Throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood, celebrities and movie moguls have gravitated towards beach front property; claiming land up the Los Angeles coast line. In this article we will be exploring the homes of various Hollywood players in the affluent enclaves of Malibu, Santa Monica, and the Pacific Palisades.
Pacific Palisades
17800 Tramonto Drive
The former estate of actor Joseph Cotten is a Spanish style home known as Villa Romantica. Built in 1931, this property sits upon a cliff and commands incredible views of the Pacific Ocean. It includes five bedrooms and bathrooms, and is slightly over 6,000 square feet in size.
Santa Monica
443 Palisades Beach Road
Built in 1931 on a third of an acre, this was the home of the legendary, comedic, silent movie star Harold Lloyd. This home was literally next door to the Marion Davies Beach House (Click Here to read about it).
The property contains six bedrooms and four bathrooms in the main house, and a guest house with an additional two bedrooms and a bathroom. In addition to its beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean, other features include a lagoon salt water pool, spa, outdoor bar, and shower area.
This house was last sold for $155,000 in 1972 and can currently be rented for $49,000 per month.
514 Palisades Beach Road
514 Palisades Beach Road was the home of Mae West. This house was built in 1938 and like Harold Lloyd’s home, sits on a third of an acre. It has eight bedrooms, six bathrooms and is 7,300 square feet.
546 Palisades Beach Road
Movie mogul Daryl F. Zanuck was the owner of 546 Palisades Beach Road. This home was built in 1937 and boasts eleven bedrooms and bathrooms with a total square footage of 6,700. This house was designed by legendary architect Wallace Neff.
602 Palisades Beach Road
Another movie mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, owned this property. Built in a French Revival style this house is over 5,000 square feet on an 11,000 square foot lot. It has seven bedrooms and bathrooms, and was constructed in 1941.
605/607 Palisades Beach Road
This property was owned by yet another movie mogul. This time Harry Warner, one of the famous Warner brothers. Like Samuel Goldwyn’s home, this property was built in 1941. It features seven bedrooms and bathrooms, and is just over 5,000 square feet.
625 Palisades Beach Road
MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer lived at 625 Palisades Beach Road prior to it being the home of Peter Lawford and Pat Kennedy, who bought it in 1956. During his heyday, Mayer would invite stars from the MGM stable to parties at his home. The most famous party of which was a birthday party thrown for Judy Garland, her 17th, in 1939.
This house was built in 1926 on a nearly half acre lot. It has five bedrooms and bathrooms and is just over 6,400 square feet. The house was designed by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons. It was built in just six weeks by studio carpenters and electricians who worked around the clock to complete it in record time. The price to build this house was $26,000.
This house is also believed to be where the idea for the Academy Awards was conceived. This was back in January, 1927, during a conversation between Mayer, and his friends, actors Conrad Nagel, and Fred Niblo.
The idea was to form an elite club for movie moguls and stars. A week later the details began to take shape at a meeting held at the Ambassador Hotel. In May, the ceremony was held, and the Academy was born in a ballroom at the Roosevelt Hotel.
705 Palisades Beach Road
705 Palisade Beach Road was the home of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Built in 1922, this house has three bedrooms and bathrooms and stands at 3,900 square feet. The master bedroom connects to an outside observation deck that overlooks both the pool and the Pacific Ocean.
707 Palisades Beach Road
This beach house was the home of actress Norma Shearer and producer Irving Thalberg. It was built in 1931, and was built in an English Country Home style. With a square footage of over 8,000 square feet with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, this home also features lavish grounds replete with foliage.
This house was soundproofed in the 1930s due to Thalberg’s insomnia. He died in the home in 1936 from pneumonia. Shearer lived here until 1942.
Malibu
3210 Retreat Court
This was the former home of Charles Bronson and later Olivia Newton John. She added a recording studio during her time at the property. Built in 1983 on an acre and a half of land, it includes a pool with the following features – a waterslide, waterfall and grotto, as well as a swim up refreshment cabana. Within its nearly 6,500 square feet it contains six bedrooms and five bathrooms.
3211 Retreat Court
Sitting on an acre and a half, 3211 Retreat Court was the home of George C Scott. This 7,700 square foot house, built in 1983, like the previous property. The Spanish style home contains five bedrooms and six bathrooms. Its grounds are lavish and include a sport court, large custom pool, a spa, dining area, and lounge space.
30870 Broad Beach Road
The home of Jack Lemmon, 30870 Broad Beach Road was a fairly new house, having been built in 1989. Some of the features of this house are the large windows throughout which showcase the Pacific Ocean. It also features a patio walkway to the beach, and a salt water lagoon with waterfall.
This 3,300 square foot house sits on a third of an acre and has four bedroom and bathrooms.
30936 Broad Beach Road
Lemmon’s longtime friend and co-star Walter Matthau lived down the coast at 30936 Broad Beach Road. This house was built in 1963, and contains five bedrooms and four bathrooms. The total square footage is nearly 4,200.
