The Kirkeby mansion gone?

[richieonline]

Thank ya!!

[LifeinLA]

Originally Posted by MichaelKeith

Did anyone have a chance to see the Kirkeby mansion at 750 Bel-Air road before the wall was built up around it? Also, I believe it was torn down or heavily modified sometime in the 70s or 80s and is not recognizable as it was on the TV show. I saw the wall in 2005 and it was a disappointment. Watching the show, when a car drives up the street to the front gate, it always appears so open and spacious but in truth, Bel-Air road is pretty narrow and winding. I guess I just felt letdown when I finally saw it. Michael

I have some good news for everyone who is wondering about the house. I was friends with the Kirkeby family and spent much time in the house before it was sold in 1985 to Jerry Perenchio, the owner of Univision, upon the death of Mrs. Kirkeby. Believe me, it was an amazing place.

First of all, it is still there, in it's entirety, but no longer visible from the street. I read one post that said that the front of the house was the back, and the back was the front. Nonsense. The front, which we all saw on t.v., was the main entrance to the house, and still is to this day. The front door takes you under the grand staircase and into an incredible entry hall.

The only thing that the new owner did was remove the beautiful, solid copper roof, which appeared blue from the oxidation (and very beautiful), and make some much needed improvements to a home that was over sixty years old when he bought it. The kitchen was old, the bathrooms needed upgrading, the plumbing and and electrical needed to be modernized.

And, of course, he did redo all of the grounds, moved the tennis court and rebuilt the pool. He incorporated a new entrance, one that afforded more privacy, as this was always a problem for the Kirkeby family, what with such a high-profile home. He also bought back several neighboring homes that were once part of the estate, but sold off over the years and returned the property to it's almost ten-acre original glory.

The Kirkebys, by the way, called the job that Perenchio did on the house, an amazing job. Surely they felt a bit nostalgic for the way they remembered it, but, but cannot deny quality of the restoration.

A home of it's size, relatively small when compared to Candy Spelling's
56K sq. ft monster (at 22k sq. ft., not half the size) or Fleur de Lys, which is 10k sq. ft. bigger, but on a mere 5 acres, could not possibly be worth $15million, as a post suggested. This home, with it's Bel-Air Road address, ten acres of lush grounds, city views, it's history, etc. would command over $100million even in todays sagging market.

Cinderfella was filmed at the home, but not inside of it, except maybe the kitchen. None of the posted pictures, including the staircase, bedroom, or dining area are of the home's actual interior. And it was, I believe, much nicer than the those sets that were created forthe film. More elegant, more tasteful and not so garish.

Finally, someone asked about gardners. When Mrs. Kirkeby was alive, she had a staff of five, full-time gardners to tend to the grounds. There was a maid, a cook, and a driver. A security guard watched over the grounds at night. She did live there alone, as the staff went home at night, and she often took her meals in the kitchen. I think that she was pretty amazing, too.

[comedyfreak]

Thanks for the info lifeinla great reading. I wished I could see the grand mansion in person. I visited the area a couple of years ago and couldn't see a thing anywhere around there, I was so disappointed.

[LifeinLA]

Thanks Comedyfreak. One more thing about the main entrance. As I posted before the main entrance to the home is still the one and only entrance. Just like the one that was used on the show. And, like I said before, that was the front of the house, as it was never filmed from the back for t.v..

But that being said, the home's main entrance is now accessed from Nimes Road and not Bel-Air Road. I guess it is easier to say that the "main driveway" was moved to Nimes Road. This affords a longer, winding drive up to the main entrance and motor-court, which remain unchanged.

If you stand on Bel-Air Road, you can see where the wall was filled in to block the view of the home. And GoogleEarth will show you the property as it appears today. Also, check out the book "The Estates of Beverly Hills" by Jeff Hyland. It is the cover-home, and has great exterior shots of the home when the Kirkeby's still owned it. His follow-up book, "The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills" features the home after the renovation.

Somewhere, I have a picture taken inside the dining room, as well as one or two on the grounds, the tennis courts, etc. Maybe I can post them.

[comedyfreak]

That would be great, it's my favorite mansion. I did hear the new entrance was on Nimes Rd, forgot the address though.

[richieonline]

That is some great inside information!! I totally understand why the new owners did what they did, i'm no so sure I wouldn't have been tempted to do the same if I owned it and had fans of the show constantly at my gate peering in. (maybe tempted but never would have... i love that house too much. haha) I was always suspicious of purported interior pictures of the home, they were not so important to me as the exterior that we are all familiar with. One great thing to know is that they didn't make any drastic changes so one day maybe a future owner can change the front entrance back..hahaha, well you can always hope.

While we are on this subject i just want to vent, i read in the beverly hillbillies, a fortieth anniversary wingding book that when they made the theatrical film adaption of the beverly hillbillies they had an opportunity to film at the original mansion but decided not to because the rental fee was too high!! What morons, pay a little extra it would have added sooo much to the film, plus if they had replaced jim varney as jed, that would have improved it even more... ok i'm done ranting now... :-)

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by richieonline

While we are on this subject i just want to vent, i read in the beverly hillbillies, a fortieth anniversary wingding book that when they made the theatrical film adaption of the beverly hillbillies they had an opportunity to film at the original mansion but decided not to because the rental fee was too high!! What morons, pay a little extra it would have added sooo much to the film, plus if they had replaced jim varney as jed, that would have improved it even more... ok i'm done ranting now... :-)

Now we know why the movie bombed, LOL.

[TRENDON]

I just posted some photos Here,...
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopo...ry.php/cat/749
But I'm looking forward to seeing LifeinLA's Photos.

[comedyfreak]

Nice pics, thanks for posting.

[treuther]

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

That is such a cool pic, wish they wouldn't have torn it down. I'd still like to drive down there to see what things look like now.

They didn't really tear it down, just totally remodeled it. It is not the same, but still some of it's original look.
BTW, here is a shot I took in the summer of 1973, well before anything was done to it.

[comedyfreak]

Still nice to see.

[gmsoares]

Has anyone noticed episodes about the Fenwicks featured the Playboy Mansion

[treuther]

Originally Posted by gmsoares

Has anyone noticed episodes about the Fenwicks featured the Playboy Mansion

Oh yeah. I sure have. I live in So CA and have been by many familiar places that have appeared on that show.

[ILuvCarolBurnett]

Originally Posted by MichaelKeith

Did anyone have a chance to see the Kirkeby mansion at 750 Bel-Air road before the wall was built up around it? Also, I believe it was torn down or heavily modified sometime in the 70s or 80s and is not recognizable as it was on the TV show. I saw the wall in 2005 and it was a disappointment. Watching the show, when a car drives up the street to the front gate, it always appears so open and spacious but in truth, Bel-Air road is pretty narrow and winding. I guess I just felt letdown when I finally saw it. Michael

I know they had built a wall around it some years ago and it was not easily viewable from the street as it once was. I know that Ronald and Nancy Reagan lived next door to it, so there was probably heightened security around that area beginning in the early 1990s, but didn't know it was torn down completely. In recent years, Beverly Hills and Bel-Air have undergone extensive renovations. Many of the older estates have been torn down to make way for modern-style homes, but it is sad that the Clampetts home no longer exists at all.

[treuther]

I don't know why so many believe it has been torn down. It IS still very much there. It has been remodeled to a degree, but still very recognizable. It cannot be viewed from the street at all anymore since the wall was built years ago. The original front gate is even still there! It's just hidden behind the wall. I live in So Cal, am a pilot, and see it from the air all the time. You can see it for yourself on Google earth. Just go to 750 Bel Air Road, Los Angeles. It is absolutely still there.