The TV shoot wasn’t the first time a film crew had stationed itself in his place of residency. Having patronized the Arms for two decades, Frank Schaben sees how the retirement home has a certain cinematic charm. “(Coogan’s character) has a heart but doesn’t want to admit it.”Īctors and members of the production crew arrived at the Arms after 7 p.m., and wrapped up around 2:30 a.m. “It’s a rich character scene,” said Liz Goldsmith, an assistant location manager. Other than that, the Arms’ signature red-and-beige décor remains on display for when the show’s lead character, a cop-turned-lawyer played by Steve Coogan, visits the retirement community to seek the seniors’ wise advice. To prepare for the scene, a set-design team hung fake posters, removed chandeliers, rearranged furniture, and pulled a black grand piano into the room.

“That is the joke as I’m walking about the building – that they need them as extras,” she said. Jill Wagner, marketing director for the Arms, said the filming April 4 created a buzz amongst residents.

It helped that the community’s staff welcomed the production crew with open arms, Turner added. He said the “warm, worn-away” look of the one-time luxury hotel turned out to be an ideal setting for an old-timers’ evening card game. Thomas Schlamme serves as the director he was the producer of “The West Wing.”Īssistant location manager Jim Turner came across the Arms when scouting interesting buildings. The pilot episode by David Shore, creator of the hit program “House,” is being shot in and around Chicago over a two-week period. Older gentlemen playing bridge at the Oak Park Arms is nothing out of the ordinary – unless, of course, they are Hollywood actors.Ī patio room in the quaint retirement home was transformed into a television-show set earlier this month for the filming of the new ABC legal drama, “Doubt.”

Doubt tv pilot