‘Hacks’ Altadena Mansion Destroyed As More Historic Homes Used In Hollywood Productions Feared Lost In LA Fires
Thousands of Los Angeles families lost their homes, valuable possessions and priceless mementos this week. Also gone in the devastating wildfires are pieces of Hollywood history, with a number of historic houses used in iconic movies and TV series threatened or destroyed. That includes the Altadena mansion seen on Max’s award-winning comedy series Hacks.
According to an eyewitness, the 1915 Spanish Colonial Revival mansion has burnt down in the Eaton fire, with only its facade still standing. (Because mandatory evacuation orders for the area are still in place, Deadline has not been able to visually verify the destruction.)
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There is major concern for the nearby Crank house where Matilda, Scream 2, and Catch Me If You Can were filmed, the house Step Brothers was shot as well as the famed Rubio Street, which includes one of the most heavily used mansions in movies and TV series such as Risky Business and This Is Us. It is now gone.
Also destroyed are the Altadena Town & Country Club, seen in Mad Men, Starsky & Hutch, Van Wilder and The Wonder Years; the Eliot Arts Magnet Academy School from Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and the amphitheater from American Pie 2 and Ghost Whisperer.
Photos of the McNally House, from Entourage and many other productions, burning down have been posted online. Meanwhile, actor Will Rogers’ historic ranch house was among the thousands of structures destroyed by the Palisades fire, along with an opulent mansion featured on Succession and the Malibu house from Spanglish.
The Hacks house was introduced in Season 2 as Deborah Vance’s (Jean Smart) “side mansion” in LA. The set had been written for the famous ‘Pink Princess Mansion Estate’ filming location, but due to a new owner and complete remodel, the Universal TV series’ production team pivoted, with location manager Kyle Sucher suggesting the five-bedroom Altadena mansion, according to Production Designer Alec Contestabile, an Emmy nominee for his work on the show.
“It has been a reoccurring location,” appearing in 2-3 episodes per season, said Scott Kradolfer, Hacks‘ Key Assistant Locations Manager.
That includes the upcoming fourth season, which is still being filmed, with production currently paused due to the fires.
“We had shot already earlier in the season; it was one of the first locations up for Season 4,” Kradolfer said. “Thankfully, we were able to go at the start of the season, but it was left up in the air whether or not we would see the character of Deborah Vance under that roof again.”
The show has shot both interiors and exteriors at the house. “We filmed on the street, in the front courtyard, we filmed throughout the house and a lot in the backyard as well; I got to know the property very well,” Kradolfer said.
That includes its most unique feature.
“The most unique feature — whether you love it or hate it — was the color, the architecture was that kind of pink Spanish colonial revival. Some people would think it was an eyesore, but I thought it had natural beauty to it. And a lot of, a lot of great history.”
The mansion has been used as a filming location for more than century, starting with the 1921 Max Linder film Seven Years Bad Luck. TV series that have shot there include Knots Landing, Ratched and just recently Palm Royale. A widely circulated Target commercial, which you can watch below, also used the mansion’s back yard.
Over the last three seasons of Hacks, Kradolfer and his team “have gotten to know the neighborhood extremely well,” he said, recalling sitting down with homeowners in their kitchens. After the Eaton fire broke out, Kradolfer reached out to six families living on that block; three of them have confirmed that they have lost their homes, with actor John C. Reilly among them. (The three confirmed destructions do not include the Hacks mansion though Kradolfer did check on its homeowners to make sure they are OK.)
“It’s devastating, because there’s a lot of history up there,” Kradolfer said.
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