The Newport Harbor is full of stories about Hollywood legends and a 45-minute guided cruise has a little fun unlocking the history of the homes and yachts where stars have lived and celebrated.
The Fun Zone Boat Company offers daily cruises around the harbor that is a near non-stop barrage of celebrities’ homes, hangouts and history.
“We try to do an historical tour, but we’re not a museum,” said Henk Wiessner, who has co-owned the business with his brother since 1997. “As long as people come away with a smile on their face, that’s what it’s all about.”
Shirley Temple is connected to a couple of properties in the harbor, according to Collin Scott, one of the cruise narrators.
The $5,000 she paid in the 1930s for one home on the peninsula translates to about $95,000 in today’s dollars, he tells those on his tour.
John Wayne also had property on the bay, although he didn’t live in the house you see there now.
One place in the harbor he did spend a lot of time, was on his yacht. Originally a minesweeper, the Wild Goose was refurbished as a yacht, which he owned for the last 17 years of his life.
It is still docked in the harbor – the public can hang out where the Duke did by booking a cruise or private event.
Over the years, performers George Burns, Gracie Allen, Roy Rogers, Peter Falk, Vanna White and Charles Bronson have all had property in the harbor, tour guides tell passengers.
Nicolas Cage lived on the mainland side of the harbor until a naked man entered his home and ate a Fudgesicle, wearing nothing more than one of actor’s leather coats.
Cage confirmed the account, and that he couldn’t continue to live in the property, during an interview in 2011 promoting his film “Trespass.” Cage sold the mansion for $35 million.
Tour guides point out another view that might be familiar: One of the opening scenes from “Gilligan’s Island” shows the S.S. Minnow as it heads out to sea – the Newport Harbor jetty and the Wedge in the background.
And if you know just where to look, you just might see a modern day celebrity.
If you go
What: The Fun Zone Boat Company has been giving tours of the harbor since 1948. Its four boats offer options from a 45-minute sea lion tour to a private charter for 120 guests.
Where: Find the Fun Zone Boat Company at the water’s edge next to the Fun Zone on the Balboa Peninsula.
Tours: 45-minute “Celebrity Homes, Mansions and Yachts Tour;” 45-minute “Sea Lion, The Wedge and Pirate’s Cove Tour”
Hours: Hourly from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Rates: Adults are $15 for one or $25 for both tours; children under 12 cost $5 for each tour; children under 5 are free.