‘Mad Men’ and ‘Father of the Bride’ Have an Interesting Connection
Father of the Bride and Mad Men are two pieces of entertainment that couldn’t seem more different. Mad Men was a television show that told the story of advertising executive Don Draper. Set in the 1960s, Mad Men was heavily influenced by its East Coast setting. Father of the Bride, a film set in the 1990s, followed sneaker dealer George Banks as he navigated the high-stress process of helping to plan and pay for his daughter’s wedding. The two projects had one thing in common: a filming location. Well, sort of.
Don Draper of ‘Mad Men’ lived in Ossining, New York
Much of Mad Men was based in Manhattan. That makes perfect sense. After all, the bulk of the show was focused on Don Draper’s career and the career of those who also inhabited the often cutthroat industry of advertising. Occasionally, though, Don headed home to see his family.
Don’s family didn’t live in the city. Instead, the family set down roots in Ossining, New York. The village of Ossining is one of New York City’s many bedroom communities. Located in Westchester County, the small village was once populated almost entirely by people who traveled to New York City for work. Similar to the way Rob Petrie would return to his New Rochelle home on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Don Draper showed up in Ossining when the day was done. Ossining isn’t where the show was filmed, though. Scenes of the Draper house were filmed in Pasadena, California.
George Banks and his family called San Marino home
In the 1991 classic Father of the Bride, George Banks was a quirky character who had a particularly difficult time with change. When his daughter, Annie Banks, announced she’d be marrying Brian MacKenzie, a man she met while studying abroad, George freaked out.
The house George shared with his wife, Nina Banks, and two children, Annie and Matty, served as the main staging area for the wedding planning. The flick was set in the town of San Marino, a small city in Los Angeles county. The home used to film the movie is actually located in Pasadena.
The Draper House and the Banks house are actually across the street from each other
In real life, Don’s house and the Banks family home aren’t actually on opposite ends of the country. They are located on the same street. The homes used for filming each movie are located almost directly across from each other in Pasadena, California.
According to LA Mag, The Draper home, located at 674 Arden Road, is in one of Pasadena’s most picturesque neighborhoods. The tree-lined street is home to several different house styles, but the Drapers’ home and the Banks family’s house are both colonials, with well-kept front yards and inviting entryways.
