Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Sign. Hollywood’s famous sign was built in 1923 as an ad for a real estate development. Its 50-foot high letters originally read HOLLYWOOD LAND until 1949 when the city tore down the last four letters. Located on Mt. Lee (part of the old Sherman and Clark ranch), the sign had 5000 electric lights that flashed on and off nightly.
Hollywood’s Almost Perfect Murder. Actor Paul Kelly was one of Hollywood’s busiest actors. In this 30-year movie career, he appeared in over 400 films, in many of which he played the role of a “tough guy.” But no role was as important as the “for real” part he played when he “almost got away with murder.” In 1927, Kelly fell in love with actress Dorothy Mackaye, who at the time was married to stage actor, Ray Raymond. When Raymond discovered that Kelly was his wife’s lover, he invited Kelly to his home here to discuss a possible solution to the “love triangle.” Their talk instead turned into a fist fight in which Raymond suffered a severe beating at the hands of the stronger Kelly. When Raymond died several days later, Kelly and Mrs. Raymond called in a physician with whom they made “a deal.” After $500 exchanged hands, the doctor reported that Raymond had died of natural causes. Funeral services were quickly arranged, with cremation to follow. While services for the dead man were being conducted, the coroner, who was acting for the dead man were being conducted, the coroner, who was acting on an anonymous tip, halted the ceremony and ordered an autopsy that revealed Raymond expired from a brutal beating, Kelly was convicted of murder and Mrs. Raymond of conspiracy. They both served terms in San Quentin. Shortly after their release, Kelly married the widow of the man he had killed. 2261 Cheremoya.
Hollywood’s Greatest Lover Dies in Gas Oven. Larry Edmunds owned a bookshop in Hollywood in the 1930s from which he sold books and pornography from a suitcase to the writers in the studios. One of his customers, director Billy Wilder said Edmunds was a homosexual. Edmunds’ business partner said Edmunds loved women and called him “Hollywood’s greatest seducer.” Edmunds, who also loved books and booze, had great charm and was a hypnotic conversationalist. He became friends with John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Marlene Dietrich and writer Thomas Wolfe. He never stalked women-they stalked him. Reportedly, he seduced 75 percent of he secretaries in the studios. He did it in their apartments, on the beach, and in the Hollywood Hills. He did it with Dolores Del Rio, Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Margaret Sullivan, Paulette Goddard, Marlene Dietrich, Myrna Loy, Lupe Velez and others. In 1940, Edmunds began to drink heavily. He was in and out of drying out hospitals and sanitariums. One day in 1941, when Edmunds had not shown up at the book store for two days, his partner went to Edmunds’ home here and found the 35-year-old Edmunds lying dead on the kitchen floor-he had stuck his head in the gas oven. A suicide note explained the holes gashed in the wall. He had made the holes with a knife, because he was chopping off the heads of the little men that were creeping out of the wall. He realized that he was a hopeless case, and decided to take his own life. Among his effects found in the small house were six diaphragms, each one with the name of a different woman. Two were famous actresses, a female screenwriter, two were wives of famous stars, and one the wife of a screenwriter. Also found were all the novels of his old friend, writer Thomas Wolfe, in which Wolfe had written personal expressions of his love for Edmunds in the books blank pages. 2470 N. Beachwood Canyon (small house in back).
Actress Leaps to Her Death from the Hollywood Sign. Actress Lillian Millicent (Peg) Entwistle was born in England to parents who were both stage performers. It was predestined that Peg would grow up with the burning desire to become a successful actress. In 1925, she made her debut on Broadway in the play Hamlet. In 1927, at age 19, she became one of the youngest actresses to ever star in a hit play on Broadway. After a successful string of performances, her luck began to change-her 1931-32 Broadway season was disastrous. In April of 1932, she moved to Hollywood hoping to find new success in the movies. After several months of looking for work, she was signed to a contract by RKO Studios. In her first picture, Thirteen Women, she had only a small bit part. When the film was completed, the studio declined to pick up her option-her spirits were crushed. On the evening of September 18, 1932, the depressed actress left her home here where she lived with her uncle, and walked up to the end of Beachwood Drive. She then climbed laboriously up through the dense brush of the rough terrain toward the huge thirteen-letter sign at the top of the hill. After reaching the base of the sign, she climbed up the ladder to the top of the 50-foor letter “H.” No one will ever know how long the despondent, but determined young actress stood on top of the sign that overlooked the town that had rejected her. Finally, with the sign’s thousands of lights flashing on and off-Peg dove to her death into the darkness below. She was 24 years old. Miss Entwistle is the only known person to commit suicide by jumping off the sign. 2428 Beachwood.
Janis Joplin Dies of Overdose. Rock singer Janis Joplin died of a heroin-morphine overdose here in a room of the former Landmark Hotel in 1970. While still alive, Joplin had set aside $2,500 for her own wake. The Grateful Dead provided the music for the 200 guests who had received invitations that read: “Drinks are on Pearl.” She was 27 years old. 7047 Franklin Ave.
Authentic Oriental Palace. In 1914, the Berheimer brothers purchased this 300-foot hill overlooking Hollywood and built a palace that was an exact replica of one of the most beautiful palaces in Japan. Hundreds of craftsmen were brought form the Orient to carve out each detail of the palace. Named the “Yamishiro,” it is now a restaurant with a breathtaking view of L.A. 1999 Sycamore.
Five People Bludgeoned to Death. In 1981, five people were found beaten to death here. The sale of drugs were connected with the massacre. Porno star John Holmes was tried and acquitted of the murders in 1982. 8763 Wonderland Dr.
Actress Inger Stevens Dies from Drug Overdose. Miss Stevens, best known for her portrayal of a Swedish housekeeper on the TV series The Farmer’s Daughter, committed suicide here in 1970 by taking a drug overdose. She was 35 years old. Miss Stevens had attempted suicide once before in 1959 when her reported romance with Bing Crosby came to an end. 8000 Woodrow Wilson Dr.
Silent Screen Star Murdered on Halloween Night. Silent screen idol, Ramon Novarro was murdered here in his bedroom on Halloween night in 1968. He was brutally beaten to death by two young brothers he had “picked up” on Hollywood Blvd. Police said he was killed after a violent struggle which left overturned furniture and splotches of blood in three rooms. Novarro, a Latin lover type in the 1920s, and a close friend of Rudolph Valentino, starred in the film Ben Hur in 1926. A lifelong bachelor, Novarro, 69 was troubled by drinking problems for many years. In 1980, a young actor who owned the secluded Spanish home, turned it into a shrine for the dead star. Many people who visited the house tell of an eerie feeling surrounding it, and some say that Novarro haunts the ill-fated home. A new home was built on the site in 1991. 3110 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Errol Flynn’s “House of Pleasure.” Actor Errol Flynn designed and built his home here in 1942 at a cost of $125,000. He turned the home into a fortress of bacchanalian amusements, including installation of one-way mirrors in the ceilings of the bedrooms so that he and his friends could observe his famous houseguests making love. Flynn, Hollywood’s best know rouge and Casanova, once said of the home: “Strange people wended their way up the hill to the Mulholland house. Among them pimps, sports, bums, down at the heels actors, queers, athletes, sightseers, process servers, phonies, salesmen-everything in the world.” Former owners were Richard Dreyfuss, and singers Stuart Hamblin and Rick Nelson. It was Nelson’s last home. The house was torn down in June 1988. 3100 Torreyson Pl.
Actress Shoots Self in Suicide. A successful Broadway stage actress Aleta Alexander had been in Hollywood only a few months before she shot and killed herself here in 1935 in the yard of the home where she lived with her husband of four months, film star Ross Alexander. Police reported that her death was the result of frustrated ambitions and an unsuccessful fight to obtain film roles. Henry Fonda, a close friend of the Alexanders, said that when Aleta discovered that her new husband was spending time with other women, she took his rifle and killed herself. She was 28 years old. Thirteen months later, Alexander, suffering from guilt feelings, killed himself with the same rifle. 7357 Woodrow Wilson.
Actor Murdered in Drug Deal. “Bad guy” actor Frank Christi who appeared in the film The Godfather, and the televisions shows Charlie’s Angels, and The Rockford Files, died screaming for mercy in a hail of bullets here in the carport of his home in 1982. Police believe that Christi, who was out of work, was probably gunned down by drug dealers. 6969 Woodrow Wilson.
Ghost of Ozzie Nelson Haunts Former Home. For over twenty-five years, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson lived in this home in Hollywood. Located near Hollywood Blvd., it was here that Rick and David grew up. After Ozzie died in 1975, Harriet lived alone in the house until she sold it in 1980. Soon after the new owners moved in, they discovered that their famous home was quite unusual. Many strange and mysterious events began to happen, including doors that suddenly opened and closed-with nobody near them, lights and faucets that turned on and off-by themselves. The owners are convinced that the mischievous incidents are the work of Ozzie Nelson’s ghost. 1822 Camino Palermo.
Ruins of Huntington Hartford Estate. Just a few blocks north of Hollywood Blvd. lay the remains of a once beautiful 148 acre estate. After passing through the main gates leading into the grounds, a crumbling road takes you past the foundation and steps of what was once an English-Gothic mansion. Further up the curving road are the remains of tennis courts, two swimming pools and several cottages. Many exotic plants and trees grow out of control on the grounds. Called “The Pines,” the estate was built in 1919-20 by Carmen Randolph Runyon, who sold it to Irish tenor, John McCormack in the late 1920s. In 1942, supermarket magnate, Huntington Hartford purchased the estate. He owned it until the early 1960s, during which time he allowed it to deteriorate. Abandoned for over 30 years, the only structure intact on the grounds is a small stone building, which McCormack once used as a studio to make his recordings. The property is one of the most serene in Hollywood. In recent years, become known as Runyon Canyon and is favorite dog park and hiking trail for locals. 2000 Fuller.
Cudahy Meat Packing Heir Kills Self. Louella Parsons called the home that once stood here, “the jinx mansion” after John P. Cudahy, son of the meat packing family committed suicide here by shooting off the top of his head in 1921. The mansion, built in 1904, was the home of such families as the Dunlops, Hersheys, and Ralphs. In the mid 1920s, the ill-fated home was purchased by producer Joseph Schenck and actress Norma Talmadge. In 1940, the home was torn down and a large apartment complex was built, and for the next 41 years, the Peyton Hall apartments were the home of countless movie stars. In 1981, it too was destroyed. In 1986, a new apartment complex was built on the site. 7269 Hollywood Blvd.
West Hollywood
Sal Mineo Murdered Near Sunset Strip. On a February night in 1976, actor Sal Mineo was returning to his apartment here, when he was attacked and stabbed in the chest by a robber as he was getting out of his car in the carport behind the building where he lived. Neighbors found Mineo dead of a stab wound that had penetrated his heart. In his hand was a script of a play that he had been rehearsing, P.S. Your Cat is Dead. He was 37 years old. Mineo, a bisexual who had never married, appeared in the 1955 film, Rebel Without a Cause, with James Dean, Natalie Wood and Nick Adams. All died violent or unusual deaths. 8563 Holloway Drive.
Diane Linkletter Dies in Sixth Floor Death Leap. In 1969, Diane Linkletter, daughter of television star, Art Linkletter, jumped to her death from her sixth floor apartment here. While talking to a friend about having experienced a bad LSD trip which caused hallucinations that made her fear she was losing her sanity, she suddenly jumped out of the kitchen window. Her friend tried to stop her, but could only catch the belt loops on her dress. 8610 Sunset Blvd.
Marilyn Monroe Attempts Suicide. After her lover and benefactor, Johnny Hyde died in 1948, Monroe attempted suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills while living here with her drama coach, Natasha Lytess. 1309 N. Harper.
Actress/Singer Dorothy Dandridge Dies of Overdose. In 1954, Dorothy Dandridge was the first black ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in a major role in Carmen Jones. In 1965, she was broke and deeply in debt. A week before Thanksgiving of the same year, she was found dead here in her apartment-she had taken an overdose of a drug she had been taking for depression. She was 42. Her bank account contained only $2. 8495 Fountain Ave.
Actor Jack Cassidy Dies in Penthouse Fire. Actor Jack Cassidy, father of Shaun Cassidy and former husband of Shirley Jones was burned to death in a fire here in his fourth floor apartment penthouse in 1976. He was 49. 1221 Kings Rd.
Comedian Lenny Bruce Dies of Morphine Overdose. Known as the “foul-mouthed” comedian, Bruce, 41, died here in his home in 1966 after injecting himself with morphine. 8825 Hollywood.
John Belushi Bows Out on Sunset Strip. The Chateau Marmont stands proudly at the head of the famous “Strip.” For over 50 years, the exclusive residential hotel has been the favorite of many show business personalities such as Jean Harlow, Greta Garbo and Errol Flynn. It was also the choice of comedian John Belushi. It was here on March 5, 1982 that Belushi, the star of TV’s “Saturday Night Live” and the movie Animal House, was found dead in his bungalow from an overdose of cocaine and heroin. In an interview several months before he died, Belushi predicted his death when he declared, “I’m going to die young. I just can’t stop destroying myself.” “It was like he had a death wish,” his friends said, “he was speeding along in the fast lane-racing to his own funeral.” On March 9, 1982, as snowflakes floated to the ground, Belushi, 33, was buried in a small cemetery in Martha’s Vineyard. 8221 Sunset. Bungalow #2.
World’s First Movie Star Kills Self With Ant Paste. In the early 1900s, when film players were not known by name, actress Florence Lawrence was known as “The Biograph Girl” and “The Imp Girl.” When she was billed under her real name in 1910, she became the first player ever to be known to the public by name. She was also the first star to be part of a publicity stunt and first to be given a contract. In 1915, she suffered facial burns while filming a scene. Unable to get work because of scars, she was soon forgotten. In 1938, at age 52, she swallowed ant paste here in her home. 532 Westbourne.
Movie Star Turned Hot Dog Vendor Commits Suicide. Actor/comedian Karl Dane was a big star during the silent era. He owned a mansion in the Hollywood Hills and was recognized wherever he went. Then came talking pictures and his voice was unsuited for sound-his movie career was over. Embittered, he tried to rehabilitate himself as a carpenter and mechanic. He kept hoping for a “comeback” that never came. He suffered the final indignity, when he was forced to operate a small hot-dog stand outside the gates of MGM, the studio where just a few years before, he had been a star. He gave up all hopes in 1934, when he seated himself in a chair in his apartment, spread his old clippings on the floor-then shot himself. He was 48. He lay unclaimed in the morgue until MGM buried him in Hollywood Cemetery. 626 S. Burnside.
Beverly Hills
Marilyn Monroe/Joe Dimaggio Honeymoon Home. After their wedding in 1954, the newlyweds spent their nine-month long marriage here. 508 N. Palm Dr.
Last Home of Jean Harlow. Harlow was living here when she died of uremic poisoning in 1937. 512 N. Palm Dr.
Video Executive and Wife Murdered. Millionaire, Jose Menendez, and his wife, Kitty, were murdered here in their home in August 1989. Killed by shotgun blasts to the head, he was shot five times and she ten. The couples’ sons, Lyle, 22, and Eric, 19, were charged with murdering their parents. Former occupants of the home were singers, Elton John and Michael Jackson. 722 N. Elm.
Gangster Mickey Cohen Shot In Gunfire. In 1948, Cohen was shot here at Sherry’s Restaurant. Opened in the 1930s as the Club LaMaze, it is currently the home of The Key Club. 9039 Sunset.
Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio Meet on Blind Date. It was here in 1953, at the former Villa Nova restaurant, that Marilyn and Joe first met on a blind date. In 1945, Vincente Minnelli proposed to Judy Garland while having dinner here. It is currently the Rainbow Room Bar & Grill. 9015 Sunset Blvd.
Gangster Bugsy Siegel Murdered. While sitting in the living room of this home in 1947, hoodlum Bugsy Siegel’s head was almost blown off by the shotgun blasts that came through the windows. Siegel built the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. 810 Linden Dr.
Lana Turners Lover Stabbed to Death. In 1958, actress Lana Turner’s teenage daughter, Cheryl Crane, stabbed to death gangster Johnny Stompanato here in the upstairs bedroom of Lana’s Beverly Hills mansion. The killing of Stompanato, Lana’s longtime boyfriend, was pronounced a justifiable homicide. Over fifty years later, it is still unknown whether Cheryl killed him in a jealous rage or in an attempt to save her mother’s life. 730 N. Bedford.
Actress Kills Self After Marriage Rejection. Lupe Velez, whose star for many years blazed brilliantly in Hollywood, was found dead here in 1944 in a bedroom of her pink, Spanish-style home. Miss Velez, whose many romantic attachments during her lifetime included Gary Cooper, John Gilbert and Johnny Weissmuller, was a star who literally “burned up the road” in her overwhelming desire to “live” at any cost. Known as “Whoopee Lupe” and the “Mexican Spitfire” there have been few stars who, in real life, were so much like the roles they played as she. On the day that the pregnant Lupe was told by her lover, bit actor Harold Ramond, that he would not marry her, she went to her white-carpeted boudoir, wrote several suicide notes, then swallowed a near full bottle of seconal tablets. She was found dead the next morning in her bed with its white silk sheets and pillow cases. Dressed in blue satin pajamas, she was lying as if asleep under an eiderdown quilt. She was 34. 732 N. Rodeo Dr.
Mysterious Death of Actor Nick Adams. When Adams died here in his home in 1968 from a drug overdose, Police found no syringes, medicine glasses, or pill bottles-nothing to indicate that his death was from anything but natural causes. Not known to have a drinking or drug problem, it was impossible to ascertain whether Adams’ death was a suicide or accident. The coroner reported that the several sedatives and drugs that were found in his blood had probably killed him instantly. To this day, Police are still puzzled as to how the drugs had entered his system, as no means of ingestion were ever found near his body. He was 37 years old. Adams was best known for his starring roles in the television series The Rebel, and Johnny Yuma. 2126 El Roble Lane.
Greystone Mansion Scene of Doheny Murder/Suicide. Millionaire oilman, E.L. Doheny built this 50-room mansion in 1928 at the cost of nine million dollars. Tragedy struck the home one year later in 1929, when Hugh Plunkett, private secretary to Doheny Jr., shot and killed the younger Doheny in one of its ornate rooms, then turned the gun on himself. Police reported Plunkett killed his employer after he was refused a raise. From 1969 to 1982, the mansion was the home of the American Film Institute. Although the home is open to the public for special events only, the grounds are currently a popular picnic site and the driveway is often used in car commercials, additionally the City of Beverly Hills hosts jazz during the summer.
Buster Keaton’s X-Shaped Mansion. In the early 1920’s, comedian Buster Keaton built this x-shaped mansion-one of the showplaces of Beverly Hills. In 1927, when talkies came in, he lost the house, his fortune, and his career. When Fatty Arbuckle married in 1925, the wedding reception was held here. 1018 Pamela Dr.
Pickfair Destroyed by Pia Zadora. When Douglas Fairbanks Sr. bought this site in 1918, it contained a small hunting lodge that was located way out in the wilderness. When Fairbanks and Mary Pickford moved into the lodge in 1920, a reporter named it “Pickfair.” Their 100-foot swimming pool was the first in Beverly Hills. After her divorce from Fairbanks in 1936, Pickord married actor Buddy Rogers. The pair lived here until her death in 1979. Sports entrepreneur Jerry Buss purchased the 42-room mansion in 1980 for $5.4 million. In 1988, he sold it to singer Pia Zadora for $7 million, who, in 1990, leveled it to its foundations to build a larger home. The 15 bedroom, 17 bath mansion was recently sold for close to it's $27 million asking price. 1143 Summit Drive.
