Cary Grant is one of the greatest stars of all time. The legendary actor lived a Hollywood lifestyle fit for his status. In this article, we’ll explore the various homes in which this screen icon lived during his time spent in Hollywood.
Santa Monica
1038 Palisades Beach Road
This 5,500 square foot house was built in 1930 for silent movie star Norma Talmadge. Grant would go on to purchase the house with his friend Randolph Scott from Talmadge a few years later.
This French-Normandy-style house, which sits right on the beach, contains a four-car garage, tennis court, six bedrooms, and a pool. In 1942, Grant’s wife, Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, transformed the dining room into a replica of the Parisian restaurant Maxim’s.
Howard Hughes would own this home later on. He installed barbed wire around the perimeter fence. Over the years other stars, including Grace Kelly and Sharon Tate, had rented this home.
Beverly Hills
1010 Pamela Drive – Buster Keaton
This Beverly Hills home has a lot of Hollywood history to it. Buster Keaton had this twenty-room mansion built on three-and-a-half acres of land in 1924 when his wife Natalie Talmadge hated the new house he built for her down the road.
Keaton sold the first house to Berenice Mannix, the wife of MGM vice president Eddie Mannix and hired architect Gene Verge to build his home on Pamela Drive. This was a stone’s throw from Pickfair, Chaplin’s home, and the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Keaton spared no expense during the creation of this property. He spent $14,000 on forty-two palm trees and other landscaping features. Although the house was done in an Italian renaissance style, the swimming pool was inspired by a Roman bath. The neatest feature of this property was that it had a secret passage to a hidden bar, which Keaton needed because of Prohibition.
Keaton was wiped out in the stock market crash of 1929, and his wife divorced him and took his remaining assets. This included this home, which she sold in 1932 to Fanchon Simon, half of Fanchon and Marco, a dance team at MGM.
In 1938, the property was sold to a millionaire by the name of John Raymond Owens, who paid $250,000 in cash for it. He turned around and leased the property to Barbara Hutton in 1940 when she was engaged to Cary Grant. The couple split their time between this property and Grant’s place in Santa Monica until their wedding.
1010 Pamela Drive – James Mason
Eight years later, James Mason and his wife Pamela bought the home for $82,000. The price was so drastically low because 1920s mansions were considered passé and the estate of Owens, who had died, wanted to be rid of it. Over the years, the Masons sold off much of the land associated with this property.
The lots formerly part of this estate formed a new street, which was named Pamela Drive in honor of Pamela Mason. The Masons divorced in 1964 and Pamela kept the house. She frequently threw parties here and the guests typically included stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Groucho Marx.
9966 Beverly Grove Drive
Located off Benedict Canyon this four-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,600 square foot house boasts views that span from downtown L.A. to the ocean. This was Cary Grant’s final home and was the place his daughter, with Diane Cannon, basically grew up. It was built in 1942.
“The first time I remember seeing my father, and the last time I actually did see him, was at 9966. One of my father’s priorities was providing me with a sense of permanence and stability. The actual structure he chose was a farm-style house. Our home atop a hill. Dad used to say that the state of your surroundings reflected the state of your mind. Also, there could be an inverse correlation. A clean atmosphere provides space for thought. This has become a truism for me. During college exams, regardless of my lack of sleep, my boyfriend used to marvel at the way I had to clean my apartment before studying. A direct offshoot of 9966. Dad wasn’t a fan of overly lavish displays, at least not in the worldly sense. Our home was beautiful and not a mansion. What did we need with a mansion? Our parties were small parties. We had a white, modern-looking oval table that at most sat fourteen. You could see and hear everyone. The mood was festive and intimate. Barbara (Grant’s 5th and last wife) made scrumptious, home-cooked meals and decorated the table with her own arrangements of flowers. Dad was so proud. I understand why. Our home had love, warmth, and personal care. It was overflowing.”
– Jennifer Grant (From her book “Good Stuff”)
When Cary Grant passed away in 1986, he left this home to Jennifer. She still owns it to this day.
Holmby Hills
10401 Wyton Drive
This 7,300 square foot house was built in 1934. It contains six bedrooms and eight bathrooms and sits on half an acre of land.
Grant had resided in this property with his wife Betsy Drake in the 1950s. This was also the home to actors Ralph Bellamy as well as Peter Samuelson, who had produced The Revenge of the Nerds.
