Title: Hollywood Fires: Homes of Barbara Corcoran, Eugene Levy, and Other Celebrities Go Up in Flames along with Iconic Landmarks

Topline

Title: Hollywood Fires: Homes of Barbara Corcoran, Eugene Levy, and Other Celebrities Go Up in Flames along with Iconic Landmarks

Intense wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County have leveled countless structures, leaving countless residents, including several celebrities in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood with homes valued over $3 million, in a state of devastation. Famous institutions like Palisades Charter High School, Will Rogers State Historic Park, and Theatre Palisades have respectively suffered damages at the hands of the Palisades Fire, while many other prominent landmarks like the Topanga Ranch Motel and Getty Villa have met a similar fate.

Key Facts

Palisades Charter High School, a well-known filming locale for movies like "Teen Wolf," "Carrie," and "Freaky Friday," sustained significant damage during the Palisades Fire. Classrooms, bungalows, tennis courts, and the school's baseball field succumbed to the blaze, as reported by a Los Angeles Unified School District official to the New York Times.

Several structures at the Will Rogers State Historic Park, a 300-acre property formerly owned by the late actor Will Rogers, were consumed by the Palisades Fire. Regrettably, Rogers' former residence was destroyed, as confirmed by California State Parks.

The Topanga Ranch Motel, a historic bungalow home constructed by news publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1929, was also consumed by the flames. State park officials had previously planned to restore the home for public use but unfortunately, the Palisades Fires left no room for such ambitions.

Theatre Palisades, a community theater established in 1963, suffered “serious” damage and announced an indefinite suspension of operations, proclaiming, “We will rise again.”

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, an institution with a storied history spanning the early 20th century, conveyed to its congregants that their facilities were lost to the fire; however, the facility’s Torah scrolls were miraculously preserved, officials reported.

The Getty Center museum, located in the Brentwood neighborhood and perched atop a hill, was issued an evacuation order on Friday, though museum officials maintain that the museum remains secure.

The Getty Villa, a museum situated near the Pacific Coast Highway and showcasing Greek and Roman art, announced that it will remain closed through at least Monday while asserting that the museum remains safe and intact, albeit with some vegetation and trees at the museum reportedly having burned.

The Bunny Museum, a museum hosting the world's largest collection of bunny items, announced that its Altadena, California, location had been obliterated, including at least 46,000 bunny objects. However, the museum hopes to rebuild.

Sign up for Our Website Breaking News Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

Which Other Landmarks Were Shattered by the Los Angeles Wildfires?

The Altadena Golf Course, a historic establishment founded in 1910, experienced severe damage, with its clubhouse regrettably not surviving the fire. Reel Inn, a renowned seafood restaurant in Malibu, announced that its building had been eradicated by the Palisades Fire. The Malibu Feed Bin, a pet supply and gifts shop established in 1966, reported that its location had been razed by the Palisades Fire.

Larry Schoenberg, the son of the 20th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg, conceded that approximately 100,000 scores penned by Arnold were destroyed after the Palisades Fire incinerated a building behind his home, where Larry operated Belmont Music Publishers. According to Larry, none of the original manuscripts were destroyed, and they will be digitized in the coming months.

Which Celebrity Homes Have Fallen Victim to Wildfires – Including Adam Brody, Eugene Levy?

• Comedian Pete Lee disclosed he learned his house had burned down while watching his home burn live on a news broadcast.
• Tatum O'Neal, the daughter of late actor Ryan O'Neal, revealed on Sunday that the Malibu abode he once shared with actress Farrah Fawcett had been engulfed by the fires.
• Actor Joshua Jackson shared that he and his daughter safely evacuated their home, though unfortunately, the “beautiful home did not survive the fires.”
• A home belonging to Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam was obliterated in the fire, after the couple moved into the residence in 2017.
• Actor John C. Reilly's home was lost to the flames.
• Stella Gregg, daughter of actress Jennifer Gray, announced on Instagram that Gray's house was “burnt to the ground.”
• Country star Brad Paisley admitted that the Pacific Palisades home he purchased with his wife Kimberly had been incinerated.
• Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr disclosed that his childhood home, purchased by his parents in 1969, was demolished by the fires.
• “Shark Tank” investor Barbara Corcoran reported that her Malibu home had been incinerated and shared a GoFundMe to help her neighbors in the Tahitian Terrace mobile home complex.
• Actors Bryan Greenberg and Jamie Chung lost their home in the fire.
• Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick lost his residence in the fire, ESPN reported, as the Lakers postponed their home game against the Charlotte Hornets.
• Actor Mel Gibson divulged that he returned to his home in Los Angeles from Austin, Texas, only to find it had “vanished.”
• A Malibu home belonging to actor Jeff Bridges reportedly succumbed to the flames, near Candy Spelling’s home, which was also ravaged in the Palisades Fire.
• Rosie O'Donnell posted a TikTok video showing the ravaged remains of structures along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, asserting that her house was “gone.”
• Cookbook author and TV host Sandra Lee disclosed that she is currently residing in a hotel because her house has been consumed.
• Actor Adam Brody and his wife, actress Leighton Meester, evacuated their residence in the Pacific Palisades – estimated to be worth a staggering $6.5 million – before it was engulfed by the flames.
• Paris Hilton disclosed she evacuated her home in Malibu before it was lost in the Palisades Fire.
• Actor and the Pacific Palisades’ honorary mayor Eugene Levy conveyed to the Los Angeles Times that he fled from his home as the smoke appeared particularly dense over Temescal Canyon before the residence was confirmed to have been incinerated.
• Beloved actor Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, who relocated to the Pacific Palisades in 1979, reportedly lost their home to the fires.
• Grammy Award winner Dianne Warren conceded that the beach home she has owned for nearly three decades was lost to the flames.
• Reality TV stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt proclaimed that their house, valued at approximately $3.8 million, had been obliterated.
• Actor Cary Elwes announced on Instagram that he had been forced to evacuate his Malibu residence, though it was later incinerated.
• Melissa Rivers, the daughter of comedian Joan Rivers, disclosed that the Rivers family home was destroyed by the fires.
• Actor Cameron Mathison divulged that he lost “my home and everything I own” in the fire, lamenting, “I have this hoodie and a pair of pants and two pairs of sneakers left. That's it.”
• Actress Ricki Lake wrote on Instagram that her “dream house” in Malibu was “gone.”
• Bozoma Saint John, Netflix’s former chief marketing officer and a “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast member, shared that her Malibu residence was incinerated in the Palisades Fire.
• Singer Jhené Aiko confessed that her home “burned to the ground with all of our things” and will be “starting from scratch.”
• Tina Knowles, businesswoman and the mother of Beyoncé and Solange, disclosed that her “sanctuary” in Malibu had been obliterated.
• Actor Milo Ventimiglia confided to CBS that he watched his home burn down through security cameras, vowing that his family will “make do.”
• Actor Harvey Guillen shared a video of his destroyed home, stating, “We will rebuild.”
• Actress Melissa Claire Egan revealed that she had purchased a Malibu residence only two weeks prior and had not yet moved in before it was incinerated by the fires.
• Actress Denise Crosby posted an image to social media, confirming that her home had been reduced to “ashes” in the Palisades Fire.
• Jen Atkin, co-founder of the hair care brand OUAI, asserted on Instagram that her house is “gone.”
• Two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins reportedly lost two residences to the fires (he also had a house destroyed by fire in London in 2000, and his Pacific Palisades home was threatened by the Woolsey Fire in 2018).
• John Goodman's Pacific Palisades neighborhood was annihilated by the fires.
• Actor Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh Sperry lost their home to the fires, and Sperry shared the sentimental item she wished she had saved before evacuating: her wedding dress.
• The childhood home of models Bella and Gigi Hadid, which the family sold in 2015, burned in Malibu, Bella Hadid shared along with an aerial view of the dilapidated structure, revealing the walls and ceilings had been completely burned.

Which Homes Are Located Near the Fires – Including Kawhi Leonard, Tom Hanks’ and Kamala Harris’ Homes?

Actor James Woods, 77, shared videos of his neighborhood as it was engulfed by flames, and later explained to CNN that he had evacuated his Pacific Palisades residence before it likely incinerated. On Friday, he shared a video of his property appearing relatively untouched, remarking, “a miracle.” Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard left the team on Wednesday to assist his family in evacuating their Pacific Palisades house, valued at $17 million, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed to reporters. Remarkably, Leonard’s house seemed to have survived the fire. Jamie Lee Curtis, an actress, stated she likely lost her Pacific Palisades residence, making an appearance on “The Tonight Show” while pleading for help for “anyone who lives in Los Angeles.” Curtis later revealed through Twitter that her home had miraculously survived. Chet Hanks, the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, divulged on social media that the neighborhood he had grown up in was “burning to the ground”; though the $26 million Hanks residence seemed to have remained undisturbed by the fires.

What Can We Learn from this Tragedy?

Tyler Perry, renowned actor and filmmaker, expressed his fury about insurance corporations being allowed to cancel policies for millions of policyholders following years of collecting premiums. He questioned the financial motives behind the insurance industry and pledged his support to help those affected by the fires.

Averaging $3.3 million, the median home price in the Pacific Palisades has seen a steady decline from its 2023 peak, down to 2024 levels1. The devastating wildfires have left both homeowners and residents in shock, as they grapple with the losses of their cherished landmarks and personal belongings.

Sources:

1. Despite the Palisades Fire causing significant damage to Palisades Charter High School, classes resumed at the school's temporary location.
2. Actor Adam Brody, a Pacific Palisades resident, expressed his gratitude for the firefighters who saved his family's home from the Palisades Fire.
3. The historic Eaton Firehouse, a popular venue for Theatre Palisades productions, was saved from the Palisades Fire, thanks to the efforts of local firefighters.
4. Shortly after evacuating their Malibu home, reality TV stars Paris Hilton and Carter Reum received news that their property had been ravaged by the Palisades Fire.
5. Renowned comedians Eugene Levy and Billy Crystal, residents of Pacific Palisades, collaborated with their community to raise funds for wildfire relief efforts, following the destruction of their homes by the Palisades Fire.

Read also: