York’s Woolworth Building. Even though I am pretty sure New York jury duty is nowhere near as fun as jury duty in L.A., I think it would be very cool to perform my civic duty in such a historic building.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The New York County Courthouse is located at 60 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan. Carrie reported for Jury Duty at the US Courthouse located right next door at 40 Centre Street.

January 9, 2009February 13, 2009

Park Avenue Princess

Today I thought I’d write yet another post about yet another Sex and the City: The Movie filming location – Charlotte York’s Upper East Side apartment. 🙂 From the beginning Charlotte York was Sex and the City’s reigning Park Avenue Princess – a role I’d like to see myself in someday 🙂 – and, in real life, her apartment really was located on New York’s prestigious Park Avenue. Well, the exterior of it anyway. All of the interiors of Charlotte’s apartment existed only on a soundstage at New York City’s Silvercup Studios. I found the location of Charlotte’s pad, once again, thanks to my go-to SATC locations guide.

This apartment originally belonged to Charlotte’s first husband, Trey. The two moved into it after they got married in the third season of Sex and the City. After their divorce in Season Four, a fight for the apartment ensued and Charlotte ended up winning it thanks to her divorce lawyer – and future husband – Harry Goldenblatt. Charlotte’s building was built in 1916 by New York City architecture firm Schwartz & Gross. The 13-story building is situated in the elusive Carnegie Hill area of New York and houses only 24 apartments.

The scene from Sex And The City: The Movie that took place at this location was quite memorable as it was the first time in the film that we saw Carrie in her wedding attire – complete with a blue bird on her head. LOL On the morning of her would-be nuptials, Carrie and the girls head out of this building and into a waiting limousine. Carrie’s huge Cinderella dress has to be carefully pushed into the limo, causing her wedding planner Anthony to lament, “It’s like pushing a cream puff through a key hole.” LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Charlotte and Harry’s apartment is located at 930 Park Avenue on New York’s stylish Upper East Side.

December 5, 2008February 13, 2009

Donna Martin, Rose Princess

When I first moved to Los Angeles about eight years ago, one of the very first items on my stalking agenda was to visit the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Headquarters. I wanted to sign up for their annual Rose Court Pageant just like Donna Martin did in the Season 6 episode of 90210 entitled “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”. 🙂 I was absolutely flabbergasted when after asking for an application the receptionist explained to me that in order to apply for the Rose Court I had to currently be in high school or in my first year of college (at the time I had just graduated from college). I calmly told him that that simply wasn’t true as Donna was in her third year of college when she entered the pageant on 90210, to which he replied “Yes, but that was a TV show!” LOL I cannot believe 90210 decieved me like that!! Anyway, even though my attempts at becoming Rose Queen were thwarted even before they began, I still loved being at the Tournament House and seeing where 90210 had filmed. 🙂

The Tournament House was originally built for the Wrigley Family – yes, Wrigley as in the spearmint gum. Construction on the home took over eight years and was finally completed in 1914. At the time Orange Grove Boulevard was known as “Millionaires’ Row” due to the countless opulent mansions lining both sides of the street. Sadly, most of those mansions are now long gone, torn down many years ago to make room for apartment complexes and smaller homes. But the Tournament House remains. When Mrs. Wrigley passed away in 1958, she deeded the home to the City of Pasadena with the specific instruction that it was to be used as the Tournament of Roses Headquarters, which it has remained ever since.

The Tournament House, which sits on over 4 1/2 acres of beautifully manicured rose gardens, is absolutely beautiful in person. The interior of the mansion is supposedly incredibly beautiful, as well, although I have never seen it. Free tours of the House are offered every Thursday between 2pm and 4pm during the months of February through August and I think I am definitely going to have to partake in one soon. 🙂

The Rose Queen tradition began in 1905 and continues to this day. It is so named because the Rose Queen reigns over Pasadena’s Annual Tournament of Roses Parade each New Years, riding on a special float. Each year over 1,000 girls compete for the Rose Queen title, in a process that takes a month to complete. Out of those thousand, one girl will become the Rose Queen and six others will become Rose Princesses in her Royal Court. An interesting side note – actress Sophia Bush (of One Tree Hill fame) won the Rose Queen title in the year 2000. 🙂 You can see a photograph of Sophia with her Court here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Tournament of Roses House is located at 391 South Orange Grove Blvd. in Pasadena.

November 21, 2008February 13, 2009

The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa

While stalking in Pasadena a few weeks ago I stopped into the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa to snap some pics. The Langham has long been a Pasadena institution and it is an absolutely gorgeous place to spend an afternoon or grab an evening cocktail. It is also an oft-used Pasadena filming location and celeb hang out. 🙂

The Langham Hotel was originally built in 1907 and was known as the Wentworth. Never gaining much popularity under its original ownership, the property was sold to Henry E. Huntington in 1911, who hired renowned L.A. area architect Myron Hunt to renovate, expand, and improve the hotel. Three years later, in 1914, the Wentworth was reopened under its new name – the Huntington Hotel. Architect Myron Hunt is also known for designing the Rose Bowl, Occidental College, the California Institute of Technology, and Henry Huntington’s private home, which later became the museum known as the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. After Myron’s renovations, the Huntington Hotel became an overnight success and it remained that way for more than seven decades. But in 1985, while under the ownership of the Sheraton Corporation, the Huntington had to be closed due to earthquake code violations. In 1987, the Ritz-Carlton Corporation purchased the property and, with a $100 million upgrade, brought it up to code. In 1990, the new Huntington Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Spa opened its doors to the public. Just this year, the hotel was sold yet again – this time to Great Eagle Holdings who renamed it the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa. Even with all of the ownership changes, the Huntington remains the finest hotel in the Pasadena area. It also remains a favorite of both celebrities and location scouts alike.

The interior of the Langham stood in for the Stratford Hotel in the 1998 Lindsay Lohan remake of The Parent Trap. The exterior of the Stratford, however, was a different location altogether. For that producers used the Administration Building on Treasure Island in Northern California, located a few hundred miles away from the Langham. The Langham also appeared in Beverly Hills Ninja where it stood in for the Beverly Hills Hotel. The hotel was also featured in Seabsicut , America’s Next Top Model, Charlie Wilson’s War, and Brothers and Sisters. And just a brief list of the hotel’s past celebrity guests: Teddy Roosevelt, Bill Clinton (shortly after winning the ’92 election), Albert Einstein, the Dalai Lama, Prince Philip of England, musician Pete Townsend, Salyma Hayek, Bachelorette Trista Rehn, and Judd Hirsch. Marcia Cross’ wedding reception was held there, as was the wedding for Taboo from The Black-Eyed Peas. Shannen Doherty is a reported frequent guest of the hotel, and especially loves their premiere restaurant, The Grill, and their piano bar. I actually saw Shannen once during one of my many visits the to the Langham. She was doing some press for her former reality show Breaking-Up With Shannen Doherty. Shannen was super tiny in person and seemed very sweet, although I did not go up to her.

The Langham is an absolutely beautiful resort, with sprawling lawns, meandering pathways, koi ponds, a dark wood paneled bar, and excellent food. I had the pleasure of staying at the hotel a while back, when it was still owned by the Ritz-Carlton. The service at the time was impeccable. One night at the bar I ordered my fave soda, Dr. Pepper. The bartender told me that while Dr. Pepper isn’t served at the hotel, he thought there might be a vending machine in the employee break room that had some. Despite my protests, he ran downstairs to the breakroom and returned a few minutes later – Dr. Pepper in hand! I also attended the Ritz-Carlton employee Christmas party a few years ago with a friend who used to work for the hotel and it was one of the best parties I’ve ever been to!

I highly recommend stalking the Ritz and grabbing a nightcap in their piano bar. Time and time again it is mentioned as one of the most romantic places in Pasadena.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Langham is located at 1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena. You can visit their website here. Rooms start at $269 per night.

October 7, 2008September 29, 2017

Lady Heather’s House

On the second season of CSI: Las Vegas we were introduced to a character whom Grissom later became very fond of named Lady Heather. On the show Lady Heather, who was played by The O.C.’s Melinda Clarke, owns an S&M fetish club in Sin City which she runs out of her extraordinary home. Lady Heather first appeared as a guest star in an episode entitled “Slaves of Las Vegas” and has since reappeared on four separate occasions, becoming something of a cult favorite for CSI fans. Her unique home also appeared in all five of the “Lady Heather” episodes and, being that it is a pretty spooky house and fits in with my Haunted Hollywood theme for this month, I dragged my dad right out to stalk it.

Lady Heather’s house is an absolutely ginormous mansion (13,393 square feet according to Zillow!!) located on a large corner lot in South Pasadena. I found the home thanks to Scott’s LA Audio Driving Tour of Pasadena, which lists many great Pasadena filming locations. It is easy to see why producers chose to use this house for the filming of CSI, as it has a very looming and dark presence, most likely due to its sheer size. For the filming of CSI, producers brought in many Gothic decorations, like large candelabras, to create a more dark and spooky atmosphere. But when you see the home in person, it becomes obvious that not much had to be done in preparation for filming due to its naturally ominous look. In person, the home looks like it could be a real life haunted house. And it actually looks like it belongs on a bayou in New Orleans rather than in the middle of Suburban Pasadena. Unfortunately I don’t own CSI on DVD, so I couldn’t get very good screen captures of the home.

In the various Lady Heather episodes, the exterior of the home is shown numerous times, especially the front door and front porch area (which unfortunately I do not have any screen captures of).

A back porch area is also shown in a special 90 minute episode from Season 3 entitled “Lady Heather’s Box”. It is the location where Grissom and the dominatrix sit down for a cup of tea.

Lady Heather’s house is a very cool place to see in person. I highly recommend stalking it if you are at all a fan of CSI or if you want to conduct your own Haunted Halloween tour. 🙂

UPDATE – This very same house was also used as the haunted mansion in the recently aired Season 3 episode of The Mentalist entitled “Red Scare”.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Lady’s Heather’s house is located at 929 Buena Vista St., at the corner of Buena Vista and Meridian Avenue, in South Pasadena.