If you're perusing a listing that mentions it's "Celebrity Owned", you can almost be sure that the owner hasn't worked since his last guest appearance on "Matlock" or that he was the guy on "Entourage" who one of the regulars threw up on.
When an agent calls me to tell she's bringing a celebrity to view a listing of mine but cannot, due to the demands of the celeb's business manager, give me his/her name, I know I will have to ask (more than once) "Who is he?" as I watch him kick the tires of my lovely listing.
So what a refreshing relief when, in one week, the homes of two long gone, actual Hollywood legends hit the market. In this case it was the former residences of both Orson Welles and Walt Disney and, while I can't recall any instance of these two giants working together, it's safe to say both men clearly had a good eye for real estate.
Orson Welles former home, on a quiet, tree-lined street in the foothills near Hollywood is, not surprisingly, as stately as he was and almost as run down as he became. There's almost nothing that doesn't need to be done to this lovely compound, but this is reflected in the asking price of $1,285,000 (which I found surprisingly low). It sits on a 15,000 square foot lot and is currently owned by a screenwriter, who shall go unnamed, whose screenplays seemed to get progressively worse with each successive effort. But let's hope he's not thinking of a career change into the world of interior design.
In the living room, it'd be hard to decide which is worse- the bad paintings or the curtains, which seem to be writhing in pain (perhaps from having to stare at the rug). Indeed, as you walk the grounds of this lovely little piece of Hollywood history....
...you cannot miss it's basic elegance, nor can you shake the feeling that the current owner, not unlike the last one, seems to be living in a state of deterioration. Are there any sadder examples of a fall from grace than Orson Welles? He began his career as a veritable genius/wunderkind on both stage and film and slid all the way down the mountain, finally crash landing in commercials for Paul Masson Wines, whose motto is "We sell no wine before its time". In reality, Paul Masson's definition of a wine's "time" is roughly six minutes after it has been bottled. Hit the link below to see Mr. Welles stumbling his way through take after drunken take:
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But enough despair; let's move on to the much happier former home of Walt Disney, up in the hills of Los Feliz.
As you wind your way up the gated driveway you feel ready to be swarmed by happy little packs of bluebirds, perhaps holding up the price tag: $3,650,000.
Sitting on an acre, this 1932 French Nrmandy accomplishes the rare feat of combining quiet, understated elegance with the feeling of a family home. There are currently 4 bedrooms and five baths, a pool and perfectly framed views of downtown and the surrounding hills.
You enter into a circular rotunda with painted ceilings which leads to a sensational two story living room, overlooked by a Juliet balcony from the upstairs hallway.
In fact, the house was designed in such a way, at Disney's insistence, that most rooms have more than one entrance; he clearly wanted to create a flow that takes away any sense of formality. In a town where there is no shortage of homes with the Monument to Me" design theme, this is a rare accomplishment.
The piece-de-resistance of the house though is Walt Disney's screening room.
Yes, the house needs some updating and some relandscaping but it is truly one of those Los Angeles homes where its history gives it an intrinsic value. Rumor has it that a foreign film director is in the midst of purchasing it. I hope he will be bringing his own bluebirds....
Jamie Foreman
