Oscar-winning director John Huston’s former Tarzana estate seeks $20M ...Middle East

The former Tarzana estate of Oscar-winning filmmaker John Huston recently hit the market for just under $20 million.

Set on nearly 4.5 acres, this gated estate features a traditional, 12,170-square-foot mansion with six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. A porch runs almost the entire length of the house, overlooking the stone-framed pool and spa.

Records show the current owner paid $2.075 million in July 1987 for the compound, which includes an 807-square-foot guest cottage with one bedroom and one bathroom, as well as a 2,775-square-foot red barn. The barn serves as an entertainers’ lodge with a full kitchen, loft and bar—and how’s this for entertaining?

A ride-on miniature train winds around the lush grounds.

Rolling lawns, koi ponds, stone paths and mature trees surround the compound, described in the listing as “a one-of-a-kind storybook retreat with Hollywood provenance.”

Huston, the legendary director behind such classics as “The Maltese Falcon,” “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and “The African Queen,” purchased the property in 1939, according to news archives. After completing the house in 1941, he and his second wife, Edith Lesley Black, grew vegetables there “before many people were ‘victory garden conscious’” and kept “a cage of monkeys, horses and a trout stream,” the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News reported in April 1942.

When Huston took a post in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and Black moved to Hollywood with her mother, the couple decided to rent out their ranch. Advertisements began to appear by May 1942 and throughout the summer, including in The San Fernando Valley Times, which described the desirable tenant as “an animal lover and a wielder of ye olde fishing rod.”

In January 1950, the Los Angeles Times reported that Gordon MacLean purchased the estate for $60,000.

MacLean, a commercial real estate developer, president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission and former owner of two newspapers, planned $15,000 worth of alterations. He also installed what’s known as the Tunnel, Cut and Trestle Railroad that his son, Hawley, told the Santa Clarita Valley Garden Railroad Club in the November 2021 newsletter that Walt Disney helped build the live steam 7 1/2-inch gauge railroad.

The railroad, which underwent restoration and renovation five years ago, features a 240-foot tunnel, elevated trestles, tracks and a working station with turntable and dual tracks that can accommodate steam, electric and propane-powered engines.

A full tennis court adds to the offering.

David Kramer of Compass and Paul Czako of Gussman Czako Estates share the listing.

Huston directed 41 films during his nearly half-century career, including “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”

That 1948 western film set in Mexico won Huston his only two Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Huston cast his famous father, Walter, in the film, and nearly 40 years later directed his daughter, Anjelica, in “Prizzi’s Honor” (1985). They both received Oscars for their Best Supporting roles.

Throughout his career, Huston wrote screenplays for many of his films—including “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950), “The African Queen” (1951), “Moulin Rouge” (1952) and “Moby Dick” (1956)—and appeared in front of the camera.

Huston died in 1987 while on location in Middletown, R.I. as producer and co-writer of “Mr. North,” a film directed by his son Danny. He was 81.

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