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Seeing Stars: the Schools of the Stars.

241 Moreno Drive,
Beverly Hills, CA. / (310) 201-0661

Considering its name,
you might assume that Beverly Hills High School was the school used
as the location for "West Beverly High" in the hit Fox TV show
"Beverly Hills, 90210." Guess again. The exterior
shots for that popular TV series were actually filmed at Torrance High
School, almost twenty miles away. And ironically, since Beverly Hills High
is situated in the city's southern section, the school's actual zip code
isn't even 90210 - it's 90212. |
But this is
the real Beverly Hills High, boasting celebrity alumni as David
Schwimmer (Ross on "Friends"),
Jonathan Silverman ("The
Single Guy"), Alicia Silverstone
("Clueless"), Richard Dreyfuss
("Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), Gina Gershon
("Bound"),
Marlo Thomas
("That Girl"), Richard Chamberlain
("Dr. Kildare"), Rob
Reiner ("All in the Family"),
Betty White
("The Golden Girls"), Tori
Spelling ("90210"),
Carrie Fisher ("Star Wars"),
singer/actor Shaun Cassidy,
("The Hardy Boys Mysteries"), Albert Brooks
("Mother"), Rhonda
Fleming ("A Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur's Court"), Joel
Grey ("Cabaret"), Lorraine
Newman ("Saturday Night Live"),
Julie Kavner
("Rhoda"), Joely
Fisher ("Ellen"), Kelli Williams
("The Practice"), Antonio
Sabato Jr. ("General
Hospital"), singer Lenny Kravitz
and conductor Andre Previn.
Nicolas Cage
("Con Air") went here, even though his parents weren't
rich - he hated the school, and dropped out in the 11th grade (after passing
the GED exam). Gina Gershon
reports that she was surprised to find
that the school offered surfing as a credit course...
On the negative side,
the infamous Menendez brothers,
Lyle and
Erik,
were students at Beverly Hills High, as was the focus of the Clinton sex
scandal, Monica Lewinsky (although
she left in 1990 at age 16 to attend an exclusive Bel-Air prep school.)
Even though it isn't
the shooting site for "Beverly Hills 90210," the high
school has still seen its fair share of movie cameras on campus...
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"It's
A Wonderful Life" has become
a Christmas classic, and part of that 1946 fantasy was shot here. Remember
the scene where young Jimmy Stewart
and Donna
Reed are dancing at a high school prom,
when a hidden swimming pool beneath them slides open, and the dancers fall
into the water? Well, Frank Capra
filmed that famous pool scene here at Beverly Hills High. (What other high
school would have a covered swimming pool in 1946?)

(A
bit of Hollywood trivia: the student who opened the pool was played by
Carl Switzer,
the actor who was famous as 'Alfalfa' in the "Our Gang"
comedies.)
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The
high school was also featured in the 1993 movie version of "The
Beverly Hillbillies." It was
where 'Ellie May Clampett' went to school (and where she whipped the boy's
wrestling team in the gym).
And the school was
also seen in the 1999 film "Anywhere
But Here" - it was where Susan
Sarandon's daughter 'Heather' (Natalie
Portman) went to school.
Getting
there:
Beverly Hills High school is located just two blocks east of the Century
City Shopping Center, on Moreno Drive, (between Santa Monica Blvd.
& Olympic Blvd). / From Rodeo Drive, go north to Santa Monica
Boulevard, and turn left (west). Follow Santa Monica Boulevard southwest
(about three quarters of a mile) to Moreno Drive. Turn left (southeast)
on Moreno Drive, and go three blocks to the school, which will be on your
right (west) side. The gym (with the sliding pool) is located near the
athletic track, on the southeast side of the campus.
If
you would prefer to see the real high school where the TV series "Beverly Hills
90210" was actually filmed, head
out to the city of Torrance, and 2200 W. Carson Street. If you're a fan
of the show, you'll recognize Torrance High
School's familiar Moorish arches, which
Brenda & Dylan (Shannon Doherty
& Luke
Perry) strolled past each week on the
popular TV series. / To reach Torrance High, take the San Diego (405) Freeway
to the Crenshaw Boulevard offramp, and head south on Crenshaw (about two
and a half miles) to Carson Street. Turn left (east) on Carson Street,
and go three blocks east (to just past Plaza Del Amo). The school will
be on your right (south) side. 
[For
more information on this subject, you can access Beverly Hills High's official
website at: http://www.beverlyhills.k12.ca.us/BeverlyHillsHS.]
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