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"The Beverly Hillbillies" was one of the first shows that took place inside a home with a physical address, rather than in a studio. This enormous 21,523-square-foot estate hosted the series throughout its nine-year run. The 10-bed, 12-bath home was built in 1933.
From its magical debut in 1950s households to today's 3-D, Internet-connected and thin-screened versions, television has firmly planted itself into American culture and daily life. We all have favorite shows — the ones we currently DVR and the ones that went off the air nearly 50 years ago.
As fall gets under way and new programs are added to the evening lineup, we're paying homage to television shows — old and new — with a real estate tour. While many shows, especially in the early days, were never shot outside the studio set, a goodly handful of them took place in real homes that still look exactly as they did on the small screen.
1960s
"Batman"
380 S San Rafael Ave., Pasadena, Calif.
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Holy mansion, Batman! The 1960s TV series featured a property in Pasadena as Wayne Manor. The 1928 home has 10 bedrooms, six bathrooms and measures 16,599 square feet — not including the Batcave, of course.
"The Beverly Hillbillies"
750 Bel Air Road, Los Angeles, Calif.
See photo at top.
1970s
"Happy Days"
565 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.
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Although "Happy Days" took place in Milwaukee, like most TV shows, it was actually filmed in Los Angeles. The white-columned house that played home for the Cunninghams was built in 1923 and has six bedrooms, two baths and measures 3,904 square feet.
"The Brady Bunch"
11222 Dilling St., North Hollywood, Calif.
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The midcentury home that hosted the blended Brady clan looks unchanged from its days on the small screen. Built in 1959, the North Hollywood home would be rather small for the Brady family of eight, which is why interior scenes of the show were shot on a studio set.
1980s
"Dallas"
3700 Hogge Drive, Allen, Texas
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The sprawling Southfork Ranch just outside Plano was the home for J.R. Ewing and his squabbling family during the original run of TV's "Dallas" (the show was recently rebooted by TNT). The home is currently an event center with a special area dedicated to the show, complete with "Dallas" memorabilia, although many of the show's interior scenes were shot on a studio set.
"The Golden Girls"
245 N. Saltair Ave., Los Angeles Calif.
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"The Golden Girls" characters were living in retiree-friendly Miami on the show, but the home used for the exterior was in Los Angeles. The classic 1955 home has four bedrooms and measures 2,901 square feet.
1990s
"Beverly Hills 90210"
1675 E. Altadena Drive, Altadena, Calif.
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The "90210" house is not actually located in the fabled ZIP code but 23 miles northeast in the town of Altadena. The four-bed, four-bath house played the home of twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh, and unlike many other TV homes had scenes that were filmed in the interior of the house, rather than on a studio set.
"Charmed"
1329 Carroll Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.
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Peaked roofs, gingerbread trim and other Victorian details made this Los Angeles-area home perfect for three beautiful witches in the TV show "Charmed." The five-bedroom, one-bath home was built in 1903.
2000–present
"The O.C."
6205 Ocean Breeze, Malibu, Calif.
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Newport Beach of "The O.C." isn't a far cry from Malibu where the TV mansion was located. The stately 6,376-square-foot house was home base for the Cohen family and Ryan Atwood, the troubled teen they took in.
"Grey's Anatomy"
303 W. Comstock St., Seattle, Wash.
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While there's no such thing as Seattle Grace Hospital, the house from the hit medical series is real and located in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. The turn-of-the-century charmer has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a view of the Space Needle.
"Mad Men"
675 Arden Road, Pasadena, Calif.
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The Los Angeles area is a decent fit for 1960s New York City on AMC's drama "Mad Men." The first home of Betty and Don Draper, fictionally set in Ossining, N.Y., is actually located in Pasadena on a quiet tree-lined street. The traditional four-bedroom, three-bath home measures 2,654 square feet.
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That's Stately Wayne Manor, J-School.
Pretty cool article :)
Surprised that "Six Feet Under" didn't make this list; it was also shot at a real home in Los Angeles.
11222 Dilling St., (Brady Bunch exterior shots) looks unchanged? Looks a bit different to me. Since the series, a fence has been added, trees and shrubs were planted, and the fake window added to suggest a 2nd floor has, of course, been removed. It can be seen a little better on Google street view.
Love the article though!
Your caption for the Beverly Hillbillies photo is misleading. While the house was used for the exterior of the show, the entire interior of the mansion including the Cement Pond were built on a soundstage at the General Services Studio. It is now called Hollywood Center Studios and is located at 1040 N. Las Palms in Hollywood.
The whole article is very misleading. Rarely are entire TV shows or movies for that matter shot in existing houses or buildings. At least not for the main locations.
Just last year, American Horror Story shot the pilot in the House in California, yet when it went to series, they built an identical replica of the exterior, minus the greenhouse on the Paramount lot and then built an identical interior on the soundstage.
There are many reasons for this, permitting on-location can be nightmarish, most people arent going to turn their home over to a crew of 150 people 6 days a week for 9 months to shoot a tv show and finally the production can control costs, time and weather by shooting on a soundstage as opposed to on-location.
I would happily turn my house over to a crew if the price were right...where do I sign up, and are some location companies better than others?
I wonder how marked up the prices of those houses were because they were shown on TV...
The American Horror Story house was on the market last year for 4.3 Million. It didn't sell and is currently not on the market. Personally after having seen the show, even though it was fiction, it would still creep the hell out of me to live there.
The house Cameron Frye lived in where the Ferrari vaulted through the glass wall of of the garage in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, has been on the market for years. I first was aware it was on the market three years ago, and I still don't think it has sold. It was built in 1953, 5,300 sq ft and was on the market for $1.65M. It's at 370 Beech St, Highland Park, IL.
Personally I always wanted either the Munsters house or the Adams Family house.
Munsters, Adams Family and Mork & Mindy.