Death on Kings Road... and Seinfeld's Junk Mail

Last Thursday's LA Weekly was the first edition I've read almost cover-to-cover in some time. The paper detailed Los Angeles' fascinating world of apartment dwellings.

Topics ranged from downtown's up-and-coming lofts, to the classic buildings on Rossmore and the psychology of renting in Los Angeles (where rent is sometimes more than a mortgage payment).

Columnist Nikki Finke, meanwhile, wrote about giving up a fantastic apartment on Kings Road... after discovering that Jack Cassidy died across the street:

Years ago, I had to find a place to live in a hurry, so I moved into a penthouse apartment that a friend found for me in West Hollywood. I hated it. Oh, it did have a 180-degree city view from every window, and its tree-lined neighborhood along the rise of Kings Road consisted of nicely kept and newly upgraded condo buildings. But I couldn’t shake the feeling something was off. It didn’t help that, once a week, a silver hearse would pull up to the curb across the street, stop for five minutes as the passengers gazed at the nondescript apartment complex opposite mine, and then head down the hill.

One day, I flagged down the driver to find out what the deal was. “See that building over there?” he said, pointing to 1221 N. Kings Road in West Hollywood. “In 1976, actor Jack Cassidy died after falling asleep on the couch with a lighted cigarette. The entire penthouse caught fire.” Turns out my new street was a stop on L.A.’s ghoulish “Grave Line Tour.”

Seriously? Giving up what sounds like a sweet apartment, just because a D-list Hollywood celeb died down the street? (Granted, Finke also blames her departure on a difference of opinion with her landlord.)

I lived on Kings Road (just north of Santa Monica Blvd., across the street from the Shakespeare Theater and Hugo's) the first six years of my Los Angeles adventure. I, too, would ocassionally see the silver "Grave Line Tour" hearse pass down my street, and didn't find out until recently the reason why.

Interestingly, 1221 N. Kings Road was also once home to Jerry Seinfeld, obviously before making it big. I know this because I once mistakingly received a piece of Seinfeld's mail, direct from some obscure film festival in Rhode Island (or New Hampshire.)

The piece of mail was addressed to "Jerry Seinfeld, 1221 N. Kings Rd., Apt. 9, West Hollywood, Calif." Close. I lived at 1122 N. Kings Rd., Apt. 9. I still wonder if Seinfeld made it to that obscure film festival.