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Marilyn Slept Here: Sinatra, Crosby Homes for Sale

Unlike her celebrity peers, Marilyn preferred to live modestly. Nonetheless, you may recall that a Los Angeles home she shared with Joe DiMaggio was recently put on the market (see here) – and it has now been joined by two luxury estates with connections to Marilyn. As reported in Architectural Digest, Frank Sinatra’s former Los Angeles home is on sale for $12.5 million.  (It was last put up for sale in 2012, as reported here.)

Marilyn stayed in Sinatra’s guesthouse (shown at top) in 1961. They were having an on-off relationship, and Frank was abroad on tour. She later spent a few months renting an apartment in the Doheny Drive complex he owned, as a neighbour to his secretary, Gloria Lovell.

“Old Blue Eyes himself lived in the sprawling home in the 1950s and 60s and frequently hosted his famous friends … the home seems preordained to shelter celebrities from the Hollywood hullabaloo, as it rests at the end of a near mile-long driveway atop a private promontory that overlooks the vast 1,325-acre Chatsworth Reservoir nature preserve.

Constructed in 1949 by William Pereira, Byrdview is only one of four homes the famed architect designed. Sitting on seven acres, the midcentury-modern house comprises three structures: the main house, a guest house (with its own pool), and a cabana … Outdoors, beyond the pool, there’s a parking space for 100 cars and enough agricultural-zoned acreage that, should the new owners like their wines, a vineyard could be built.”

Secondly, the Rancho Mirage estate of Bing Crosby (near Palm Springs), where Marilyn and John F. Kennedy were among the weekend guests during the March 1962 Democratic Convention, is on sale for $5 million ( although the property has been available for some time, as reported here.) This is the only verified occasion when Marilyn and the president spent a night at the same address, and rather predictably, it’s being promoted as ‘the tryst house’, according to Bloomberg. (Incidentally, Sinatra had hoped to host Kennedy and was reportedly furious that he chose Crosby, a Republican, instead!)

“The 6,700-square-foot estate, spread across more than an acre, was built for the crooner and his second wife, Kathryn, in 1957. The single-story home, with a 1,400-square-foot master suite along with four other en-suite bedrooms, has been on and off the market since 2010, when it was first listed for $3.4 million. It’s also been available for rent through Airbnb for $3,400 a night.”

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Marilyn and Joe’s Hollywood Hideaway

Any property with a connection to Marilyn, however spurious, will always make headlines when it goes on the market.  And as Curbed LA reports, this 4-bed, 4-bath hillside home at 2393 Castilian Drive – now on sale from Coldwell Banker at $2.4 million – served as a hideaway for Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio when their much-publicised romance began in 1952.

Joe visits Marilyn on the ‘Monkey Business’ set, 1952

Although not her official address – Marilyn moved several times in that year alone – the house (which was considerably larger than her usual bachelorette-style residences) gave her some privacy to spend time with Joe whenever he came to town. It is situated near the Hollywood Bowl in the exclusive Outpost Estates suburb, and rent checks signed by Marilyn in September 1952 and January 1953 have since made their rounds on the auction circuit.

Marilyn may also have been reminded of a previous house near the Hollywood Bowl, at 6812 Arbol Drive. It was the first home seven year-old Norma Jeane shared with mother Gladys in 1933. Unfortunately Gladys’ finances were overstretched when she bought the property, and while both were happy there at first, it would not be the dream home they both hoped for. Arbol Drive was later razed to make way for an extension of the Hollywood Bowl gardens,  but Selma Elementary School, which Norma Jeane attended at the time, is still open today.

UPDATE: The property has been sold for $2.727 million (exceeding the asking price by around $300K.)

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Marilyn’s Hollywood Haunts Targeted in Ponzi Scheme

Marilyn photographed by Milton Greene at Joe Schenck’s estate in 1953

Mercer Vine, the brokerage firm whose listings included the Holmby Hills  estate where Fox mogul Joe Schenck once lived, and Marilyn’s last home in Brentwood, has closed after its financier, Robert H. Shapiro, was recently implicated in a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, as Peter Kiefer writes for the Hollywood Reporter. (Schenck befriended Marilyn in the late 1940s, and she sometimes stayed in his guest cottage. Milton Greene also photographed her in Schenck’s mansion, known today as Owlwood. The article gives no further details on Marilyn’s home at Fifth Helena Drive, which was sold for $7.25 million in 2017.)

Garden view of Marilyn’s final home in Brentwood, Los Angeles

“Two years. That’s all it took for luxury brokerage firm Mercer Vine to establish itself as a major player in L.A.’s cutthroat luxury real estate market. Eight-figure listings. Pedigreed listings like Marilyn Monroe’s former home in Brentwood.

Just months after it launched in 2016, Mercer Vine grabbed headlines for representing Shapiro in the $90 million purchase of the Owlwood Estate, a 12,200-square-foot property at 141 South Carolwood Drive, which once was owned by Tony Curtis and later by Sonny and Cher. At the time, it was the second priciest residential sale in L.A. history behind the Playboy Mansion. What was even more astounding was when Shapiro and Mercer Vine relisted Owlwood a mere nine months later for $180 million without having done a single lick of work on the estate.”

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Marilyn’s Brentwood Home For Sale (Again)

Marilyn’s final, ‘modest’ home at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood – bought less than a year before her death, and the only property she ever owned – is back on the market for $6.9 million, Mark David reports for Variety. (It was last sold in 2010 for $3.8 million. For the definitive account of her time at Fifth Helena, read Cursum Perficio: Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood Hacienda by Gary Vitacco Robles.)

“The bottle blond bombshell personally searched for and purchased the 1929 Spanish hacienda style home in the coveted and star-studded Helenas district in early 1962. Some reports say she paid $67,000 and others $90,000.

Privately and securely situated at the end of an itty-bitty cul-de-sac behind a high wall, secured gate and canopy of trees on what marketing materials declare as the ‘largest parcel of all the Helena streets,’ the red tile roofed, single-story residence measures in at an extraordinarily modest by today’s celebrity standards 2,624 square feet. Renovated, updated and expanded over the years by the various owners, the residence retains a number of original architectural details such as thick white stucco walls, casement windows, some fitted with wrought iron grills, terra-cotta tile floors, Gothic arch doorways, and vaulted, exposed wood ceilings.

The Helenas, a series of 25 tiny cul-de-sacs that run from San Vicente Boulevard to just above Sunset Boulevard at the eastern edge of the posh Brentwood Park neighborhood, has long been attractive to Tinseltown types.”

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The High Cost of Living (Like Marilyn)

The former home of Johnny Hyde, Marilyn’s agent and lover, was recently featured on the website of realtor Joyce Rey, prior to being snapped up (for $21K per month) by a lucky tenant on March 10. Marilyn often stayed there during their two-year relationship, which lasted from early 1949 until Hyde’s death in late 1950. Marilyn was heartbroken by the death of her greatest champion, who secured important roles and a contract with Twentieth Century Fox for the young actress. She was photographed by Earl Leaf at 718 North Palm Drive (off  Sunset Boulevard) just months before Hyde passed away.

Marilyn photographed by Earl Leaf at North Palm Drive, 1950

For Irish house-hunters, here’s something completely different: a €185,000 house in the Dublin suburb of Clondalkin, decorated throughout with Marilyn memorabilia by its owner, a diehard Marilyn fan. The property has been viewed online by over 200,000 people since going viral on St Patrick’s Day, reports the Irish Independent.

Thanks to Michelle at Immortal Marilyn 

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Marilyn, JFK and The Palm Springs Story

Whenever the home of a star from Hollywood’s golden age goes on the market, it is now routine for estate agents to claim that Marilyn Monroe visited them there – often adding that she and said celebrity enjoyed a passionate affair on the grounds.

Generally, it’s false. However, there are a couple of exceptions: the most notable being Bing Crosby’s Palm Springs estate, visited by Marilyn in the spring of 1962. Among the guests was President John F. Kennedy, taking time off from the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.

Lindsay, owner of the provocatively titled, but actually very informative IAmNotaStalker blog, has visited many Marilyn locations, and posted many great photos taken from outside Uncle Bing’s former pad just recently.

Even the most sceptical observers concede that Marilyn may have had a fling with Kennedy that weekend. Her masseur and close friend, Ralph Roberts, has said that Marilyn called him from the house in flirtatious mood, and that a ‘friend’ bearing that familiar Bostonian accent joined in the conversation.

This may even have been Marilyn’s only liaison with the president, as none of their other alleged trysts have been confirmed by such a trustworthy source.

 

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Frank Sinatra’s Home Up For Sale

Frank Sinatra’s former California home, the Farralone estate, is currently on the market for $12 million.

The property, which recently featured on an episode of TV’s Mad Men, is also rumoured to have been the site where Marilyn had trysts with John F. Kennedy, reports MSNBC.

However, this appears to be unfounded. Monroe stayed at one of Sinatra’s homes in 1961, while he was away on tour. But there is no confirmation of her ever meeting with JFK there.

Sinatra’s friendship with Kennedy is well-known, but it ended abruptly in 1962 when the president chose Bing Crosby’s Palm Springs home (instead of Sinatra’s) for his residence during the Democratic Convention. And it is generally thought that Kennedy probably had his fling with Marilyn at Crosby’s home, not Sinatra’s.

Sinatra had an on-off romance with Marilyn, and was known for his jealous nature. It seems unlikely, then, that Frank would have stood for any dalliances on his turf – even where the President was concerned.

 

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Marilyn’s Last Home On Offer

“Sprawling & very special authentic 1929 Hacienda situated behind tall gates at the end of a quiet cul de sac on over 23K sq ft (per assessor) of tree-filled grounds. The crown jewel & largest property of all the Helenas (one of Brentwood’s most romantic & coveted locations) affording lovely vistas & grt privacy & seclusion yet in close proximity to San Vicente shops & restaurants & the Sunday Farmers’ Market. Thick walls, traditional casement windows, polished concrete & terra cotta tile floors, original wood beamed ceilings & period hardware & tiles create a warm, inviting & unique environment. French doors open to private courtyard, expansive grassy yard, pool, citrus grove & beautiful setting. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths + formal living room, family room, office, pool-side game room & separate children’s play house. Sun-filled cook’s kitchen opens to spacious courtyard garden. Wonderful charm & great architecture inside & out. Magical property in the finest Brentwood neighborhood.” – Sawbuck.com

More photos at David Offer Homes