jackie autry palm springs

Western Living

Jackie Autry, widow of "The Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry, has listed her Spanish hacienda-style home in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood in Palm Springs.

Lawrence Karol Current Digital, Home & Design, Real Estate

jackie autry palm springs
All of the painted ceilings are original to the home.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RYAN CASTILLO / DESERT BIRD MEDIA

Even homes touched by a bit of Hollywood gold dust have sometimes seen better days. That was certainly the case when Jackie Autry, widow of "The Singing Cowboy," actor, and businessman Gene Autry, first encountered this Palm Springs residence in Old Las Palmas.

She purchased the house in 1997 from the television producer/writer/director Glen Larson (Battlestar Galactica, Magnum P.I. among many others) and over the years the home had been used for television and movie productions. (In another brush with Hollywood history, the producer and studio executive Robert Evans wrote portions of his autobiography, The Kid, while staying with Larson.)

Autry says the home, which was built in 1927 by meteorologist and inventor Irving Krick, was run down and in need of restoration but she knew it had "good bones." In addition to a renovation that turned the house into the showplace it is today, Autry established an "environmental conservation footprint" when she removed a large swimming pool that held 65,000 gallons of water and created a water-conserving desert garden in its place.

Autry loves the grace and architectural charm of the property and notes that it, "is quiet, gentle, and conducive to good living—and one of the best entertaining homes in the valley."

The hacienda-style estate is set on over one acre and has numerous gardens.

But, after living in Palm Springs for 62 years, she's decided to part with the house. Louise Hampton of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services California Properties is the agent for the $8,250,000 listing.

The home's seven bedrooms (five in the main house and two in the housekeeper's quarters), seven full bathrooms, and two powder rooms are spread over more than 13,400 square feet. There are six fireplaces—in the breakfast room, formal dining room, master bedroom, an office adjacent to the master, and in two of the en-suite guest bedrooms.

jackieautryhouse

The home's seven bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, and two powder rooms are spread over more than 13,400 square feet. It's been an ideal setting for displaying Autry's collection of Western art.

Among the features of the oversized kitchen are granite countertops, two Sub-Zero refrigerators, two Sub-Zero freezers, four Viking ovens, and birdseye maple cabinetry. "The kitchen is beautiful to cook in," says Autry.

Outdoors, the thoughtfully landscaped property includes a tennis court, lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, and orange trees, along with beautiful views of the San Jacinto Mountains and a Victory vegetable garden designed by Autry. (Victory Gardens were planted with vegetables, fruits, and herbs at private residences and public parks during World War I and World War II to help supplement public food supplies.)

For more information, contact Louise Hampton, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services California Properties, The Louise Hampton Team, 760-320-4586, [email protected].