Whitley Heights 101

2071 Grace Avenue

2071 Grace Avenue was built in 1936 for journalist Frank Scully. The house started as a one story 5 room house with a detached garage which sits to the right of H.J. Whitley’s former home. The Scully’s moved into the home in 1937 even before the house was finished. Scully used beams from the former building of the old Los Angeles City Hall which was located at 226-238 South Broadway between 2nd Street and 3rd Street, the building was demolished in 1928. Below is the photograph of the front of the home taken shortly after the Scully’s finished the second story of the house.

Frank Scully (1892-1964) was born in Steinway, New York, attended Columbia University, he began his career as a reporter on the New York Sun. In high school, Scully participated in athletics, injured his femur and ended up with osteomyelitis. In his 20s, he contracted tuberculosis in his lungs and ended up with an amputated leg. His disability did not hinder his aspirations.

In 1927, Scully was hired by MGM as the publicity and advertising director in Nice, France. There he met his future bride, 19 year old Alice Pihl. The two married in Paris in 1930 and their son, Jeb, was born a year later. The Scully’s visited New York in 1933 and their daughter, Sylvia, was born there. Frank started writing his first book “Fun in Bed: The Convalescent’s Handbook”, the first of a series of four books on the humorous side of being disabled.

In 1933, Frank was offered a job with Fox Films in Hollywood so the family moved to a 1924 Spanish style house located at 10467 Wellworth Avenue in Westwood (see above). Frank wrote his first screenplay for Warner Baxter in “Hell in the Heavens” as a contributor. The Fox Films job did not last long as Frank had other aspirations in politics, assisting his friend, Upton Sinclair, in running for California governor in 1934. The family moved out to a ranch in Toluca Lake while their Whitley Heights home was being built.

After they moved in to 2071 Grace Avenue, they called the home “Bedside Manor” and their daughter, Patricia, was born in 1937. In 1938, Scully unsuccessfully ran as a state assemblyman and then he was offered a job as Secretary of State Institutions in 1939. However, the new governor fired him shortly after, wanting his own daughter in the job. Scully refused to leave the position and was even camping out in his office at night. Scully eventually vacated the position after a failed lawsuit and appeal to the California Supreme Court.

Scully then became head of the Hollywood Humane Society and another daughter, Marguerite, was born in 1939. In 1940, when he decided to run for assemblyman again, he was suddenly charged with 2 felonies for misappropriation of funds. Although, he was eventually acquitted on both charges, he lost his race. Scully continued to write books and began a column entitled “Scully’s Scrapbook” for Variety Magazine between 1935 and 1940.

Scully then wrote another non-fiction book about flying saucers which claimed the Air Force confiscated several flying saucers from Venus, which caused another controversy in his life. In 1951, the Scully’s purchased a ranch in Palm Springs and began a rennovating project. In 1955, they decided to quit Hollywood and move to their ranch full-time. They decided to rent Bedside Manor and then sold it in 1958. Frank died at his Palm Springs ranch in 1964 at the age of 71.

In 2003, actress Jennifer Coolidge purchased 2071 Grace Avenue. Coolidge was born in Boston in 1961 and gained recognition for her roles in the comedy film series American Pie (1999–2012) and Legally Blonde (2001–2003). Her most recent role was in “The Minecraft Movie” which was released in April of 2025. Coolidge also has homes in Boston, New York City, and New Orleans.