Done Deals: The Most Beautiful Home in Hollywood Listed for $40 Million

Thursday, April 22, 2021

The Most Beautiful Home in Hollywood Listed for $40 Million

The former 15-bedroom, 15-bath Canfield-Moreno Estate,
now known as Paramour Estate overlooking
Silver Lake in East Los Angeles, CA

SILVER LAKE, LOS ANGELES, CA -- In the early 1900s, Southern California became the glamour capital of the world, where some of the world’s most famous movie stars, directors and producers tried to outdo each other with their ritzy mansions.

Mary Pickford

There was the Louis B. Mayer Estate in Bel Air; a number of mansions designed by Wallace Neff for the biggest celebrities including Charlie Chaplain, Fredric March and Harpo Marx; and the most famous home of all: Pickfair for Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Daisy Canfield

But according to the tabloids of the era, the most beautiful home of them all was the Canfield-Moreno Estate, now known as Paramour Estate. It is now on the open market for the first time, priced at $39.995 million.

Cher

Heiress-and-socialite Daisy Canfield, with the Pan American Petroleum fortune in her back pocket, could have almost anything she wanted, according to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.

Rachel McAdams

And what she wanted most was the grandest home in Los Angeles. Daisy hired the most famous architect of the time to design and build a monument-mansion where she could overlook Hollywood from the highest ridge in the Los Angeles basin.

Christina Ricci

It was the most opulent mansion of the era and like many of the old L.A. mansions, was full of celebrity connections and intrigue.

Sally Forster Jones

Daisy’s first marriage was to Jay M. Danziger, who was connected to the Mexican Petrol Oil Company. After their divorce, she married silent film star Antonio Moreno in 1923.

Charlie Chaplin

Together they built their mansion overlooking Silver Lake; the home went by various names throughout the years from Crestmount, to the Danziger Mansion, to the Canfield-Moreno Mansion, and finally the Paramour Estate.

Douglas Fairbanks

In addition to their home, Daisy also used the property as a boarding school and academy that educated young-orphaned girls.

Fredric March

But in 1933, only days after her abrupt separation from Moreno, Daisy’s life came to a tragic end, returning home from a party, when her chauffeur-driven car plunged off a 300-foot cliff along Mulholland Drive.

Harpo Marx

The home continued to operate as a boarding school, while Moreno stayed in the home until 1948. In 1953, the home was deeded to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Order, who also used it as a school.

Wallace Neff

In 1998, designer Dana Hollister purchased the home, renamed it Paramour, and funded a restoration from onsite film shoots, weddings and social events.

Antonio Moreno

Perched on over 4.3 acres, the four-story, walled, 22,000-square-foot home with 15 bedrooms and 15 baths is not anyone’s regular ho-hum mansion.

Tony Curtis

Created by Robert D. Farquhar, the architect to the stars who also did the Owlwood Estate - once owned by both Tony Curtis and Cher, Paramour played host to lavish celebrity parties and was ultimately dubbed by the tabloids as "The Most Beautiful Home in Hollywood."

Robert D. Farquar
(Courtesy photo Santa Monica History Museum)

Features include ceiling beams painted to match the colors in the home’s fabrics, a bar front covered in zebra skin, a grand ballroom with a 25-foot-high ceiling, gilded mirrors, bold colors, crystal chandeliers, a myriad of places to dine, marble-hand-tiled pool, sunroom, lower-level staff quarters, and 360-degree views that stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the San Gabriel Mountains.

Chris Pine

There are four guest cottages, two guest suites, lush landscaping with rose gardens, and parking for 50 cars. According to the seller, “Antique and vintage lighting, furniture, and décor are not included in the sale, but may be available at an additional cost."

Pauly Shore

The Silver Lake neighborhood is on L.A.’s east side near Sunset Boulevard, also home to celebrities Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Christina Ricci, Chris Pine and Pauly Shore.