Just when you thought I was done blogging about locales from Hollywood, here I am with a new spot! A couple of months back, an anonymous reader informed me that the Buck House, an architecturally famous pad in the Mid-Wilshire area, portrayed the residence of lecherous powerhouse agent Henry Willson (Jim Parsons) on the popular 2020 Netflix miniseries. Even though the exterior was never shown, I was intrigued and promptly headed over to Google to bring up images of the place. Doing so only intrigued me further! Featuring clean lines, windows galore, and unique Streamline Moderne built-ins, the Buck Residence is stunning! To the top of my To-Stalk List it went and I made it over there for some socially-distant stalking a few weeks later.
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The 1934 International-style stunner was constructed by architect R.M. Schindler for clothing store designer John J. Buck.
The sprawling L-shaped property, which surrounds a rear courtyard, boasts 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2,500 square feet, a brick fireplace, sliding glass walls, varying ceiling heights, clerestory windows (defined by Architectural Digest as “a row of windows well above eye level”), a 0.17-acre corner lot, and an attached 3-car garage with an upstairs apartment featuring its own private entrance.
In 1977, the dwelling was slightly remodeled, with one of the three original bedrooms opened up and combined with a breakfast nook. The kitchen and a bathroom were also updated at the time. Otherwise, the Buck House looks much as it did when Schindler completed it almost nine decades ago.
Today, the property, which is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #122, operates as the Country Club art gallery.
You can check out some great interior images of it here.
The Buck House only appears once on Hollywood. After a rather tense dinner at The Prince in the episode titled “Outlaws,” Henry forces his client Rock Hudson (Jake Picking) to come back to his home to watch him perform the Dance of the Seven Veils.
The scene, which you can watch here, is insanely cringeworthy and perfectly showcases Willson’s eccentric and predatory personality, but I was more taken with the striking surroundings than anything else.
The production utilized a couple of areas of the house including the living room (above) and a den/office that was transformed into Henry’s bedroom.
As you can see in the MLS images from a recent listing as compared to the screen captures above and below, though some artwork and mid-century décor were added to the premises for the shoot, the place is still very recognizable from its onscreen stint.
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Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The Buck House, aka Henry Willson’s home from the “Outlaws” episode of Hollywood, is located at 805 South Genesee Avenue in Mid-Wilshire.