“The Bodyguard” Mansion – aka The Beverly House Compound

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After the sad passing of singer Whitney Houston last month, I mentioned to fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, that we should try to track down the mansion where one of Whitney’s most legendary characters, pop star Rachel Marron, lived in 1992’s The Bodyguard. For some very odd reason, I thought that the place had yet to be found, but Mike told me that way back in 2007 he had come across an article on fave website The Real Estalker about “The Beverly House Compound”, the most expensive home then for sale in the United States.  In the comments section of the post, someone had reported that the very same mansion had been used as Rachel’s residence in The Bodyguard.  How I had not previously come across that information in all my years of stalking is absolutely beyond me, especially considering that the location is one that I have long been itching to stalk.  Well, believe you me, once Mike gave me the address, I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to Beverly Hills to see the place for myself.

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The Beverly House Compound has a vast and storied Hollywood history.  It was originally designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann, the very same architect who also designed the Hoover Dam, the Los Angeles Times Building, Scripps College, and the Athenaeum at the California Institute of Technology, a very popular filming location that I have yet to blog about.  The Compound was commissioned by banker Milton Gerz in 1927 and cost over $1 million to construct – and we’re talking 1920’s money!  In 1947, William Randolph Hearst and his mistress Marion Davies purchased the lavish three-story, 27-room estate, which sat on over 7 acres of land, for $120,000.  Hearst died at the residence in 1951, as did Davies in 1961.  Legend has it that John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier spent part of their 1953 honeymoon at the property and supposedly the mansion was also used as the West Coast headquarters for the Kennedy Presidential Campaign in 1960.

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In 2007, financier Leonard Ross, who purchased The Compound in 1976, put it up for sale for a whopping $165 million, making it the most expensive home on the market in the entire country at the time.  In 2010, the estate, minus three acres of land, was re-listed at the reduced price of $95 million.  According to several articles, the lavish property, which has been expanded over the years, currently boasts four separate houses, a cottage, an apartment, 72,000 square feet of living space, 29 bedrooms, a two-story library, two movie projection rooms, a living room with a 22-foot arched ceiling, two tennis courts, a tennis pavilion, staff accommodations, a 50-foot entry hall, an 82-foot cascading waterfall, a disco, and three separate pools.  You can check out some fabulous interior photographs of the mansion on the This and That and More of the Same blog here.

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In The Bodyguard, the exterior of The Beverly House Compound stood in for the exterior of the palatial home where Rachel Marron lived.

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All of the interiors of Rachel’s estate were filmed at the nearby Greystone Mansion, though.  You can see photographs of the room that was used as Rachel’s fake bedroom here and here.

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And you can see a photograph of the Greystone Mansion kitchen here

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And for the gate to Rachel’s home a third location was used!  The gate actually belongs to the mansion located at 10231 Charing Cross Road in Beverly Hills, which just so happens to be the very same residence where Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston) lived in The Big Lebowski.

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A current Google Street View image of that gate is pictured above.  And while it looks considerably different today than it did in The Bodyguard, you can see that the basic positioning remains the same.

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I tracked down the location of Rachel’s gate thanks to an address number of “10224” that was visible in the background of the scene in which Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner) first arrived at Rachel’s mansion.

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That gate also looks considerably different today, but, as you can see above, much like was the case with Rachel’s gate, the basic positioning remains the same.

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The Beverly House Compound has been the site of constant filming over the years.  In The Godfather, it was used as the mansion where movie producer Jack Woltz (John Marley) lived.  Yes, that mansion.

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According to The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations website, only the exterior of The Compound was used in the filming, though.  All of the interior scenes – including the infamous horse head scene – were shot at an estate located at 95 Middleneck Road on Long Island.

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In the Season 1 episode of The Colbys titled “The Turning Point”, the residence stood in for the supposed Rome mansion where Francesca “Frankie”Colby (Katharine Ross) vacationed with Lord Roger Langdon (David Hedison).

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Ironically enough, though, in the following episode, which was titled “Thursday’s Child”, Greystone Mansion stood in for that same Rome mansion.

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In the 1979 movie The Jerk, the grounds of The Compound were used as the backyard of the home where Navin (Steve Martin) lived after he became rich.

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As you can see above, though, the front of Navin’s home was a different location entirely.

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In 1985’s Fletch, The Compound was where Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) lived.

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The real life interior of the property was also used in the filming.

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In 1985’s Into the Night, the mansion was where Jack Caper (Richard Farnsworth) lived.

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The real life interior of The Compound was used in the filming of that movie, as well.

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Way back in 1966, The Compound was used as the home of Mrs. Sampson (Lauren Bacall) in the thriller Harper.

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At that time, the backyard and pool area of the property looked considerably different than they do today.

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In the Season 3 episode of Charlie’s Angels titled “Rosemary, for Remembrance”, the mansion was where Jake Garfield (Ramon Bieri) lived.

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The real life interior of the mansion was also used in the filming of that episode.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location!  Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Beverly House Compound, aka Rachel Marron’s mansion from The Bodyguard, is located at 1011 North Beverly Drive in Beverly HillsGreystone Mansion, which was used as the interior of Rachel’s home, is located at 905 Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills.  The gate to Rachel’s mansion, which looks considerably different today, is located at 10231 Charing Cross Road in Beverly Hills.

Joe Jost’s from “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton”

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As I’ve mentioned countless times before, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton is one of my all time favorite movies.  And I have long been dying to stalk the restaurant which stood in for Lil’ Dickens, the Frazier’s Bottom bar where Rosalie (aka Kate Bosworth), Pete (aka Topher Grace), Cathy (aka Ginnifer Goodwin), and Tad (aka Josh Duhamel – sigh!) hung out in the flick.  In real life, that bar is named Joe Jost’s and it is actually located in Long Beach, California, a good 2,300 miles west of the real Frazier’s Bottom.  So, since we were in the area this past weekend, I just had to drag my fiancé right out to stalk the place.

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Joe Jost’s was founded in 1924 by a man named, you guessed it, Joe Jost, who was born in a small town in Yugoslavia.  At only 16 years of age, after a four year apprenticeship in a barbershop, Joe left Yugoslavia and immigrated to the U.S.  He first settled in New York City where he continued his work as a barber for a few years before moving to the West Coast and setting up a home in Upland, California.  In 1920, Joe opened up the first Joe Jost’s, a combination barber shop/pool hall/bar/restaurant, in Newport Beach where he sold such goods as candy, cigarettes, and because prohibition was in effect, a non-alcoholic drink known as “near beer”.  In 1924, Joe moved his unique shop to its current location on Anaheim Street in Long Beach.  It wasn’t long, though, before the Barbering Commission closed down the barber shop portion of the establishment, claiming that cutting hair in close proximity to alcohol being served was not “safe”.  LOL  So, Joe abruptly removed his barbershop chairs and installed booths – the very same booths where Joe’s customers still sit today!  So cool!  🙂  Joe’s enjoyed immediate success as a restaurant and even managed to sustain itself throughout the depression years.  To date, the place has served over 5,000,000 Joe’s Special Sandwiches, over 7,000,000 pickled eggs, over 15,000,000 glasses of beer, and over 1,800,000 pounds of Marmion’s peanuts!  Joe’s is such an institution in Long Beach, in fact, that a term known as “josting” has been coined.  Josting refers to the act of taking a photograph of oneself in different locations all around the world while wearing a Joe Jost’s T-Shirt.  And, let me tell you, the T-shirts have been EVERYWHERE!  Joe’s walls are literally COVERED in such photographs and I can’t tell you how incredible it was to be looking at the hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of pictures of said patrons – always with their backs to the camera so that the Joe’s logo can be clearly seen – in such far off places as the Pyramids in Egypt, Heidelberg Castle in Germany, Namoto Island in Fiji, and the Arctic Circle (not kidding!).   Most amazing of all, though, were the numerous photographs of soldiers currently stationed in Iraq wearing Joe’s T-shirts. Incredible!  What an unbelievably cool tradition!!!  

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Because my fiancé and I were first-timers, we had to try one of everything on the menu.  And I have to say that even though I am a horribly picky eater, I LOVED it all!   The pickled egg (pictured above) – which sounds disgusting, I know – was incredible, the Marmion’s peanuts were de-lish!, and the Special . . . oh my god, the Special!  What can I even say about it except that it was simply A-MA-ZING!  Joe’s Special consists of a homemade Polish sausage (made from their own secret recipe), a pickle, a slice of Swiss Cheese, and mustard smacked in between two slices of rye bread.  And, oh my lord, is it good! 

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Because Lil’ Dickens is the regular hangout of Rosalie, Pete, and Cathy, Joe Jost’s shows up quite a few times in Win a Date.  The areas used include the main bar;

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and the billiards room, which was decked out with tables and chairs for the filming.

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Sadly, though, Pete and Rosie’s dart board was just a prop that was brought in for the filming and is not there in real life.  🙁

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Oddly enough, the area of the restaurant that I was most interested in stalking was the men’s bathroom, not so much because I wanted to see it in person, but because I wanted to verify if it was really there.  As I had suspected, though, the Lil’ Dickens bathroom, in which Pete confronts Tad telling him that if he breaks Rosalie’s heart he’ll tear him to pieces with his “bare hands or vicious rhetoric” LOL, is not the real Joe Jost’s bathroom.  Joe’s men’s room actually consists of one single room with a toilet and a sink (yes, I actually sent my fiancé in there to report back to me!), and because the scene called for a considerably larger restroom with actual stalls, a set had to be built.  Interestingly enough, though, according to Dan, one of the SUPER nice Joe’s crew members that I spoke with, the Lil’ Dickens bathroom set was actually built right there on the Joe Jost’s property, in the back area of the restaurant. 

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The crew even ended up using the real Joe’s men’s room door, after making some small modifications, as the door of the Lil’ Dickens men’s room set.  So cool!!!! 

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The crew also modified the real life Joe Jost sign, which is located in the pool hall area of the restaurant, into a Lil’ Dickens sign for the shoot.  Love it!  🙂

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Win a Date  is hardly the only production to film at Joe’s, though.  The restaurant is also where Kevin Costner took Whitney Houston on a date in 1992’s The Bodyguard.

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And where they danced to John Doe’s version of the song “I Will Always Love You”, which Whitney calls “depressing” in the scene.  LOL  

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The interior of Joe’s also stood in for the bar where Angelina Jolie worked in Gone in 60 Seconds.

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The exterior of that bar (pictured above), however, was a different location altogether.

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Joe’s showed up twice in the 2007 movie License to Wed, first as the site of Mandy Moore and John Krasinski’s pre-marriage group counseling . . .

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. . . and second as the spot where John and his friend, DeRay Davis, grab a drink towards the end of the movie.

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Producers definitely took some liberties when filming the exterior scenes for License to Wed, though.  In the flick, it is made to appear as if Joe’s is part of a tall building located underneath the L Train somewhere in Chicago.  In real life, though, Joe’s is a simple, small, one-story structure located on a busy Long Beach street corner.  I SO love how they incorporated the real life Joe’s storefront into the digitally altered Chicago-area establishing shots, though, rather than using a real Chicago location for the exterior.  So cool!  Joe’s has also been featured in the movies Madison, The Vanishing, and True Confessions and in episodes of Chance of a Lifetime, The ‘60s, Roswell, Boomtown, Clubhouse, and Classmates.  You can see a full list of Joe’s Hollywood credits here.

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Joe Jost’s is a VERY cool place and I honestly can’t recommend stalking it – or ordering up one of its Specials – enough! 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Joe Jost’s is located at 2803 East Anaheim Street in Long Beach.  You can visit their website here.

The Pantages Theatre

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As promised earlier in the week, I thought I would dedicate today’s post to the historic Pantages Theatre in Hollywood where I saw Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage  last Tuesday night .   And let me tell you, the Pantages Theatre is a site to see, in and of itself!  The Art Deco landmark was built in 1930 by vaudeville theatre mogul Alexander Pantages for a whopping $1.25 million – and we’re talking 1930’s money!!!!  It was designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca, who conceived most of the theatres in the Pantages chain.  But, in an ironic twist of events, when the theatre first opened to the public on June 4, 1930, it was not opened as a Pantages, but instead under the Fox Theatre name.  In 1929, while the Pantages was being built, Alexander was knee-deep in a scandal involving another of his many theatres.   It seems Alexander, who was in his sixties at the time, was accused and found guilty of raping one of his sixteen year old female ushers at his theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.    After being sent to jail, he was forced to open his new Hollywood theatre under a different name.  In 1931, Pantages appealed the case and was awarded a new trial.  His defense in the second trial maintained that rival theatre company RKO along with Joseph Kennedy (yes, that Joseph Kennedy) had framed him in order to purchase his theatre chain at a low price.  Since the broom closet where the rape had supposedly occured was too small a space for two people to fit in, the jury acquitted him and Alexander was released from prison.  But Pantages never regained his luxor in Hollywood.  Alexander Pantages passed away only two months after his release from prison, broke and broken. 

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The Pantages has gone through a succession of owners during its almost eighty year history. In 1949, Howard Hughes purchased the theatre and renamed it RKO Pantages.  His offices were located above the theatre on the building’s second floor.  During the RKO years, from 1949 to 1959 , the Pantages hosted ten Academy Awards ceremonies. It was also home to the Emmy Awards through 1977.  In 1967, the Pantages was taken over by Pacific Theatres, who in 1977 joined forces with the Nederlander Theatre Organization to refurbish the property and turn it into a live theatre venue.  In October of 2000, Disney opened its hit show The Lion King  at the Pantages, which ran for over two years and almost 900 performances.  Just prior to The Lion King’s  opening, the Pantages underwent a painstaking $10 million renovation process, bringing the theatre back to her original splendor.  Since that time, the theatre has been home to over 45 live stage productions including Mama Mia, Annie, Rent, Cats, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

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The Pantages is an absolutely beautiful theatre and a stunning example of Art Deco architecture. 

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  From its sweeping staircases . . .

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. . . to its sparkling Art Deco chandeliers, I was absolutely mesmerized by the architectural detail throughout.  The Pantages is truly a wonder and I HIGHLY recommend stalking it, if you get the chance!   

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The Pantages is no stranger to the silver screen, either.  It was featured in The Bodyguard, as the site of the Academy Awards ceremony where Whitney Houston was a presenter;

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the exterior of it shows up very briefly in The Black Dhalia, as Josh Hartnett makes his way into the Frolic Room which is located right next door;

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and in L.A. Confidential, as Kevin Spacey does the very same thing;

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and its stage was featured in Michael Jackson’s music video for the song “You Are Not Alone”.  The Pantages also showed up in Season Two of Ugly Betty (it’s the “New York” theatre where Henry takes Betty to see the musical Wicked), Paparazzi (it’s the site of Cole’s movie premiere at the very end), Ed Wood, The Jazz Singer, Money Talks, and Batman Forever.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

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Stalk It: The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.  You can visit their website hereDirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage  is currently running at the Pantages now through June 28th.  Upcoming shows include Legally Blonde: The Musical  and How The Grinch Stole Christmas.