Bette davis house los angeles
Bette Davis's House in Beverly Hills, California
From the archives
Bette Davis lived in the Spanish Colonial Revival house with her first husband, Harmon “Ham” Nelson, when her breakout film, Of Human Bondage, was released
By Ed Sikov
Bette Davis moved to Hollywood with her mother, Ruthie, and their atrociously named dog, Boojum, in December 1930. She'd been appearing on Broadway in forgettable plays like Broken Dishes and Solid South (with one standout appearance on tour as Hedvig in Ibsen's The Wild Duck), but Hollywood's still-new ability to synchronize sounds with images required a whole new crop of actors–ones trained to speak.
This article originally appeared in the March 2006 issue of Architectural Digest.
She was magnificent and exasperating, luminous and bellicose in equal measure. Her longtime boss, Jack Warner, called her "an explosive little broad with a sharp left." Humphrey Bogart once remarked, "Unless you're very big, she can knock you down." She was a force of nature, a blazing talent. She was Bette Davis.
Pretty enough to be given the glamour treatment in her early 20s, she developed by middle age into weathered boniness graced by a slash of red lipstick. Elderly, crippled by a stroke and weakened by breast cancer, she still compelled us to look at her, just as she compelled herself to keep acting. Some stared, some cackled, but Bette Davis proudly remained a working actress almost until the day she died. Much more than family or friends or hobbies or (heaven forbid) rest, acting was what really mattered to her in the end.
Davis moved to Hollywood with her mother, Ruthie, and their atrociously named dog, Boojum, in December 1930. She'd been appearing on Broadway in forgettable plays like Broken Dishes and Solid South (with one standout appearance on tour as Hedvig in Ibsen's The Wild Duck), but Hollywood's still-new ability to synchronize sounds with images required a whole new crop of actors—ones trained to speak.
And so, as a gossip columnist reported at the time, "Talkies want Donald Meek of Broken Dishes. Also want Bette Davis."
Hardly anyone remembers her first few films—The Bad Sister (1931), Seed (1931), Hell's House (1932), Way Back Home (1932)—but in 1932 Davis landed a contract at Warner Bros., and that was the turning point. She stayed at Warners through 52 films, two Oscars, five more nominations, many suspensions, one bitter lawsuit and countless tantrums, until they finally parted company in 1949.
dam-images-homes-hollywood-davis-hosl02_davis.jpg
Davis at her desk.
In June 1934 Davis and her husband of nearly two years, the boyish musician Harmon "Ham" Nelson, moved from one lavish rented home to another: from Greta Garbo's place on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood—the grounds were immense and featured a decorative urn large enough to hide Fatty Arbuckle—to a sizable Spanish Colonial Revival house at 906 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.
The house had been built in 1926 for actress Virginia Valli, who starred in films like Alfred Hitchcock's The Pleasure Garden (1925). In 1932 Valli married actor Charles Farrell, a childhood friend of Davis's from New England with whom she made The Big Shakedown in 1933 (and from whom she had rented a house in Toluca Lake). The luxurious Beverly Hills house was designed by John Byers, one of the most sought-after residential architects of the 1920s and '30s; he had a way with white stucco, heavy wood ceiling beams and clay-tile floors and roofs. Examples of Byers's work can still be seen today around Brentwood, Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades, but the Valli house was torn down in 1991.
Bette Davis had a prickly relationship with her studio. It hurt her that Jack Warner insisted on sticking her in films she felt were beneath her—Parachute Jumper (1933), Bureau of Missing Persons (1933), Fashions of 1934. What she craved was something she could sink her sharp chops into, so when RKO proposed to borrow her for its 1934 adaptation of W.
Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, Davis pleaded with Warner to let her do it.
It would be, at that point, the role of her lifetime—Mildred Rogers, the vulgar Cockney waitress who all but ruins the sensitive artist Philip Carey (played by Leslie Howard) and dies a sickening, retributive death at the end. Her director at RKO, John Cromwell, loved and respected her gutsy performance, but she returned to Warners before Of Human Bondage was released and found, to her enormous irritation, that Jack Warner hadn't gotten the point yet. He was still handing her the same dumb stuff, specifically a dull little melodrama called Housewife (1934).
Davis had had enough. When she and her husband moved from the Garbo house to the Valli-Farrell house, Davis was in the midst of dodging telegrams from Warner Bros. ordering her to appear in a film she had no intention of making—the Perry Mason legal mystery The Case of the Howling Dog (1934), playing the role of Della Street.
In fact, the studio didn't even know Davis had moved out of the Garbo house. She pointedly didn't bother to tell them; it was her former Brentwood neighbors who broke the news that Davis and her husband had moved to Beverly Hills. Warners slapped her with a punitive suspension for refusing to do Howling Dog, but on June 28, the very day Davis signed the agreement on the terms of her suspension, Of Human Bondage opened in New York City to rave (if shocked) reviews. The film was released across the country in July, and the critics were still enthusiastic. Bette Davis had proven her point: She could handle a tough, dangerous role, and she wasn't afraid to be both dislikable and repulsive-looking on-screen.
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She made her next film for Warners, Bordertown (1935), while living in the Valli-Farrell house. It was tailored to her talents and became a classic. Davis tore into the role of a slutty, murderous southwestern wife angling for an adulterous fling with a slick Chicano (played by Paul Muni).
She even gets to play a mad scene in a witness box, something she'd never have been able to do as Della Street.
Details of Bette Davis's life on North Beverly Drive are scarce. She and Nelson didn't stay all that long; by 1936 the couple had moved again, this time to a much simpler house at 5346 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood. (Davis was as restless domestically as she was personally; she once sat down with her mother and "listed more than seventy-five places in which we had lived before we finally alighted.") She'd acquired two more dogs along the way, both of whom shared the North Beverly house with Davis and Nelson. There was Sir Cedric Wogs, a white Sealyham terrier sometimes called Ceedie, sometimes Wogs; and Tibby, a Scottish terrier. It was no wonder Bette and Tibby got along so well—they were two of a kind. A dog guide describes the Scottie as a breed with "unusual variable behavior and moods—it can get moody and snappish as an adult."
There's one particularly revealing story of daily life on North Beverly.
The writer Betty Boone, of Screenland magazine, arrived at the house one day to find Bette arguing with her younger sister, Bobby. The subject: Leonardo da Vinci. Bobby argued that despite da Vinci's lack of fame during his lifetime, "he had the fun of doing the things—of knowing himself that they were good." But the ever-anxious, supremely ambitious Bette Davis was not impressed. "He had a horrible life," she retorted, "and no one knew he was famous until he was dead, so what good did it do him?" After Of Human Bondage and Bordertown, the same could not be said about her.
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See Inside Bette Davis’s Former Beverly Hills Villa
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The late actress’s historic villa was restored and redesigned by Visionnaire.
By Lucia Tonelli
Douglas Elliman Real EstatGetty Images
The historic Hanover House mansion, once owned by actress Bette Davis, is now on the market for $40 million.
Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, the "made to measure" villa was recently transformed—from the inside out—by Visionnaire, a top-of-the-range interior design firm known for their distinctive and ultra-bespoke projects. “The house was completely taken to pieces and renovated,” says Visionnaire’s art director Eleonore Cavalli.
At nearly 10,000 square feet, the architecturally striking space boasts panoramic views and a modern design concept, complete with two pools, a movie theater, a full bar, and a full-sized tennis court. Modern sliding glass doors unite the home's indoor and outdoor spaces, with views to the pools and beyond. The newly-renovated interiors are classically modern, with an incredible attention to detail that can be found in every corner.
Westside Estate Agency holds the listing, which can be found here.. Tour the glamorous mansion below.
The Grand Entrance Features a Thirty-Horn “Brunilde” Chandelier.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
This sculptural piece is one of the many historic products in Visionnaire's collection.
The Home Includes Eight Bedrooms.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
And five bathrooms.
The Dining Room Seats 14 People Comfortably.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
The 32-light fixture chandelier features lampshades in velvet onyx.
One of the Home's Two Pools, Which Overlooks the Full Tennis Court.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
The Cinema Room.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
The seats are equipped with an internal mechanism to adjust the inclination of the headrest and the depth of the seat by remote control.
The Open-Concept Office Space.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
The home includes a collection of contemporary art, which was put together by the developer.
Spacious Outdoor Seating Seamlessly Flows from the Living Room.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
The Second Pool.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
Trees frame the outdoor spaces, increasing the home's sense of privacy.
Another Bedroom Boasts a Glamorous, Modern Design.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
A Sitting Area is Complete with a Marble-Clad Fireplace.
Courtesy of Visionnaire
Lucia Tonelli Assistant Editor Lucia Tonelli is an Assistant Editor at Town & Country, where she writes about the royal family, culture, real estate, design, and more.
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Beverly Hills, California | Visionnaire Home Philosophy
This mansion was formerly owned by Hollywood star Bette Davis, who, thanks to her unique talent, charisma and strong character, is considered one of the most prominent actresses in the history of cinema.
The home was recently bought by a well-known Los Angeles developer who commissioned the Visionnaire brand with a restoration and interior design project. Subsequently, the mansion, which is valued at $45 million, was put up for sale again. The 100% custom project is one of the latest works in the Visionnaire portfolio.
The global offer covers the entire space of the building, both from an architectural and interior design point of view. Mansion with an area of more than 900 sq.m. located in a vast area with a swimming pool, tennis court and gym. "The internal structure of the building has been completely redesigned," says Visionnaire art director Eleanor Cavalli, "all interiors, from the living room to the lighting of the bedrooms, as well as the outdoor space, are completely designed by Visionnaire. The client's idea was to get away from traditional solutions, so firmly rooted in Los Angeles, and our project intrigued the client, because creating amazing and unique solutions is the main character trait of our brand.
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Upon entering, guests are greeted by the impressive Brunilde chandelier with thirty arms, one of the most recognizable pieces of our collection. In order to fill the double height of the entrance hall ceilings, we had to create a chandelier in XXXL scale from the standard size. The exquisite black nickel finish lends the luminaire a special sculptural quality and enters into a dialogue with the client's unique contemporary art collection. In general, the lighting design is one of the protagonists of this project, due to its ability to create expressive and unique mise-en-scenes. A striking example is the black and white Bird chandeliers, made of crystal and decorated with rooster feathers, or the thirty-two-lamp Brando chandelier with velvet onyx lampshades, which creates an intimate yet warm and natural atmosphere, which we used in the dining area.
. Among the rooms, the design of which gave us the greatest pleasure, of course, one can single out a cinema hall. For him, we chose a Reymond sofa and armchair, designed with the latest technology and equipped with internal mechanics that allow you to adjust the angle of the headrest and the depth of the seat using a remote control. Three rows of armchairs are framed by "Amanda" sconces by Philippe Montels. The aluminum plates, as if cloaking the light in a hot couture dress, are inspired by the work of Paco Rabanne.
"The North American market is extremely important to us," says Andrea Gentilini, CEO of Ipe Visionnaire. Luxury private residences are a priority for Visionnaire. California Mansions It's no secret that California has the highest concentration of luxury homes in the world, with sixty new construction sites ranging from $50 million to $250 million We work closely with architects who value our unique ability to design space and furnishing tailored to the individual wishes of the customer.
The opening of the American branch of the company at the end of 2017 is a specific response to the ever-growing demand for luxury projects."
How to furnish an apartment in the style of the series "Vrazhda"
Interiors from films
How to furnish an apartment in the style of the TV series "Vrazhda"
Ekaterina Kulinicheva
May 17, 2017 08:35
you can borrow for your own interior from the series "Feud" about the rivalry between the two great stars of old Hollywood Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
Personality in the interior
House and costume as a reflection of lifestyle is a technique that has been used for a long time. The creators of "Feud" turned this idea into a bright artistic device that works on the title conflict of the series. “Bette's world was completely different from Joan's. It was logical to emphasize the difference between these two personalities through the difference in the design of their homes,” explains production designer Judy Baker of “Feud”.
Crawford's interiors embody her image as a glamorous superstar. The actress, we recall, owns the famous phrase: “I don’t leave the house if I don’t look like Joan Crawford the movie star. If you need an ordinary girl next door, go to the neighbors and go." Crawford lived the way a person of her position should live in a performance 99 percent of viewers: in a big Hollywood Regency-style house, fashionable and solid at the same time, with elements of big European styles and old-fashioned Hollywood glamor. Among those who helped her decorate the interiors was the famous designer William Haynes.
Bette Davis' interior is completely different: it reminds her of her origins (the future star was born near Boston and went to a private school) and the cultural traditions of the East Coast, with which the actress identified herself. Hence the colonial-style furniture, lots of dark wood, woven carpets, traditional patterns. Davis moved a lot, but her houses in California always looked the same - as if they had been brought here straight from the opposite coast.
If Crawford liked being a megastar, then Davis preferred to build the image of a serious actress, rather than a celebrity. And therefore, instead of Hollywood glamor, she chose the traditional aesthetics of the American privileged class.
Recreating the interiors of two film stars, Baker and producer Ryan Murphy took documentary photos as the basis, but, of course, they could not do without some exaggeration. For example, Joan Crawford's bedroom and bathroom were made as luxurious as the front rooms. In her real house, these rooms were much simpler, but the creators of the series decided that the viewer simply would not believe in this. This is not the only "historical inaccuracy" made for a reason. By the time of filming What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Joan Crawford had already moved to New York, but in the series she was left to live in a big house in Los Angeles.
Personal eccentricities
A few more interesting stories about the personal in the interior.
In 1976, Crawford's last New York apartment, seen in the final episodes of Feud, was filmed for Architectural Digest. After the release of the magazine, Crawford is said to have been very unhappy with the result. The fact is that the published selection did not include her library and the collection of Chinese porcelain, which the actress has been collecting for many years. Crawford never forgot about the need to carefully build and maintain her own public image and believed that showing books was important. After this publication, the actress was criticized for having her own portraits in the house and a collection of paintings from Jamaica that did not reach the level of great art. However, Crawford was not afraid to stand up for objects dear to her heart: “You can’t live with them. I live with them, and they make me happy.”
But the creators of "Feud" did not forget about big Hollywood's love for classic Asian art: you should pay attention to the characteristic furniture in the Crawford house and the crystal pagoda ashtray in Jack Warner's office.
It is also known that Crawford did have a refrigerator in the bathroom: the actress kept face ice, lemons and vodka there. In addition, Joan obsessively loved cleanliness and order - hence her famous transparent plastic covers for upholstered furniture, which can be seen in the series. This amazing detail was such an integral part of Crawford's lifestyle that it even made its way into many of her official photographs (as well as the cherry tree in the living room).
In this sense, the series "Enmity" gives one more reason to think about how important it is to make the interior for yourself. Does it make sense to choose a trendy style or to drag popular items into the house that personally do not make you hot or cold?
Palette
And now about the signature palette of the series - there are several of them. Crawford's style is a combination of shades of blue (optionally turquoise), cream and silver. The actress did not like dark walls and chose shades of white for her last apartment.
According to the actress, he served as "the perfect backdrop for her guests, paintings and plants." The colors for Joan Crawford's film interiors Judy Baker and her team selected from vintage samples from mid-century paint collections, as they differ from modern ones. To reproduce this yourself, of course, is more difficult than buying ready-made paint in an interior supermarket. But if you have the desire, time and money, nothing is impossible. Bette Davis InteriorsCarmel Residence Project: Living AreaPhoto: Herbert Studios is predominantly a combination of deep green with dark wood.
Another interesting story about colors. A significant part of the plot of "Feud" is connected with the filming of "What Happened to Baby Jane" - a 1962 black-and-white film. Interior decorations designed for black and white photography were mostly monochrome (for example, the base could be white, cream or pinkish) with separate bright details (curtains, pillows or even costumes). Reception that can be taken into account.
The production team managed to find some color shots from the set (big luck in this case), and it turned out that in color it looked quite impressive.
Movie Details
When it comes to a movie making series, colorful production or thematic details are hard to ignore. Such as floor lamps in the form of spotlights or different variations of the so-called director's chair, the most popular chair on film sets.
Movie posters are a banal decorative technique, but when it comes to old Hollywood, it is appropriate. In addition, almost any promo photo of the era of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford is a ready-made art print. And books on the topic in table book format will decorate coffee tables.
Finally, the most meticulous can look for rare pictures and interesting portraits of movie stars, or make their own. It is known that Bette Davis kept at home a portrait made by a fan in the image of the heroine of the film "Jezebel". Crawford also had several images of her own: among them the so-called “Big Eyes Portrait”, painted by the famous artist Margaret Keane (the heroine of the biopic with Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz).
