Cecil B. DeMille estate hits the market for $25M

Some exciting developments for fans of Old Hollywood this week. For one thing, the venerable Egyptian Theater, where Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments premiered in 1923, is just about to emerge from a $500,000 renovation and restoration. For another, the Los Feliz compound that was the legendary filmmaker’s longtime family estate is also ready for its close-up, splashing onto the market with a $24.95-million price tag.

Occupying 2.1 acres in Los Feliz’s gated Laughlin Park, the DeMille estate contains three structures: a Beaux Arts mansion built in 1913, a pool house, and a studio.

According to public records, the sellers are writer Richard Grossman and art consultant Lisa Lyons—previous owners of such pedigreed properties as Castillo del Lago (they sold it to Madonna) and a 1927 Spanish by Roland Coate.

Per an October 2000 feature in Town & Country, the couple enlisted the architectural firm of Tichenor & Thorp to restore and update the six-bedroom, ten-bath house and its grounds—a process that took six years.

Courtesy of Brett Lawyer/Hilton & Hyland

The estate popped up for sale in March of 2008 with an asking price of $26.25 million, which was about quadruple the highest price sale in the neighborhood at that time. Buyers were resistant, even after multiple price chops, and the property was delisted in 2009.

While L.A.’s real estate market has certainly heated up quite a bit since 2009, to date, the most ever paid for a property in Los Feliz is $11 million. That record was set in 2015, when heiress Lydia Hearst and comedian Chris Hardwick purchased the Paul Williams-designed Rossetti mansion. With an asking price of $24.95 million, the DeMille estate seems to be shooting for the stars.

• 2000 De Mille Dr [Hilton & Hyland]
• 2000 De Mille Dr [Estately]
• The Stuff of Legends [Town & Country]