Way back in January, while on a stalking adventure with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, he took me by the West Adams-area home where, on April 1st, 1984, singer Marvin Gaye Jr. was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr. (and no, gay is not a typo – Marvin Jr. added an e to his surname early on in his career). Mike thought the location would fit in perfectly with my annual Haunted Hollywood theme and, while I adamantly agreed, that unfortunately meant that I had to wait over ten months to blog about the place. So without further ado, here goes . . . finally!
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Marvin Gaye Jr.’s former home, which was originally built in 1905, was designed by Sumner Hunt, who also designed the Thomas W. Phillips residence, aka The People Under the Stairs house, that I blogged about yesterday. Marvin Jr., who had found massive success thanks to such hits as “Let’s Get It On”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “What’s Going On”, and “Sexual Healing”, purchased the large Tudor-style dwelling in 1975 for $30,500, but, due to issues with drugs and a dire financial situation, wound up having to quit-claim the property to his parents just a year and a half later.
As the story goes, in late 1983, Marvin Jr. moved back into the home following the end of his U.S. tour. The singer was not in good shape. At the time, he was suffering from extreme depression, cocaine addiction, suicidal tendencies, and severe paranoia. Convinced that someone was trying to kill him, he had even taken to wearing a bulletproof vest when not onstage. And, according to this article, at one press conference he announced that he had been poisoned by an unknown individual and then later saved by an antidote potion that had been created by comedian Dick Gregory. Um, OK.
At about 11 a.m. on April 1st, 1984, Marvin Jr. got into an argument with his father, who was a Pentecostal minister and with whom he had always had a stormy relationship, in an upstairs bedroom of the house. The argument quickly escalated and got physical, resulting in Marvin Sr. grabbing a .38-caliber pistol and shooting his son twice in the chest.
In a very odd move, Marvin Sr. then walked downstairs, opened the front door, tossed the gun onto the lawn, sat on the porch, and waited for the police to arrive. There is a conflicting report making the rounds online that Marvin Sr.’s wife, Alberta Gay, was the one who actually threw the gun onto the lawn from an upstairs window. I am unsure which version of the story is true, but, either way, when the police did arrive, Marvin Sr. was waiting for them on the porch. He was arrested and later charged with murder. Marvin Jr. was taken to California Hospital Medical Center (located at 1401 South Grand Avenue), where he was pronounced dead at 1:01 p.m. – one day before his 45th birthday.
Due to the fact that he had suffered massive bruising from the altercation with his son, Marvin Sr. was allowed to plead no-contest to voluntary manslaughter and received only five years probation for the crime. Alberta moved out of the house during the trial and subsequently sued her husband for divorce. She passed away in 1987. That same year, Marvin Jr.’s sisters deeded the property to the Marvin P. Gaye Jr. Memorial Foundation, which wound up selling it to new owners in 1988. And while Wikipedia states that Marvin Sr. lived at the West Adams residence for a time briefly following his trial, I am not sure if that information is correct.
Marvin Gaye’s former home boasts 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, 5,352 square feet, and a 0.48-acre plot of land. The front door happened to be open while we were stalking the place, so we got a tiny peek at the interior.
The property also boasts a huge detached two-car garage with an upstairs guest house that Marvin Jr.’s brother Frankie and his wife, Irene, lived in at the time of the killing.
Fellow stalker Scott Michaels, from the FindADeath website, did a fabulous write-up on Marvin’s killing and also posted a photograph of the home taken shortly afterwards in which you can see that it still looks EXACTLY the same today as it did in 1984. Aside from a change in the trim’s paint color and a different style of fence, the residence is pretty much identical to its 1984 self. Absolutely amazing! You can check out another 1984 photograph of the house here. And while a January 1998 Los Angeles Magazine article stated that devoted fans still showed up to the residence annually on Marvin Jr.’s birthday to hold candlelight vigils for the fallen singer, I am unsure if those vigils still take place to this day.
You can check out a video that Scott Michaels took inside of the home by clicking below.
You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.
Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location. 
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The home where Marvin Gaye was killed is located at 2101 South Gramercy Place in the West Adams District of Los Angeles.
Great great information sorry you had to endure that situation with two men that tried to be an example to you. Marvin Gaye was one of those type of people that although you didn’t know him personally through his music you thought you doing and we were growing up into this day I still referred to him as “Uncle Marvin”. When I was your age I experienced death initially for your younger than you and a few years later my 13 year old friend was murdered by an 8 year old. Then when I was 16, a close friend tried to kill his ex girlfriend & succeeded at suicide and now at the age of 56 is more deaths occurred through the years I’ve become very numb to death. Forgive me for being morbid. I just wanted you to know I could relate to what you were going through. Thank you for sharing your story
I’m not sure who currently owns or lives in the house.
hahahaha LMAO, you are right, because I live on LaSalle Avenue right off of Washington Blvd in Los Angeles. I pass this house taking a short cut Home, hahaha Sugar Hill is nowhere NEAR Beantwood, Brentwood is wayyyy off the 10 west fwy. hahahahahah, omg hahahah
That’s crazy
That’s my Great uncle Marvin you call Mr. Marvin
I use to live there for like a year in 76 & some 77 when moms moved us from KY
Much respect
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I grew up there… That’s my neighbor hood. I went to 24th elementary school down the street on the other side of the 10 fwy. My friends and I would see Uncle Marvin(is what we called him) and Uncle Frankie his Brother walking home from school almost every day and he would give us change to buy candy at 3 jays liquor store on Washington and Gramercy down the Street. He would dribble the basketball with us and talk with us. I remember that day we were coming back from the school playing basketball and the front yard was full of people and police cars. Confusing time I was 12yrs of age and had no clue on what was happening. We had just talked with Uncle Marvin and Frankie on our way to the school now something was way wrong. And whispering in the crowd was saying Mr. Marvin shot Uncle Marvin.Frankie had blood on his clothes. And that there was just mind blowing. That was my second introduction to death. Mr. Marvin killed Uncle Marvin, his son. That has had an impact on me to this day. That day after that a lot of things changed in my hood. My neighborhood was full of black stars. Jefferson Park/Mid City area of L.A. .Mathew “Stymie” Beard, Hattie McDaniel, Sugar Ray Robinson, Bo Jangles, Lou Rawles, and Theodore ” Sweet Daddy Williams” Wilson.
$30,500 seems awful cheap for a house that size in 1975. As a kid in 1980 we bought a house in indiana that was no where that big for 53k. I think Elvis bought a house out there in bel air or something for like 450k in 1970. Is this a bad part of town?
The house is next to the Santa Monica Freeway. That location, along with the constant noise, spot, etc. explains the price.
Marvin’s second wife, who also screwed him over financially like his first wife did still lives on Outpost Drive which goes north off of Franklin. As you go up it’s almost all the way up to Mulholland and on the left and you can see only the driveway gate that has a “G” on it. One of you Death Hags ought to go by there. Marvin lived there for some time. I responded there a Police Officer in the 80’s and boy was she a Bitch!
Well, he was abusive to her and she was only 16 so I don’t blame her.
I attended the nearby elementary, 24th street school in 1970. I remember some of my classmates stating at that time that Marvin Gaye’s parents lived there. That was 5 years prior to the supposed purchase date of 1975 that the blogger says MG bought it.
Nonetheless, I occasionally visit the neighborhood and will say the house does still look good.
I went there also late 70’s early 80’s.
Awesome article! I have been to this house several times. I lived in that area for 5 years. So easy to find. So tragic also.
Marvin home’s was not too far from Marilyn Monroe’s death home. (Brentwood)
Not even close…the West Adams district is a good 10 miles away from Brentwood and Marilyn’s home. Quit spreading lies!
I can’t believe that I stay around the corner from his house didn’t know Marvin stay there wow I could have hang out with him my dad love his music I was only 16th at the most
I loved Marvin,he was a friend of my brother’s in Washington DC, I was young when I met him R.I.P….he was so kind to me, I don’t care about the book that was written, I didn’t know that character!!
STILL HURTS TODAY THAT A SWEET, TALENTED, PRINCE HAD TO DIE IN THAT MANNER. STILL LOVE U Marvin RIP!!!!!!
Marvin Gaye had an amazing voice. I wish Jesse L Martin’s Marvin biopic Sexual Healing would get made properly. He’s been waiting for make it pretty much since 1996.
I lived a few blocks from Marvin’s house in West Adams. After his death, everyone who went by there claimed they could see Marvin, Sr. in this window at the top of the house. I doubt that was real, but I swear I could see him too. It was spooky. That whole area is beautiful but spooky, what with all the stories out there about “Old Hollywood,” the other name for the area. It is where what the world knows today as “Hollywood” began. “As the Silent Film era reached its heyday, movie stars and film directors alike-including Buster Keaton, Rupert Hughes, W.C. Fields, Theda Bara, Fatty Arbuckle, and the Talmadge sisters, Constance, Norma and Natalie-lived in mansions in and near the West Adams District.” – West Adams Heritage Assn. Also, black celebrities like Butterfly McQueen, the Mills Brothers, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Hattie McDaniel, Tim Moore, Eddie Anderson, Joe Louis, Louise Beavers, Sweet Daddy Grace, Little Richard, Lionel Hampton, Ray Charles, Sugar Ray Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and attorney Johnny Cochran all had homes in West Adams. When walking around there, one can feel there are ghosts around somewhere because at one time, that place was popping and still is, what with all the movie and TV shoots and tourists running about. It’s a historic area, loaded with history. A great place for ghost-hunters, you will definitely find them there.
Great post!