Thursday, February 11, 2016

Hollywood Home Tour - Walter Pidgeon

"All aboard the Silver Scenes Hollywood Home Tour Bus! Make sure you got all your belongings. Everybody in now? Off we go! 

"Since we've had a long lunch break, I'll be speeding up the bus quite a bit and showing you folks a number of beautiful Hollywood homes before we take our next break. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. 

710 Walden Drive, Beverly Hills

"The first home will be coming up on your left in just a couple hundred yards. This is Walter Pidgeon's Spanish stucco estate that he purchased in the late 1930s, just about the time when he was really making a name for himself in Hollywood. His mother, Edna, also lived with him and his wife, Ruth Walker, for a time at this house. The famous architect Walter Neff built this lovely home in 1926, but don't be deceived by its humble front, it is over 5000 square feet in size. 

"You enter the house through a rotund foyer and then as you make a turn into the living room you'll catch your breath as you see the two story cathedral beamed ceilings and exquisite iron railings throughout the place.

"Pidgeon's neighbors at the time included his long-time screen partner Greer Garson, as well as Arthur Hornblow Jr ( 704 ), Joe E. Brown ( 707 ), Gloria DeHaven and John Payne ( 708 ). 

"However, no use straining your eyes trying to catch a glimpse of Pidgeon...he no longer lives here. In the 1940s he purchased an English-style home ( very befitting to his onscreen persona ) over on Strata Corda Road in Bel-Air, where he still lives today. We'll be driving over that way later in the tour, so you can bring out your cameras at that time."

Up-to-Date News : This Neff estate fetched a whopping $7 million in 2013 when it was listed for sale. Pidgeon passed on in 1984 after suffering a series of strokes at his home in Bel-Air. 


3 comments:

  1. He died there? Is it haunted by him? :-)

    I've only seen Forbidden Planet, but I recognized the name instantly.

    ReplyDelete