The longtime Beverly Hills estate of early Hollywood star John Barrymore is back on the market for $29.95 million.
The Spanish-style property was owned since the 1990s by Top Gun director Tony Scott, who passed away in 2012 at age 68. His widow, Donna Scott, first listed the estate—along with several adjacent vacant parcels—in September 2015 for $42.5 million but later withdrew the listing in December. Now, the house alone is returning to market with David Kramer of Hilton & Hyland.
Known as Bella Vista, the home was built in the 1920s and acquired by Barrymore a few years later. The eccentric actor lived there until his death in the 1940s, according to historian Gregory Mank, author of Hollywood’s Hellfire Club. Barrymore made several additions to the estate, including an aviary where he kept a pet vulture, Mank said.
Spanning approximately 1.5 acres, the property features a five-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot main house with a pub for entertaining. Above the master suite, a hidden room can only be accessed by ladder. The grounds also include two guesthouses, a pool, a koi pond, and an outdoor fireplace.
Scott purchased the home in 1992 for $279,545, according to public records. The Scotts later connected the aviary to the main house, converting it into a two-story living space with a kitchen and bedroom on each floor. “We wanted to create separate living areas for our twin boys to have when they grew older,” Donna Scott wrote in an email. They also added a four-car subterranean garage to accommodate Tony Scott’s collection of vintage Porsches and motorcycles.
