What you may not realize is that Houston was the setting for one Oscar-winning Best Picture, as well as the location for a 70s blockbuster.
Those movies are now 'classics,' while the Houston homes in which scenes were shot are going for millions.
On Inverness Drive in River Oaks is a Palacial mansion that would be at home in Beverly Hills, and then some. Built in the 50's, built by the Fondren, as in Fondren Street, it is nearly 12,000 square feet of living space, marble entryway and halls, wood floors and stone fireplaces. No wonder it was chosen as one of the settings for "The Thief Who Came to Dinner."
The 1974 movie, which starred a young Ryan O'Neal and Jacqueline Bisset, was centered around a bored computer programmer who became a jewel thief, preying on Houston high society. Long before he became mayor, both Bob Lanier and his River Oaks Blvd home at the time were included in the film.
So was the mansion we'll show you. A cocktail gathering was shot in the living room, as well as the home's exquisitely landscaped backyard. It had a large pool at the time. The current owners added two more, creating what appears to be a lake along the bayou. One of them is believed to be among the largest pools in the country. There's also a large tennis court and an even larger outdoor pavilion, complete with a stage for an orchestra.
The asking price is $14.8 million for nearly three acres in River Oaks, that has a Hollywood connection.
Number two home is the Waldo Mansion in Montrose. It was built by a Confederate War veteran who became a railroad tycoon in 1885. Once gracing the land atop which sits the downtown post office, the mansion was moved 20 years later to the suburbs of the time, Westmoreland Street.
Every brick, every piece of wood was numbered and reassembled at its new site, minus some of the exterior Victorian gingerbread. It now resembles a villa, but the interior is all original. Ten fireplaces, wood floors and paneling comprised of oak, walnut, mahogany and extinct longleaf pine.
The house so impressive it was picked to be the home of the playboy astronaut character Jack Nicholson portrayed in "Terms of Endearment." He won a best supporting actor Oscar for the role, and the film won Best Picture.
Memorable scenes include the bedroom tryst between Nicholson's character and that of Shirley MacLaine. The bedroom today resembles what audiences saw 30 years ago when "Terms" opened. The pool in which Nicholson's swimming scene was shot was converted by the new owners into a koi pond. If you should buy it the asking price is $3.5 million, you can restore to a pool for you.
The house also has a Texas Historical marker.
Agent Richard Ray is handing the Westmoreland mansion. Agent Claire Wilkins has the Inverness Mansion. Both are top producers for John Daugherty, Realtors.
We have plenty of pictures of the homes online and you'll be able to compare them against the movies in which they starred.
"Hollywood has nothing on us," says Wilkins.
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