The house, which still stands and is currently occupied (estimated market value $17 million), was designed in 1938 by famed architect Richard Neutra for Albert Lewin, who directed The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was a beach house on the Pacific Coast Highway, a mile north of the Santa Monica Pier. West bought a second property in the mid-1950s. “I like to see how I’m doing,” West would quip. Mirrors hung everywhere, including above her bed. The theme was “naughty rococo.” Everything was gold, white and cream-colored. Her sixth-floor penthouse apartment was, like West, relatively small, and had two bedrooms, a tiny kitchen and some modest common rooms. It remained her primary residence for 48 years.
Paramount had put West up at The Ravenswood, the studio’s art deco apartment hotel at 570 N. She stole the film - particularly thanks to a self-penned zinger, “Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie” - and was instantly minted a superstar. But Paramount Studios had summoned her for a role in Night After Night. Then 38, West had already conquered Broadway with a string of controversial hit plays like Sex and the gay-themed The Drag. Mae West arrived in Hollywood from her native Brooklyn on Jan. From left: David Ray Johnson, Janet Lewis, James Farris, Patricia Pawlak and Jeff Redford, circa 1976.
