Ramon Novarro’s Lloyd Wright Home on the Market

by Andre Soares | | Leave a Comment     

 

Ramon Novarro-Samuel House by Lloyd Wright
Courtesy of the Matias Bombal Collection ©

Designed by Lloyd Wright (that’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s son) in the late 1920s for actor Ramon Novarro’s then personal secretary, Louis Samuel, the unusual residence known as the Samuel-Novarro House is located in the Oaks neighborhood of the Los Feliz Hills, the eastern section of the Hollywood Hills.

The Samuel-Novarro House was initially supposed to have been a small one-bedroom dwelling for Samuel — Novarro’s intimate companion in the late 1910s — but the layout was considerably expanded following Samuel’s marriage in 1929. In order to help pay for the mortgage, Samuel — relying on the assistance of an investor brother — embezzled money from Novarro’s holdings to gamble in the stock market.

Ramon NovarroThe market crash in late 1929 and the bear market that followed through much of 1930 wiped out Samuel’s investments. As I wrote in Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro, upon discovering he didn’t have enough funds to buy a new car, “the star who had made $248,000* in 1928, $170,000* in 1929, and $125,000* for his latest picture immediately called his bank. He was informed he had a total of $160 in his account.”

Despite being devastated by Samuel’s betrayal, Novarro opted not to press charges. The star of Ben-Hur and The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg was then at the height of his fame — musicals were in vogue, and Novarro had a pleasant singing voice; the last thing he needed was a potentially career-damaging scandal.

He did, however, take over the Los Feliz Hills home. After some extensively remodeling, Novarro moved into the premises in 1932.

The description below is from Beyond Paradise:

Ramon Novarro swimming at the Lloyd Wright house“On the outside, the Valley Oak house was an imposing structure. Located on a slope overlooking one of the Hollywood Hills canyons, it extended from its lower level on Verde Oak Road to its uppermost level and main gateway on Valley Oak. The outside walls were white concrete partially shielded by patterned copper bands reminiscent of Mesoamerican temples, with a hollow block within the reinforced concrete that theoretically made the house earthquake-proof. From the gateway, a flight of Nile green steps led down the terraced gardens to a blue-toned guest room immediately above the main house, which could be reached by a further staircase.

“With the assistance of MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, Novarro devised the modernistic (and gaudy) interior, most of it furnished with pieces from the luxurious Bullock’s Wilshire. The centrally located beige library boasted a panoramic view of the canyons and was used as a drawing room for cocktails served on metal tables set before futuristic loungers. The dining room [below], on a slightly lower level to one side of the library, had black walls which set off strands of dull silver chains; the dining table was of frosted metal with a black satin cover, an onyx-glass tabletop, and aluminum legs. To the other side of the library was the bedroom, with pale green walls and dark green furniture that included a built-in dressing table and desk. At the end of the room, French doors opened to a swimming pool lined with Nile green tiles and surrounded by white concrete walls.

Ramon Novarro Lloyd Wright home - dining area

“The music room, where Novarro sang accompanied by friends at the piano, was underneath the dining room. Dull gold and bronze furniture and walls were covered by a rose brocade with a design akin to the copper motif found on the outside walls. This color scheme was contrasted by the whiteness of a polar bear rug and several light-colored pieces of woodwork. Adjoining the music room was a cocktail bar, and on the same floor, but reached through a separate entrance, were the servant’s quarters and a passage leading down to the garage.

“‘I had to get away from home, to live alone in a house of my own,’ Novarro explained. ‘I had to cater to whims and notions of my own that would be impossible for others to live with. For instance, I am frequently seized with a sudden desire to play my piano when I am somewhere en route between my bath and my bedroom, clad as God made me. Now, living alone, I can gratify this desire.’”

Novarro was able to enjoy his nude piano playing until late 1938, when he traded the house for several lots in the San Fernando Valley.

In 1944, Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green rented the Los Feliz Hills house, where they worked on the Broadway musical On the Town.

Thirty years later, on July 17, 1974, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board declared the house a historic-cultural monument. It became officially known as the Samuel-Novarro House.

In the early 1990s, architect Josh Schweitzer extensively renovated the place for Diane Keaton. She sold it in mid-decade.

The current price tag for the three-bedroom, three-bathroom Samuel-Novarro House is US$3.1 million. The seller is actress Christina Ricci.

* To get current dollar amounts, those figures should be multiplied about a dozen times.

Photos are courtesy of the Matias Bombal Collection ©

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by Andre Soares | March 12, 2006 | Filed Under Actors, Film, Silent Films 

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