This year may mark David E. Kelley’s 35th in show business, but by the looks of it, he has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. The 65-year-old lawyer-turned-Hollywood-multi-hyphenate has been behind several recent series including “The Undoing,” “Big Shot” and “Big Sky,” as well as Hulu’s upcoming “Nine Perfect Strangers,” which fans have been eagerly anticipating.
With a resume stretching as long as the legal briefs so many of his characters are known for writing, Kelley is nothing if not prolific. Though he’s garnered much acclaim for later shows like “Ally McBeal,” “Boston Legal” and “Big Little Lies,” his early creations are just as notable, especially “Picket Fences,” the first season of which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Set in the fictional Rome, Wisconsin, the critically acclaimed series is a whimsical look at a zany cast of characters in a small town and the strange happenings they encounter on a daily basis.
Of the eccentric storylines, co-executive producer Michael Pressman told the Los Angeles Times, “The key to the show is variety. Sometimes it’s a comedy, sometimes a drama, sometimes it’s a suspense police story. Sometimes we’ll deal with a social or political issue and sometimes we’ll deal with some heavy family issue, and the audience seems to be responding most to the fact that they love not knowing.”
Formatted like a “Law & Order” with a distinctive “Twin Peaks” meets “Northern Exposure” vibe, episodes often center around a crime (mostly of the bizarre variety – instead of murder and assault, think stolen circus elephants and “serial bathers”) investigated by local sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt) and prosecuted in the courtroom of Judge Henry Bone (Ray Walston). The latter not only serves as Rome’s hard-headed arbitrator but its moral compass, as well – a role Walston played to aplomb, garnering himself two late-in-life Emmy Awards (his firsts!) at the age of 80 and 81! (Just try watching this without tearing up!) Of Judge Bone, he told the L.A. Times, “He is the best character I’ve ever had in television, so pleasing for me and satisfying to do . . . He is me.”
“Picket Fences” debuted on CBS in 1992 and proceeded to run for four years, with all filming taking place in the Los Angeles area, namely in the San Gabriel Valley’s idyllic city of Monrovia. The International-style City Hall building at 425 S. Ivy Ave. was transformed into the Rome Sheriff’s Department for the show. The United Methodist Church at 140 E. Palm Ave. played the Hogan County Courthouse, where Judge Bone regularly faced off with colorful defense attorney Douglas Wambaugh (Fyvush Finkel). The Brock residence, where Jimmy lived with his wife, Jill (Kathy Baker), and their three children, can be found at 211 Highland Pl. And the gorgeous Craftsman that Judge Bone called home is just three houses north at 225 Highland.
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Image Credit: Lindsay Blake Known as the H. Arms House in real life, the pad is a stunning example of Crafstman architecture. Built in 1909 for Harrison Arms, president of the Arms Palace Horse Car Company, the property was designed by Arthur R. Kelly, who began his architectural career working for the prestigious Greene & Greene firm and was later responsible for a plethora of residential properties across L.A. including a Los Feliz pad belonging to Ashley Benson, Joey McIntyre’s Hancock Park abode and, perhaps most notably, the Playboy Mansion. Later owned by Joseph Stillman Badger, an engineer who served as the longtime general manager of the Brisbane Tramways Co., Ltd., the home is also sometimes referred to as the Badger House.
The property, which a past listing notes sits on “the most prestigious street in North Monrovia,” features six bedrooms and five baths sprawled across a spacious 4,648 square feet. Though the exterior is picturesque, it belies little of the grandeur that can be found inside.
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Image Credit: Delawre Pacific Original architectural detailing abounds at the exquisite property, with each room more spectacularly designed than the last. The wide front door opens to a wood-bestrewed entry centered around an incredible carved staircase that looks like it was ripped right out of the iconic Gamble House in nearby Pasadena.
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Image Credit: Delawre Pacific Both the living room and formal dining room feature box beam ceilings, the former with a handsome cut granite wood-burning fireplace and windows with ornate valance grids.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The equally stunning dining room is lined on one side with stained glass windows and an elaborate built-in sideboard on the other.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The wood detailing continues in the formal breakfast room which, at the time of the home’s last sale in November 2014, was being used as an office.
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The kitchen is decidedly not Craftsman in style, having been updated with granite countertops, floor-to-ceiling custom cabinetry, stainless appliances (including two full-sized fridges), a butler’s pantry and an additional pantry. Rounding out the lower level is a bedroom, two baths and a family room. The upstairs, which can be reached via two staircases, contains five bedrooms, including two owners’ suites, as well as three bathrooms.
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Image Credit: Delaware Pacific The leafy 0.40-acre lot boasts two garages (one of which is the home’s original barn), a greenhouse, a porte-cochère, a smattering of fruit trees and a 659-square-foot guest residence. Prior to its latest sale (for which it went for $1,598,000), the Arms House counted only five owners throughout its 112-year history. No word if any of them were judges, but the place certainly has a regal quality befitting a small-town magistrate.
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Image Credit: Lindsay Blake The residence was heavily featured during “Picket Fences” fourth season. It is there that Judge Bone invites local mortician Carter Pike (Kelly Connell) to stay after his own house is burned down in the premiere episode titled “A Change of Seasons.”
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Image Credit: Realtor.com The property’s glorious interior also makes several appearances on the series.
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Image Credit: CBS “Picket Fences” is not the Arms House’s only claim to fame. The dwelling also played the home of Margret Becker (Rue McClanahan) in the 1990 television movie “Children of the Bride,” which despite its horror-esque sounding title, is actually a family drama.
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Image Credit: Lions Gate Entertainment And it popped up as the residence of Mrs. Cresswell (Eileen Brennan), an elderly woman sitting on a massive collection of rare comic books she’s unwilling to sell, in the 2002 comedy (and I used that term loosely) “Comic Book Villains.”
Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.