Fred McMurray’s Old Hollywood Ranch Shows Up the Mega-Mansions

In these days of mega-mansions and monster homes, it’s helpful to be reminded that celebrities did not always live in such palatial surroundings. Fred McMurray starred on his own TV series and in over a hundred movies in a career that lasted almost 5o years. When he bought his 1,500 acre ranch in 1941, he chose to live in the original farmhouse with only a few modifications. The property is now owned by Gallo but open to the public from time to time.

Writer, Mary Jo Bowling, describes the house: “Inside, the house looks much the same as it did when the MacMurrays lived here. ‘My parents were children of the Depression,’ says Kate (McMurray). ‘They bought things with the intention that they would last. There was no thought of redecorating for style reasons. In fact, we had many pieces that had belonged to the Porter family. They liked them; the pieces worked; and so they hung on to them. They simply did not have a throwaway mentality.’

Click on this link to read more and see pictures of this charming place.