Greta Garbo's NYC residence

She's been dead 20 years.

I hope they dusted at least.

Better link . . .

Maybe not, sorry.

Googled the link to look at the article. Some of the color choices are rather odd, but the views and the spaciousness of the apartment are very nice, it seems very comfortable. It looks like the kitchen and bathroom have, at leas,t probably been updated since her death, but the remainder seems very period. Not sure if I'd have the heart to do anything more than make a few changes.

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Nope, fuck it.

These links don't work because, even in death, Garbo vahnts to be left alone!

The views are spectacular, the flat rather cramped with the exception of the living room.

So her niece has been paying 9 grand a month for 26 years to let it sit empty ?!? WHY ???

The niece was living in it until 2013, per the article, they relocated to San Francisco.

Is... is that a dildo?

Amazing. She really did have style.

Is the niece also a carpet muncher?

We know, OP.

Is that an original bidet?

There were pictures of her apt when they sold some of her artwork after her death. I actually thought it was on the market before or maybe they just did a feature on it. It's not exactly the same and obviously the kitchen and bathroom have been redone. But, yes, it was and is an elegant apartment.

The three realtors gushing and going on and on about Garbo and her magnificent apartment come off like a trio of starstruck Marys.

There was a documentary on AMC shortly after Garbo's death in 1990 that included a video tour of the apartment.

She's very wonderful in The Flesh and the Devil.

A huge hit in its time but little known today outside of silent film aficionados.

Supposedly a really very cold uncaring person who would abandon a close friend in trouble without a moment's thought.

Oh it must be grand to retire and say fuck to the world and hide away in your beautiful Manhattan apartment.

That's a long walk from the kitchen to the living room, past the 3 bedrooms.

Why do the real estate companies always use outdated 80s decorative details like mauve and pickled pine when staging homes for sale? Horrible. It looks like the Golden Girls lived there.

It's a great apartment, I'd have it in a heartbeat. The pink is a bit OTT but other than that I love it.

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She didn't hide away. She was out walking every day.

I love it too

They should keep it as is and make a museum with it

That knotty pine paneling is very 1950s.

I thought she lived in the Dakota

Why does she have two bedrooms with only one door? Was one for her caretaker?

another

I vant to be alone in Greta's apartment.

All the furniture plus drapes and carpet are horrible, and the panelling looks cheap. The only nice things about it are the views.

How do real estate agents determine who really wants to see a place like this to buy it versus people who are just curious about where someone famous lived?

[quote] I thought she lived in the Dakota

That was Bacall

for a property like this, they would have to submit preliminary financial statements and be screened to determine if they are "real". determined-enough oglers, with financial means (i.e, millions in liquid assets) could probably fake it, but not the common riffraff.

[quote]That was Bacall

And Yoko Ono. And Eartha Kitt. And Leonard Bernstein

and rosmary clooney, roberta flack, rudolph nureyev, judy garland, jason robards, joe namath, rosie o'donnell, lillian gish, boris karloff, rex reed, jack palance, gilda radner

I vas never in The Dakota. I vas NEVER in the Dakota!!

Just as she left it? Surely there aren't people so dumb as to believe that BS.

Even though she retired decades earlier, she sure ended up better than Joan Crawford, who died penniless.

the grand salon is probably mostly how it was in her time. the baths and kitchens have been redone

I saw someone say that Joan had about two million when she died, R40. That's hardly penniless. Plus, Garbo was a known cheapskate and had also invested in real estate early on.

Greta was hardly a cheapskate. She left an art collection that sold for $19 million at Sotheby's. She chose to spend her money on things that would appreciate in value over time, like art and real estate. Joan was not a good businesswoman, as Bette Davis has stated in interviews, and chose to spend her money on depreciable assets like vodka and men.

What would Bette Davis know about it, R43? All Joan basically did was be a spokesperson for Pepsi, which I think she actually was pretty good at. She never invested in anything that I know of.

Garbo investing in art and real estate hardly disproves that she was a cheapskate. I remember an account by a woman who happened to look into a bathroom that was being used by Garbo at the time and her toilet articles basically amounted to a comb, a tooth brush and bar of soap. And Garbo left all her money to her niece, nothing for any charities.

R44 that only denotes a lack of vanity.

The ceilings are rather low. And it's not a top tier building. People who bought in the Campanile were usually those rejected by the Board at River House across the street.

It's dated but so chic.

yes very chic...the banquette, and the views around it, are to die for

I like the decor and the paneling. It does have a lot of windows and light but the views aren't very pretty. I see a lot of smoke stacks and factories. The river is the only great thing to see though very polluted. The stone work on the building is quite lovely.

The family has left the apt as Garbo had designed it, she loved pink which is why there is so much of it in the decor. Go to the NY Times Real Estate, I couldn't post a link because DL limits the links to 225 characters.

"top tier" river house = racist and anti-semitic

[quote] "top tier" river house = racist and anti-semitic

Racist, I'd say yes. Anti-semitic? Nope. As long as you were a patrician type Jew (no rags to first or second generation riches) and your name wasn't always in the papers {Kissinger aside), Jewish people have always been accepted.

That is not " exactly how she left it." She had important, beautiful pictures and elegant antiques and all are gone. I don't believe she would have ever had those rugs--especially the one in the long end of the drawing room with the purple swirls

"Unfortunately, especially at co-ops on the East Side, in close proximity to the mansions of the elite, another tactic calculated to attract the best occupants, was to appeal to their longstanding biases. Here, newcomers and non-WASPs were disdained. Jews, in particular, found they were not welcome at buildings considered to be ‘top-flight.’ The most fashionable were the most exclusive, emphasizing the notion that people with whom one shared one’s roof, ought to share enough general interest and characteristics in common, as members of any well-run club might, ought to be ‘nice people’, ought to be ‘people like us’, to be ‘people we know!’"

If Joan died with 2 million in 1977, she was doing very well.

Just the luxury and dignity of being able to die in her own home with round the clock home care was an accomplishment not many old people have.

[quote]Just the luxury and dignity of being able to die in her own home with round the clock home care was an accomplishment not many old people have.

Who gives a fuck if old people don't get to die with home care and dignity? They are spent. Useless.

Joan was relying on certain trusted fans near the end of her life for her care. Garbo purchased much property on Rodeo Drive many years ago, which later became quite exclu$ive.

Rex Harrison was also living in Garbo's building at the time of her death, I recall CNN interviewing him outside the building.

Not near any subway stops. I'll pass.

A kind of dusty pink was the color Garbo seemed to be most fond of. Cecil Beaton called her apartment "a dreadful hotchpotch of colors."

Just watched Billy Wilder's attempt at Sunset Blvd redux. 1979's Fedora. A Garboesque fantasy. William Holden looks like Joe Gillis corpse after he'd been rotting in the pool for 25 years. Beyond ghastly. Wonder if Greta ever saw it?

Hotchpotch? That gets an "oh, dear" for the ages.

R61, With a cameo by DL fave, Arlene Francis.

Did Dietrich die broke?

Whatever happened to that ugly Asian troll that kept following her around NYC?

Hardly . . .

R65, Yoko?

There's no way that Dietrich was worth $30 million when she died. How would she have amassed that much money?

Soldiers used to give her $10.00 for anal, #68.

That's probably post-death, when her real estate was sold and her possessions were auctioned.

"Hotchpotch? That gets an "oh, dear" for the ages.'

That's the way it was spelled in the book I quoted it from: "Garbo" by Barry Paris (p. 466). If you want to "oh dear" then write to Barry Paris and tell him of your displeasure. He'll probably write back and tell you to fuck off.

[quote] There was a documentary on AMC shortly after Garbo's death in 1990 that included a video tour of the apartment.

Thanks, R18. But I also remember an article with pictures maybe in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. I thought it was a lovely apartment and very familiar - my mom was from NYC.

As someone said above, my mom told me she used to see her on the street on a regular basis.

And Marlene kept her NYC apartment and let her grandson live there IIRC. The NYC townhouse she owned she bought for her daughter - maybe early 1950s - and her family to live in. Plus her jewelry, clothes, costumes and artifacts she kept for her daughter. The daughter IIRC was setting up a museum and using it as a money making endeavor. I know that Marlene supposedly was in a difficult financial situation from time to time in her later years. I wondered why she just didn't sell off her real estate and other belongings since I always felt her daughter was an ingrate.

THe city of Paris had to step in and pay Marlene's rent towards the end of her life, she had no money. She refused to sell her NYC apartment, it was the only thing of significant value she had and she was determined to leave it to her daughter/grandsons. Marlene was always stuck for money.

Too much fuchsia, but it's pretty fantastic.

The views are stunning, but, in the end, they are views of Queens and some of the dullest parts of Brooklyn.

I saw pictures of her apartment before the artwork and antiques were sold and remember thinking her taste was more old money than I expected frim someone from a peasant background. I guess licking Cécile de Rothschild's pussy all those years paid off.

most of the views are toward the east which would encompass the lower end of roosevelt island and the FDR park, beyond which would be the long island city section of queens which has rapidly gentrified from light industrial to glitzy residential high rises. the view to the north would be the 59th st bridge and to the south both the brooklyn and manhattan sides of the east river. could be worse, at least it's not new jersey

It's surprisingly feminine!

And really quite lovely, if I had the money and wanted to live in NYC I'd be all over it. Spacious, colorful, huge windows - the breakfast nook is to die for! And yes, I'd love to live in Garbo's apartment, and look for elves under the bed.

A bit dated.

I like it. While the views aren't the greatest, it must be lovely in the morning when the sun is rising. Being on the edge of the river, never any worries about the view being blocked. It seems rather large from the photos, so it's odd that, when entertaining guests, they would have to enter into a bedroom to use a bathroom, and that long walk from the living room to the dining room.

not odd at all for nyc apts, especially pre-war. even those in the nicest and most expensive buildings seldom had "powder rooms". the more typical layout is that the master bath would have ensuite bath, while the second bath would be near the entrance to the second or third bathroom and would be the used by guests when entertaining. it would also be used by any guests staying in the second bedroom

For some reason I doubt Garbo did much entertaining.

She didn't go out of her way for friends. She expected to be entertained by them. And once she was annoyed or bored by them they were dropped.

She herself was dropped by Ari as a Christina hood ornament when she started to get older and he wanted a younger bauble in the form of Callas on his yacht who then was replaced by the younger and even more famous publicity magnet Jackie. What is an opera singer on a steep downward slope(purposely hastened by him) compared to the most famous still young widow of all time?

Pussy pink.

Maria was only six years older than Jackie, and he began seeing her again when the marriage to Jackie began to sour.

Joan Crawford's "round the clock home care" was reputedly a couple of star struck fans who volunteered to take care of her at the end and received no pay, and no remembrance after she died.

hotchpotch is a variant of hodgepodge and perfectly ok to use. Just thought I would enlighten to more illiterate of those reading this thread.

For reasons 'well known to them', R85

Yes because Ari could sling shit at Callas privately and publically constantly and she'd always forgive him.

Callas had no self pride and a horrible inferiority complex which was why she threw away her great talent to grovel before an evil man who had less integrity than a flea.

What happened to Onassis and his family at the end almost makes you believe in karma.

Callas, Tina, the children all paid horribly for the sins of the man. The only one who seems to have escaped is the granddaughter but she is still young. The ghosts are lying in wait.

R88 Frau with soap opera mentality.

R89 Maria Callas diva worshipper.

I LOVE it, fuchsia and all.

Is there really any info on who was tending to Joan at her death is is this all just speculation?

I do remember reading that she took in Hubby #2 Franchot Tone when he was sick and dying. That must have infuriated Bette. Wasn't a rivalry over Franchot the begining of their infamous FEUD?

Sounds like (inaccurate) speculation, R92. Charlotte Chandler's Joan bio says this:

[quote]“Though very ill on the morning of her death, Joan rose early. She had no appetite for breakfast, but she wanted to prepare the meal for a longtime faithful fan who had stayed the night, keeping the vigil along with Joan’s housekeeper. As they sat down and began their breakfast, she retired to her bedroom. She had been up early, before the others, in order to prepare the breakfast for two. She had fixed her hair, put on some lipstick and one of her favorite robes. She knew she didn’t look well. She was too thin. She hadn’t slept all night, and she was in pain.”

Maybe the fact that there was a fan there on the last night + the fact that Joan was known to put fans to work if they hung about for long enough somehow became "fans provided round the clock care for Joan". The linked article below mentions that the name of the housekeeper/ maid was Frieda.

Wow! That's a great article, r93. Thank you!

You should post it in the FEUD thread.

Garbo was rich but, like a lot of rich bitches, was cheap. She preferred others to entertain her and most were happy to do so.

In Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough, novel and film, there is a legendary reclusive, retired film star named Karla who's having an affair with Deidre Milford Granger Wayne, a super rich heiress. In spite of Karla's wealth, she accepts lavish gifts and cash from Dee. The relationship was based by Susann on Garbo's odd friendship with Cecile de Rothschild, who was quite generous with Garbo.

you do understand the meaning of the word "novel" i trust?

And you do understand the difference between a purely fictional novel and a roman à clef, n'est-ce pas, r96? Susann specialized in the latter.

The apartment has amazing bones and just needs re-finishing, chic paint, tea paper or gilding or whatnot.. The rooms are large, bright and airy - the floor plan quite amazing. Ceilings are a tad low - but welcome to NYC. She also had a lovely terrace. There is nothing wrong with this apartment. It doesn't hold a candle to Joan's duplex with Alfred Steele - but what does. And of course after his death, Joan could no longer afford the carrying costs to live there. It is well known that Joan did not die penniless - I have seen plenty of evidence that she left at least over a million to the two youngest daughter, charities and whatnot - I do not remember the exact figures, but can find them. The topic has been covered extensively due to her cutting the two youngest out of the will. The actresses who made the most were either the stars of the silent era before the studio system (the big wig Jewish heads of the studio made ALL the money but paid you a nice salary even when you were not working) or once back end deals became an option (profit sharing so that the actors could amass a huge fortune if the film became a hit and over time an even bigger one). Joan and Bette and others really never had much of either option. They were square in the middle of both eras for the most part.

Goodness, Joan Crawford seeps into just every thread these days!

I had an old pal who lived nearby. I'd visit him uptown and we used to go for walks by Garbo's place in the hope of getting a sighting of the star.

My writing was ambiguous, I meant to say that once the studio system came about - actors were given a steady salary, but did not make a KILLING any longer.

[quote]almost exactly

I'm almost exactly a virgin

Here's the article from AD someone was referring to. You can see the apartment how it looked right after her death (the photos were taken for the Sotheby's auction which massed CA. 19 million dollar). I think it looked marvellous!!

Oops, somehow the link doesn't work. More photos here, including the 3 Renoirs...

Love those shades of salmon

Oh thank you, R102/103. I am in the process of discarding tons of old ADs. But I know I kept the ones with Hollywood/Broadway homes. I didn't even think to look there. Duh!

[quote]Joan Crawford's "round the clock home care" was reputedly a couple of star struck fans who volunteered to take care of her at the end and received no pay, and no remembrance after she died.

Lucky her. I had to beg to sleep on gay men's sofas and sing that god damned "Over The Rainbow" at their birthday parties. I was broke and do you think that ungrateful Liza, that talentless Lorna or that fat fuck Joey would help me? Nope.

Wrong thread, [R105] !

[quote]Wrong thread, [[R105]] !

Well, seeing how the last response was 12 hours ago, I thought I'd give this dying thread a shot in the arm.

They also sell 3 pieces of Garbo's art collection, estimated around 10 million $ Lucky heirs!

Oh i wouldve loved to see the apartment while garbo still lived there.....

It is a beautiful apartment and she was a beautiful woman. Great style, beautiful art. Apropos.

I think it looks magnificent! Those views are everything

A bidding war!