“We just needed a special house — my dream house.”
— Ruth Henning on her Toluca Lake home, from her memoir The First Beverly Hillbilly:
The Untold Story of the Creator of Rural TV Comedy
I was born in Burbank, right across the street from Walt Disney Studios. Growing up, it seemed like a magical existence living in our cozy little home on Maple Street. We were friends with every family on the block. A few years later, we moved to Clark Avenue, which was down the street from Verdugo Pool. My brother and sister and I spent many summer afternoons swimming there. We then moved to a place in North Hollywood that was right down the street from the Brady Bunch house, where we would always go trick-or-treating on Halloween. Most of my shopping and dining experiences with family and friends centered on the Burbank/Toluca Lake area. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving we gathered at the Smoke House Restaurant. We often had lunch at Patys or breakfast at Tallyrand. I remember stopping by a garage sale in Toluca Lake one Saturday morning that turned out to be at the home of Oscar-winning special effects makeup artist Rick Baker. He was very friendly and had a lot of cool items for sale. I bought a set of vintage cactus mugs with a cactus pitcher. His home was across the street from Bing Crosby’s former home, which was a few blocks from Amelia Earhart’s former home. Everywhere you look in Toluca Lake, you can find a little history.
There are a number of exceptional and historic homes in Toluca Lake, but there are a few you may not have heard about because they’ve been hidden away for years (off the market) with longtime owners who have wished for privacy. Two such examples of notable, beautifully designed Toluca Lake houses can be attributed to one renowned home designer and builder, Robert Byrd.
Byrd (1904–1978) designed and built hundreds of homes throughout Southern California from the 1920s to the 1970s. Known for his indoor/outdoor style and whimsical design elements, Byrd was often credited as the inventor of the California ranch style of architecture. Many of his homes were built in the Hollywood Hills, where he himself was a resident. A number of celebrities have lived in Byrd homes over the years, including actor/director Ron Howard, actor/singer Lizabeth Scott, musician Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille fame and, more recently, television personality Kelly Osbourne. Byrd had a long and distinguished career as a home designer and builder. He worked alongside his son, Gary (1939–2008), for 20 years, and together they built some of the most spectacular homes in Southern California.
Robert Byrd’s home on Lookout Mountain near Laurel Canyon is the stuff of legends — some true, some not. Having designed and built homes for many celebrities over the years, he was accustomed to working with big personalities and had an affable, gregarious personality himself. Byrd had much success as a home designer and builder, but he also experienced vicissitudes in his career and life. He was married five times. He loved exotic sports cars, as did Gary. The Byrds earned most of their business by word of mouth — particularly from within Hollywood circles. They did very little advertising.
Byrd built dozens of homes in the San Fernando Valley. One of his exceptional Toluca Lake residences is a Tudor-style home designed in 16th-century medieval style with French Provincial overtones. Completed in 1971, it was once owned by famous Hollywood producer Paul Henning, who was responsible for the popular television series The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. The other Byrd home in Toluca Lake was a large, gated 1948 estate designed with old-world country charm that featured five fireplaces, a private library with built-in bookcases, a bar, a pool and a built-in barbecue. Film actor and World War II hero Audie Murphy once resided there with his family. Both these homes had what many residents in Toluca Lake desire — a dock by the lake and a panoramic view of Lakeside Golf Club.
THE PAUL AND RUTH HENNING HOME
Paul Henning had a long and distinguished career in Hollywood. In 1962 he created, wrote and produced The Beverly Hillbillies television series, one of the highest-rated shows of all time. The show ran for nine seasons until 1971, producing 274 episodes. In 1963, Paul and his wife, Ruth, created the series Petticoat Junction. Their daughter, Linda Kaye Henning, was one of the co-stars of the popular show, which ran on CBS for seven years.
The Henning family had been residents of Toluca Lake since 1948. In 1969, at the height of their success, Paul and Ruth sought someone to design their perfect home. Ruth was the main creative force behind the project, searching for a special home designer, someone who could realize her vision. That person turned out to be Robert Byrd. His reputation and resume were well known in Hollywood. Byrd was the perfect fit.
As Ruth wrote in her memoir, “After interviewing several architects who all proceeded to tell me what was wrong with my ideas, I found one who not only liked my ideas but improved on them. He was Robert Byrd, well-known in our area. A Byrd house is to be cherished. We cherish ours.”
The official building records with the City of Los Angeles list R.L. Byrd as the “Architect or Designer” of the home. The contractor was Charles Litcha, which means Byrd only designed the home and was likely not involved with the actual building. The engineer was Gouvis Engineering. Construction of the home began in November 1969 and was completed in September 1971. The spectacular 5,292-square-foot estate features five bedrooms and six baths, a cinema room, a pool and a coveted dock by the lake.
The interior design of the home was done by Maggi Cobb, a well-respected Los Angeles designer of the time who was once married to Robert Byrd, living with him in a Byrd home in the hills high above Hollywood. The landscape architect was Zareh Kiragh, who studied under the renowned landscape architect Lockwood de Forest at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Hennings’ Tudor-style home was built to Ruth’s specifications, custom in every detail. It was her lifelong dream and took three years to complete. The French Provincial design style was one of Byrd’s trademarks. The house featured “his and hers” studies, a circular bar and a therapy room. Other features included artistic brick and stonework, decorative venetian glass, wood paneling and carvings, leaded paned windows and antique mirrors. And what house doesn’t need two wine cellars, one upstairs and one downstairs?
Once the home was completed, the Hennings wanted to show off their spectacular new residence and decided to host a series of “House Tours.” The tours benefited various charities, with hundreds of invited guests in attendance, including celebrities like Donna Douglas and other cast members from some of Paul and Ruth’s TV series. Ruth even wrote a parody song about the experience of building their home, set to the tune of “September Song.”
Ruth passed away in 2002, and Paul passed a few years later in 2005. The home was subsequently sold in 2006. There have been several owners since the Hennings, with numerous additions and modifications made to the home over the years, but it still remains one of the most beautiful, iconic homes in Toluca Lake.
THE AUDIE MURPHY HOME
Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated and celebrated soldiers of World War II, receiving every military award for valor available from the U.S. Army. He was also one of the most popular actors of the 1950s, starring in dozens of Hollywood westerns, as well as a much-publicized film about his own experience as a soldier (based on his book) titled To Hell and Back. He and his wife, Pamela, and their two sons, Terry Michael and James Shannon, lived in Toluca Lake for several decades.
In 1956, the Murphy family purchased a Robert Byrd home originally designed and built in Toluca Lake for Dr. John Griffin in 1948. The Murphy home, which included a small barn on the property, overlooked the greens of Lakeside Golf Club. Though Murphy did not originally contract Byrd to build the home, he hired him to make updates and modifications.
It was common for Byrd to work with new owners to update his existing homes. In 1950, actor and singer Lizabeth Scott purchased a Byrd home in the Hollywood Hills that had been built in 1940. She worked closely with Byrd to help renovate the home, wanting to maintain its original design and aesthetic.
During their time at the Toluca Lake home, Pamela Murphy hosted several parties and events, including one in 1956 for the North Hollywood Republican Women’s Club supporting President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s re-election.
After Murphy died in 1971, his family sold the house to Buena Vista sales executive Harry Archinal, an international film distribution pioneer who helped establish Disney’s worldwide success. Archinal lived there until his death in 2017. The home was sold again and, unfortunately, was recently demolished.
ROBERT BYRD HOMES TODAY
Today, people still cherish and covet the homes designed and built by Robert Byrd and his son, Gary. Several Byrd homes have sold in the $10 million range. The property known as the Robert Taylor Ranch in West Los Angeles — designed and built by Robert Byrd in 1950 — sold for $18 million in 2015.
What people love most about a Byrd home is its charming, comfortable design that provides casual, but still graceful and enduring family living. One of the main concerns for historic homes like these is that they will be sold to a new owner or developer who will demolish the structure to put up a standard modern-designed home that maximizes square footage but loses the charm and integrity of an iconic, original home. Hopefully, Southern California’s Byrd homes will someday receive the historic status designation they deserve, so that they may be protected and preserved for future generations. May the Byrd family legacy live on.