[IMG:L]When it comes to knowing exactly where celebrities live, there is no greater expert than Bill Gordon. His book, The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book, has sold over 40,000 copies and is considered to be the definitive celebrity atlas.
Among other things, Gordon offers his readers information on when a given house was built, who its various owners have been, and how much it sold for most recently. In places, the book almost reads like a reference sheet for realtors. He notes that Johnny Depp only had to pay $2.3 million for his 29-room mansion–because he bought it from a divorce lawyer who was convicted of tax fraud; while Nicholas Cage paid $6.5 million for a home, which is only four rooms bigger.
Gordon also offers meticulous directions on how to find these places, complete with little asides like, “Note: In what seems like a conspiracy to confuse tourists, Monovale Drive changes its name and becomes Carolwood Drive at this point.”
[IMG:R]Finally, Gordon offers his readers a word of caution: “If you approach a celebrity at his or her home, he or she may construe the approach as a hostile act, and act accordingly,” he writes. “Remember: not all celebrities are as volatile as Sean Penn or Sean Young. But why take a chance?”
I first met Bill Gordon in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel on a perfectly sunny afternoon. Almost immediately, our attention was distracted by a teenager just down the street from us who was selling star maps for ten bucks a pop. Gordon shook his head. “Most of the star maps that get sold on street corners don’t get updated,” he explained matter-of-factly. To prove his point, Gordon eventually led me down the street at a brisk pace toward the young map vendor. At fifty-three years old, Gordon was the personification of good health; with his black walking shorts and knee-high athletic socks that hugged his muscular calves, he had the look of a no-nonsense high school football coach marching down the field.
When we reached the vendor, Gordon purchased a map and promptly opened it. “Look at this! Here is Dan Akroyd’s house, even though he moved to New York City six years ago. These map makers simply take no pride in their work. They don’t update their information and they pawn their maps off as something they’re not. It’s just consumer fraud. When I see lazy maps like this, I do take offense.”
Gordon was quick to add that his book, which was currently in its 19th edition, was updated annually. He constantly pores through newspaper clippings and real estate records in order to keep tabs on the living arrangements of the stars in his book. He also continually adds the home addresses of new stars. In fact, on the afternoon that we met, Gordon was preparing to track down the home of Robert Pastorelli, who once played the role of Elvin–the live-in house painter on the sitcom Murphy Brown.
Tragically Pastorelli had killed himself in 2004–but prior to that, he had been a suspect in the 1999 murder of his then-girlfriend. Apparently, the crime had occurred at Pastorelli’s home, and this interested Gordon because he planned to create a new section in his book that focused entirely on celebrity murders. “I have a photo of Pastorelli’s home from this old TV Guide clipping,” he explained as he brandished a partially torn piece of glossy paper. “So we should be able to find the place.”
Without further ado, Gordon and I hopped into his car and headed upwards along a road that wound its way into the higher reaches of Beverly Hills. As we drove, he provided a running commentary on the homes that we passed. “This house here is one that Madonna bought from Diane Keaton, and she is now trying to sell for about $10 million dollars,” he remarked as he pointed at a gigantic, Spanish-styled hacienda.
[IMG:L]“Now we are coming up to Angelina Jolie’s house. Angelina and Madonna are the only stars dumb enough to move onto streets that are frequented by the tour buses. Everyone else, when they go to the realtors, asks for houses that are off the beaten path.”
As we continued upwards, Gordon told me about his professional life, which involved a great many “survival jobs.” He furthered, “These were jobs that paid the rent, but ate away at your soul, and left you wondering each night, ‘Why am I doing this?’ And that’s the nice thing about what I’m doing now. I look forward to going to work each day. I enjoy driving around Los Angeles and Hollywood, even though it’s basically a frivolous thing to do. Bear in mind, I went to college at UCLA, which is just a couple of miles from here, and back then I would have snubbed my nose at this kind of stuff.”
Gordon went on to explain that he initially aspired to write nonfiction books of a more serious nature. In fact, he had spent much of the 1970s researching the events surrounding the shootings at Kent State University, and he eventually published his findings in the form of a book called Four Dead in Ohio. “This was during the Vietnam era and I was interested in the war and what was going on in the world,” he explained. “It’s funny though, when you get older, you just learn that there is nothing you can do about it–so you just tune it out.”
“So you were pretty politically active during the 1960s?”
“Not really,” he replied. “I spent most of the 1960s in the library, which is also where I spent most of the 1970s.” He interrupted our conversation to point out a home where the Mamas and the Papas once lived, before they were kicked out for not paying rent. He slowed our car to crawl, so I could get a good long glimpse at the place, and then he hit the accelerator. “These are my escapism years,” he told me as the wind fluttered in through the windows of the car. “With this war in Iraq, we might be going down the road to another Vietnam and I am offering myself–and others–an escape from the harsh day-to-day realities of life.”
Gordon recalled that, during the Watergate hearings, many housewives complained that their favorite soap operas were being interrupted by the news coverage. At the time, this complaint seemed odd to Gordon, but now it made a lot more sense to him. “People are like that. They like to shut it out. And these are my don’t-bother-me-with-anything-important years. I think this is a phase. At some point I would like to do something more substantive again, like a true crime book.”
“Do you think that you will?”
“I hope so,” replied Gordon. “The thing is, there is a built-in audience for this celebrity stuff.” One indication of this, he insisted, was the fact that unlike The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book, his book on the shootings at Kent State only sold several thousand copies. Of course, there are more dramatic indications of this.
Every day, millions of Americans search for information about “the stars.” According to the website Yahoo!, eight of the top ten search terms for 2005 were the names of celebrities, with Britney Spears at the top of the list.
[IMG:R]“The truth is, many peoples’ lives are empty and they latch onto these celebrities,” Gordon concluded. “It’s easier to talk about celebrities than our own lives, which is another kind of escapism–not escapism from Vietnam or Iraq–but escapism from the boredom of one’s own life. Celebrities are probably of less interest to people who live exciting, fulfilling lives–people who are involved with their family and community. But how many people do you know who live exciting, fulfilling lives?”
Before I could answer this question, Gordon pulled his car over to the curb and looked around in a rather disoriented fashion. “No wonder I’m lost,” he muttered to himself. “There is Brad Pitt’s house and there is Danny Devito’s house.” He nodded, smiled, and pulled back onto the road. “I got a little turned around,” he told me. “But now I know where I am.”
This was adapted from the new book, Fame Junkies. Read the hot, page-turning exposé that everyone in Hollywood is talking about! Purchase a copy of FAME JUNKIES for a discounted price on Buy.com right now.
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