 Movie Star
Maps
by Stephen Schochet
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Since movie stars have moved into the big mansions of Beverly
Hills and Bel-Air, vendors have sold maps of their homes with varying
accuracy. Although most stars resent unwanted intrusions, many take it
with good humor. Sitting in his swimming pool, Oliver Hardy would
welcome fans who climbed over his fence. "Hey, How about a
dip?" In the earliest days, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks
would drive up next to people with star maps and ask them for
directions. And more recently, television producer Aaron Spelling would
come out of his house to pitch show ideas to tourists.
Sometimes
the famous put out the welcome mat to strangers. Before he became an
ultra recluse, Elvis Presley loved taking his Memphis relatives on tours
of the star's homes. The singer once shocked his date Natalie Wood by
taking time to chat with fans that blocked his driveway after they
agreed to move out of the way so he could park. Jack Benny and George
Burns, who like Ozzy Osbourne gave out their addresses on their TV
shows, used to instruct their maids to give out autographed pictures to
fans who knocked. If Benny and Burns answered the door themselves you
might get invited in for lemonade. And Doris Day's love of homeless
animals brought unexpected baggage after she sold her home. For several
years after the new owners posted a sign that said, "Please do not
leave your small dogs and cats, Miss Day has moved!"
Many
celebrities simply tire of the fan attention. Paul Newman and Joann
Woodward put their Beverly Hills house on sale after they found out it
was listed on the star maps. Pop star Prince threw rocks at passing tour
buses. Sara Michelle Gellar threatened to one up him and shoot their
tires out. Ozzy Osbourne, famous for calling the police to keep
lookyloos away from his Beverly Hills property, one day answered the
door to greet some teenagers. "Come on in, Kelly's upstairs."
"Great, he wants us to meet his daughter." The light bulb of
recognition lit up in Ozzy's brain. "Wait a minute, who are
you?" "We're just some kids who found your house on the star
map." Ozzy swore, threatened to get the dogs and chased them off.
A frightening situation happened when a burglar found John
Wayne's address. The Duke was watching TV when the brazen criminal came
into his house. "What the hell?!!" Reacting quickly he ran
down to the basement and grabbed a shotgun. He chased the fiend into the
backyard and said. "Hold it. I got you covered." He yelled to
his wife Pilar to call the police which she already had. After the
robber was cuffed he asked to speak to the cowboy star. "Mr.
Wayne?" "What do you want punk?" "Well, I came here
in a cab. The taxi driver's still outside. The meter's running. He
didn't know I came to rob you. Could you take care of him Mr.
Wayne?" The Duke swore but after the police hauled the bad guy
away; he went outside and paid the driver.
With all their
complaints about loss of privacy the stars often use the maps
themselves. Anthony Hopkins idolized the late Humphrey Bogart and upon
arriving in Los Angeles immediately to see his house. The reclusive
Woody Allen had to meet Jack Benny and parked in front of the comedian's
residence for hours to get a quick greeting. After creating headlines by
making an obscene gesture to the paparazzi in Mexico, Britney Spears
returned home and bought a map and went on a tour with her girlfriends.
When they found Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's house in Beverly Hills
the tiny Pop Star stood on the car hood to peak over her hedges and
nearly fell off and hurt herself. And once, actor Lee Marvin was so
drunk he couldn't find his house, so he pulled over and bought a star
map to locate it. Unfortunately, it was newly built and not on the map
yet! "
| | Stephen SStephen Schochet is the author of the upcoming book
Hollywood Stories: Short Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and
Legends of the Movies. He is also the author of two acclaimed
audiobooks
Tales of Hollywood: Hear the Origins of Hollywood!
and
Fascinating Walt Disney: Hear How Walt Disney's Dreams Came
True!
These entertaining gift items are available at Amazon,
Barnes and Noble, 1-800-431-1579 or wherever books are sold.
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