This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
There's no shortage of homes in the hills of Los Angeles that have a rich Hollywood heritage, but this home in Los Feliz might take the cake.
The Samuel-Novarro House, designed by Lloyd Wright (scion of the architect who went by Frank), was built in 1928 for Louis Samuel, the personal assistant of silent screen sex icon Ramon Novarro. The Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ star moved into the house in 1931 when he realized Samuel was embezzling money from him, according to Curbed, and he later had the interior designed by production designer Cedric Gibbons (who also designed the Oscar statuette).
Novarro was a Hollywood pioneer. He was one of the early Mexican-American stars of the screen and he became the preeminent male sex icon after the death of Rudolph Valentino. Ben-Hur, from 1926, was one of the most expensive silent films ever made, but it was such a box office smash that it helped turn MGM into a major studio.
Later luminaries of the arts that called the Samuel-Novarro House home included Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Diane Keaton and, more recently, Christina Ricci. Keaton helped to restore the home. It is now listed in the L.A. Conservancy as a historic place.
The Art Deco house has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a pool, and features a distinctive oxidized copper Mayan trim reminiscent of the architect's father's style. It can be yours for a cool $4.3 million. Hopefully that price tag includes the Roy Liechtenstein hanging in the bathroom.
