Tidbits about the school...

I thought it would be cool to look up info on the school I'll be teaching at. First of all, the main building is absolutely beautiful. A sort of gothic architecture outside with mission style ceilings inside (at least on the first floor, I haven't seen the rest of the school yet :) I found out some little tidbits that are neat. For those of you who are caught up in the Hollywood scene, you'll appreciate it :)

Leonardo DiCaprio (star of "Titanic") went to school here ... Leo grew up in the Los Feliz area, and recently donated $35,000 to the new Los Feliz branch of the L.A. Library to fund a new Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center there. (Ironically, the new library is located on the former site of Leo's family home, where he lived when he was a teenager.)

"Growing Pains" was set in the suburbs of Long Island New York. Mike (Kirk Cameron) and Carol (Tracey Gold) attended Thomas E. Dewey High School. It must have been a hell of a bus ride, the school is really located in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. The exterior shots were filmed at John Marshall High School at 3101 Griffith Park Blvd. John Marshall High was also the location for a prom scene in Highway to Heaven, produced, directed, written and starring the late Michael Landon. This popular filming location has also been used in L.A. Law, and Uncle Buck. The school overlooks the Walt Disney studios on Tracy Street, West of the Golden State Freeway.

Other former students from John Marshall include Michelle Phillips (of "The Mamas & the Papas"), Judge Lance Ito (of O.J. fame), Heidi Fleiss (another kind of fame altogether), Julie Newmar ("Batman"), and Anne Marie Johnson ("Melrose Place," "In the Heat of the Night"). The school has also appeared in several movies including (the carnival scenes in) "Grease", "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Pretty in Pink." Plus appearing in numerous TV shows such as "Growing Pains," "Boy Meets World" and "Sister Sister."


How the school got it's name: John Marshall Barristers (Los Angeles, CA) -- John Marshall was a famous U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice. In colonial times, he served as a barrister, a lawyer who is allowed to debate cases in British (and colonial) court.