Everyone knows that Beverly Hills is filled with glamours mansions owned by Hollywood’s rich and famous. Many room-ed homes with pools, spas, cinema rooms, and even bowling alleys line the streets. But hiding in between all these magnificent mansions is a run-down building, deprived of its former glory. The home belongs to director Vincente Minnelli and his family. Vincente is known for directing 1951’s An American in Paris, and his recent Best Director Academy Award for Gigi. But what is going on with his home? The walls are crumbling down, and the overgrown gardens give the place a spooky feel. What tragedy could have befallen this once gorgeous home?
A Look Inside Liza Minnelli’s Abandoned Mansion in Los Angeles
From The Ground Up
Before he was a world-famous director, Vincente lived a regular life. He was born in Chicago in 1903 and spent his younger years moving around Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Once he finished high school, Vincente returned to Chicago, where he became immersed in the local theatre scene. He worked in different jobs in the industry- including designing costumes and building sets. In 1935 Vincente Minnelli scored his first directing job for a musical called At Home Abroad. The production was a success and helped to booster Vincente’s reputation. Vincente earned enough of a name for himself to get a job with MGM studios. This would be the first step to his film directing career.
From The Ground Up
Vincente Minnelli
Vincente would eventually end up marrying four different times. In fact, his first wife was quite famous. Judy Garland, who starred in the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz, was known worldwide for her role as Dorthy. Other roles earned her a Golden Globe and a Tony. Vincente and Judy Garland met in 1944 on the set of the film, Meet Me in St. Louis. The two would have several other successful collaborations throughout the years. Judy’s fame would continue to skyrocket as she entered the music industry too. In 1963 she also began hosting the well-known a much beloved, The Judy Garland Show.
Vincente Minnelli
His Passion
The powerful artistic combination of Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland would become even more potent when they welcomed their first child in March of 1946. They named their baby girl, Liza Minnelli. As you may well know, Liza would go on to be quite the bonafide star herself. Liza would go on to earn an Oscar for her role in 1972’s Cabaret. Sadly, despite all their talent and star-power, Vincente and Garland’s relationship would not last long. Judy Garland’s infamous self-destructive behavior would soon come in between them. She suffered from anxiety, depression, and extreme insecurity. Garland reportedly took drugs like sleeping pills and amphetamines. After suffering two breakdowns that resulted in attempts on her own life, Garland was fired by MGM. Eventually, an affair with another man was the last straw for her relationship with Vincente.
His Passion
His First Wife
Vincente Minnelli married several other times. His last wife was named Lee Anderson, and the couple married in 1980. A mere three years later, Vincente would fall ill and eventually die from pneumonia and emphysema in his home in Beverly Hills. After he died, the fate of his mansion became the subject of much debate. Vincente did something a little complicated. He left the mansion to his daughter Liza, but he also left the lifetime use of the house to his wife, Lee. So Lee continued to live in the home, but Liza was responsible for the bills. Liza eventually wanted to sell the home in 2000 and offered to buy Lee a half a million-dollar condo. But Lee refused.
His First Wife
Judy Garland
Things only got increasingly complicated when Liza successfully sold the house, and Lee refused to vacate the property! Liza had no choice but to shut off the electricity and fire the staff. Lee responded with a lawsuit, and a legal battle ensued. Lee argued that when Liza sold the house, she breached a contract and caused Lee undue emotional distress. Court papers argued that moving 94-year-old Lee would be the death of the old woman. Liza’s marriage in 2002 to David Gest was just about to complicate things further.
Judy Garland
Their Child
Liza’s wedding to David Guest was a lavish affair and was widely reported on in tabloids. She had a 12-foot cake, nearly 900 guests, and set off on a worldwide honeymoon afterward. Lee’s legal team pointed out Liza’s lavish lifestyle and said Lee was “alone in a cold, dark house at the age of 94.” In April of 2002, just after her marriage, Liza responded to the lawsuit. Liza claimed she did everything her father asked, and had spent years paying for the home and for Lee’s lifestyle. She simply wanted to sell the house and even offered Lee a different place to live. Liza was adamant she had fulfilled her father Vincente’s wishes.
Their Child
Divorce
Thankfully, Lee and Liza were able to solve the crisis after Liza invited Lee over for dinner. The deal they agreed upon was that Liza would pay the new owners rent on the property, and Lee could continue living there until her death. When Lee did die just four years later, not long after her 100th birthday, the owners could finally take the mansion. Although they had paid $2.75 million for the property, they were discussing plans to renovate it.
Divorce
Passed Away
The mansion was once truly a sight to behold. It was first constructed in 1925, just when the Spanish Colonial Revival style was coming very much into fashion. These homes had features like smooth walls, flat roofs, and terracotta features. The mansion did undergo renovation in 1944, and elements of the French Louis XV style were added. The new owners’ plans to renovate the property never materialized. Strangely, the property sat seemingly untouched for years. The only people to reside in it were squatters who had heard the place was abandoned.
Passed Away
A Million Dollar Inheritance
Liza had spent a lot of her childhood growing up in this Beverly Hills mansion. Her dad Vincente even built her a massive playhouse in the property’s backyard. No doubt, she had many happy memories there. The house is truly staggering. It consists of six bedrooms and six bathrooms. The lot is a shocking 42,500 square feet, and the home is a large 5,900 square feet. Vincente had moved into the property not long after his split from Judy Garland, so Liza alternated between her mother and father’s homes.
A Million Dollar Inheritance
Lawsuit
Liza’s childhood home in her father’s mansion was that of a child’s dream. In addition to the playhouse he had built for her, he also had many dress-up clothes made for her to play with. Star of Murphy Brown, Candice Bergen, remembered going to Liza’s as a kid to play, saying, “I remember always asking to go to Liza’s to play dress-up because in her closet hung little girls’ dreams.” Around 2000, the LA Times conducted a profile on Lee Minelli and her mansion. The newspaper reported python-skin covered walls and vast dressing rooms. It also noted designer outfits and many books and framed photos.
Lawsuit
Breach Of Contract
It seems that Lee suffered a hard blow when Vincente Minnelli died. She left most of his belongings untouched- like his easels and paint, as well as his Best Director Oscar he had won for his directing role for the film Gigi. No doubt, the mansion was once a sight to behold. Especially back in the 1950s when it was purchased in its prime. Now, sadly, this grand old house tells a much different tale.
Breach Of Contract
Rescinded Invitation
Long gone are the days of old Hollywood pool parties full of glamorous film industry people. Where once stood a gorgeous home, now stands a home in shambles. Without a groundskeeper, the large lot is overgrown and unruly. The pool has been drained of water for some time with nobody to look after it. People have drawn graffiti there, and the emptiness of the property now gives off an eerie vibe. It seems that the death of Liza Minnelli also signaled the final death of this former Hollywood home.
Rescinded Invitation
The Response
The home used to boast large white marble columns. Today, they lay strewn across the yard in rubble. Judging by the dilapidated exterior of the home, no passersby would ever be able to guess that this was once the site of Hollywood’s most rich and famous. Sadly the home’s interior matches its poor exterior. The inside of the home was not immune to squatters, neglect, and exposure to the elements. In the kitchen, cupboard doors have been ripped off their hinges, and broken drawers are scattered everywhere.
The Response
Called Off
Transforming this home would be a large undertaking for anyone to take on. The home drives people away due to its creepy feeling. It’s not just the breaking down of the home itself- a kind of sad, scary mood has settled over the house. In an upstairs room, someone has painted the words “Judy Garland” across the walls. Nobody knows who wrote it, but everyone seems to know of this home’s famous history. Like Garland’s personal story- the home seems to have also ended in tragedy.
Called Off
Turn Over
The disrepair of the home extends well beyond the grounds to the kitchen as well. Doors are falling off their hinges and piles of paper and junk litter the floor of the rooms. But was the house in this state when Liza Minnelli died? It seems highly unlikely. Much of the damage has been done by trespassers and squatters. The master bedroom is one of the worst rooms in the house. There are holes in the wall, and plaster is literally falling down from the walls. The floor is shockingly dirty, and trash is everywhere. Where once hung glamorous gowns and tuxedos are now in shambles.
Turn Over
No Renovation
Curiosity has gotten the best of most people who cannot help but explore the abandoned home. One YouTuber named adamthewoo snuck onto the property in 2014 and filmed a tour of the home. While he was there, he pointed out that the house has no running water, but that is not a huge surprise since it has been empty for so long. The rooms are also now in a confusing state. In one, pictured here, there is a mattress next to a bathtub and an exercise bike. This all just adds to the general chaos and clutter of the mansion. It is hard to imagine what this home once was, and what it could have been with the right care.
No Renovation
Its History
Certain items in the house suggest that Liza merely picked and chose what she wanted of her stepmother Lee’s belongings after her death. Old televisions, VHS sets, and other objects suggest that many of Lee’s possessions remain in the home, untouched. According to the YouTuber who viewed the home, adamthewoo, Liza likely, “left [those items] in the house since it needed an extensive renovation anyway, and that was up to the owners.” But strangely, the new owners of the home never got around to giving the home the love and care it so desperately needed.
Its History
Crescent Drive
In 2014, another group of YouTubers visited the house and filmed their tour of the once-grand property. They showed an old fireplace that was in disrepair. Oddly enough, there was actual evidence that it had been put to use not long before their visiting the property. Likely those were the squatters rumored to have lived there since 2009. On these guys’ video tour, they were able to uncover some objects that suggested the home’s glamourous past. This included a once-grand dining room with a few chairs. Other furniture, once certainly luxury, was tossed around the house. Sadly, large sections of the home’s ceiling had begun to fall down.
Crescent Drive
Her Childhood
So why had the new owners totally abandoned the gorgeous property? After all, when they inherited the home, they could have carried out some repairs or rebuilt it. It seems that their lack of caring for the home may be tied to the authorities. For some reason, the new owners may be forbidden from tearing down the home and building something new. A website called Abandoned Explorers suggests that the owners totally abandoned the home in hopes that squatters or criminals would burn the place down and solve their reconstruction fight with the local authorities. Some ariel shots of the home show a dumpster and work trucks outside, but no actual work seems to have ever occurred.
Her Childhood
Custom Outfits
The Minnelli residence is not the only famous home to have been left to rot. A home once owned by rock royalty sits in disrepair in Oxfordshire, England. Some explorers managed to get inside the property and uncovered some pretty crazy stuff. Few people know what once happened in this large mansion. In fact, once the rock stars moved out, the home served as an old people home and later a hotel. Eventually, though, the property was abandoned and has remained deserted for many years. But thanks to an online video, we now have a peek inside.
Custom Outfits
Her Profile
This home once belonged to Ian Gilian, who many know as the lead singer of the band Deep Purple. The home’s once incredibly impressive appearance once caught the attention of many, but now it stands in total shambles. Ian had owned and lived in this home, but it was not meant to be his forever house. The house is modeled in the Victorian style, which might seem a tad bit unusual for a rock star. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s go back in time. Ian Gillan was born in London on August 19, 2945. He grew up in London and spent his younger years enjoying the musical influences around him.
Her Profile
No Changes
Gillan started his rock and roll career as a member of the band, Episode Six. The band formed in 1965 and even once traveled on the road with Dusty Springfield. They did not quite reach the heights they longed for, so Ian, along with bandmate Roger Glover, joined the band Deep Purple. Deep Purple had started two years before Ian and Roger joined. They had played around with different band names, including Roundabout, but in the end, settled on Deep Purple. Good thing too, as the band would go on to be rock legends.
No Changes
At Its Prime
By the 1970s, Deep Purple was beginning to enjoy some fame and popularity. The band would have likely not gotten to this point without their new recruits, Ian and Roger, so in the end, everything worked out like it was destiny’s plan all along. Though the band was getting attention, the real breakout star was Ian Gillan. His vocal style was recognizable and became the calling card for the band. Malcolm Dome, a music reporter, stated, “Gillian remains completely in control of his voice whilst going completely insane.” Gillian would soon become a household name.
At Its Prime
Better Days
The banded rocketed to the top of the charts with their fifth studio album, Fireball. Their well-known song, “Smoke on the Water,” became the song that sealed the deal to their everlasting fame. As with all great bands, they eventually broke up and went their separate ways. After all, nothing lasts forever. Though in 1990, the Deep Purple got back together to record some new material. In 2016 they reached the holy grail of rock and roll with their acceptance in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Better Days
Swimming Pool
In the midst of his fame, Ian Gillan made a large purchase in 1973. He spent about $130,000 on what was more or less a pile of bricks in the English countryside. This would not be the last property that Ian would buy; in fact, he would go on to become a property developer of sorts. The residence he bought still stands in Wallingford today, a town located in the country of Oxfordshire. But what did Gillan have in store for his properties?
Swimming Pool
Not Much
Gillan, along with former girlfriend, Zoe Dean, would go on to spend around $500,000 on different renovations and projects in the house. They even dedicated some of the money to soundproofing the countryside home- after all, Gillan was a rockstar. His unsuspecting home in the countryside could have gone unnoticed by neighbors. That is if he hadn’t thrown extravagant industry parties there or dug a massive swimming pool in the shape of a guitar.
Not Much
Not Much Of A Difference
Sadly, Gillan’s fun in the English countryside was about to come to a screeching halt. By 1995, Gillan was forced to declare bankruptcy, and his finances were in total disrepair. A couple named Paul and Svenia Franklin bought the property from the rockstar. Their idea was to turn the property into a hotel and named it “The Springs,” which referenced the idyllic streams located nearby. The couple also enforced a dress code for the hotel- and this was the reason why Gillan never agreed to return to the property to see its renovation.
Not Much Of A Difference
Gigantic
The hotel did not last more than two decades, thanks to increasing expenses that were involved in the upkeep of the hotel. The Franklins were forced to shutter their hotel, and the property became largely forgotten. This amazing home has truly seen it all- from rock and roll parties to glamorous hotel goers. The former splendor of the property can be seen- if you look closely. But how can anyone get close enough to the property to take a look for themselves?
Gigantic
Vandal
A YouTuber known as Warren Urbexing, takes pride in exploring abandoned properties. He films his explorations on his channel and shows them to the world. Of course, Warren wanted to get his hands on Gillan’s former house. When questioned about his tendency to trespass, Warren replied, “Nobody actually seems to care about the buildings anymore, or they’ve just been left to rot for years and years and years.” With this attitude, Warren went forth with this urban exploration.
Vandal
State Of Decay
Warren took a friend, and the two set off to film Warren’s once glorious home. In this shot, the two took an aerial photo from an upstairs window. What can be seen is the once iconic guitar swimming pool, now overgrown with algae and mostly drained. The grounds surrounding the pool are overgrown with weeds and unruly plants. Warren Tepper tells his viewers to be careful when exploring abandoned buildings like Gillian’s house. He advises to always take a friend and to be careful. After all, these places have been neglected for so long they can now be considered dangerous.
State Of Decay
Master Bedroom
At one point, Warren tells viewers that they are in Gillan’s massive mansion. He shows multiple rooms throughout the property- large and sprawling with gorgeous features like large fireplaces. There are also pattern engraved wood paneling and other ornate details. One thing is for sure, in the tour of Ian Gillan’s once rock and roll home- you can still feel a bit of the musician’s vibe. Underneath the cobwebs and lack of furniture, it is possible to imagine the cool parties and music that was made there. You just might need to close your eyes and turn on that Deep Purple record to do so.
Master Bedroom