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Friday, May 31, 2013 / No Comments

Steele's Motor Lodge in Sherman Oaks Postcard

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1950's Ventura Blvd in Studio City Postcard

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Campo De Cahuenga in Studio City Postcard

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Celeb R.E.: Angela Kinsey of The Office Short Sells Valley Glen Home

Thursday, May 30, 2013 / No Comments
Image courtesy Mortgage Mavens
Angela Kinsey who is widely known for playing the feisty character, "Angela Martin," on the hit TV sitcom, The Office (view filming locations here) short sold her Valley Glen home for $360,500 on January 18, 2013.  

Kinsey's husband, Warren Lieberstein, is a television writer and producer who also wrote for The Office. Warren's brother is Paul Lieberstein who played "Toby Flenderson" and his brother-in-law is Greg Daniels who was a developer and original producer for The Office. As you can see, its a family affair. Lastly, Kinsey is close friends with The Office costar, Jenna Fischer (who purchased the Casey Stengal estate in Glendale), who is the godmother to Kinsey's daughter, Isabel. Back on February 18, 2009, Angela and Warren had separated and were officially divorced in June 2010 which may be a contributing factor for the sale of this home. 

The home measures 3 Beds/2.75 Baths on 1,824 sqft on a total lot size of 6,858 sqft built in 1953. The listing description states:
SHORT SALE SUBJECT TO LENDER APPROVAL. THERE WILL BE NO PRIVET SHOWINGS PLEASE STAY TUNED TO MLS FOR AN ANNOUNCMENT AS TO WHEN WE WILL BE HOLDING THE OPEN HOUSE.UPDATED INSIDE & OUT. Spacious kitchen apx 20x20, large master BR, quiet street. 1824 sq. ft. living space. Must see.
Kinsey and Lieberstein purchased this home at the peak of the market for $675,000 on June 30, 2006. The timing of this purchase coincides with Kinsey's success on The Office after its premiere run in 2005. Additionally, this home was conveniently located to The Office studios on Saticoy in Van Nuys which may have been a factor in their purchase of this home. 

The total loss on this home was a massive $314,500 not factoring in taxes, commissions, any renovation expenses, and carrying costs. However, since this is a short sale, the loss fell onto the banks minimizing the damage to Kinsey and Lieberstein who join a list of other celebrities in the SFV who have either short sold or been foreclosed shown below:
  1. The late Eazy-E's wife Tomica Woods-Wright (music) foreclosure in Calabasas. 
  2. Persia White (actress) short sale in Studio City.
  3. John Larroquette's (actor) short sale in Sherman Oaks.
  4. Bryon Russells' (basketball) foreclosure in Calabasas.
  5. Kristen Bell's (actress) Studio City foreclosure.
  6. Richard Fortus' (GNR music) short sale in Woodland Hills.
  7. Morris Chestnut's (actor) short sale in Hidden Hills.
  8. Eric Davis' (baseball) short sale in Calabasas.
  9. Kristoff St. John's (actor) short sale in Canoga Park.
  10. Jeremy London's (actor) foreclosure in Canoga Park which is literally down the street from Kristoff St.John. 
Its not known where Kinsey has moved onto but hopefully she still remains in the SFV as she was a much liked character while on The Office. Warren has already moved to a Sherman Oaks home south of Ventura  Blvd measuring 3 Beds/2 Baths on 1,887 sqft on a total lot size of 7,000 sqft built in 1936 and was purchased for $907,500 on June 8, 2012 (shown below). 

Image courtesy Coldwell Banker
You can view more SFV Celebrity Real Estate here

Celeb R.E. The Songwriter for Michael Jackson's Thriller, Rod Temperton, Sells Mulholland Drive Home in 2010

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Image courtesy Google Maps
Image courtesy Barry Dane
One day while conducting a search for Mulholland Drive, I came across a UK Telegraph article that had mentioned Rod Temperton, the songwriter for Michael Jackson's Thriller, lived on Mulholland Drive suspecting that it was somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. 

Since I am a big fan of Michael Jackson and the fact that he had many connections to the SFV including the fact that he lived nearby in Encino, I had to find  the home of the man that was behind MJ's biggest hits. After conducting an extensive search, I was able to find a home linking back to a "R L Temperton" which matches back to the infamous songwriter whose middle name is Lynn. 

Temperton's home was located at 15341 Mulholland Drive in the Sherman Oaks area directly east of the 405 freeway. The home measures 3 Beds/3 Baths on 2,950 sqft on a total lot size of 0.93 acres built in 1951. The online listing and pictures are no longer available but its possible that this home may have also had a recording studio. The home was purchased on February 26, 1987 for $850,000 which coincides with the peak of his career. Temperton unfortunately no longer lives at this location calling it home for almost 23 years which was first listed on May 29, 2009 for $2.3 million and eventually sold on February 1, 2010 for $1.8 million representing a gain of $950,000 before taxes, commissions, carrying costs, and any renovation expenses. 

Its not known where Temperton moved onto but the UK Telegraph article also mentioned that Temperton maintains a home in the South of France, Switzerland, Fiji, and Kent, England. Its possible he purchased another LA area location but no reports indicate so and Temperton is very private. After witnessing all the attention MJ was receiving, Temperton probably chose to seek a quiet and private life to avoid the drama of the media. The revealing of the fact that he lived on "Mulholland Drive" coincided with the listing of the home which he probably had already vacated so there were no concerns for him. So I doubt we will really learn about his current whereabouts. 

Some more background info on Temperton, he originally started in a band called Heatwave writing some of the band's popular songs like "Boogie Knights" and "Always and Forever." This got the attention of Quincy Jones and the rest is as they say history. He also worked with Donna Summer, Mariah Carey, and Mica Paris. Temperton also won a Grammy for Best Arrangement on an Instrumental with Quincy Jones for "Birdland" performed by Qunicy Jones in 1991. At the age of 65, I dont think he does much these days and is rumored to have a net worth somewhere north of $100 million mostly from the success of working with MJ. Just think the next time you hear "Thriller" or "Off The Wall", Temperton is getting paid which you can enjoy below. The quote below from Temperton regarding the creation of Thriller is amazing (UK Telegraph article):
I went back to the hotel, wrote two or three hundred titles and came up with Midnight Man. The next morning I woke up and I just said this word. Something in my head just said, 'This is the title'. You could visualise it at the top of the Billboard charts. You could see the merchandising for this one word, how it jumped off the page as 'Thriller'"
You can view more SFV Celebrity Real Estate here


Celeb R.E.: Steve Carell Very Quietly Unloads One of His Toluca Lake Homes At A Loss

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Image courtesy Google Maps
According to online real estate sites such as Redfin and Zillow, it appears that Steve Carell of the hit TV show, The Office (filming locations can be seen here), as well as movie classics like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Get Smart, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy to name a few, quietly sold his Toluca Lake home for $5.1 million on March 21, 2013 (shown above). 

This deal was so quiet that no other celebrity gossip site has reported it to the best of my knowledge and there are no online listings with photos which would suggest that the deal was completed as a pocket listing which avoids listing on the MLS and essentially through the hands of those in the know. Its entirely possible that I discovered this in error and Steve Carell never really sold this home or even occupied it since the ownership records are hidden behind a trust with no links back to Steve Carell so just some usual celebrity gossip but there are some clues that suggest otherwise.

The recently sold property measures 5 Beds/6 Baths on 6,637 sqft on a total lot size of 0.29 acres built in 1999 which was acquired by Steve Carell on June 8, 2006 at the peak of the bubble market for $5,650,000 which would indicate that Steve Carell took a hit of at least $550,000 on this sale not factoring in commissions, taxes, carrying costs, and any renovation expenses. 

Image courtesy the Realestalker
The reason why I believe Steve Carell sold this home is that he had acquired another Toluca Lake home around the corner from legendary and pioneering actor/writer Jonathan Winters (shown above) whose career spanned more than 6 decades and his list of accomplishments is too long for this post so I recommend viewing his wikipedia page. Winters passed away on April 11, 2013 at the age of 87 in Montecito. 

This home was purchased on 6 Beds/5 Baths on 5,126 sqft on a total lot size of 1.27 acres built in 1937 for $6 million on April 13, 2010 which is linked to the same trust as the home Carell recently sold. This purchased was covered by Your Mama at The Realestalker on August 3, 2010. This property was later razed and custom built (as was revealed by commenters at The Realestalker) according to Carell's choosing with numerous mechanical and building permits filed throughout 2011 and 2012 (shown below). It appears that this property was completed sometime earlier this year coinciding with the sale of his first Toluca Lake home which allowed Carell to move into his new home. 

Image courtesy Bing Maps
Image courtesy Google Maps
The celeb gossip website Celebuzz! (which was posted back on March 5, 2013) reviewed the permits filed with the county and mentioned the following amenities for the home which might help explain why it took almost 2 years to complete:
According to public records filed with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, the 50-year-old actor and his wife Nancy Carell have built their dream two-storey home -- a Cape Cod-style mansion in Toluca Lake, Calif -- complete with a giant swimming pool, spa, cabana, guest-house and private tennis court.
But Carrell's home "office" is a sight to behold.
In the massive 5028 sq ft basement, the silver screen comedian has installed his own home theater with powder room, its own bathroom and a recreation room — all served by an elevator.
His double garage is equally as impressive, too. The noted car enthusiast has built his own "automobile elevator", records reveal.
Both the elevator and a staircase can take guests to the second floor of the home, which has three bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms plus a ‘Rumpus Room’ for his two kids, Elizabeth, 12, and eight-year-old John, to play in.
What else is inside?
On the 7058 sq ft first floor, there is a guest room with adjacent bathroom plus a study, living room, dining room and a den which leads to an outdoor porch.
At the back of the house, there is a large kitchen with an adjacent breakfast room and Butler’s pantry.
Carrell, who also likes mountain bike riding, built a "mud room" -- a entryway intended as an area to remove and store footwear -- next to his laundry.
The grounds of the estate are beautifully landscaped with automatic lights throughout.
Image courtesy Celebuzz!
So based on the $6 million purchase price and the cost to build a custom home of about $4 million, Celebuzz! arrived at a total cost of $10 million which is a lot of money to spend in that area. But no other home in this area will most likely have all the amenities Steve Carell has, so this property is probably now looked upon in envy which is home to many celebrities discussed below.

Image courtesy Google Maps
Prior to this home, Steve Carell owned a Studio City home (shown above) located north of Ventura Blvd but south of the 101 measuring 4 Beds/4 Baths on 3,996 sqft on a total lot size of 6,896 sqft built in 2003. Steve Carell purchased this property on December 19, 2003 for $1.1 million and later sold on July 11, 2007 for $1.5 million representing a $400k gain not factoring taxes, commissions, carrying costs, and any renovation expenses which probably helped with the loss from the featured home discussed in this post. This home also links back to the trust used for the homes mentioned above and coincides with the purchase of the first Toluca Lake home. 
Image courtesy Bing Maps
In addition to maintaining a residence in Toluca Lake, Steve Carell may also own a West Hollywood condo measuring 1 Bed/1 Bath on 855 sqft that was purchased on June 15, 2007 for $715,000 that links back to the same trust but that is pure speculation so dont quote me. Lastly, Steve Carell also maintains a home  in  Marshfield, MA (shown above) nearby which is about 55 miles SE from where he was born and raised. This home measures 4 Beds/2.5 Baths on 3,326 sqft on a total lot size of 1.20 acres built in 1998 that was purchased on July 1, 2005 for $790,000. 

Toluca Lake is home to many celebrities partially due to its close proximity to the studios and Hollywood. The following list are celebrity homes in the Toluca Lake area discussed on this blog:
  1. The Estate of the Late Roy Disney Sells for $3.1 million in January 2013. 
  2. Scott Baio sold the family home for $3,150,000 on December 26, 2012. 
  3. The Estate of the late Bob Hope which will be listed soon. 
  4. Former Bing Crosby estate which sold on December 20, 2011 for $4.020 million.
  5. Former Hillary Duff mansion which sold on July 18, 2012 for $4,651,500.
  6. Jason Priestly who tried to sell his home for $2.1 million and has been off the market at this time.
  7. Erin Daniels (L Word) who recently purchased in June 2012 for $1.5 million.
  8. Jennifer Love Hewitt who recently listed a property for sale and one for lease in August 2012.  
  9. Former Alan Thicke home who sold for $3,525,000 on November 20, 2012.
  10. Haylie Duff (sister of Hilary Duff) which recently listed on October 9, 2012 for $1,799,000.  
  11. Miley Cyrus clan lives in this area. 
  12. Other residents include Ashley Tisdale, Kiefer Sutherland, Andy Garcia, Dweezil Zappa, valley native George Lopez, Brooke Burns, Lindsay Price, Jonathan Antin, Jennie Garth, David Leisure, Nile Niami, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Kirk Fogg, Markie Post, and the Jonas Brothers to name a few.
You can check out more SFV Celebrity Real Estate here.  

Filming Locations: Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name. As a freelance writer for Rolling Stone magazine, Crowe went undercover at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, and wrote about his experiences.
The film was directed by Amy Heckerling and chronicles a school year in the lives of sophomores Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Mark Ratner (Brian Backer), and their respective older friends Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus), both of whom believe themselves wiser in the ways of romance than their younger counterparts. The ensemble cast of characters form two subplots with Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), an irresponsible stoned surfer, facing off against uptight history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), and Stacy's brother, Brad (Judge Reinhold), a senior who works at a series of entry-level jobs in order to pay off his car, and who is pondering easing out of his relationship with his girlfriend until she dumps him.
In addition to Penn, Reinhold, Cates and Leigh, this movie marks early appearances by several actors who later became stars, including Nicolas Cage, then billing himself as Nicolas Coppola, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, and Anthony Edwards. Among the actors listed, Penn, Cage, and Whitaker would later on in their careers win the Academy Award for Best Actor, with Penn winning twice.
In 2005, Fast Times at Ridgemont High was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Fast Times was filmed in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles (although it is never explicitly mentioned as such in the film) in late 1981, and many people identify the movie with that area and the teen culture that existed there, or was perceived to, in the early 1980s. "Ridgemont" is a fictional name. Crowe applied it to Clairemont High School in San Diego where he attended the school undercover. (Spicoli mentions surfing at Sunset Cliffs, a genuine surf spot in San Diego.) Most of the exteriors of Ridgemont High School were shot at Van Nuys High School, and other scenes were shot at Canoga Park High School and Torrance High. The "Ridgemont Mall" shown in the film was actually the Sherman Oaks Galleria, with its exterior shot at Santa Monica Place. Both have since been converted to open-air malls. "The Point" was filmed at the Encino Little League Field in Encino.
In the DVD commentary, director Amy Heckerling tells of how Phoebe Cates was initially reluctant to carry out her character's poolside topless scene at the house in West Hills because she thought the neighbors might be spying on the set from the surrounding rooftops (Wikipedia).
The filming locations for Fast Times at Ridgemont High were already found from the following sites which also include other LA locations used in this film. This post only focuses on SFV locations. I suggest visiting the sites listed below to learn more about those locations:
  1. Filming Locations of Chicago and Los Angeles
  2. 80's Fast Rewind
  3. Tony Hoffarth Flickr Page (for finding The Point location)
  4. Production Notes at the official website for Cameron Crowe
  5. IMDB
You can view more SFV Filming Locations here.

The mall interiors were shot entirely at the Sherman Oaks Galleria which is now significantly remodeled and nothing like its former self  located at 15301 Ventura Blvd Sherman Oaks. The exterior shots were taken at the Santa Monica Mall not shown here.









The high school scenes were shot at Van Nuys High School located at 6535 Cedros Avenue Van Nuys. The "Last Dance" (last image) takes place at Canoga Park High School located at 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd Canoga Park.  Its possible that Canoga was also used for some of the interior shots and vice versa but hard to tell. 













Brad and Stacy Hamilton's house was located at 24124 Welby Way Canoga Park which was later changed to West Hills in the late 80's. The pool scenes were also filmed here. 










Stacy and Ron Johnson drive to The Point which starts at Ventura Blvd and continues onto Van Nuys Blvd. Thanks to Delta Bravo for the find. 

The corner of Ventura Blvd and Andasol Avenue. The Sav-on is now a CVS. Thanks to Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team 
Van Nuys Blvd and Gault
Van Nuys Blvd and Gault heading towards Sherman Circle
The Point was located at the Encino Franklin Fields located at 17301 Oxnard Street Encino CA at field #4 using the north facing dugout (Delta Bravo and Itsfilmedthere). This location brings back memories as I played Little League baseball here when it was called Canoga Park National Little League which is currently called Mid Valley Youth Baseball. The Encino Velodrome is also located in the Franklin Fields which I blogged about in a Back To The Future series post. Also, the LA River borders the fields running West to East and this is the only part where the LA River is natural containing no concrete channels. This site was also used as a filming location for the 2011 film, Drive. And since we are talking about filming locations, cant also forget the old RKO ranch located just south of here which is known for filming Its A Wonderful Life which is essentially aired on TV during every Christmas. 



Not a filming location but remember when credit cards were charged the "manual" way instead of readers today.  

Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner have dinner at Old Heidelbert located at 13276 Oxnard Street Valley Glen. This restaurant was re-named Matterhorn Chef sometime in 1996 and was again changed to Barone's Famous Italian Restaurant in 2006. This location was also used in Season 7, Episode 21, "Michael's Last Dundies" of The Office.  




Jeff Spicoli and Charles Jefferson's brother cruise down Van Nuys Blvd and eventually crash and wreck the car.  
This shot appears to be the corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Hamlin street.
This shot is unknown but an Adray's can be seen in the top left corner. 
 This shot shows 6650 Van Nuys Blvd which is approximately the current location of Jon's Marketplace north of Kittridge Street.
Running the red light on Van Nuys Blvd and what appears to be Haynes St but not entirely sure. 
The crash takes place at the corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Vose St. 
At the crash location, you can see a sign for Schwinn Bicycles at the top.
Brad Hamiltion works at a Fish and Chips Restaurant which was the former H.Salt Fish & Chips at 8622 Balboa Blvd Northridge CA. Discovery by Travis Dawdy and Delta Bravo Urban Exploration. 


Brad Hamilton wearing the pirate gear while staring at the women in the nearby car and then throws his gear out the window is located at the corner of Chatsworth St and White Oak Avenue which initially starts at Chatsworth St and Zelzah Ave shown in the second picture.



Mike Damone's apartment was located at 5988 Riverton Ave North Hollywood which is also where the word "Prick" is spray painted on his car.  



The ending credits thanks some of the locations used including all of the stores at that time in the Sherman Oaks Galleria.  



The DVD has a special but brief section on "Hangouts" used in the film.