Neighborhood ‘stars’ the stuff of legends

Re “Best House in a Leading Role” [Oct. 7]: There can be peril for neighbors of movie houses too. In “Big Business,” an early Laurel and Hardy movie, the boys get in a scramble with a guy in front of his house. He trashes their car, they trash his house. At the end, the house is nearly demolished. Producer Hal Roach liked to tell the story that the film crew set up in front of the wrong house, much to the consternation of the owners, who came home from vacation to find their house destroyed. Stan Laurel reportedly said the story was invented by studio publicists.

My favorite starring role by a home is the ultramodern Palm Springs hilltop home in the James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever.”

James Ostmann

Washington, D.C.

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I enjoyed your article on movie homes. My house in Los Feliz adjoins broadcaster Earle C. Anthony’s former estate, now owned by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. It is a frequent scene of TV and movie shoots. I can understand the feelings of neighbors, although I have never felt inconvenienced.

Gary Robb

Los Feliz

P.S. I have no intention of renting my house for filming.

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