Cabot Cove or Mendocino ?

• Cabot Cove - Fictional seaside village in Maine (pop. 3,560) and home to the world famous mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) on the drama MURDER, SHE WROTE/CBS/1984-96. Jessica lived in an 85-year-old Victorian house at 698 Candlewood Lane in Cabot Cove, ME. 03041. She is a widowed substitute English teacher who gained fame as a mystery novelist after her husband Frank died. Although Cabot Cove was just a small hamlet, it turned out to be the "Murder Capital of New England" Apparently, each week, Jessica found herself involved in the murder of some unfortunate local or visitor. She, in turn, used her mystery writing skills to deduce the killer. And even when Jessica travelled out of town, there was always a murdered body turning up to challenge Jessica's sleuthing skills. Over the run of the series, Jessica investigated some 260+ murders.

MENDOCINO

• The coastal town of Mendocino, California, north of San Francisco, doubled for the town of Cabot Cove, Maine. The house used for establishing outside shots of Jessica Fletcher's home was the Blair House Inn, a bed-and-breakfast situated at 45110 Little Lake Street in Mendocino. The nearby Hill House Inn at 10701 Palette Drive was also used for filming exterior and interiors shots on the show. However, most of the program was filmed on the Universal Studio lots in Southern California. Some additional shots were filmed in Northern California and Oregon.

• While scenes for "Murder, She Wrote" were being filmed in Mendocino, residents say that it was not uncommon to see Angela Lansbury, who played Jessica Fletcher, stop to speak with a toddler, or for Tom Bosley to sign his autograph on a Glad Bag box presented by a shopper stepping out of the local grocery store. "Murder, She Wrote" also brought in more money to the town due to increased tourism: by some estimates, around $2,000,000. The local high school band appeared in one of the episodes and received enough money from the appearance to go on a band trip.

The TV series "Murder, She Wrote" has had a large impact on the community. "Murder, She Wrote" was set in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. All but nine episodes of the 264-episode program were filmed in Mendocino, while exterior shots throughout Mendocino were used in the remaining episodes. The program was broadcast for 12 seasons, from September 1984 until May 1996, and won many awards. Many local residents looked forward to the yearly filming, as over a hundred and fifty were chosen to play background parts. A lucky few were cast for speaking roles.