Entertainment
Here are the famed movie and TV locations destroyed in the Southern California fires
With its intricate, carved-wood paneling and diamond-shaped glass panes, location scout Lori Balton thought the smoking room of the historic Andrew McNally House was just glorious.
The distinctive look of the Altadena mansion, built in 1887 for the co-founder of maps and atlas firm Rand McNally Publishing, made it a favorite for filming. The Queen Anne-style home appeared in the HBO series “Entourage,” among other productions.
But the McNally House, along with other notable filming locations around Southern California, was destroyed in the recent fires.
“There was so much texture,” said Balton, who is based in Venice. “You did not feel like you were in L.A. Such a great location to have. It just breaks my heart.”
As the region grapples with the sheer number of homes and buildings destroyed, livelihoods disrupted and lives lost, its signature industry will face yet another setback in the loss of go-to filming spots, particularly in the Altadena area and Pacific Palisades.
The destruction adds to the list of hardships Hollywood faces, which now includes the loss of workers’ homes, from below-the-line crew members to actors and executives, and pauses in production that can strain personal finances.
“There is no question that the fires’ impact extends to the business of film production and the livelihoods it sustains,” nonprofit FilmLA spokesperson Philip Sokoloski wrote in an email. “We believe the immediate and long-term impacts to the local entertainment economy from the fires will prove significant, but these are also unknowable at this time.”
Over the years, Sherman Oaks-based location manager Ed Lippman had scouted many homes in the Palisades and Altadena areas for potential filming locations. As he watched the local news reports last week, he saw crews driving down Altadena’s E. Mendocino Street, where he had worked with many homeowners who allowed shoots on their property.
“I wasn’t even thinking about film or location sets at that point,” Lippman said. “I was thinking about the people, the magnitude of people I had personal interactions with … suddenly, their houses were gone. It was kind of overwhelming.”
Location scouts, managers and set decorators are now putting together a database with addresses and photos of homes in the fire zones that they’ve scouted over the years to help homeowners who need documentation for insurance claims. If a house was ever used in a film or TV production, or even was just scouted, someone could still have photos that may help with those claims, Balton said.
Balton has already added 50 homes to the list from her own records.
“The film industry supports them any and every way we can,” she said. “We can’t film on location without their homes and their communities.”
Palisade fire: memorable film landmarks gone
With its coastal views and sprawling mansions, Pacific Palisades has been a frequent spot for filming.
“You could get a lot of really nice, East Coast looks,” Lippman said. “You could shoot L.A. for other parts of the country, easily.”
The Palisades fire has now burned more than 23,000 acres and numerous homes, structures and landmarks.
One of those destroyed was Will Rogers State Historic Park, which was made up of a ranch house, barn and other buildings that once belonged to the vaudeville and film actor. The property was the filming location for “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” where it doubled as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. It was also featured in the 1981 movie “Cutter’s Way” starring Jeff Bridges, 1999’s “The Story of Us” with Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer and Lindsay Lohan’s debut feature film, “The Parent Trap,” from 1998.
About two miles away, Palisades Charter High School suffered heavy damage from the fire, though it was not lost in the blaze. School officials have said about 40% of the campus was burned, and the school is now looking for temporary facilities to resume classes.
The high school has been featured in productions including the Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis remake of “Freaky Friday,” 2001’s “Crazy/Beautiful” with Kirsten Dunst and the Anne Hathaway-led crime drama “Havoc” from 2005. The school’s volleyball courts and track also briefly appeared in 1976’s horror film “Carrie.”
The historic Topanga Ranch Motel, which was built in 1929 and designed in a distinctive bungalow style, was also destroyed. The location was a popular spot for film and TV shots.
Eaton fire: homes with character up in flames
Long favored by location scouts and managers for its film-friendly community and the distinctive looks of its older homes, Altadena has doubled as East Coast locales, international destinations and even places closer to home.
The Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres and numerous structures in both Altadena and Pasadena, including entire neighborhoods.
“Each house had been there so long that it had its own personality,” Balton said. “We look for locations that are really adding another character to a movie.”
She sighed.
“It’s gone, it’s all gone,” Balton said.
Zorthian Ranch, an artists colony in the foothills of Altadena, also burned. The sprawling ranch with its eclectic art pieces, wandering llamas and sculptures, was featured in a music video for Capital Cities’ “Safe and Sound,” as well as other film and TV productions.
About a mile away, Charles S. Farnsworth Park, too, was destroyed in the fire. Boasting an airy outdoor amphitheater surrounded by trees and a view of the L.A. skyline, the park was used to film Apple TV+’s series “Shrinking” starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, and the 2001 film “American Pie 2.”
“There are no words, really,” Balton said of the destruction. “Hope we go on. You can rebuild homes but boy, how long it takes to rebuild a community.”
Movie Reviews
Primate
Entertainment
Tom Cherones, director and producer of ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 86
Television director and producer Tom Cherones, best known for his work on the first five seasons of the Emmy-winning series “Seinfeld,” has died. He was 86.
He died Jan. 5 at his home in Florence, Ore., according to a statement from his family.
He directed some of the most iconic episodes of “Seinfeld,” including “The Chinese Restaurant,” “The Parking Garage” and “The Contest.” The first episode he directed was the show’s second-ever episode, “The Stake Out.” The director ultimately helmed over 80 episodes of the show.
“I think they liked the way I ran the set,” Cherones said of why he was chosen to direct so many “Seinfeld” episodes in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “I shot the show a little different … I just shot it in a way that I thought made it look better than the average show.”
Cherones left the show at the behest of its star Jerry Seinfeld.
“Jerry asked me to [leave], he was tired of the same thing I guess,” he told the Television Academy Foundation. “We changed writers almost every season and finally he just wanted somebody else, another presence to try to keep it fresh. He always said from the beginning that when this thing isn’t working anymore we’re going to stop.”
Cherones received six Emmy nominations for his work on “Seinfeld,” winning his sole Emmy for his production work in 1993.
“Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander mourned Cherones death in an Instagram post on Friday.
“Tom directed nearly half the ‘Seinfeld’ episodes. He created the visual style and tone and how to capture the magical interplay of our cast,” Alexander wrote.
“His generosity also enabled me to become a member of the Directors Guild and he was a wonderful mentor. He was a good guy and a wonderful director and teacher. Generations of our fans have and will continue to enjoy his work. Thanks for everything, Tom. Rest well. My love to your family and friends.”
After leaving “Seinfeld,” Cherones would go on to direct 23 episodes of the second season of the Ellen DeGeneres sitcom “Ellen.” He also directed several episodes of the ‘90s NBC sitcoms “Caroline in the City” and “NewsRadio” and stand-alone episodes of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Boston Common” and “Desperate Housewives.”
Cherones was born Sept. 11, 1939, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico in 1961. After a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1967.
He worked at a PBS affiliate station in Pittsburgh, including aiding in the production of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Cherones moved to L.A. in 1975 and found production work on such series as “General Hospital” and “Welcome Back, Kotter,” and with several of the major Hollywood production studios.
Later in life, Cherones returned to the University of Alabama to teach production classes from 2002 to 2014.
Cherones is survived by his wife Carol E. Richards, his daughter Susan Cherones Lee, son Scott Cherones and two grandchildren, Jessa and Thomas Cherones.
Movie Reviews
1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy
Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.
We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.
This time around, it’s Jan. 10, 1986, and we’re off to see Black Moon Rising.
Black Moon Rising
What was the obsession in the 1980s with super vehicles?
Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired to steal a computer tape with evidence against a company on it. While being pursued, he tucks it in the parachute of a prototype vehicle called the Black Moon. While trying to retrieve it, the car is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton), a car thief working for a car theft ring. Both of them want out of their lives, and it looks like the Black Moon could be their ticket out.
Blue Thunder in the movies, Airwolf and Knight Rider on TV, the 1980s loved an impractical ‘super’ vehicle. In this case, the car plays a very minor role up until the final action set piece, and the story is far more about the characters and their motivations.
The movie is silly as you would expect it to be, but it is never a bad watch. It’s just not anything particularly memorable.
1986 Movie Reviews will continue on Jan. 17, 2026, with The Adventures of the American Rabbit, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Iron Eagle, The Longshot, and Troll.
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