Jon Hamm was hanging out for hours at Rod’s Grill on Huntington Drive till late into the evening Tuesday.
Jon Hamm
A location scout for the Emmy Award-winning AMC series on which Hamm stars, “Mad Men,” came to the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce a couple months ago saying they wanted to record the outside of the iconic Chamber building at night, and asked about other buildings in town that fit the early 1960s setting of the series. The scout was directed to Rod’s, and they showed up this week to shoot an entire scene in the diner that has also been used in the past year as a location for the upcoming HBO series “Luck.”
“Mad Men” crews decorated the interior of “Rod’s” this week to look like a Howard Johnson’s restaurant of half-a-century ago, with the orange and aqua colors and signage, as well as counter displays of the era.
A false cinder block wall was also built and painted outside the front door of Rod’s to be seen only in the background of certain shots filmed indoors. The wall was actually made of styrofoam.
False wall of styrofoam propped up outside front door of Rod's Grill.
Although shooting took place only on Tuesday, Rod’s was closed Monday for set-up, and Wednesday for take-down as the crew moved to another shooting location in Baldwin Park.
Production crew said they loved shooting in Arcadia — that everyone was terrific and easy to work with — and they wish they were not leaving and hope to return. Crew members guessed that this scene may show up in an episode in February.
— By Scott Hettrick