Cary Grant made Hollywood his home, but when the most elegant man in cinema wanted to slip away, he headed for the desert. The Palm Springs estate where he spent many quiet weekends, known as Villa Paradiso, has now come to market for $12.675 million, as Vanity Fair Italia reported this week. US press and the official listing confirm the price and the property’s long Hollywood pedigree.
A pool house built for a star
In the mid-1960s the estate belonged to Charlie Rich, a Las Vegas hotelier and close friend of the actor. According to the Southern California News Group, Rich built a poolside guest house especially for Grant and his then wife, the actress Dyan Cannon. Grant became such a regular visitor that he is said to have given the property the name it still carries today.
His daughter, Jennifer Grant, later wrote about the estate in her 2011 memoir Good Stuff, remembering long weekends spent in the little pool house, wandering through the gardens and learning to drive a golf cart. It is the kind of unhurried, sun-washed glamour that still defines the Palm Springs legend: crisp linen, a well-packed travel bag and very little on the agenda.
Nearly a century of desert history
The house is older than Grant’s connection to it. It was built in 1928 by Alva H. Hicks, a developer who sat on Palm Springs’ first city council and helped the town become a city. Later owners included Donald Duncan, the businessman associated with Good Humor ice cream and the popularity of the yo-yo.
Today the gated compound in the historic Old Las Palmas neighbourhood covers almost four acres and includes four separate residences, with eight bedrooms and 14 bathrooms in total. The main house, of around 7,500 square feet, is arranged in two wings joined by an Italian-style rotunda with hand-painted ceilings. Outside there are some 200 mature palms, citrus groves, a classical fountain, a pool and open views towards Mount San Jacinto. Interestingly, local press notes that the estate does not hold the city’s top historic designation, despite its storied past.
Old Hollywood style, then and now
Grant’s easy polish, from tailored suits to understated accessories, still inspires designers decades later. If a weekend in the desert appeals, a structured handbag or a roomy tote, paired with simple earrings and a fine bracelet, captures the same relaxed, timeless spirit. For gentlemen, our men’s bags are made for exactly this kind of escape.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia; Southern California News Group (Press-Enterprise); Ernie Carswell & Associates listing; Robb Report listing.
