Explore Palm Springs: Darryl F. Zanuck Estate

Hollywood movie mogul held many star parties

Nicolette Wenzell History

 

Home to movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck for decades, this substantial estate was built in 1935 at 346 E. Tamarisk Road in the Movie Colony neighborhood in Palm Springs.

The unlikely story has been told that Zanuck won the home from Joseph Schenck in a poker game. It is more likely that Zanuck acquired the home after Schenck was convicted of tax evasion and subsequently spent time in prison.

Schenck, who was the inaugural president of United Artists and later partnered with Zanuck to lead 20th Century Fox, was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood during the time.

After his stint in prison, Schenck returned to Fox where his influence and admiration launched the career of a young actress named Marilyn Monroe. The estate, dubbed Ric-Su-Dar by Zanuck, boasts 10 bedrooms and a 70-foot swimming pool.

The biggest names in Hollywood at the time spent countless hours reveling at parties held at the estate.

It is reported that Zanuck kept his Academy Awards for How Green Was My Valley, Gentlemen’s Agreement, and All About Eve on the mantel at Ric-Su-Dar.

There is a multitude of ways to learn more about Palm Springs, which turned 75 in 2013. One of the more intriguing methods is by exploring the city’s history.

The Palm Springs Historical Society will share a weekly story whose time and place corresponds with today.

The Palm Springs Historical is located at 221 S. Palm Canyon Drive. For more information, visit www.pshistoricalsociety.org

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