A famous Stars architect designed it. A renowned Hollywood producer occupied him. A parent of an abandoned international terrorist abandoned him. And now, a Mediterranean villa on a hill in Minex Bel-Air has become the last target of mysterious vandals of graffiti.
At the beginning of last week, the intruders brandishing spray combs transformed the pink walls of this mansion of seven rooms into a canvas of Skelter of Pop Art column, obscure quotes and political innuendos – the third house on a hillside in Los Angeles to be degraded in recent days.
Police arrested a man on the property of two acres on Stone Canyon Road on Friday evening, but the real estate agent supervised the property said that a security guard thought that the non -invited visitor took only photos of the house. She refused to file a complaint.
Police and the private security firm that patrols the green district near the Bel-Air hotel said they had no other clue to which the house vandalized, with missives and sketches filling most of the walls inside and outside the formerly luxurious residence.
The graffiti cover the interior walls of the house, and on the floors are empty cans of aerosol and beer paint.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Sunday morning, cannuts of emptied paint and bottles of beer littered many rooms and a front patio. The windows above the front door had been broken. Others had been made opaque with black and red paint. An elegant stone arch had been wooded by “hopes” in black paint.
“They really destroyed everything.” It's so horrible. Horrible. “
Two large houses in Hollywood hills have recently received similar treatment. Property crimes follow the highly publicized degradation of Haute-Ville with graffiti.
A goalkeeper who patrolled the neighborhood for years said that he had chased away from other people, more recently, three young men who also shot a video on Saturday evening.
“They asked me,” Can we stay and take photos? ” “, Remember the guard. “I said to them,” Can I come to your home without an invitation then stay? ” »»
The goalkeeper, who also asked for anonymity, wondered if the intruders wanted photos “as part of a kind of competition or something.” He said that several months ago, Squatters had supported a moving truck to the house, apparently ready to settle down. He told them that they had five minutes to get lost. They did it.
The Bel-Air manor is at the end of a long driveway, protected from the street by large trees of trees and bamboo. Three Bel-Air neighbors said they had not heard of vandalism until a journalist talks to them on Sunday.
Police and private security said they had no clue to who was responsible for vandalism.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Vandalism marks a low point for a house born in Hollywood splendor.
The architect John Elgin Woolf designed the villa, one of the many he helped to create for lighting, notably Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Judy Garland and Errol Flynn.
Producer Arthur Freed has lived there for years. He made classics including “Brigadoon”, “Showboat”, “An American in Paris”, “Gigi” and “Singin” in the Rain “. He also co-wrote the song “Singin 'in the Rain” with Nacio Herb Brown.
Freed was also an associate producer (not credited) on “The Wizard of Oz” and, by an account, was among those who fought to keep the song “Over the Rainbow” in the film after some of the filmmakers wanted to cut it.
Freed was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He died in 1973 in Los Angeles.
Ibrahim bin Laden, a member of the rich Saudi construction dynasty, bought the Bel-Air house in the 1980s. He was the half-brother of Osama bin Laden, the brain behind the September 11 attacks.
Bin Laden's brother and his family used Bel-Air property as a holiday home, but they haven't lived there for over 25 years, said the real estate agent. For a while, a manager lived in a guest house and took care of the property, but he fell ill and moved several years ago.
The family planned to rent the house and hired an entrepreneur to improve bathrooms and kitchen. But the work teams only snatched the walls and never finished the work, said the agent.
The architect John Elgin Woolf designed the villa behind large trees on the property of two acres on Stone Canyon Road.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The house has been registered for sale since 2021, with the price requested up to $ 28 million. It is currently listed for $ 21.5 million. A buyer who had placed an offer is to decide what to do after being informed of damage to the graffiti, said the agent.
Among the messages scribbled on the interior walls are an explanive and “Osama!” Nearby, another message reads as follows: “GW Bush helped you.”
The agent said that she had sent a video of damage to her customers, who keep several other houses around the world. “They are very, very upset,” she said. “I mean, it's really devastating.” She also pleaded for the public to understand that the owners had nothing to do with the faults of their famous parent.
In a massive house nearby, a man who replied via the intercom said he had heard nothing about vandalism. In another closed mansion, a cleaning lady came to the speaker and said she didn't want to speak.
An eminent Bel -Air resident had no doubt that he blamed for the crime – the city's political leaders.
“He was awake. He is also broke,” said Fred Rosen, CEO of Ticketmaster, the computer ticketing giant. “The city is broken. There is crime, people who leave and politicians lie more than usual. ”
Rosen, who lives not far from the graffiti manor, blamed the county of the County Dist. Atty. George Gascón, in particular, what he said was a lack of responsibility for reprehensible acts.
“We had a basic break in the consequences for poor behavior,” said Rosen. “I don't know anyone – from the valley to the west to Compton – who is not afraid or is not worried.”
