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Scene of the crime

The story of Jean Harris captivated the nation in the 1980s. In the 2005 film “Ms. Harris,” Annette Bening played Harris, the headmistress at an exclusive girls school convicted of a brutal murder. She was convicted of shooting to death her ex-lover, Herman Tarnower, a famous cardiologist and author of the best seller, “The Scarsdale Diet.”

Her story played out in posh northeastern venues, according to New York Magazine writer Anthony Haden-Guest. “… Shaker Heights, Cleveland; Grosse Point, Michigan; Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia; a smart girls’ schools in Virginia; and Westchester County. Was ever a crime of passion more fashionably suburban than this?”

But the story, at least the retelling of it, has a northeast Dallas twist.

A Lake Highlands home, perfectly preserved since its 1981 construction, wound up serving as the ideal set for an upcoming show about the infamous murderess.

Docudramas are big these days, especially those with the word “murder” in the title. “Murder Made Me Famous” is one of the newest offerings — the series, which premiered last August, examines killers who gained notoriety when their crimes whipped up media frenzy.

An upcoming episode will detail Harris’ story, featuring interviews with victims’ family members, jurors, law enforcement officers and journalists involved with the case, according to a press release about the series.

The production company was scouting the country for a house to portray Harris’ quaint abode.

They found it while scouring Airbnb.com, a site that helps homeowners rent to travelers, when they happened upon Cortney Gibson’s residence located in the Woodbridge neighborhood of Dallas.

“They were looking for a house like mine, built in 1980,” Gibson says. “Because many of the spaces have not been updated — bathrooms, kitchen — it was perfect for the shots they needed.”

The “Murder” crew has visited Woodbridge twice so far — once for planning purposes and another time in January to film. At production time, they had not announced an airdate.

Woodbridge, located just east of Richland College, includes about 230 homes built in the early ‘80s. The houses are architecturally unique, and the neighborhood, while clandestinely tucked inside a perimeter of old trees and winding creeks, has seen the spotlight a time or few.

Recently a sprawling two-story colonial-style Woodbridge home appeared in the independent horror flick, “The Dahl Dynasty.”

Before that, an episode of “Walker: Texas Ranger” was filmed a few streets over, confirm several members of the homeowners’ association. Resident Rebecca Douglas says the previous owners of her Woodbridge home told her that an episode of “Dallas” was shot there, though she is still binging her way through old episodes for evidence.

—Christina Hughes Babb

Kitchen Redux

LAKE

After moving out of a three-story Atlanta, Ga. manse a few years ago, Byron Hill and Randy Fernandes fell in love with a spacious, single-level, ranch-style abode near White Rock Lake. But the kitchen was “...that ‘60s brown,” Hill says, and its island prevented “flow” between it and the adjoining breakfast area. That was a problem for the guys, who like to cook and entertain.