Starline Tours, synonymous with celebrity sightseeing in Hollywood, was the star itself this week on NBC's The Ellen DeGeneres Show in Burbank, California.
A planned "hijacking" of a Starline Tours van preparing to depart for a Movie Stars' Homes Tour diverted to the Burbank studio of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Passengers were surprised to hear the unmistakable voice of Ellen DeGeneres through the tour's headset system, and then see her on a monitor as the van pulled around the corner of the Roosevelt Hotel off of Hollywood Boulevard. They were even more surprised when veteran guide Lisa Staub expertly drove the van through the show's back stage area and on the television show set.
The passengers, from Miami, San Francisco and Montreal, talked with Ellen, received a $100 American Express gift card and danced from their seats with Ellen during commercials. Ellen concluded the appearance by giving Lisa a garage door opener she said belonged to Sandra Bullock to take her passengers by for a visit, and sent an Instagram proclaiming that her version of the famous Hollywood tour was the best ever. Starline Tours' appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show is part of the show's celebration of Oscar Week, which she will host on Sunday, March 2 on ABC. The segment may be viewed at: http://youtu.be/jFmlniwRhE0
Ellen DeGeneres seems to have an affinity for Starline Tours and the Movie Stars' Homes Tour. In 2011 she posed as a tour guide (the van was equipped with curtains, cameras and microphones) to give unsuspected tour passengers a unique tour that focused more on gardening than celebrities, but finished up with her surprising them with her appearance. The segment can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw7gIN2hPXw
The concept of celebrity home sightseeing was pioneered by Starline Tours in 1935. The company is regularly used by television and movie crews to signify their location in Hollywood where movie stars are spotted. Starline Tours will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2015.
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