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FD-350 (Rev. 7-16-63) & (Mount Clipping in in Space Below) Below) (Te ee Next Stats Svmbol? eee OA Se star wh By JAMES BACON Herald-Bxaminer Statt Writer The news that the leased went up $100,000 in price after went up $100,000 in price afer those five bizarre murders— from $200,000 to $300,000— comes as no surprise. Movieland real estate al- ways has been a mad, mad business. A man who had never seen it paid $200,000 for Frank Sin- atra’s hilltop bachelor pad in Coldwater Canyon. And a woman with a fortune in oil once bought Judy Garland's $225,000 mansion and then tore it down. People who spend that ‘kind of money for a house want one with a history. It's kind of a status symbol. That's why homes in Rever- ly Hills or Bel-Air are always referred to by present owners as the former home of celebri- ties. For instance, it is com- monplace to call one’s home “the old Garbo place.” Jerry Lewis, without selling his home in Pacific Palisades, paid $415,000 cash for the old _ Louis B. Mayer place in Bel- Air. Barbara Hutton, the dim¢ store heiress, caused hardly : it when she gave a $500,000 ome as a wedding gift to hen son, Lance Reventlow and his bride, actress Cheryl Hold ridge. No matter how much you pay for a house in the status sections of the movie colony, it’s LE if it wilLover-ap, ut up in value. lives i house that costs under yi. 000 is either a has-been or a penny-pinching oddball. ‘It’s a classic story about Jollywood. An agent calls up 1 New York actor client and says he has both good news ind had news. “The good news is that you ‘an get the old Milton Sills rouse for $300,000." “What's whe bad news?” asks the ac- tor. “You'll have to pay $5,000 cash down,"’ says the agent. IT was down in Durango Mexico. once with John Wayne when he decided to sell his Encino estate. He put the price at $600,000. It was sold to Walt Disney’s daughter and her husband within days. No questions asked. Commented Duke: I didn’t ask enough.” Bing Crosby bought a huge mansion bordering the Los Angeles Country Club because he was a scratch handicap golfer. Then he found that he was harred from the club be- cause he’s an actor. Bing moved up north where he’s al- ways welcome at more exclu- Sive clubs like Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. Vie Mature became a golf nut and hought a house near Los Angeles C. C. He was giv- en the same reason as Bing when he applied for member- ship. “T’m no actor,” said Vic. “Maybe “And I’ve got 40 pictures to © prove it.” The richest people in town are those who bought homes in the pre-war era and held onto them. When Bob Hope came: here in 1938, be had $100,000 in cash and invested most of it in land_That's why ‘he’s the-rich- His ‘Tis home in Toluca tae cost under $30,000 with six acres of land. Today, it is so valuable that it’s doubtful if he can sell it when he and Do- lores make their permanent move into their new Palm Springs hame. “T think we'll give it to some religious organization,” says Bob. Hope also bought some land nearby for $18,000 which he operated profitably for years as a golf driving range. When MCA took over Universal Pic- tures, they paid him $1 million cash for the property. Bob still has some acreage left. He pays $500,000 annually in property taxes to Los Ange- les County, and down in Palm Springs, they call it the Bob Hope Desert Classic because all the touring golf pros were walking over Hope’s land dur- ing the big tournament. Mae West is another shrewd real estate woman. She likes to tell this story: “T had my chauffeur drive me out Van Nuys Boulevard in the °30s. It was mostly bean fields in those days. We passed a beautiful grove of fir trees, conspicuous’ among the palms. “I commented to my busi- ness manager who was with me: ‘That looks like a nice setting for a house, See if it’s for sale? We never —— the car.” Next. day the business man- ager told her it was owned by a Mexican-American .family who was about to lose it for $600 back taxes. Mae gave ‘them $6,000 which was mighty gemerous-in those Depression (Indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.) F- Herald Flaminer Los Anreles, “alif, Date: 8/2); /69 Edition: Home Author: James Pacon Editor: Donald Goodenow Title: Character: or Classification: Submitting Office: LOS Anceles CJ Being Investigated SEARCHED .___._ARDEXED ____ SERIALIZED = RUD = 12 AUG2 5 1969 FBI——LOS ANGELES