Dennis Morgan's former LA home can be yours for $8.5M
The home in La Cañada Flintridge was designed in 1927 by trailblazing architect Paul R. Williams, the designer of iconic commercial buildings and residences across California and the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects. The residence later served as a retreat for Golden Age Hollywood actor Dennis Morgan. On top of its Californian bona fides, the sprawling property boasts an super-sized swimming pool.
Now, this 1.2-acre estate can be yours for $8.5 million — marking its first sale in decades.
Advertisement
'It's a truly magnificent, almost fossilized home,' Compass agent George Penner told The Post. 'It captures the spirit of Hollywood and Los Angeles in the 1930s.'
19 The grounds include unique structures like an observatory and a tea house.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 The living room.
Sterling Reed Photography
Advertisement
19 Former resident Dennis Morgan appeared in Hollywood musicals and movies throughout the 1940s.
Kobal / Shutterstock
The primary estate residence, designed by Williams, includes four bedrooms across 8,156 square feet. Painstakingly crafted details are sprinkled throughout the home, including hand-painted stenciled ceilings, black and white marble floors, tile mosaics and stained glass.
Specialty rooms include a paneled library, a music room and a basement wine cellar.
19 The home's reception hall with 20-foot ceilings.
Sterling Reed Photography
Advertisement
19 The formal dining room features a stained glass window.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 The library.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 The faux bois tea house, built in 1929.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 The wonderful interior of the tea house.
Sterling Reed Photography
Advertisement
19 A one-bedroom casita.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 The guest house includes an observatory and a two-car garage.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 The guest house interior.
Sterling Reed Photography
The estate's grounds, nestled in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, includes a garden, two greenhouses, a one-bedroom casita and a faux bois tea house built by a Japanese artisan in 1929. A two-bedroom guest house features a look-out 'observatory' and a two-car garage.
Then, there's the swimming pool.
19 Penner said the Olympic-size pool draws a great deal of attention.
Sterling Reed Photography
19 An aerial of the swimming pool.
Cameron Carothers Photos
19 A garden fountain.
Sterling Reed Photography
Advertisement
19 Scattered sunlight hits a mosaic wall.
Sterling Reed Photography
'Everyone seems to comment about the Olympic-size pool, because it's so unusual to have such an enormous, opulent pool for a single family home,' Penner said.
Architect Paul R. Williams built the residence early in his career for attorney James Degnan. Williams went on to design homes for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball.
'[Williams] was a real trailblazer, and certainly the most prolific African-American architect of the 20th century, certainly in California,' Penner said. 'To do work of this incredible level in 1927 is, I think, extraordinary.'
Advertisement
Gina Guerra has lived in the home with her family since they purchased it for $2.07 million in 1999. The Guerras inherited the home's well-preserved — but 'quite run down' — architectural details, like original tiling and light fixtures, alongside stories of Errol Flynn partying on the property.
Guerra told The Post that the family focused on restoration, rather than renovation, through their years of ownership, although upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms were necessary.
19 Descendants of James Degnan gifted Guerra vintage photos of the property.
19 The dining room.
Advertisement
19 The tiled fountain.
19 A vintage view of the observatory.
Guerra added the property's expansive green space and multiple greenhouses turned her into an avid gardener.
'I'm now in the Garden Club of America judging program for horticulture, so it really took me down this whole path that I never expected in my life,' Guerra said. 'I hope another family moves in, raises their kids here and loves it the way we do.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
25 minutes ago
- Newsweek
White House Claps Back at Jack White: 'Washed Up, Has-Been Loser'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The White House has hit back at musician Jack White following his criticism of President Donald Trump's redesign of the Oval Office. On Monday, the former front man of The White Stripes described the office as a "vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler's dressing room," and an "embarrassment to American history." Trump revamped the office in March with gold trim, large frames, gilded mirrors, gold eagles and Trump-branded accessories. Responding to White's comments, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told The Daily Beast: "Jack White is a washed up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career." He added: "It's apparent he's been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendor and significance of the Oval Office inside of 'The People's House.'" President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington D.C. on Monday. Jack White at Radio City Music Hall in New York in February. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington D.C. on Monday. Jack White at Radio City Music Hall in New York in February. Alex Brandon/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP This is a developing story. More to follow.
Forbes
27 minutes ago
- Forbes
Rock Band Cardinal Black Recommends Welsh Travel Sites
Welsh rock band Cardinal Black poses triumphantly after their first concert in New York City at a sold-out Gramercy Theatre. Cedric Perrier Most American travelers are unfamiliar with the riches of South Wales Valleys in Wales. They are very familiar, though, to the members of Cardinal Black, a Welsh rock band that performed a stellar debut concert in New York this month before a sold-out audience at the Gramercy Theatre and then embarked on a U.S. and Canadian tour that ends Aug. 30. 'It's a picturesque part of the world with a strong national identity and an abundance of character, history and heart,' says Chris Buck, Cardinal Black's super-talented guitarist who, like all the band members, hails from the region. 'There'll be a welcome (for Americans) in the hillsides.' There are several can't-miss sites in South Wales Valleys, Buck says. The region, located north of the English border and Welsh cities Cardiff and Swansea, extends about 60 miles from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east. 'Even though I've been there innumerable times,' Buck says, Big Pit, our national coal museum in Blaenavon, always has a profound impact to see the dangerous, claustrophobic conditions that my grandfather and great grandfather worked in for most of their lives. There's also the Roman fortress in Caerleon, one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman amphitheater in the United Kingdom.' The South Wales Valleys, according to the Welsh tourism website offer 'big green spaces that are perfect for walking and mountain biking.' The website suggests a visit to Aberdare, a town dubbed 'Queen of the Hills' that sits 'at the base of a wide and grand valley.' The town has quaint cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars and is 'the cradle of the British film industry,' where filmmaker William Haggard produced more than 30 films. Members of the Welsh rock band Cardinal Black take in the sights at Newgale Beach in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Lewys Mann About 23 miles south of Aberdare and just south of South Wales Valleys, Buck recommends a visit to St. Fagan's National Museum of History in Cardiff, Wales' capital and largest city. The museum is located four miles west of the city center. 'It has dozens of meticulously relocated historic Welsh buildings,' he says, 'including a cenotaph commemorating, amongst others, my great uncle who was shot down and killed over Berlin (in World War II) in 1945.' Cardiff Castle is 'a notable part of Cardiff's history and skyline, reportedly first commissioned by William the Conqueror and with remains from the Norman and Victorian eras,' Buck says. 'It's also a pretty epic place for a first gig, as we found out in late 2021! Maybe we should go back!' Caerphilly Castle, about a 20-minute drive north of Cardiff Castle, is the biggest Welsh castle and worth a visit, Buck says. It also was a good place for a high school prom, he adds. Buck and his wife had their wedding reception at The Skirrid Inn in the Brecon Beacons mountain range adjacent to South Wales Valleys. 'At nearly a thousand years old, it is Wales' oldest pub and one of my favorite places in the world,' he says. 'It has a slightly macabre history, having been frequented by the infamous Hanging Judge Jeffreys, who presided over the execution of seemingly every petty criminal in Wales in the 17th Century. The subsequent rope burns are still visible on the wooden beam in the pub's stairwell, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it's reported that the pub is prodigiously haunted. Granted, it's not your typical tourist destination, but it's fairly indicative of Wales' varied and sometimes dark history.' Brecon Beacons National Park includes four mountain ranges, according to and is 'full of grassy moorlands, heather-clad escarpments and old red sandstone peaks, softened by weather and time.' The park has more than 2,000 miles of footpaths and is a favorite of mountain bikers. Outside his home region, Buck has other recommendations for travelers to Wales. 'West Wales, particularly Pembrokeshire, has always been a firm favorite for family holidays, not just my own, but pretty much every family east of Swansea!' he exclaims. 'Joking aside, it's an extremely beautiful part of the world and home to St. David's, the U.K's smallest, quaintest city.' Members of Cardinal Black (left to right), vocalist Tom Hollister, guitarist Chris Buck and drummer Adam Roberts, stand behind the Welsh flag in West Wales. Lewys Mann Since starting his own family, Buck has a newfound appreciation of Tenby, a town known for its harbor and beaches about a tw0-hour drive west of Cardiff. 'Although fairly touristy, it's a quirky, incredibly pretty little seaside town,' he says. 'Further north (more than a three-hour drive from Tenby), Snowdonia National Park is stunningly beautiful and home to Wales' highest peak. The Wye Valley on the Wales-England border is also incredibly scenic and home to Tintern Abbey. For all its beauty, Tintern Abbey will always make me think of overhearing someone in an adjacent pub inform children that the Luftwaffe was responsible for its state of disrepair, despite Henry VIII having beaten them to it by some 400 years.' Laugharne, about a 90-minute drive northwest of Cardiff, was the home of poet Dylan Thomas, and visitors can see the Boathouse where he worked. 'I'm convinced that, at some point on the drive into Laugharne, you pass through a portal that takes you back into 1950,' Buck says. 'You're transported to a simpler, bygone era replete with charming cafes, bookshops, pubs and Dylan's Boathouse and writing shed. Browns Hotel may not be the dingy, smoke-filled boozer of Dylan's era, but Laugharne still has a character and charm uniquely its own.' Browns Hotel was Thomas's favorite local pub. When he lived in New York, he loved the White Horse Tavern, which apparently reminded him of the Laugharne pub. Cardinal Black's visit to New York was brief—the band headed to Toronto a day after its sold-out New York concert—but Buck noticed some similarities between the Big Apple and Cardiff. 'Obviously, they're world's apart in terms of scale,' he explains. 'New York's a global metropolis; Cardiff's a small capital city of a country with half the population of New York City. I only had a few days in New York City, but I got a feel for a similar sense of local pride in its identity. 'I spoke to no end of New Yorkers excited to tell me about their city and offer advice on where to visit,' Buck continues. 'You'll encounter a similar enthusiasm for their city from someone from Cardiff, especially around (soccer) match days or gigs in the stadium. Oasis recently opened their comeback tour at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, and the atmosphere in Cardiff around that show was electric. There was definitely a vibrancy and energy around Cardiff that I sensed, however fleetingly, in New York.' Cardinal Black concludes its North American tour Aug. 30 in Camino, California, and, heading back to the United Kingdom, Buck will have fond memories of New York City. 'I fell head over heels in love with it,' he says. 'Admittedly, a truly memorable sold-out show at the Gramercy Theatre probably predisposed me to like the place a little more, but there's something so impactful about rounding a corner and being confronted with buildings and places that you've only ever seen in films. It's truly iconic and awe-inspiring. I'm looking forward to going back when we have a little more time to actually soak in the city and not run around collecting backline (equipment needed for a live show). First dates of a tour are always a little hectic, and it's a shame those dates fell while in a city that I'm so desperate to see.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Mondo Duplantis is inaugural Ultimate Star for World Athletics Ultimate Championship
Mondo Duplantis, who on Tuesday broke the men's pole vault world record for a 13th time, has been named World Athletics' inaugural Ultimate Star ahead of next year's first World Athletics Ultimate Championship. In the role, Duplantis will be "one of a select number of key collaborators pursuing their cultural passions outside of athletics in music, fashion, art, on-screen, who will promote the new global season-ending championship," according to World Athletics. In a press release, World Athletics President Seb Coe called Duplantis "one of the megastars of our sport." 'We're always looking for new ways to make sure that the spotlight shines on athletics and the Ultimate will light up Budapest," Duplantis said in the release. "I have great memories of winning world gold two years ago (in Budapest) and remember the incredible atmosphere inside the stadium that night. It would be a dream to break the world record in front of a packed crowd next year. 'This event is set to showcase our sport like never before, and I can't wait to be a part of it.' The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is an exclusive, biennial season-ending track and field meet for even years without a World Outdoor Championships. The first edition will be in Budapest from Sept. 11-13, 2026, with 28 events total, including the senior global championship debut of the mixed-gender 4x100m relay. World Athletics announced last year that the meet will include fields of eight to 16 athletes per individual event. Those fields will be based primarily on world rankings with no limits on athletes per country. Track events will have semifinals and finals. Field events will have strictly finals. All reigning Olympic gold medalists, world champions and Diamond League season champions are guaranteed spots in their respective events. Athletes will wear national team uniforms. Duplantis was among the first 26 athletes who qualified for the Ultimate Championship by winning their events at the Paris Olympics. Simone Biles, Mondo Duplantis lead Laureus World Sports Awards winners Simone Biles became the second woman to win Laureus Athlete of the Year four times after Serena Williams. Nick Zaccardi,
