{Hollywood} Carole Lombard Lived Here
Tracing the footsteps of the beloved third Mrs. Gable…
This house on Iris Circle, built in 1926 in the then-trendy Whitley Heights area of Los Angeles, was owned by Carole and her first husband, William Powell, from about 1931 to 1933.
It was quite a treacherous drive up a long, narrow street and there is absolutely no parking at all–heaven forbid you have guests over! (In fact I couldn’t get a shot from across the street because there were cars parked right behind me on the narrow road.) But the view from those windows must be spectacular.
Here’s that same window, from the real estate listing when the house was for sale about two years ago:
And here’s Carole in front of the window:
The Powells had some famous neighbors, including Buster Keaton and Marie Dressler.
Bill and Carole in their Iris Circle home:
After divorcing Powell, Carole moved on to this house on Hollywood Boulevard.
A gorgeous home, built in 1926, right in the center of the Hollywood social scene, was perfect for the newly single Carole. Truly her “bacherlorette pad”, Carole was quite the party hostess in this house and was living here when she dated singer Russ Colombo, George Raft, Gary Cooper and writer Robert Riskin.
She famously posed in her new home, complete with exquisite furnishings designed by silent star William Haines.
This house was recently up for rent and it didn’t look like anyone lived there when I was there. The yard was unkempt and there weren’t many signs of human inhabitance. See photos from inside the home here.
Carole began seeing Clark Gable while she resided here on Hollywood Boulevard so he visited this home often. Involved in a high profile romance, soon Carole decided she needed a more private abode, away from prying eyes….
So in 1936, she moved into this house, on St. Cloud Road in Bel Air. Built in 1926 (noticing a trend here?), she affectionately referred to the home as “The Farm”.
Unfortuntely they were doing construction at the home (it frightens me what they are tearing down) and this big dark fence obstructed our up-close view.
Here’s the street.
Upon my return, I discovered the house is now for rent and it does say it is “recently renovated.” Some great pictures of the inside and outside of the home here. If those walls could talk!
The house must hold fond memories for Clark and Carole, as they spent their first night as a wedded couple here (NOT in Oatman, Arizona, no matter what they claim) and those famous pictures of them as jolly newlyweds at their day-after press conference were taken here on this lawn.
Clark and Carole lived here together until their recently purchased home in Encino had completed renovations. Which means that Clark laid his weary head here at night after spending the day chasing Scarlett O’Hara on the set of Gone with the Wind.
Fun fact: After the Gables vacated, Carole rented the house to Alfred Hitchcock and his wife!
The ranch in Encino would be the last address for both Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Post on that Thursday…
*A special thank you to Carole Sampeck of the Carole Lombard Archive for helping me out with the timeline here!
26 Comments
Debbie
Terrific post! Thank you for including all those wonderful photos of the St. Cloud house. Some of the interiors look like they may not have been altered all that much over the years. Fascinating stuff!
Lara
I’m loving these posts! I had a dream about Carole Lombard last night for some reason–she was expected at a fancy dinner party I was attending with some friends, and the host told me “Be sure to tell me when Carole Lombard gets here.” She finally got there, but she was older–like in her 50’s, which is kind of nice for me to imagine. And I forgot to tell the host she was there because she was talking with us and making us laugh. Haha.
She had really good taste in houses! I’ll take that house that was is up for rent, pick me, pick me!
The Lady Eve
Love your then-and-now tour of Carole Lombard’s homes. Film and Hollywood history fascinate me the same way famous battlegrounds must intrigue Civil War buffs – and this post is filled with purely wonderful stuff. By the way, great job researching these houses. I look forward to visiting Carole’s house in Encino later this week…
Martin Turnbull
Thanks for such a great post. I sometimes do tour of LA/Hollywood so I collect this sort of info whenever I can. But most exciting was knowing where Gable lived when he was shooting GWTW!
Vincent
Good stuff.
Later residents of the Hollywood Boulevard house included actor Max Showalter and singer Morrissey, while the St. Cloud house was later home to singer Belinda Carlisle and her husband at the time, the son of James Mason.
rkiry
Meredith – here’s a new challenge for you! Whatever happened to the wonderful furniture Carole had in the Hollywood Blvd. house? Did she sell it or give it away? We all know there was never any sign of it at the ranch. The ranch, by the way, had much more of a warm, casual look. I’m sure it was much more of a “home” than a “house”.
Rose
Milken still owns the Encino house, right? What I wouldn’t give for a tour of the place!
admin
Yes, he does. He’s been the only owner since Kay. I would die for a tour as well! The driveway is as far as I got.
admin
I have no idea. She certainly didn’t bring any of it to the ranch. I especially want to know what happened to that huge Egyptian-style bed! Maybe it’s in a Hollywood antique store somewhere. Would be quite the find!
I do recall a few years back some Los Angeles museum or something had a showcase on William Haines and his interior designs and they had furniture he had designed. No clue if any of it was Carole’s.
admin
Thank you! I feel the same way; I was amazed just being in front of these houses that Carole stood in front of 70 years before me.
admin
That’s too funny! I’ve often wondered what Carole would look like older…would she have shrunk up from all the smoking like Bette Davis? Or aged more naturally? We’ll never know.
I agree, she did have excellent taste. I’d take any of them, although the street the Iris Circle house was on scared me to death….but it might be worth it to live there!
admin
Thank you Debbie!
admin
Thank you Martin!
admin
Thanks Vince. I didn’t know about Showalter and Morrissey at the Hollywood Blvd house. It’s gorgeous but needs some sprucing up on the outside.
Trish
I believe I visited the first house on your list and yes crazy narrow road, but nice view from the deck on the other side. The owner was friend’s with my mother, but has since passed away.
Nate Booth
Where does the Colonial House fit in the time line? William Powell and Carole Lombard did live for a time in the Colonial House. We Have the Baby Grand Piano from their apt. Let me know if you have more info on this. I know the Colonial House must have records of the lease unless it was a studio lease? Thanks all replies will be appreciated. Nate
Angela
I live in the house just west of the Hollywood home. It was said that Carole Lombard owned both of these homes and kept her ‘friends’ in ours. We share a common front gate and there is a side gate that has since been bolted shut that would allow one to go from house to house through the back of the property. Any information you might have would be great.
Briana
I enjoyed all of the pictures and all of the information put on each… I was unaware that she’d previously lived there with William Powell. I WAS aware that MORRISSEY lived there which makes it soo much better. The history is just amazing that I wish I had it to myself. Btw Morrissey is one of the best.singers OF ALL TIME! He is most famous for the earlier band he was in, The Smith but they broke up, and he is currently solo <3 He has many celeb including Nancy Sinatra, David Bowie, Patrick Dempsey, Patti Smith, Russell Brand, etc. I've been a fan of all of his past,present, and work with the Smiths, for most of my life which is almost 12 years now.
Dottie Darling
Loved it. It is soooo interesting to see how the stars of my youth lived. MORE!
Tom
I think the address of the house on Hollywood Blvd is 7953, could not find the house on St. Cloud Road, to many very high hedges and closed gates.
Don Babb
I have Carole’s 1928 Packard custom convertible which she bought new and sometime later gave to a friend and I bought it in the early 1950;s after the aged friend was through with it. I wanted to make it like new again but I wanted to keep it the way it was when Carole had it so I didn,t do anything with it but store it for 65 years. I’m much to old to do anything with it now. It should be in the hands of a true fan of Carole’s. 541-582-8966 Rogue River, Or.
Goldie Zaldivar
Did you ever get the information from Nate booth about the baby grand piano. I am an interior design student and eager to learn more about this piano. I have spent hours trying to find information on it. I finally saw the comment above about him owning the piano. I hope someone still reads this post and helps me before the deadline of my project. If anyone has information, please contact me through Goldie.zaldivar@idi.edu or through Facebook messenger Goldie Zaldivar. Thanks!
Lorelei
It’s been awhile since anyone posted, but right now (May 2017) there is a Clark Gable retrospective on Turner Classic Movies. There is a one hour bio of him hosted by Liam Neeson. They shot part of it INSIDE the Gable/Lombard farmhouse (now owned by Milkin). You can get a sense of how it looks. It appears to be somewhat original and also appears that some of Gable’s memorabilia is displayed there. Perhaps Kay Spreckles left some stuff behind.
Scott
I used to live in the house where Carole Lombard lived while single, on Hollywood, between Fairfax and Laurel Canyon. The interior was AMAZING! I lived there for nearly a year. Crown mouldings, three tier backyard. She swapped homes with her best friend, some heavy set actress named Flossy or Hatty to cover for his car being seen there late nights. I really loved living tbere. My roomates were a bunch of drug addicts, but it was still a privilege living there.
Rhonda
Marvelous article.
Thanks for all you give us!
Adriano Abatayo
My real estate firm I worked for in the miid 2000’s listed Carole’s Iris Circle home and I had a chance to host an Open House viewing. Loved that home. But as it states in the above story, there’s no parking.