Whitley Heights 101

6747 Milner Road

6747 Milner Road was built in 1923 by B.B. Horner; it Norman cottage sits on an irregular lot and consists of 2,000 square feet, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Actor and director, William Wellman lived here with his fifth and final wife, Dorothy Coonan, an actress and dancer. Dorothy actually gave up her career to have a family. The Wellman’s had a total of seven children. Wellman directed 81 movies between 1923-1958 and was best known for directing Janet Gaynor’s, “A Star is Born” in 1937. Wellman actually directed “Wings” in 1927 and it was the first movie to win best picture in the first academy awards. Wellman was also the nominee for best director in 1954 for “The High and the Mighty”, nominee for best director in 1950 for “Battleground” and also won best writing, original story for “A Star is Born”.

Wellman was nicknamed “Wild Bill” for his service during World War I as an aviator, a name that continued during his time in Hollywood due to his larger than life personality and lifestyle, known for his public drinking and brawling. Bill had a thing for the ladies and was married four times before with each marriage lasting less than five years. Wellman actually dislikes working with actors and actresses and his feelings appeared during his directing which came out was difficult to work with. Wellman, who was fired from almost every studio in Hollywood, quit directing after 40 years when he was on the top. Wellman died of leukemia in 1975 and was survived by his wife, Dorothy.

Musician Phil Ohman moved into the home following the Wellman’s departure in 1936. Ohman was remembered as being one half of one of the popular piano duos in the 1920s and 1930s, paired with Victor Arden. They were the pit pianists in many of George Gershwin’s musicals, and recorded hundreds of piano rolls and records. Starting in mid 1927, just as they signed to Victor Records, they developed a large studio orchestra specializing in Broadway show songs that became quite popular. Ohman also composed music on 21 soundtracks including “Goodnight, Sweetheart” in 1944.

Cartoonist Chuck Jones bought the home after Ohman moved out in 1940. Jones was an animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of shorts. He wrote, produced, and/or directed many classic animated cartoon shorts starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Pepé Le Pew, and Porky Pig, among others. In 1996, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Academy Awards.

Former actress and film director Sofia Coppola bought the home in 1993 and used it primarily for office space. The house is directly across the street from the home her brother, Roman, had purchased. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father’s direction of The Godfather (1972). Coppola later appeared in several music videos, as well as a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). Coppola then portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather Part III (1990). She then turned her attention to filmmaking.

Her directorial debut was in 1999’s The Virgin Suicides starring Kirsten Dunst. In 2004, Coppola received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. Coppola also directed “Marie Antoinette” in 2006, also starring Dunst and “The Bling Ring” in 2013, starring Austin Butler (star of Elvis in 2022). Coppola sold the property in 2006.