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Scott Michaels, founder of Los Angeles’ Dearly Departed Tours, recently took the time to sit down for a chat about one of their newest additions - the Hollywood Movie Tour.  What follows is a summary of that conversation, which will hopefully give you readers some added insight into the world of Dearly Departed.

Scott was first exposed to death at the age of 3 but didn’t begin pursuing a career relating to it until he was in his twenties.  He started out years ago with Grave Line Tours, the company that did the Cadillac hearses, and he ran that for a few years until it was sold and the person who bought it ended up killing himself.  He decided that he wanted to do something that stuck with the same idea geographically and covered the Tate House murder site and the Ambassador Hotel, both of which are gone now.  Scott has a feeling that’s why a lot of people confuse his tours with theirs.

The movie tours Scott’s company currently has on offer are run through a Hawaii corporation.  Scott says that he once took the San Francisco Movie Tour and loved it.  He didn’t like the movies that were shown, but really liked the idea of seeing the movies on the screen while he was looking at that particular movie site.  From there, the Hollywood Movie Tour was born.

According to Scott, there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding stars’ homes.  For example, with Marilyn Monroe, there are a lot of houses that she was said to have lived in that she never did.  Scott claims that with his tour, there is a sense of fiction meets reality because he actually has pictures of her in front of the house they are showing.  It is not a comprehensive tour per se, but about 50-60 movies and TV shows are covered.  Dearly Departed has the exclusive rights in LA to do it, and they will be expanding to other tours soon.  Scott points out that you don’t have to like the movies shown in order to enjoy the tour, a major plus, I would think, for children who may not have been alive when the movies hit the big screen.

Speaking of children, when asked whether the tour is appropriate for the little ones, Scott says that he would consider it to be PG-13 for language.  Some of the language has been bleeped out of the movie excerpts, so it isn’t that bad, but parents should use their discretion on tours like this.

As far as the most popular location is concerned, the spot that participants get the most excited about is the site of the movie “LA Confidential.”  At this point, most of the tour guests are from LA and they like to see great movies about Hollywood.  Scott describes LA as a city that loves itself.  His favorite movie of all time - and his favorite spot on the tour - is one of the sites where “Sunset Boulevard” was shot.  “Ed Wood” is another that ranks high on his list.  Among the quintessential LA locations shown on the tour, in addition to those mentioned above, are “Pretty Woman” and “Rebel Without a Cause.”  People love to see the hotel where Julia Roberts’ character in “Pretty Woman” lives and also get to see James Dean laying in the street on screen and drive up to the house in “Rebel Without a Cause,” knowing exactly where they are.  As Scott points out, it is like riding right through James Dean’s history.

When asked about any possible future additions to the tours, Scott says it is their goal to keep the tours pretty well-rounded, within certain geographic parameters.  They have lots of material to work with, from the older stuff up to more recent things, and are always balancing it out.  As an added bonus for taking the tour, guests get a complete list of the movies featured at its conclusion.

Scott has obviously had a lot of neat experiences throughout his time working in LA.  His tours have been featured on shows like E!’s “Girls Next Door.” In fact, he told me that Bridget, one of the girls from the show, even attended a séance he held recently.  He was surprised that she actually attended, but said that she has expressed an interest in the paranormal.  Very cool!

Next up for Scott’s company is a tour featuring Alison Arngrim, also known as Nellie from “Little House on the Prairie.”  More details on that tour, and information from Alison herself, to come…

Posted under California Tours, Entertainment, Hollywood Tours, Sightseeing, Things To Do, Travel

The Los Angeles Grand Tour from Anaheim is just what you need to add a little glitz and glamour to your day.  Walk down the same path as the stars by visiting Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Melrose Avenue, Rodeo Drive, and more of the famous spots known across America and abroad.  Because Los Angeles is so huge, your tour will depend on the area you are staying in.  If your hotel is in the Los Angeles area, you can take the Los Angeles Grand Tour from Los Angeles, while those staying in Hollywood, Pasadena, the Valley, and surrounding areas can participate in the Los Angeles Grand Tour or the combination Grand Tour and Movie Stars Homes Tour. 

A great way to get the overall vibe of a city is to see it at night.  Take the Los Angeles by Night Tour from Anaheim to see the Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center, where the Academy Awards were originally held.  Then make your way over to City Walk at Universal City, the site of Universal Studios, for some fine dining and something Los Angeles is known for – shopping.  Finally, check out Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame before heading down the Sunset Strip to Beverly Hills where you can shop like the stars do on famous Rodeo Drive.   

As you can imagine, there is much more to see in Los Angeles than can possibly be covered in one blog post, so visit www.losangelestours.us for more fun ways to spend your vacation in the ‘City of Angels.’

Posted under Anaheim Tours, California Tours, Hollywood Tours, Night Tours, Sightseeing, Things To Do, Transportation, Travel

Amusement park junkies and movie buffs should make it a priority to stop at Universal Studios in Hollywood.  The Universal Studios, LA & Hollywood Deluxe Combo Tour from Anaheim takes you on a 13-hour combined tour starting with Universal Studios Hollywood where you can experience your favorite movies like “Jurassic Park” and “Back to the Future” through technologically advanced rides and simulators.  The next stop on your trip will take you through some of the trendiest streets known to shopping fanatics the world over.  You will visit trendy Melrose Avenue, the Sunset Strip, and Santa Monica Boulevard where you will get to see celebrity hotspots like the Chateau Marmont Hotel, the famous House of Blues, and Whiskey a Go Go.  

On the Universal Studios and City Tour from Anaheim, you can tour Universal Studios and its special effects stages and elaborate movie sets and combine it with the Los Angeles City Tour which will take you through some of the most exciting areas of Los Angeles and Hollywood.  This is a great value for those who want to get the most out of their trip to the area.  Walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and match your handprints up to those of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and many others at Mann’s Chinese Theatre, formerly known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.  Then do some serious shopping and scouting out of designer labels on Rodeo Drive and visit the homes of some movie star favorites.  Finally, hit up Century City, home of 20^th Century Fox Movie Studios and Farmers Market for some fresh produce and specialty gifts.

If you are intrigued by popular culture, as many of us are, these tours of Hollywood will certainly pique your interest.  Take advantage of the opportunity for a look inside this mystery world of celebrity while you are in the area.  It is a treat for the entire family!

The famous Hollywood Sign

Posted under Anaheim Tours, California Tours, Hollywood Tours, Sightseeing, Things To Do, Transportation, Travel

On your next trip to California, take the time to get a closer look at what’s going on in Hollywood, the center of the motion picture industry and everything related to entertainment.  There are many ways of getting there, but once you have reached your destination there are few companies that give you as thorough of an introduction to the city as Hollywood Tours does.

The Hollywood Fantastic Bus Tour from Orange County, a favorite among travelers, takes you out for a full day of sightseeing in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and Rodeo Drive.  There is so much to see in this area, including Paramount Studios, China Town, and the original Spanish settlement on Olvera Street.  You will even get to take a picture of the world famous Hollywood Sign - seen widely across pop culture mediums - from the best location in the city.    

Other buildings you will see on your tour include the Staples Center, Walt Disney Music Center, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a large outdoor sports stadium at Exposition Park where the USC Trojans football team plays.  You will see it all by luxury coach and learn about the early Californios - Spanish speaking inhabitants of Alta, California in the 18^th and 19^th centuries before the United States invasion that precipitated the Mexican-American War - and the gold rush 49ers.  You will have plenty of time to shop at Farmer’s Market, which is a huge outdoor market selling clothing, produce, antiques, and gifts.  This is where you will break for lunch on your own. 

Throughout the duration of the tour, you will see many of the world-famous sights that draw large crowds year-round.  You will get to check out the footprints and handprints of the stars at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, window shop on Rodeo Drive for the latest fashions, and cruise through Melrose Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.  You will also get to see some elaborate Beverly Hills mansions. 

For those who love sightseeing and even those who don’t, this tour is a must-see, taking you into the world of the rich and famous and showing you the ropes in case you decide to join the ranks.  Check out even more fun tours of Tinseltown at www.hollywoodtours.us. 

Posted under California Tours, Hollywood Tours, Sightseeing, Things To Do, Tickets, Transportation, Travel

Reserve 123 is your one-stop shop for all of your destination travel needs worldwide.  With over 10,000 activities to choose from you will never be stuck with nothing to do.  Tickets can be secured online or you can call and book over the phone with a courteous and knowledgeable reservations agent.  You can book a tour in San Francisco one week and Florence the next.  It is that easy with Reserve123.

There is a wealth of opportunity whether you are interested in getting tickets to Alcatraz or a 21-day trip around New Zealand.  Some tours also offer the added flexibility to create your own itinerary, stopping only at the places you deem important.  And, of course, you will receive guidance from professional tour guides throughout your trip. 

If you are interested in bringing a group along on your journey, you can contact the Charter department to help you coordinate tours, sporting events, transportation to and from the airport, and day excursions whether you are a group of friends getting together or a corporation planning a convention.  My experience with Reserve 123 was phenomenal.  I was able to get every activity I wanted, including my From the North to the South Tour in New Zealand, because I booked early and the staff was so helpful that I never felt like I was planning alone.  I would highly recommend using Reserve 123 for all of your tour and activity related requirements.  You will undoubtedly receive exemplary service and unbeatable value.

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We recently enjoyed a sightseeing tour of Hollywood and the Movie Stars’ Homes.  The tour lasted about 2 hours, and we were chauffeured around in the comfort of an air-conditioned mini bus.  The fully-narrated tour included many of the movie stars’ homes, sights around the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills, and much more. 

The tour we took was the only tour in Hollywood that visits Mulholland Drive, which provides one of the best vantage points in the city, and is home to a large number of movie stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Brittany Spears, John Travolta, Sharon Stone, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Jennifer Lopez, and Brittany Murphy to name a few.  Due to traffic, events, weather, and changes in the route for any number of reasons, the Hollywood tour company did not guarantee that we will visit any particular movies star homes or movie locations.  The itinerary listed below describes the tour that we enjoyed, but may not be exactly like your tour.

The tour departed from Hollywood Boulevard, just across from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.  Grauman’s opened on May 18, 1927, and was the most spectacular theater opening in motion picture history.  After massive renovations, the theater is still in use today and hosts many of the Hollywood movie premieres complete with the red carpet.  Currently the Chinese Theater also houses the handprints and footprints of the stars, which is a free attraction that should not be missed.  It was once stated that “to visit Los Angeles and not see the Chinese is like visiting China and not seeing the Great Wall.” 

On the tour, we learned about Hollywood, explored the neighborhoods where the movie stars’ live, visited a series of famous movie locations, and drove by the multi-million dollar homes owned by celebrities.  There were plenty of photo opportunities on the tour.  If you take the tour, be sure to keep your camera ready because you never know when a celebrity sighting may occur. First, we saw where Julia Roberts lived and was eventually rescued on the fire escape by Richard Gere in the movie Pretty Woman.  This famous movie location is known as the Las Palmas Hotel, and is located just off of Hollywood Boulevard.  I do not recommend staying at this hotel, although we were told they are still in business.

Next, we headed up and into the Hollywood Hills to our first stop at The Hollywood Bowl Overlook.  This overlook is situated to provide a beautiful view of the Hollywood Bowl Amphitheater, downtown Los Angeles, and, on a clear day, the ocean all the way to Catalina Island. Up a few steps and facing to the east, you can see the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Park Observatory.  To the north, you can see the San Fernando Valley. The Overlook was built in 1984 in preparation for the Summer Olympics.  After a brief 10-minute stop, we continued our tour along Mulholland Drive into some of the famous neighborhoods of the Hollywood Hills. 

Then, we saw the home of Cuba Gooding Jr.  As we passed his house, we saw his fantastic view, as well as the grand piano sitting in his front window.  We also visited the movie location where they filmed part of the movie Lethal Weapon.  Yes, this is the house that blows up in the movie!  We saw the $10+ million dollar mansion that Brittany Spears purchased, fully equipped with private gates and a service entrance. Next, we drove by The Summit, an exclusive gated community that is home to some of the most expensive homes in the Hollywood Hills.  Kareem Adbul Jabbar has a house in The Summit that you can see from Mulholland Drive, and the estate where Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were married can also be seen in The Summit.  It was rumored that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony placed their Summit address on the market for $16.1 million.  We also saw Leonardo DiCaprio’s white cliffside mansion as well as Meg Ryan’s pink palace, John Travolta’s house, and Jack Nicholson’s cliffside estate, complete with cliffside tennis court.

When we headed down the hill a little bit, we passed a number of celebrity homes including Vern Troyer (Mini Me), Matt Le Blanc from Friends, Candice Bergen, Carrie Fisher, and others.  We saw the fabulous estate belonging to Jim Carrey and the home of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck. 

After heading into Beverly Hills, we began to see more gated estates and more elaborate mansions.  We saw the Hilton household where Nicki and Paris grew up.  Directly across the street, we viewed the estate of musician Rod Stewart and his daughter, Kimberly Stewart.  We drove by Harvard-Westlake High School where Tori Spelling and other famous child actors and actresses attend high school to the tune of $30,000 per semester.  We saw the estate of the first Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller.  This incredible estate looks like a tropical jungle with a pool extending 360 degrees around the entire property.  The house is rumored to be haunted and has been sitting vacant for over 14 years.  We drove by the Beverly Hills mansion that was transformed into a Bel Air home in the television series Fresh Prince of Bel Air.  We also saw the homes of Robert Redford, Nicholas Cage, Sir Elton John, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, and a number of other celebrities. 

Next, we passed the world famous Beverly Hills Hotel, which was recently purchased by the Sultan of Brunei for a reported $400 million dollars to hold his daughters wedding.  So many owners in neighboring estates to the hotel complained about the event that the Sultan decided to purchase every estate that surrounded the hotel.  Just down the road from the Beverly Hills Hotel is Bill Cosby’s estate, complete with a golf course!  As we turned to head down to Rodeo drive for a break and some shopping, we passed the last home of the late John Candy, which is a truly uniquely designed home that John spent many years building and only a few months living in.

After 20 minutes of celebrity sightseeing and shopping on Rodeo Drive, we headed back towards Hollywood along the exciting Sunset Strip, which is full of restaurants, clubs, hip hotels, and nightlife for the masses.  We drove by the Key Club where they filmed Night at The Roxbury with Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell.  We saw the Viper Room which is formerly owned by Johnny Depp as well as the location where River Phoenix died from a drug overdose.  We watched for stars as we drove by numerous outdoor cafés and bars that are frequented by many celebrities, and checked out some of the hip hotels along The Strip like The Mondrian, The Standard, and Chateau Marmont, which also happens to be where they found John Belushi dead of a drug overdose in Bungalow D.  Finally, we saw Pauly Shore’s family comedy store, The Laugh Factory, along with numerous other famous clubs and establishments. 

As we returned to Hollywood Boulevard, we passed along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, home to over 2,000 five-point stars honoring those in the music, television, and film business.  Our tour returned to the same departure point, just across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theater and all of the sightseeing activities along Hollywood Boulevard. 

This tour is a must-see for any traveler visiting Southern California.  Hollywood has a lot to see, and most of it is very hard to find.  This tour gives you a fantastic overview of many popular sights in a short period of time.  For more information and tour tickets, please visit Hollywood Tours (www.HollywoodTours.us).  Tours depart multiple times throughout the day, every day of the week.

Posted under Hollywood Tours, Los Angeles Tours, Sightseeing, Things To Do, Transportation, Travel