Unreal Estate by Michael Gross

Broadway Books and the Broadway Books colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Sheldon Harnick for permission to reprint lyrics from “If I Were a Rich Man” by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN: 978-0-7679-3265-3 eISBN: 978-0-7679-3266-0

Printed in the United States of America

Illustrations and endpaper map by Fred Haynes Jacket design by Jennifer O’Connor Jacket photography by Ian Cumming/Axiom Photographic Agency/Getty Images

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First Edition CAST OF CHARACTERS

This book is about sixteen great estates in the best neighborhoods of Los An- geles—the contiguous communities of Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, and Beverly Park. Of those, seven emerged as the book’s main “characters.” Five are in Beverly Hills: Grayhall (1100 Carolyn Way), Greenacres (1740 Green Acres Place), Greystone (905 Loma Vista Drive),The Knoll (1130 Schuyler Road), and 9481 Sunset Boulevard, named Sunset House by its latest owner. In Holmby Hills, there is Owlwood (141 South Carolwood Drive), so named by owner number eight, and in Bel Air, Casa Encantada (10644 Bellagio Road), the name used by owner number two. The street addresses of some of these estates have changed over the years for reasons ranging from subdivision to privacy concerns. To aid identiﬁ cation, they are generally referred to by their current addresses. These trophy homes are not historic relics. All but Greystone are occupied today, and several continue to grow. The owners of Sunset House just swallowed a third neighboring lot. Owlwood now incorporates two more of the great estates on the famous 10000 block of Sunset Boulevard (10060 and 10100 Sunset, both demolished in 2002). Those last two “ghost” houses—gone but not forgotten—are also featured players in this story, as are seven secondary estates, some still standing, some not, that are intimately connected to the history of this linked bracelet of gilded neighborhoods. But those sixteen estates are really only windows onto the fabulous, sometimes glorious, but as often toxic and corrupt lives of the real subjects of the book—the owners and occupants of those homes over the last century, along with the founders of the four communities and a handful of major ﬁ gures from the history of greater Los Angeles. Their great fortunes xiv { Cast of Characters fueled their lust for land, power, prominence, and opulence—and have made these incredibly unreal estates very real, indeed.

PIONEERS AND FOUNDERS

Brian Adler: Developer of Beverly Park North. Margaret and Stanley Anderson: Mother-and-son proprietors of the Hollywood Hotel and founder-proprietors of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Alphonzo Edward Bell: Oilman, founder of Bel Air, owner of the Santa Monica Mountain Park Ranch, and second owner of La Quinta, which he renamed Capo di Monte (since demolished). Elizabeth, Minnewa, and Alphonzo Bell Jr.: Children of Alphonzo Bell. Edson Benedict: A pioneer settler of Benedict Canyon. Pierce Benedict: Son of Edson and the fi rst president of Beverly Hills. Leonard I. Bursten: First, failed developer of Beverly Park; former pros- ecutor; convicted tax evader. Charles Adelbert Canfi eld: Edward Doheny’s partner in the oil business. Leader of the cofounders of Beverly Hills. Harry Chandler and Harrison Gray Otis: Fathers of the Los Angeles Times; land owners and investors. Chandler was a cofounder of the city of Hollywood. Wilbur David Cook Jr.: Landscape architect of Beverly Hills. Daisy Canfi eld and Jacob Morris “Jake” Danziger: Daughter of Charles Canfi eld and her husband, a lawyer and cofounder of the Beverly Hills Speedway. First owners of Bel Air. Builders of La Quinta at 801 Bel-Air Road (since demolished). I. Irving Davidson: Washington fi xer. Co-owner of land that became Beverly Park. Edward L. Doheny: Pioneer Los Angeles oilman, builder of Greystone estate. Allen R. Glick: Teamsters associate, casino owner and mob front, failed second developer of Beverly Park. Elliot Gottfurcht: Developer of Beverly Park South. Burton Green: Oilman, partner of Max Whittier, cofounder of Beverly Hills. Cast of Characters } xv

Dorothy “Dolly,” Liliore, and Burton “Burtie” Green: Daughters of Burton Green. Hyman Green: Teamsters associate, co-owner of land that became Bev- erly Park. Henry Hammel and Andrew Denker: Later owners of Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas, then known as the Hammel-Denker Ranch. Henry Edward Huntington: Son of railroad pioneer Collis Huntington, early Los Angeles trolley car mogul, founding partner in Rodeo Land and Water. Harold and Edwin Janss: Cofounders of Holmby Hills, Westwood, and Westwood Village; owners of Conejo Ranch (later Thousand Oaks, Califor- nia); benefactors of UCLA. Arthur Letts: Cofounder of Holmby Hills. Gladys Letts: Daughter of Arthur and Florence Letts and wife of Harold Janss. Llewelyn Arthur Nares: First estate owner in Beverly Hills. Florence Letts Quinn: Estranged wife and heiress of Arthur Letts; later married Charles Quinn. Arthur Pillsbury: First city engineer of Beverly Hills. Moses Sherman: With a brother-in-law, Huntington’s partner in the Pas- adena and Altadena Railway. Cofounder of Hollywood, founder of Sherman (later West Hollywood). Maria Rita Valdez: The ﬁ rst settler and owner of Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas, which later became Beverly Hills. Max Whittier: Oilman, partner of Burton Green, cofounder of Beverly Hills. Benjamin Davis “Don Benito” Wilson: An early owner of Rancho San Jose de Buenos Ayres. John Wolfskill: Forty-niner and later owner of Rancho San Jose de Bue- nos Ayres. xvi { Cast of Characters

FEATURED HOUSES, OWNERS, AND OCCUPANTS

Beverly Hills

Shadow Hill/Grayhall (1100 Carolyn Way) Harry Dana Lombard: Boston banker, Carole Lombard’s godfather. Douglas Fairbanks: First actor-resident of Beverly Hills, owner of Pick- fair. Caroline “Carrie” Canfi eld and Silsby Spalding: A daughter of Charles Canfi eld and her husband, the fi rst mayor of Beverly Hills. Amos Johnstone: Scion of a local real estate family. George Hamilton: Actor. Bernard Cornfeld: Retired mutual fund founder, entrepreneur. Steven Macallum Powers: Penny-stock manipulator, luxury home redeveloper, playboy, best friend of Hugh Hefner. Philippe Boutboul: Tunisian-born French electronics retailer, special ad- visor to the president of Burkina Faso, mansion redeveloper. Mark, Suzan, and Darcy LaPier Hughes: Herbalife founder, nutritional supplement guru, alleged pyramid scammer, and his third and fourth wives, both beauty contest winners. Moussa and Mahnaz “Lilli” Mehdizadeh: Persian-born businessman and his wife, a member of the Elghanayan real estate dynasty of Tehran and New York.

9755 Sunset Boulevard (since demolished) Max Whittier: See Pioneers and Founders. Samuel Berch: Dairy and ice cream mogul, founder of Arden Farms. Leo Hartﬁ eld: Son-in-law of Samuel Berch. Dino Fabbri: Milanese publisher. Mohammed and Dena al-Fassi: Brother- and sister-in-law of Saudi Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud.

Greenacres (1740 Green Acres Place) Harold Lloyd: Silent ﬁ lm comedian. Nasrollah Afshani, Naim Perry, and Abdullah Moghavem: Persian-born investors (never occupied the house). Cast of Characters } xvii

Bernard Solomon and Dona Powell: Budget record mogul and his jew- elry- and costume-collector wife. Ted and Susie Field: Marshall Field heir, race car team owner, and entertainment executive and his wife. Ron Burkle: Supermarket entrepreneur turned billionaire investor.

Greystone (501 Doheny Road) Edward L. “Ned” Doheny Jr.: Son of the oilman. Lucy Doheny Battson: Ned Doheny’s wife; later, his widow and builder of The Knoll. Leigh Battson: Lucy Doheny’s second husband. Henry Crown: Chicago industrialist, partner of Conrad Hilton, alleged Maﬁ a associate (never moved in).

The Knoll (1130 Schuyler Road) Lucy Doheny and Leigh Battson: See Greystone. Dino De Laurentiis: Film producer. Kenny Rogers: Singer; owner of ﬁ rst lot sold in Beverly Park. Marvin and Barbara Davis: Oilman and owner of Twentieth Century Fox and his socialite wife. Eric Smidt: Harbor Freight Tools hardware mogul.

9481 Sunset Boulevard (Sunset House) Francisca Bernard (Mrs. Dionicio) Botiller: Builder, wife of heir to a Spanish land grant fortune. Frank and Cecilia Botiller and Ida Botiller Lindley: Children of Fran- cisca and Dionicio Botiller. Jack Royal Young Lindley: Brother of Loretta Young, informally adopted son of Ida Botiller Lindley. Dorothy Wellborn “Dolly” Green: See Pioneers and Founders. Neil Steere McCarthy: Lawyer for Howard Hughes, L. B. Mayer, and others; polo player; cofounder of the Beverly Hills Speedway. Lover of Dolly Green. Mary Beich McCarthy: Candy heiress, second wife of Neil, painter. xviii { Cast of Characters

Stewart and Lynda Resnick: Former owners of the Franklin Mint; owners of FIJI Water, Teleﬂ ora, fruit and nut farms, and other enterprises.

Bel Air

750 Bel-Air Road (the “Beverly Hillbillies mansion”) Lynn Atkinson: Public works builder. Arnold S. Kirkeby: Hotelier. A. Jerrold Perenchio: Agent, event promoter, entertainment mogul.

10644 Bellagio Road (later Casa Encantada and Bellagio House) Hilda Olsen Boldt Weber: Former nurse, widow of glass bottle mogul Charles Boldt, later married to Joseph Otto Weber. Builder and fi rst owner. Conrad N. Hilton: Hotelier, great-grandfather of Paris Hilton. Nicky and Barron Hilton: Sons of Conrad. The former briefl y married actress Elizabeth Taylor. The latter is the grandfather of Paris Hilton. David Murdock: Conglomerateur and head of Dole Food Company. Gary Winnick: Former Drexel Burnham Lambert investment banker, founder of the defunct telecommunications fi rm Global Crossing.

10539 Bellagio Road Sol Wurtzel: Movie mogul. Builder and ﬁ rst owner. Woody Feuert: Business partner of costume designer Adrian. Anthony Norvell: Astrologer, psychic, metaphysician. Howard Hughes, Elvis Presley, Prince Rainier of Monaco: Sublessors. Reginald Owen: British character actor. Dolly Green: See Pioneers and Founders. Diane Hunt Stockmar: Alleged illegitimate daughter of Dolly Green and Neil McCarthy. Bill and Maria Bell: Executive producer of The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless and his wife, an arts philanthropist. Cast of Characters } xix

364 St. Cloud Road Louis W. Zimmerman: Financier. Casey Robinson and Tamara Toumanova: Writer and producer at Twen- tieth Century Fox and his wife, a ballerina. Tony Curtis and Christine Kaufmann: See 141 South Carolwood. Sonny and Cher Bono: See 141 South Carolwood. Larry Flynt: Founder, Flynt Publications, and publisher, Hustler.

Holmby Hills

375 North Carolwood Drive (since demolished) Harold Janss: Builder and ﬁ rst owner (see Pioneers and Founders). Gregory and Veronique Peck: Actor and his wife.

10060 Sunset Boulevard (since demolished) Edwin Janss: Builder and ﬁ rst owner. Charles Reese “Jack” Warde: Insurance executive. William Osco: Pornographic movie producer; husband of Jackie Kong, director. Ghazi Aita: See 141 South Carolwood. Roland Arnall: See 141 South Carolwood.

10100 Sunset Boulevard (since demolished) Hubert Prior “Rudy” Vallée: First owner, never occupied the house. Jayne Mansﬁ eld and Mickey Hargitay: Actress and her bodybuilder husband. Harold Greenlin: Former carny and vaudeville, burlesque, and pornographic theater owner. Engelbert Humperdinck: Singer. Ghazi Aita: See 141 South Carolwood. Roland Arnall: See 141 South Carolwood.