Tasteful Friends: Bette's Beach Front Home

I can picture Bette on that treadmill with a cigarette in one hand and a highball in the other.

I don't like some of the renos, but no one can say it's a dump.

Those extended views of the neighborhood really show how oversaturated the area is. Looks like a slum town.

Too bad they chose the most basic stager in Orange County. They made it have all the charm of a model home in Santa Ana.

Well, I suppose the house if okay, if you go for that whole “spectacular” thing.

Omg Laguna Beach? Is it next to Lauren Conrad's house?

Could you ever get the stale cigarette smell out?

I actually wonder if it still smells like her? I got the chance to visit my grandmother's house 7 years after she passed, and I smelled her perfume the moment I opened the door.

Are you sure it wasn’t mothballs?

She lived there while she was pregnant with Barbara Davis Sherry (aka BD) and for the next few years.

R9, While she was married to B. D.'s father, William Grant Sherry(1945-1950).

Bette claimed she first laid eyes on hunky Sherry wearing swim trunks and she was smitten.

Here they are at home in Laguna Beach

It's very nice and well preserved.

They're asking the moon for a star's old house.

Great house, everything that is original is beautiful. Most of the recent changes arent.

And like R3 says it looks like it has been staged (and renovated) by Chip and Joanna Gaines

Laguna has changed so much. It is still very special but it used to be an artist’s colony and now the gays have moved on and it is all rich people from Texas.

B.D.’s Father

It’s heaven. I love everything about it. I dream of having a home that looks out on the sea like that.

I’m far from rich, and I’m usually ok with that, but how wonderful it would be to have the option of buying a place like that.

That starky white color on the walls everywhere would drive me mad. This house has no sense of humor.

Amazing

[quote]While she was married to B. D.'s father, William Grant Sherry(1945-1950).

Well, thank goodness. I could've sworn it was that poor man Arthur Farnsworth that Bette murdered.

She used to beat poor Farny over the head and one day he dropped dead while walking down the street. The coroner said maybe he got a concussion from falling.

Yeah, he got a concussion alright...if you could've seen the terrible things she did to him in her drunken rages...but I'm not one to gossip about Bette, so vindictive that one...

Here she is with hubby William Grant Sherry on the beach. Even the '40s bathing suit can't hide the massive sizemeat.

A lot of celebs had weekend houses there. The Nelsons (Ozzie, Harriet, etc.) had a place there for decades---Harriet died there, I believe. Given the traffic and the emergence of air travel, having a second home someplace other than the traffic-choked LA area began to make more sense.

He has BD face.

[quote]Even the '40s bathing suit can't hide the massive sizemeat.

Poor Bette...

She did have a rather mannish figure to go with those low-hanging breasts.

It looks teetering & cliffy

I'm not sure that guy would fit into a Speedo.

Since we're on the subject, looks like Jeff Chandler was a frequent guest of the Sherry's. Bette sure knew how to pick 'em

Now that we've got Bette out of the way... Um!

Sherry was definitely the best looking of all her husbands. Just look at those strong hairy forearms.

His dick looks huge.

He has big time masculine energy. Delightful

I don't like stained glass except in ancient cathedrals. Plain leaded glass is lovely.

Our freindly Wikipedist informs us that Sherry was a "masseur."

So , this is where the spawn of Satan was Created .

@r33, I thought he was a painter *wink* *wink* Hey, when you're Bette Davis you can afford the best painter/masseur

Holy shit. Bette's husband was hot. Nice back, too.

Dang, Sherry was indeed hot! How come Datalounge has never discussed him before?

I suspect whe she was a the studio, WGS spent a LOT of time in the gym and at Venice Beach.

Is it on the beach? You would never guess by the decor. (insert hard eyeroll)

Jesus - talk about being a slave to the white/light grey and blue accent decor! It looks like absolutely no thought was put into it. Appeal to the masses I suppose, but damn that is just so cliche and unremarkable.

And the statuary on the patio is ridiculous. Great house, if you want to be pounded with sun glare, salt spray and noise.

[quote] Just look at those strong hairy forearms.

Yes, and this caused Bette to be a real challenge for the Warner Brothers makeup department.

R36, Gary Merrill was no slouch in the looks department. Bette often said in interviews that the failure of her marriage to Merrill was her biggest regret.

He definitely upgraded after Bette with his relationship with Rita Hayworth.

Bette claimed in interviews that Sherry used to beat her. After her book was published, B. D. and Sherry reunited after many years. The nanny Bette caught Sherry having an affair with married him after the divorce from Bette and they remained married until his death.

[quote] That starky white color on the walls everywhere would drive me mad.

Mad enough to forget about paint?

[quote] Even the '40s bathing suit can't hide the massive sizemeat.

You queens and your exaggerations of cock size. There is not one thing "massive" about his bulge. It looks quite average in size.

I'd love to see the interiors of the house when Bette owned it. They are so boring and cliched now, as others have said before me. I like the brick outside patio. Trust me, I'd love to own it but I'd have to remodel the inside.

^ I hear the interior when Bette owned it was a light tobacco color... Every square inch of it

"Bette claimed in interviews that Sherry used to beat her."

Bette had that effect on men, well except Farnsworth, we all liked pushing him around

You'd have to walk around in sunglasses - the glare from the sun on the water and the reflection of all the white in the house will be headache inducing.

California has beautiful sunsets being on the west coast, but it's also a lot of fucking glaring sun in your face from 3pm to sundown.

This house is desperate for some shade and color. People are so fucking stupid about the phrase 'letting all the sunshine in'. Trust me - that's not a fucking problem - you're going to be retreating from the constant glare.

As everyone else notes the house is drab, dreary and dreadful now. You would have to put some $$$$ into rehab. Sherry had a nice muscular body, but his nose is bad and the balding unfortunate.

It’s obvious she had the house before someone put that monstrosity on the opposite bluff!

For more pics of the hunky hubby, look for John Sherry on Facebook. He is the son of the hunk & has several photos of his father in trunks. He was quite a looker for the time, not that many men would have achieved such a physique. I'm sure when he was on the beach all eyes were on him.

I wouldn't have guessed that Bette Davis was a beach person.

^ Those beach pictures were all from a Life Magazine photo spread. I highly doubt Miss Davis had much interest in the beach 5 minutes after the camera crew left

Sherry looks like Gene Hackman.

Bette actually met Sherry on a beach. She saw him in those swim trunks and had to get a piece of that.

He made her New England lady parts tingle.

R51, While married to Gary Merrill, Bette, Gary and the children lived in an oceanside home in Maine.

Seems like kind of a meh artist,

Why did BD become such a crazy cunt?

IMO, it's beautiful. Kitchen and baths have been subtly updated. I wouldn't change a thing.

One thing about the houses in Laguna on the beachside of PCH that I noticed is that they often can have a damp musty smell, like the basement of an old east coast house.

[quote]Jesus - talk about being a slave to the white/light grey and blue accent decor! It looks like absolutely no thought was put into it. Appeal to the masses I suppose, but damn that is just so cliche and unremarkable.

I agree, it's so predictable, almost tacky!

Those big rocks on the beach right in front of the house are stupid! I would have imagined a big Hollywood star would live closer to Hollywood or Beverly Hills, Bel Air or Malibu. Long hours driving from her place to the studios.

^ Do you actually think Bette Davis had a 9-5 job at the studio? Plus back in the 40s and 50s there was a lot less traffic

Probably more like 6 to 9. Long shooting hours for Bette.

When did Laguna Beach stop being gay?

When Bette Davis left!

Wow, the interior, while not awful (how could it be when it's that neutral), is sort of lame. Yeah, I get keeping it light and simple and letting the the location and views do the heavy lifting - like does it really matter with THAT view out your window, but still.

Vessel sinks, ugh.

I love the house. I love the white too. I sense a bit of jealousy from some of you overly picky queens!

That I'm jealous of having a house like that doesn't change what a don't like about it. I'm not making it up because I'm jealous.

What a dump.

That patch on the left side of the house is public access to the beach via a concrete stair.

I did the 3D tour and it’s very colorful. I love it

R65 - there used to be a handful of gay bars in Laguna Beach and then after 2000 or so, they closed down mainly, one would assume, gentrification. The number of gay bars that have closed in the past 20 years is remarkable.

Now there really isn't any gay feel to Laguna Beach - none that I notice.

R50, Sherry's son is pro-Bette and anti-B. D.on his Facebook posts.

He claims to have been friendly with Bette until her final days.

r20, could you step over here for a minute? That's it...

Why isn't anyone talking about EROSION! If you look at the realtor photo, some of those houses on the right are literally teetering over the cliff due to it. You'd be crazy to buy it. Bab's place will probably be in the water in a few years too.

Those neighbours on the right probably can't get permission for a seawall: that's why those houses look fucked. And even when you DO have a seawall, you're very reliant on those of your neighbours being up to grade. If they're not, the water will undermine your own. It's a hellish situation. Most of entire coast of California is under seige due to rising seas.

R75, Sorry.

Insurance on those shoreline houses must be horrendous.

^ It isn't, ocean front houses are federally insured

It's a "Registered Historic Structure" of the City of Lagina Beach. Does that mean you can't change the exterior?

It would be interesting to know what Bette paid for this house back in the day.

R44

For you!

R83, That's a rough looking 39.

R80, are you referring to some kind of "assigned risk" federal program that provides insurance because no private sector insurance company is willing to cover something so risky?

R84

Yes, thought same thing, but then again when you loved booze and ciggys much as Bette Davis did that's what happens.

R85

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).....

In some of those photos she looks like she did 15 years earlier, until you zoom in enough to see the weathered face. It really was the result of smoking and drinking, and probably sun, she was outdoors a lot.

Basically much if not entire California coastline is one large cluster fuck. Constant battles between residents, government planning commissions, general public (who want access to beaches), and federal government who funds large portion of flood/property insurance or other schemes that to some extent shield homeowners from true costs of living along a shifting coastline.

That husband is such a hunk!

Living in a house with those views and a man that looks like him sounds wonderful.

Beautiful house. Laguna looks so much prettier than Malibu and you seem to get more land and house for your money.

I wonder if he did her the hard way?

R65

Laguna Beach was a gay haven going back to 1920's or so, and things only got better through 1970's and into 1980's, though HIV/AIDS began putting a damper on things. Fast forward to 1995 GOP conservatives gained control of local government and things went down hill for gays.

There have been active efforts of late by LGBT community at Laguna Beach to bridge the divide so to speak, but it doesn't seem as if the place will ever be the sort of haven for gays it was before.

It reminds me a lot of Bette Midler's former Laguna Beach home that actually came with a historic pirate tower directly below it. It was also an older Tudor-style home. You can see it in this video.

I don't understand who would want a Tudor-style beach house in California. That style doesn't fit the California coastline at all.

When famous Boom Boom Room gay bar where Paul Lynde and Rock Hudson among many other gay men went for ages shut, you knew it was largely over for gays in Laguna Beach.

Meet the neighbors of Woods Cove

R96, George Clooney bought the old Boom Boom room.

Absolutely stunning. I love it.

Worth the price and the people whining about "staging" don't realize that this needs no set-dressing.

But what the photos show is that you'll break your toes banging into furniture if you don't decorate with care. And for once they didn't use a photo view that exaggerated the spaces.

It's perfect at the $19 million price. I wouldn't pay a dime more.

R98

No, he didn't....

Marcela and Chris Dornin bought the property back in 2013

Sad end of Boom Boom Room is also tale of how Laguana Beach like many other once thriving gay meccas aren't (or isn't) what they once were.

It basically comes down to same reasons why so many gay bars/clubs are closing, and or once gay "ghettos" such as West Village or Chelsea just aren't any longer.

Laguna Beach is right between Los Angeles and San Diego, there's plenty of gay money there, but they've mostly largely have found better things to do.

The more Gays assimilate into mainstream society the less need for "Gay ghettos". Same thing happened to Germantown, Little Italy, China Town, etc. It's sad, but really a positive sign in the long run

Is it though? I love those places. Boystown—which is gone.

Bette went directly from William Sherry to Gary Merrill.

Not a bad segue for the little brown wren.

[quote]The more Gays assimilate into mainstream society the less need for "Gay ghettos".

That's a shame, because gay life was better when we had our own secret magical world that heteros knew nothing about. Kind of like the Zodiac Club in the movie Bell, Book & Candle. It was so mysterious and sexy. It had an Alice in Wonderland feel to it.

@r105 and r107, as I said, it's sad, but it's also progress. When I first came out being Gay was like being a member of a secret club, but that's because we weren't widely accepted. That part wasn't good

Your sex life was also a crime, R108, R107, R105.

^ Exactly, I almost forgot that one little point

True R107!

R29, Gary Merrill was pretty hot too, and he also had hairy forearms :)

Bette tells Mike Wallace that Sherry beat her @ 1:25.

Whatever style that green outfit is, it does no favors for her. Can you imagine Hepburn in a get-up like that?

Wow, R100, you really know how to miss a point. You bitch about people "whining" about the staging, then you launch right into your little ditty about stubbing your toe if one picks the wrong decor.

Well done, honey.

I suspect Bette didn't have many fond memories of the place after the honeymoon phase was over. Sherry beat her and then left her for the nanny who was hired to look after evil spawn B.D. Then Merrill beat Bette some more before he replaced her with Rita Hayworth.

^ I guess everyone wanted a shot at Bette

Threads like this is where Datalounge shines. The old Queens emerge from their holes and aspiring, apprentice Design Twinks come to play too. Thankfully the Fraus, LSA Bobbleheads and Ts stay away. It’s like old times, if only for a brief moment.

Do we pronounce this ok’d dead puta’s name BET or BETTY?

OLD

Laguna, while stunningly beautiful, is a tremendous bore. Nothing but ultra rich, ultra white, ultra conservatives with sphincters so tight they've fused shut. No night life to speak of at all. Everything is dead by 9pm. Just a tight assed, republican snooze fest.

Bette looks lovely in those pictures. God, did the cigs and booze do a number on her looks later on. She got so haggard looking.

We just had a thread on Dead Ringer, in which Bette was in her mid-50s but looked 70.

I read somewhere the other day that Bette rented a house in Laguna Beach, so I assume this is the place.

I also just read that Bette turned down some role because she refused to work with Cary Grant. I never heard that she disliked/hated him, professionally and/or personally -- why?

Nice place.

R124, Was Bette first offered "Charade", lol?

r28 The husband was indeed yummy. Its quite rare for men in the 1940s to have that kind of body.

Link for Bette refusing to work with Cary Grant, R124?

I live not too far from Bette's house in Westport, CT, where she lived in the 60s and 70s. It's a really lovely house, and there are some old-timers in the area who have stories about her.

I'd love to hear about those stories, R129, if you'd like to retell them.

R128, I read it in "Bette & Joan: The Divine Feud" by Shaun Considine -- it was a library book, so I can't refer to it now. Don't remember which movie (not "Charade"!) but whatever it was didn't end up starring Cary Grant either.

The Westport people I've known all said that Bette was generally pleasant in public, she frequented all the local shops and restaurants and was always friendly when people approached her. She was always smoking, even in stores where smoking wasn't allowed but everybody made an exception for Bette Davis. When she had dinner in the local restaurants she liked to drink scotch, and a lot of it. It was obvious she had a drinking problem.

That's pretty much it, nobody had any scandalous stories to tell. BTW Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were always lovely, everybody was fond of them.

Oh I just remembered - there was a little movie theater in town back then, and Bette went there frequently. She didn't sit in the audience because when she did it caused a big fuss and commotion and she couldn't watch any movie in peace, so they let her sit in the projection booth to watch movies! After the movie was over, the projection booth would be FULL of cigarette smoke, just a fog of it.

Despite living in the same town, Bette claimed she did not meet Paul and Joanne until Jimmy Carter's Inauguration in 1977.

Bette Davis was quite lovely as a young woman, but the booze and cigarettes really did a number on her looks. She got haggard and beat-looking pretty early. She was only early-mid 50s here. Yikes! No actress would look like this today at the same age.

Beach is heavily eroded and in 10 years, the first floor will be covered with salt water.

Bye bye Laguna Beach.