The Hancock Park mansion of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne is on the market for $18 million, according to press reports. The Mediterranean Revival style mansion was built in 1929 by architect A.K. Kellogg. The 11,500 square foot house has six bedrooms and eleven bathrooms, a separate guest apartment above the garage, and elevator access to all floors, according to Architectural Digest.
Osbourne purchased the home in an off-market sale for a reported $11 million in 2015 from “Saw” producer Oren Koules and his wife, the former Top Chef Canada judge Shereen Arazm. (Sales data on the real estate websites seems wildly inaccurate, according to local realtors.)
But this house’s celebrity lineage goes back farther than its most recent owners. Dating back to the 1950s, the home was a gathering place for Hollywood celebrities when radio star Frank Bresee lived there with his wife, Bobbie Bresee, a former Playboy bunny. The mansion was Bresee’s family home; his parents purchased the mansion in the 1950s.
Born in 1929, Bresee’s career bridged the golden age of radio and the dawn of television. He fell in love with radio at the age of 10 when his school visited KFAC, a classical music radio station in Los Angeles. Bresee’s long career as a radio actor, historian, programmer and board game designer is well documented in a fascinating video tribute made shortly after his passing in 2018. Â The video features footage of the theatre Bresee built in his home, where he would record programs. It was furnished with seats from the Wiltern Theatre, according to his wife, Bobbie, who was kind enough to take the time to talk to us yesterday about her former residence.
“Frank and his good friend Milton Larson, who owned the Magic Castle, got the seats from the Wiltern Theatre,” explained Bresee. “Frank took half and Milton told the other half!”
Bresee, a prominent figure in the golden age of Hollywood, working with all the celebrities of the era from Bob Hope to Dick Clark, frequently hosted celebrity gatherings. He was one of the first to have a home theatre, which featured a wet bar and lobby displaying his extensive collection of radio memorabilia. An historian at heart, Bresee invited all his guests to sign the chalkboard above the fireplace in the theatre. Over the years, the board was packed with signatures from the 1950s until they left the house in 2010. The Bresees sold the home in 2010 to Koules and Arazm for $4.2 million, according to listing agent Shar Penfold.
“When former Vice President Bob Dole came, he had only a tiny space to write his name!” explained Bresee, who credits the Osbornes for restoring the board. “Some of the signatures started to fade, so the Osbornes had them painted over so they would last longer. They have been wonderful stewards of the house.”
While Bresee hasn’t been in the home recently, she’s maintained contact with people who have worked on the house over the years and hopes to have a chance to see the house again.
During their ownership of the house, the Bresees maintained many of the home’s original fixtures and furnished the home with family antiques. Because of its period details and their Hollywood connections, the home was often used in movies including the 1991 remake of the 1960s classic, Â “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” which was filmed at the home.
“We preferred antiques,” said Bresee. “We liked that old “Savoy Hotel style,” no overstuffed couches where everything looks the same.”
The Buzz is always curious to see the evolution of these historic mansions, and new owners adapt them for contemporary living. Our thanks to Shar Penfold for sharing the following photos of the home before it was sold and renovated by subsequent owners. Click here to read more about the renovations made under the Koules/Arazm tenure. Visit the Hilton and Hyland website for details of the current listing.
