The once-lush corner lot in Encino where John Wayne entertained his Hollywood pals at the top of a small rise is now a construction site. Wayne’s former white Colonial has been demolished and a giant multi-story residence is being built in its place. Wayne lived with his wife Pilar and their three children at 4750 Louise Avenue until he contracted lung cancer, then he sold the estate to the oldest daughter of Walt Disney and moved to Newport Beach in Orange County in 1966.
Aissa Wayne wrote in her book, John Wayne, My Father, that he threw raucous poker parties attended by John Ford and others. Her mother once tossed Robert Mitchum off the property for insulting her. Wayne had no use for his Encino neighbor, Clark Gable, railing on more than occasion: “You know why Gable’s an actor? It’s the only thing he’s smart enough to do.”
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