Onetime home of dancer and film star Ginger Rogers sells in Hollywood Hills
A Spanish Revival-style house in Hollywood Hills West owned by actress-entertainer Ginger Rogers and her second husband, Lew Ayres, during the late 1930s has sold for $3.955 million.
Operetta composer and pianist Rudolph Friml later owned the home, which was the site of a 1943 burglary. An intruder “sneaked away with a radio, 35 of Friml’s original recordings and assorted bric-a-brac,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
The two-story home, which has a basement, previously sold in 2011 for $1.905 million. The property came on the market last year at $4.495 million and was priced this spring at $3.995 million.
The gated compound is set above the Sunset Strip and entered through a courtyard. Remodeled for contemporary living, the house retains such classic details as wide arched doorways and truss ceilings with exposed beams.
Formal living and dining rooms, an office, a breakfast area, a pantry, five bedrooms and four bathrooms are within the 4,800 square feet of living space. Views take in the cityscape and ocean.
The tidy grounds feature multiple patios and an outdoor living room with a fireplace.
Singer and dancer Rogers, who died in 1995 at 83, gained fame partnering with Fred Astaire in such musical films as “Flying Down to Rio” (1933) and “Top Hat” (1935). She received an Academy Award for her lead actress role in “Kitty Foyle” (1940).
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Television and film actor Ayres, who died in 1996 at 88, was known for his work in “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930) and as Dr. Kildare in nine films from 1938 to 1942.
Peter Lorimer of Peter Lorimer Group Estates was the listing agent. Farzaneh Fata of Coldwell Banker represented the buyer.
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