Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow, the legendary 1930's Hollywood movie star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, exiting her home onto her patio, in 1932, in what appears to be a stylish riding outfit, with her dog and a crop. High in the hills above Los Angeles, nestled in the trees of Benedict Canyon, sits this 1930 Craftsman-style house. From the outside, its stone stairways, honeycomb glass windows, and towering turret make the house look as if it were plucked from a storybook fairytale movie set. But the true story of 9820 Easton Drive is exactly the opposite. Commonly referred to as the Harlow/Bern House, the home gets its name from the original owners, actress Jean Harlow and her husband, movie producer Paul Bern. The couple was married for just two months before tragedy struck—on September 5th, 1932, Paul Bern was found dead with a single gunshot wound to the head and a .38 caliber revolver in his hand. His body was discovered by house staff who, rather than calling the police, immediately contacted executives at MGM, the studio where Bern worked. Although his death was ultimately ruled a suicide by police, many—including some of Bern's colleagues in the film industry—believe he was actually murdered and that the studio covered it up to save Harlow's career. Whichever the case, Bern wouldn't be the last owner of the home to suffer an untimely death. In 1963, the house was sold to celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, who a year later began dating aspiring actress Sharon Tate. Although the couple eventually split, they remained extremely close friends until, tragically, on the night of August 8th, 1969, they were murdered by members of the Manson Family cult. Sebring, along with coffee heiress Abigail Folger and her boyfriend, screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski, had been staying with Tate, who was eight months pregnant, at the 1500 Cielo Drive home she and husband Roman Polanski were renting at the time. And while the horrific events that night did not take place at the Harlow/Bern House, the coincidental connection between the two tragedies is difficult to ignore.