6793 Whitley Terrace

6793 Whitley Terrace was built in 1922 by architect Arthur S. Barnes for Jacob and Charlotte Miller who also built the house next door, 6697 Whitley Terrace at the same time. Below, this residence, indicated by the blue dot, was originally built as a one-story, five room bungalow home. In 1925, the Miller’s added a den and office underneath the dining room. Their other property, 6697 Whitley Terrace (red dot) was under construction and going to be built as one and a half stories with five rooms. The Millers put both properties up for sale after they were completed in September of 1922 but then decided to reside in this house while renting the house next door.

These two residences used to be in the heart of Whitley Heights before this area was bulldozed for the 101 Freeway during the 1950s. 6793 Whitley Terrace sat on the corner of Whitley Terrace and Iris Circle with the moorish home with a temple roof, 6787 Whitley Terrace was to its right. Houses on Fairfield Avenue were also being built below these homes.

In 1931, actress Irene Dunne (1898-1990) rented this home when she first came to Hollywood. A Broadway star in New York, Dunne had just filmed “Leathernecking”, the film version of the 1928 Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical “Present Arms” which she also starred in. RKO Pictures sent her to Hollywood to star opposite Richard Dix in the western film, “Cimarron”. She left her husband, Frances Griffin, a successful dentist, back in New York; Griffin encouraged Dunne to move to Hollywood to pursue her beginning film career. Dunne preferred to stay out of the limelight and hid her husband’s identity; she had an impeccable reputation and never encountered any scandals.

Dunne remained in Hollywood and worked until the early 1960s. She starred in 42 movies and was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress—Cimarron (1931), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939), and I Remember Mama (1948). Dunne never won the award. In 1935 she hired architect Sumner Spaulding to erect a mansion located at 461 North Faring Road in Holmby Hills. Her husband eventually retired and moved to the house with her where they remained until her death. The house was razed in the mid 1990s.

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British actress Wendy Barrie (1912-1978) rented 6783 Whitley Terrace went she first moved to Hollywood to star in “It’s a Small World” with Spencer Tracy in 1935. Unlike Dunne’s attraction to secrecy and seclusion, Barrie was an open book who was often seen around town going to clubs like the Trocadero or playing tennis for morning exercise. She also had an on-going list of men she dated including; David Niven, Jack Oakie, Tyrone Power, Milton Berle, Jimmy Stewart and Randolph Scott. Barrie was actually rumored to be engaged to heir to the Woolworth’s retail company, Woolworth Donahue before she moved to Hollywood.

Unfortunately, one boyfriend would be the downfall to her succesful acting career. In November of 1940, it was reported that Barrie dined with gangster Bugsy Siegel who was currently in jail for a murder charge. Siegel’s mob ties provided him with certain privileges including- being temporarily released from jail on several occasions, to be able to spend time with his girlfriend. Although he was married, Barrie continued to date Siegel for several years; as a result movie studios were hesitant to hire her due to her mob connection. In 1945, Barrie moved to New York and married David Myers, a wealthy New Yorker. Between 1948 to 1950, Barrie hosted her own show on tv called “Through Wendy’s Window” and made several television guest appearances though the early sixties.

6793 Whitley Terrace was moved to Huntington Beach by Lloyd Dye by 1950 and rumors circulated the bungalow that traveled 40 miles to its new resting place, was the former home of actress Jean Harlow. The rumors continue to be unsubstantiated; it does not appear that Harlow ever lived in any residence in Whitley Heights. The bungalow that was once rented to actresses Irene Dunne and Wendy Barrie is located at 1817 Park Street in Huntington Beach. Four feet of the top of the house had to be removed in order to move the house to pass under the low utility lines in Huntington Beach. The house was eventually restored to maintain it’s classic 1920s charm with its original floors and Batchelder fireplace in the living room and a seam in the wood floor serves as a reminder that the home was cut in half vertically to be transported to Orange County.