A one-of-a-kind piece of film history is becoming available for purchase for the first time in more than six decades, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report: it’s the property at 7917 Woodrow Wilson Drive, on “Celebrity Row” in the Hollywood Hills, which was long the home and workplace of the king and queen of American independent cinema, writer/director/actor John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands.
The 4,305 square-foot old-Hollywood-meets-European-style abode, which includes five bedrooms and four bathrooms, and is situated on three-quarters of an acre of land overlooking the canyon, was built in 1940. On Nov. 13, 1963, it was acquired by the couple, who had been married since 1954, and who had, to that point, worked together on only Cassavetes’ landmark 1958 drama Shadows, in which Rowlands played a small uncredited part, and 1963’s A Child Is Waiting.
At 7917 Woodrow Wilson Drive, they would go on to raise their three children — Nick, Xan and Zoe — and to conceive, write, prepare for and edit nine additional big screen collaborations. They even shot significant portions of several of those films — including 1968’s Faces, 1971’s Minnie and Moskowitz, 1977’s Opening Night and 1984’s Love Streams — inside the home alongside their faithful stock company of collaborators, including Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Seymour Cassel and Lynn Carlin, sometimes requiring the children to vacate their rooms early in the morning, for the greater good.
Cassavetes in Love Streams, in a scene shot inside his own home
Courtesy Everett Collection
When the family — genetic and filmmaking both — got hungry, Rowlands would go into the kitchen and cook up a pot of spaghetti bolognese. When it grew restless, it would go out back and shoot hoops on the mini basketball court or play whiffleball on the lawn. When Rowlands needed to study her scripts, she would do so from the master bedroom. And when Cassavetes desired solitude, he would head into his garden, accompanied only by his loyal dog, Cosmo, and a rotating cast of family cats.
As often as the home would appear in one of Cassavetes and Rowlands’ films, it would be mortgaged to free up funds to make another one. But thankfully, despite the risky nature of indie filmmaking, especially in those early days, the couple never lost ownership of it. And it remains today preserved almost exactly as it was in the old days, as illustrated by several new photographs shared below.
The property, which will officially go on the market later today, is being listed for $5,495,000. The listing is being handled by Compass Real Estate‘s Kristal Moffett and Kate Blackwood.
Will Myers
Will Myers
Will Myers
Will Myers
Will Myers
Will Myers
