Exploring Hollywood: Mulholland Drive, Stars and the Boulevard

Bob Seger formed the Silver Bullet Band in the early 1970s and produced a number of high flyers including “Against the Wind” and “Night Moves” throughout that decade and the 1980s. Great songs but I bet you don’t know the name of his only No. 1 hit in the US singles charts though. He says that the song “Hollywood Nights” came to him as he was driving around the Hollywood Hills. It is the story of a nobody midwestern boy who gets tangled up with a Hollywood star(let). The story ending is inevitable and we all know it.

After relaxing beside the beach in Huntington we decided to change pace and headed for Hollywood. Again we found a nice Air BnB right in the centre and just off Hollywood Boulevard. Very near that famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine in fact. Right in the middle of the action I thought. There will be famous people, movie stars and sports heroes on every corner. Can’t wait. Well there were people alright and everyone of them was a tourist like us. Those who weren’t panhandlers, ticket touts and dopers of course. It was great. The first morning we strolled along to where the stars are – on the pavement in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were all there – Elvis, Marilyn Munroe, Michael Jackson, Muhammed Ali and the four Apollo 11 astronauts along with many, many more. In fact there are over 2,800 stars in brass, although some recipients have more than one. There are 30 new stars nominated each year so the Walk is growing. So much so that the stars have expanded along Vine Street. The Hollywood Boulevard section covers two kilometres so it was quite a trek on a very hot day. Not helped by continuously bumping into people as we all had our heads down studiously studying our favourite actors, musicians and writers.

Scout and I finally succumbed to the ticket touts and signed up for a tour of the hills along Mulholland Drive where the movie star homes are. A couple of very pleasant local Hispanics kept reducing the price until we agreed to pay an only slightly inflated cost to clamber into a rusty old open air minibus with several others and head for the hills. Mulholland Drive (the road not the movie which is great by the way) is a winding, scenic road that follows the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains and offers a panoramic view of the city and the San Fernando Valley. Mulholland Drive makes its bendy way upwards from the Hollywood Bowl and its parklike grounds below the Hollywood sign on the hills above it. The sign outside the Bowl was advertising an Ariande Grande concert in a couple of days. The Hollywood sign has not always been as it is. To celebrate the change in legislation for marijuana possession in California a Cal State arts student, Danny Finegood changed the sign to read “HOLLYWeeD” on New Years eve. Locals woke up to the new sign on New Years day 1976.

Mulholland Drive’s 21 kms, runs from the Hollywood Hills across the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains. We traversed about half of it before coming back down Laurel Canyon Drive and into West Hollywood. The two lane, often narrow road winds back on itself several times and is best driven slowly given its narrow turning bends and the hair-raising driving of some of the Mustangs, Porches and Mercedes sports cars barrelling up (or down) its narrow pathway. But we were not there for the thrill of the drive. Mulholland Drive and certainly the part we travelled is the home to some very expensive real estate and the stars and business people who live there. We passed the current home of Michael J. Fox who has lived there for many years and looked into the junior school attended by Michael Jackson. Along the route we gazed up at the homes of Eddie Murphy, Jason Statham, Mark Wahlberg and the all glass mansion of boxer Manny Pacquiao. We gazed down on the newly purchased mansion and swimming pool of Brad Pitt who was about to move in beside neighbours Bradley Cooper and Sly Stallone. These homes had great views over the San Fernando Valley back towards the Hollywood Hills. These were only the ones we could see. We also saw a lot of high walls and gates. On our left we had spectacular views of downtown Los Angeles and on the other side the misty expanse of the San Fernando Valley including Universal Studios. As we headed back down Laurel Canyon towards West Hollywood we passed the very spectacular home of Leo Di Caprio perched high in the hills and the high walls and large front gate of the gated community containing Taylor Swift’s L.A. home. Of course she doesn’t just own the home – she owns the whole of the gated village as well. Our eleven year old grand daughter who was with us acted as expected for an eleven year old on seeing Taylor’s front gate and for a small moment I was worried we were going to have a wet pants incident. Not to worry all was more squeaking than physical. We were now really in Beverley Hills which didn’t disappoint for its beautiful properties, many of them in the old English brick style along the oak and sycamore lined roads. There were many other sights pointed out in the commentary of our driver guide who, to be honest, was showing signs of having done the tour several times too often. Unfortunately because of the windy and narrow nature of the road stopping for anything more than a few seconds was difficult so photos were hard to come by. Such good fun though and one thing I can tell you is Los Angeles celebs. live in homes that range from the quite ordinary to the overtly spectacular.

The next day we visited Rodeo Drive and the Strip. Sunset Strip aka Sunset Boulevard. Well not quite. Sunset Strip is in West Hollywood and is the near three km stretch of Sunset Boulevard which itself runs some 30 kms through downtown L.A. to the coast. The Strip is known for its nightlife and includes famous comedy venues, clubs and restaurants often frequented by L.A. celebrities. Think the Viper Room, the Rainbow Room, Chateau Marmont and the Comedy Store where Jay Leno was due to play. There was not much on when we went past proving, I guess, that it truly is a night venue.

Not so Rodeo Drive. The street is lined with famous clothing brands and tourists. The usual suspects of course in Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Versace and Prada. Alongside them were Valentino and Dior and the watch brands Rolex and Second Time Around Watch Company – no explanation necessary. Scout and the girls were very excited but I cunningly hid the credit cards in my undies. Many of these stores have a front door person located just inside the entry and who we presumed was there to vet shoppers. No doubt tourist nosey parkers with no intention of buying are an irritating problem. Hands up to the window we gazed into Boulmiche, the boutique featured in the movie Pretty Woman where Julia Robert’s character was refused service. The boutique has moved since then and is now Christian Louboutin Shoes. By the response we got plainly we weren’t the first ones to do so. And by the way – the post code of all this – 90210.

As lunchtime came around we looked for a restaurant. Cleverly I looked at all the menus and discarded those with no price or the T-bone steak option at USD 90.00. Or those whose clientele appeared to have had a lot of bad luck with the size of their lips. We settled for burgers later on back on Hollywood Boulevard. Hollywood itself or Tinseltown as it is known in reference to the film and TV industry which keeps it going is a district in Los Angeles County and part of the City of Los Angeles. It is hard to get a grip on Los Angeles as it is such a sprawling city that runs from the San Gabriel Valley and the Santa Monica mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The city itself has a population of nearly four million people but the counties and districts that make up greater L.A. include over 18 million people. Hollywood is about eight kms west of downtown L.A. and Hollywood Boulevard which runs from the Hollywood Hills West through Thai Town to Los Felix is its lifeline. It is the heart of Hollywood tourism and hosts nearly 50 million visitors each year. They come to visit Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Disney Studios, Capitol Records and others venues. They walk the Walk of Fame, visit the Chinese Theatre, hike the five kms up to the Hollywood sign (it is closed to traffic following some vandalism), enjoy shows and dress up for movie premiers. And the best of the best (ha ha) walk the red carpet for the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

The Boulevard is both exciting and odd. We were there during the US summer break so the place was crowded with tourists but it was possible to get the local flavour as well. Hollywood Boulevard, indeed Hollywood itself is a residential district with homes ranging from the ordinary to the mansions of the Hollywood and Beverley Hills. The street is a mixture of tourist icons, supermarkets and coffee shops. Scout scouted out a middle eastern cafe, Sana’a which served the most delicious cardamom flavoured coffee served after an intriguing ceremonial preparation performance. Although to be honest these places were overwhelmed by the Chicken Shacks and burger bars which are found all along the street. We stayed in an Air BnB in Argyle Avenue only 50 metres off the Boulevard with swimming pool, spa and bbq facilities. And well priced so perfect for us. Until it was time to go to the airport and fly on to Boulder via Denver, Colorado. As we drove out of the basement garage we were stopped at the rear of the line of about five cars not moving. It turned out that the exit lane grill was stuck and not going anywhere. The first in line residents told us that they had been there for half an hour and no amount of talking to the building manager was helping. People were trying to get to work and we were airport bound. Time was ticking. So enter Kiwi ingenuity. When a resident entered we advised the first car to exit there. “Can’t” they said “It comes down too quickly”. With the help of a nearby piece of timber the Kiwis wedged the grill open and everyone exited in a minute or two. We were the last to board our flight but at least we made it. After another spectacular flight over the desert and the mountains we looked forward to the delights of Boulder, Colorado.

And that No. One hit for Bob Seger – Shakedown from the movie Beverley Hills Cop 11 in 1987.