About

Frank F. Rasche, architect.

Alternate address is 2047 N. Laughlin Park Drive

History:

Originally built by Harley Earl, noted auto stylist. Earl moved from this house to Detroit in 1926 to design the 1927 LaSalle, a then new car model. Alfred Sloan, CEO of General Motors, eventually allowed Earl to form the first auto styling department. Earl became a GM V.P. before retiring in 1958. He is generally agreed to be the most influential auto designer of the 20th Century. Earl was a native Angeleno and graduate of Hollywood High and USC.

Mr. and Mrs. Harley J. (Sue Carpenter) Earl were listed in the 1926 Los Angeles Blue Book.

Estelle Tayler, grantor to Jack Dempsey 03/01/46. (Source: LA Block Book Co.) (Source: Jack Dempsey, Dempsey on Dempsey, Harper & Row, 1977.)

Brief article on the Los Angeles residence of Jack Dempsey in Pictorial California, August, 1928, pp. 2223, illustrated.

Listed at $2,195,000 in November, 2000. Owned by boxer Jack Dempsey and his wife Estelle Taylor for 20 years. (Source: Real estate brochure)

Listed at $1,975,000 in April, 2001. (Source: real estate brochure)

JACK DEMPSEY: William Harrison Dempsey, better known as Jack, was born on June 24, 1895. He gained fame in 1919 as the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, a status that he held until 1926 when he lost to Gene Tunney. He was one of top five sports stars the 1920s along with Babe Ruth, Bill Tilden, Red Grange, and Bobby Jones. He married Estelle Taylor, a Hollywood star, in 1925, and appeared in some films at that time. He continued to box until 1926 when he retired with a record of 62 wins, six losses, eight draws, five no decisions, and one no contest. He had 50 knockouts, and is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. After boxing, he remained in Los Angeles and became a prominent property developer in Los Feliz. He died on May 31, 1983 in New York.
The address is also associated with the actor, Basil Rathbone. (Source: BBC Homepage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A759648)

1930 census:
5254 Los Feliz Blvd. (Value: $130,000): 1) Jack Dempsey, owner and head of household; 35 year old white married male; born in Colorado; parents born in Virginia; a financier in real estate. 2) Estelle Dempsey, wife; 27 year old white married female; married at age 16; born in Delaware; father born in Delaware, mother in Pennsylvania; a motion picture actress. 3) Bruno E. Demont, servant; 60 year old white married male; married at age 43; born in Germany; parents born in Germany; speaks German; to U.S. in 1923; citizenship pending; a servant in a private family. 4) Martha M. Demont, servant; 46 year old white married female; married at age 28; born in Germany; parents born in Germany; speaks German; to U.S. in 1923; citizenship pending; a servant in a private family. 5) Werner E. Demont, servant; 17 year old single white male; in school; born in Germany; parents born in Germany; speaks German; to U.S. in 1923; an alien; a servant in a private family.

Includes 5254-5266 W. Los Feliz Boulevard