The Hollywood Reporter - 26.02.2020

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 50 FEBRUA RY 26, 2020

‘ IT WAS

CONSIDERED

A COUP TO

BE INVITED’

An exclusive look at the hostess notebook

of Edie Goetz, a daughter of Louis B. Mayer, who

ruled Hollywood’s social scene: ‘Entertaining

became her career’ BY DAVID SILVERMAN

“We bought it on the spot for

the asking price and hope to be

done with the restoration this

fall. We have seen a number of

mogul residences, and very, very

few have the beautiful propor-

tions, the scale, the light and the

warmth and the location of the

Selznick estate.”

Bezos’ new home, though,

is in a league of its own. After

purchasing the property in 1990,

Geffen did an extensive remodel.

The grounds include a pool, golf

course and guesthouse, and it

was one of the area’s few big

land parcels that escaped being

subdivided. It would be impos-

sible for any developer to acquire

and build a home on nine acres

of usable land in the

area today.

No broker was

involved in the

Bezos-Geffen deal

(specu lation has

it that negotiations may have

opened on Geffen’s yacht when

Bezos was a guest last sum-

mer), but according to Coldwell

Banker’s Joyce Rey, who has

walked the property on multiple

occasions, the price seems fair.

“I hate to be flippant about it, but

I

run my house and it’s a full-time job running this studio,”

Edith “Edie” Mayer Goetz said in 1967, settled in her

Holmby Hills mansion, the epicenter of Hollywood social

life for more than 20 years. Her father, Louis B. Mayer,

had built MGM into the most prestigious studio dur-

ing Hollywood’s golden age. Her sister, Irene, married

Gone With the Wind producer and studio exec David O.

Selznick. And Edie’s husband, Bill, ran 20th Century Fox and

then Universal-International, where he gave Natalie Wood, then

7, her first credited role, in 1946. Edie’s legendary dinner parties,

held within pastel interiors designed by actor-turned-decorator

William Haines and where more than 60 Impressionist paintings

hung, echoed the smooth elegance of her father’s musicals.

Irene (who became a Broadway producer after divorcing

David and had a decadeslong feud with her sister) once wrote:

“Entertaining became her career.”

Recalls Tina Sinatra, who was her father’s date at the

Goetzes’ dinner parties in the 1960s, “It was what Hollywood

used to be, they personified that.” Frank Sinatra and the

Goetzes were close friends: Edie and Bill often flew on Sinatra’s

private jet to his Las Vegas concerts. The Goetzes also were

best man and matron of honor at his 1966 wedding to Mia

Farrow at Vegas’ Sands Hotel, after which Edie feted the newly-

weds at her home. (The marriage lasted 13 months.)

For more than 40 years, Edie maintained notebooks — never

before publicly seen — filled with the details of every party she

hosted, listing the guests, food served and movie screened.

Swift

The

HARRY

WARNER

Estate

The Beverly Hills estate of one of the four siblings who founded Warner Bros. is on the market for

$32.5 million. It features hand-carved wood panels and a master suite with wood-beamed ceilings.

1

In 2015, Taylor Swift bought the 11,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom Georgian Revival mansion,

commissioned by Samuel Goldwyn in 1934. At her request, it received landmark status in 2017.

The
GOLDWYN
Estate

I do feel it was excellent value

because of the land and the estate

and the history. With all of that

combined, I think Jeff made a very

a good deal,” says Rey.

During her career, Rey has

sold the Harold Lloyd estate to

producer Ted Field, and Owlwood

— the former home of Sonny

and Cher and, before that, 20th

Century Fox chairman Joseph

Schenck — to the Mishkin family

in 1976. (Owlwood is on the mar-

ket today for $115 million.)

Rey has the listing on

another Warner Estate, this

one said to have been owned

by Jack’s brother Harry Warner

and located on Rexford Drive

in Beverly Hills. The French

Country-style house boasts

13,000 square feet of livable space

between the main residence

and guesthouse (where Marilyn

Monroe reportedly stayed). It’s

listed for $32.5 million.

Even after decades of experi-

ence selling these types of homes,

Rey can’t predict who the buy-

ers will be, but she does offer

this: “This is the entertainment

capital of the world. People here

appreciate owning a piece of

t hat h i stor y.”