HOLLYWOOD HOMES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 October 1939, Page 4

HOLLYWOOD HOMES

WHIMS AND FANCIES OF STARS. SOME AMAZING HOUSES, Hollywood possesses some of the most beautiful and amazing houses. They belong, of course, to the movie stars, directors, and producers, who have spent large parts of their fabulous salaries in indulging their every whim and fancy. Some no doubt built their dream houses, but others must have had nightmares v/hen they planned theirs, with the result that Hollywood now has the most amazing pot-pourri of architecture in the world. In search or seclusion or publicity, as the case may be, the stars have built high on hilltops, down in deep, cool canyons, along beach-fronts washed by the blue Pacific. and on the sides of the hills which look down oh the celluloid city. Harold Lloyd's huge house and estate is “the” show-place of Hollywood. The

house is so big that it has 27 telephones te keep its occupants in touch with one another —and there is a private telephone directory to keep track of the various extensions. The estate covers some 20 acres, and boast a nine-hole golf course, a tennis court, a large swimming pool, mill stream, and fountains. The comedian claims he once counted the rooms in the house, but has forgotten how many there are. Ramon Novarro has one of the most unusual houses of all. It is four stories high, and built'up a hill so sleep it makes yo'u dizzy to look at it. The house is so modernistic it looks like a ship afloat in the sky from the foot of the hill. The interior is more modern than the latest New York skyscrapper. The music-room is in cherry red and deep cream, and there is a dark blue bedroom which opens directly on to the swimming pool. The living-room curtains are really mothproof. They arc made of chain steel, the colour of a revolver, and they look remarkably well. \

Merle Oberon has a charming but modest little home on the beach-front at Santa Monica. But it is unique in that it now has a sliding roof over her sun porch. Merle is a sun-worshipper, and spends most of her spare hours during the day sunbathing on her porch. This reputation soon brought "Peeping Tom” aeroplanes and the regular tourist dirigible cruising over her patio. Merle called in the studio technical department, and they devis-

cd a sliding roof for her patio. Now. when she hears the "Peeping Tom’s" of the skyways approaching she has only to press a button and she is sale from prying eyes. Gary Cooper has a very lovely Bermuda style house. It is of white stucco, trimmed with maroon-coloured window shutters. There tire eight rooms the most interesting of which is thi living-room. The south side of this large room opens on to a wide porch which overlooks a lawn sloping down to the swimming pool. The opposite side of the room is set off by a large fireplace made of mirrors. The room is done in white, and has modern furniture with touches of olive-green. The dining-room is done in modern Chinese --bamboo wallpaper, plain wood table. On either side of the door are end tables which can be added to the main table for length. The bedroom is very modern—dene in dusty pink and eggshell, and has indirect lighting.