A Getty Dies in the Hollywood Hills, near Mulholland Drive

David Lynch ponders Mulholland Drive:

At night, you ride on the top of the world. In the daytime you ride on top of the world, too, but it's mysterious, and there's a hair of fear because it goes into remote areas. You feel the history of Hollywood in that road.

A member of the tragedy-ridden Getty family was found dead in his home in the 2900 block of Montcalm Avenue, in the Hollywood Hills near Mulholland Drive, on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, around 2 PM Pacific time. This is near the iconic Laurel Canyon, also.

Andrew Rork Getty (pictured above), the grandson of J. Paul Getty, was discovered deceased "under suspicious circumstances," and his ex-girlfriend was detained as a possible witness or suspect.

One of Andrew Getty's possessions in his home is a 80-million-year-old fossil of a four feet tall dinosaur.

Andrew Getty wrote and directed an independent horror film called The Storyteller starring Sean Patrick Flannery and Brianna Brown in 2005. 

Andrew Getty’s second cousin is actor Balthazar Getty, known for his role on ABC drama Brothers & Sisters. He’ll next serve as a narrator for the educational documentary Unity.

Balthazar Getty played Pete Dayton in David Lynch's cult classic Lost Highway (1997). The film has appearance by Patricia Arquette (as the murdered wife) and Robert Blake (as the Mystery Man). Lost Highway was the last film performances of Blake, Jack Nance and Richard Pryor.

According to TMZ, "Andrew and his ex-girlfriend have a storied history with the LAPD. Cops have been to his residence 31 times, mostly for domestic disturbances. Our sources say they have both frequently been under the influence of drugs during the police visits.
We're told the drugs cops found in the past were prescriptions. As for their relationship, we're told he has a restraining order against her and she has been placed under a 5150 psychiatric hold in the past, after injuring cops when they responded to the house. We're also told she's allegedly broken into Andrew's house on numerous occasions."

The New York Daily News reported,

The 47-year-old suffered a traumatic injury to his rectal area and paramedics found significant bleeding due to the injury, the site reported.
Getty was found naked from the waist down and suffered blunt-force trauma, but it was unclear how the injury was caused, the Los Angeles Times reported.
While the death appeared to be from natural causes, it was called an accident because of medication found at the scene, according to Los Angeles County coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter.

Gordon Getty, right, walks with his son, Andrew, in 1976.

Andrew Rork Getty's father, Gordon Getty, is one of the richest men in the United States. Forbes put Gordon's wealth at $2.1 billion, with the family being listed as the 54th richest and worth an estimated $5 billion.

As with the Paradise Syndrome and the Hemingway Curse, wealth is no guarantee against tragedy for the Getty family.

The mainstream media jumped all over the "family curse" of the Gettys, in telling of today's news. The Washington Post noted that money did not shelter the family from rough times.

Tragedy seemed to dog J. Paul Getty. As the L.A. Times noted, first there was the death of one of his sons, who died of a brain tumor at age 12 in 1958. Then, in 1973, another son died after stabbing himself and taking barbiturates and alcohol.
That same year, J. Paul Getty III — one of the industrialist’s grandchildren and the future father of actor Balthazar Getty — was in Rome, “living a bohemian life, frequenting nightclubs, taking part in left-wing demonstrations and reportedly earning a living making jewelry, selling paintings and acting as an extra in movies,” as the New York Times put it. This was an age when American heirs were a target — and, a year before Patty Hearst, Getty III was kidnapped....The family eventually paid $2.2 million to get Getty III back — part borrowed from the boy’s grandfather at an interest rate of 4 percent — but Getty III lost an ear to his captors.

The Irish-Scottish Getty family of the United States made its fortune in oil in the 20th century. The Getty family is distantly related to Samuel Gettys, founder of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Getty Family Tree

J. Paul Getty

• George Getty (1855–1930), American lawyer, married Sarah Catherine McPherson Risher (1852-1941), 1 son

• J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), wealthy American industrialist and founder of Getty Oil, 5 marriages and 5 sons

1. George Getty II (1924–1973), by first wife Jeanette Demont, married Gloria Gordon (1951, div. 1967), married Jacqueline Riordan (1971)

• Anne Catherine Getty Earhart (born 1952), married John Earhart

• Sara Earhart

• Claire Eugenia Getty Perry (born 1954), married N. Mazzota (div.), married N. Perry

• Beau Maurizio George Getty-Mazzota (born 1979)
• Byron Perry
• Somerset Perry
• Sebastian Perry

• Caroline Marie Getty (born 1957)

2. Jean Ronald Getty (born 1929), by third wife Adolphine Helmle, married Karin Seibl (1964)

• Christopher Ronald Getty (born 1965), married Pia Miller in 1992

• Isabel Getty
• Robert Maximilian Getty
• Conrad Getty

• Stephanie Marie Getty-Waibel (born 1967), married Alexander Waibel

• Marietherese Waibel
• Sigourney Waibel
• Vanessa Waibel

• Cecile Karin Margarita Getty (born 1970)
• Christina Therese Getty (born 1975)

3. Sir Paul Getty (1932–2003), (also known as John Paul Getty II), by fourth wife Ann Rork, married Gail Harris (1956, div. 1964), married Talitha Pol (1966, died 1971), married Victoria Holdsworth (1994)

• John Paul Getty III (1956–2011), son of Paul Getty and Abigail Harris, married Gisela Martine Zacher (1974)

• Anna, daughter of Gisela Zacher, adopted daughter of John Paul Getty III
• Balthazar Getty (born 1975), American actor, son of John Paul Getty III, married Rosetta Millington (2000)

• Cassius Paul Getty
• Grace Getty
• Violet Getty
• June Catherine Getty

• Aileen Getty (born 1957), daughter of Paul Getty and Abigail Harris, married Christopher Wilding

• Caleb Wilding
• Andrew Wilding

• Mark Getty (born 1960), founder of Getty Images, son of Paul Getty and Abigail Harris, married Domitilla Harding (1982)

• Alexander Getty
• Joseph Getty
• Julius Getty

• Ariadne Getty (born 1962), daughter of Paul Getty and Abigail Harris, married Justin Williams

• Natalia Williams
• August Williams

• Tara Gabriel Getty (born 1968), son of Paul Getty and Talitha Pol

4. Gordon Getty (born 1934), by fourth wife Ann Rork, married Ann Gilbert (1964)

• Gordon Peter Getty, Jr. (born 1965)
• Andrew Rork Getty (1967-2015)
• John Gilbert Getty (born 1968)

• Ivy Getty

• William Paul Getty (born 1970), married Vanessa Jarman
• Nicolette Getty, by Cynthia Beck
• Kendalle Getty, by Cynthia Beck
• Alexandra Getty, by Cynthia Beck

5. Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958), by fifth wife Louise Dudley Lynch

Source.

FLW's Ennis House and Hollywood Movies

Update: In HBO's Game of Thrones, guess whose influence, via a specific design, showed up in Meereen?

Earlier....

Firefly was the American space western television (2002) that obtained a vast following, despite being cancelled after only 11 of the 15 produced episodes. It followed with a film, Serenity in 2005. As can be seen here, the Ennis House served as the backdrop of their publicity shots, via massive photoshopping.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House has been used by Hollywood filmmakers for decades. The house's design and textiles inspired synchromystic scenes in Mulholland Drive, The Rocketeer, House on Haunted Hill, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Predator 2, Beverly Hills Cop II, and most importantly, Blade Runner. David Lynch filmed his fictional soap opera, Invitation to Love, within Twin Peaks, within the Ennis House.

The Ennis House and Vincent Price appeared in House on Haunted Hill.

Michael Douglas' 1989 yakuza movie Black Rain also used the Ennis House. Source.

On February 25, 2014, Department of Art and Art History at St. Mary's College of Maryland's Scott Frank, Ph. D., gave a lecture entitled "Dreams and Realities of Frank Lloyd Wright: An Examination of Los Angeles' Charles Ennis House."
"As a way to explore these issues, Dr. Frank will focus on Wright's Charles Ennis House, located in Los Angeles, which has been a residence, an historic building, and has also served as the location for over eighty screen appearances for TV, music videos, and several films including Blade Runner (1982), Rush Hour (1995), and Firefly (2005). Source.

The Ennis House has been estimated to be worth in the $14 million range. But why spend that much if you want your own copy of it?

On March 1, 2014, it was announced by InFocusTech that they have produced an exacting replica of FLW's Ennis House.

Here's their description of the miniature building:

Ennis House is located at 2607 Glendower Ave in Los Angeles and was completed in 1924. This building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and represents Mayan revival architecture. This pewter replica’s base measures 5-1/4 inches by 2-7/8 inches and is finished in antique pewter.

You can reasonably secure your copy of the Ennis House. This is a desirable item, if you are a collector of replicas, a fan of the movies, or a combination of the two. Ordering information is here. (Mention you heard about it from "Loren Coleman.")

More in-depth background about the building and its links to modern Hollywood follows:

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House was formerly called the Ennis-Brown House.

Although originally and currently known as the Ennis House, the building was long known as the Ennis-Brown House. This became its name in 1980 when it was renamed in appreciation of its donation to the Trust for Preservation of Cultural Heritage by Augustus O. Brown, the eighth owner from 1968–1980. In August 2005, the house was returned to its original name, and the Trust for Preservation of Cultural Heritage was renamed the Ennis House Foundation.

The Ennis House in Los Angeles was used in one drive up scene, and as the studio inspiration for shooting in Rick Deckard's apartment in Blade Runner. The style of this house was Mayan Revival, and the Mayan influence is undeniably strong in the employment of the glyphs throughout. (For more on the Mayan angle in Blade Runner, see here.)

Deckard's apartment, drawn by set designer Charles William Breen and built on stage at Warner Brothers, was absolutely and directly inspired by the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House.

Breen actually had plaster casts taken from the textile blocks of the Wright-designed house and used them for the walls in the stage set.

Additionally, the Ennis House was briefly the home of famed esoteric author Manly P. Hall, (see here). Also the Ennis-Brown House was used in the Disney film The Rocketeer as the home of Neville Sinclair, Nazi spy. Howard Hughes was a prominent character in the film. [Thanks M.]

In the Lee Tamahori-directed Mulholland Falls (1996), Rocketeer star Jennifer Connelly plays a fictionalized Black Dahlia (an aspiring actress, Allison Pond), in which radioactive glass is found at her feet, leading the detectives to the Nevada Atomic Testing Site. [Thanks E.D.]

In 1999, during shooting, movie director David Lynch created the Club Silencio as a location in his surreal classic Mulholland Drive (2001). Tile casts of the block relief ornamentation from Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House were used for the Club Silencio doorframe. In 2011, Lynch opened a real-life nightclub in Paris named Club Silencio, inspired by the one in his film.

Governor's Palace at Uxmal

Wright designed the Ennis House in 1923, and built it in 1924. He based the relief ornamentation on its textile blocks, inspired by the symmetrical reliefs of the Mayan buildings at Uxmal.

The Ennis House was in shambles before the 2007 restoration began.

Newly restored.

More on the David Lynch use of the Ennis House (below) for his filming of the internal soap opera, Invitation to Love, in Twin Peaks, see here.

Alan Green writes:

Look closely at this shot from Beverly Hills Cop II. The movie takes place on 9/11, the Federal Reserve gets robbed, but it is a false flag operation run by an oil tycoon who uses it to sell weapons. (Directed by Tony Scott, Ridley Scott's brother.)

Author Robert Schneck also shared the following with me about this building: 

The Ennis-Brown House was used for exerior shots in the William Castle (born 'Schloss' = 'castle') movie House on Haunted Hill. It featured an eccentric millionaire named Frederick Loren (played by Vincent Price), a death by hanging (the incredibly beautiful Carol Ohmart), a decapitation, an acid pit, and various morbid touches, including dripping bloodstain on the ceiling, guests arriving for a party in funeral cars, a little row of coffins containing guns, and lots of ghosts. A remake appeared in 1999 but they didn't use a Wright house....William Castle, incidentally leads to Rosemary's Baby (he produced the movie), which leads to the Dakota, which leads to John Lennon's murder, and who knows where else?

Below is a replica of the Dakota. As with the Ennis House replica, if you end up ordering the Dakota, do mention "Loren Coleman" in the comment section. Thank you.

For more about the history of the Dakota, see here.