Cecil DeMille’s Los Feliz home sells for $8.5M

Home is one part of DeMille's former estate; other half was purchased by actress Angelina Jolie

Cecil DeMille and his former Hollywood home. (Credit: Wikipedia and Hilton & Hyland)
Cecil DeMille and his former Hollywood home. (Credit: Wikipedia and Hilton & Hyland)

A home that served as a workplace for early film legend Cecil B. DeMille has sold in Los Feliz.

DeMille, known as the father of modern cinema, purchased the 1915-built home in the 1920s, along with a larger neighboring property to create his estate, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The two properties were split again after a 1980s sale. Actress Angelina Jolie purchased the other, larger property, which spans 2.1 acres, for $24.5 million in June 2017.

Mary Parent, a film producer and production manager, sold the smaller home last month for $8.5 million, or $400,000 below asking price. She has worked on films that include “The Revenant,” “Pacific Rim,” and “Godzilla.” Parent listed the home in August.

The buyer was Ralph Terracciano, the chief financial officer at Terry Hines & Associates, a Burbank marketing agency, according to property records.

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Even alongside Jolie’s larger estate, the 7,000-square-foot home is impressive. It’s been updated, but maintained some of its historic character, including its vaulted ceilings and diamond-shape window panes. The two-story home has four bedrooms and six bathrooms. There is a large fireplace in the kitchen, and a screening room, according to the Times.

The property is a half-acre and features a swimming pool and landscaped grounds.

DeMille used the home as a production office, screening room, and guest house until his death in 1959. It’s got a pedigree outside DeMille’s legacy, too — legendary actor Charlie Chaplin and his first wife Mildred Harris owned the home before him.

DeMille was one of the most commercially successful filmmakers in history. His picture “The Squaw Man” was the first-ever feature film shot in Hollywood, helping make it a filmmaking destination. He also directed “Cleopatra” in 1934, and the “Ten Commandments” in 1956, three years before his death in 1959. [LAT] – Dennis Lynch