Why have so many celebrities, from Bob Hope and Elizabeth Taylor
to Elvis Presley, had vacation homes here?
A clause in Hollywood contracts required actors to remain within
120 miles of the studios when they were filming – so Palm Springs
was perfectly located. Here the world’s most famous stars could party
outside the limelight, or simply relax: when reclusive film goddess
Greta Garbo wanted to be alone, Palm Springs is where she went.
Our blacktop tour passed Mid-Century Modern houses that have
been home to William Holden, Debbie Reynolds, Kirk Douglas, and
Jack Benny. Dinah Shore lived in a six-bedroom showplace designed
by Donald Wexler and now owned by Leonardo DiCaprio. (It’s
available for nightly rentals.)
But for someone like me who grew up back in the day, a big
attraction was Elvis Presley’s “honeymoon hideaway.” Built in 1960 by
Palm Springs developer Robert Alexander, it was featured in
Look
magazine under the headline “House of Tomorrow.”
Merry and I walked up the disk-shaped front steps where, in 1967,
Elvis had carried his new bride, Priscilla, to begin their honeymoon.
(Lisa Marie Presley was born nine months later.)
As we entered, our guide cautioned, “Try to look past all the Elvis
kitsch.” I’m not exactly sure how you’d do that. Rooms were festooned
with reproduction gold records, guitars, a bust-of-Elvis lamp with a
baby-blue shade, and bad oil portraits of the King. On the kitchen
counter lay an Elvis cookbook titled
Are You Hungry Tonight?
The house itself, though, was an icon of Desert Modernism.
Designed in four perfect circles, it cascaded through three levels.
A curving rock wall in the living room formed the backdrop for a
sweeping built-in sofa. A vast wall of glass looked onto a tropical
garden and swimming pool. It would have been the perfect set for an
Elvis movie.
When we resumed our driving tour, Michael pointed out the
10-bedroom house Liz Taylor once shared with Mike Todd. High on
a hillside we spied actress Suzanne Somers’s pink residence (known
locally as “The House That ThighMaster Built”). We saw the hideaway
of Marilyn Monroe, tucked behind dense greenery.
I came to understand why homes in Palm Springs’s gracious
residential neighborhoods are considered masterpieces of modern
architecture. Many of them trail clouds of glory from shimmering stars
in the Hollywood firmament. And today young actors, musicians, and
designers are again flocking to town, restoring its stature as a stylish
oasis in the desert.
Once more, Palm Springs is both hot
and
cool.
118
summer
|
fall
TRAVEL
