November 19, 2014 |
“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair. Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light” A neon light, spelling out Chateau Marmont, because we all know that when the Eagles sang of Hotel California, they were really singing about the Chateau. Is there any other hotel in LA?
And so much has happened inside its hallowed walls, so much that, on 24th March 1976, it was named one of LA’s Historic-Cultural Monuments. Not bad for a building that started out as an overpriced apartment block.
Sofia Coppola shot Somewhere here, the opening scene of Lindsay Lohan’s comeback The Canyons was also filmed here; Lohan was also its version of Eloise for a while, until the bills got her and she had to move out. Apparently Rachel Zoe goes there for dinner every night, or used to, and would dine on two asparagus spears. And since we’re on the subject of food, Billy Idol trashed his room because his french fries came with truffle oil poured over them instead of on the side. Roman Polanski stayed here before that incident that caused him to flee the US of A, but apparently left behind a series of clues that would lead the police directly to him. Only problem is they still haven’t solved the clues. There’s a rumour that the Chateau was built using Errol Flynn’s bones, which isn’t true. The rumour that it was built using Clark Gable’s bones, though, is apparently true, though how it could be true is kind of hard to work out, seeing as the Chateau was built in 1927 and Gable didn’t die until 1960. Maybe they ground up his bones once he’d died and used them to plaster the walls. Well, all walls need replastering sometime. And since we’re on replastering, Elliott Gould was apparently plastered into a wall by Robert Duvall. It’s safe to assume that he managed to escape somehow, seeing as this was during his MASH heyday and he’s since been on Friends. John Belushi died here, as did Helmut Newton, and F Scott Fitzgerald, according to legend. According to Wikipedia he didn’t. But then when has Wikipedia ever been accurate? However, he did like to hide under other guests’ beds and grab their ankles, which isn’t at all creepy. He was the original monster under your bed. Elizabeth Taylor nursed Montgomery Clift back to health post a car crash, and now, in return, he haunts the Chateau’s halls. As does Marilyn Monroe. The full-length mirror from her suite is said to reflect her ghostly image. Led Zeppelin drove through the lobby on their Harleys, Humphrey Bogart tended to the garden and Howard Hughes used the attic to spy on ladies undressing through his binoculars. The views apparently are spectacular.
Photographer: Maria Ziegelboeck
By Natalie Dembinska
