1960: Inside JAYNE MANSFIELD's Pink Palace | Picture Parade | Classic Movie Interviews | BBC Archive

Robert Robinson reports from Los Angeles, where Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield has kindly offered to give him a tour of her extraordinary Beverly Hills home.
This clip is from Picture Parade, originally broadcast 11 January, 1960.
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[@Jolers63]

"Mickey" was very gifted. Jayne points out items that he made by hand. That is beautiful.

[@Josie2013]

Wikipedia states it was later owned by Ringo Starr and Englebert Humperdinck. It was then sold to developers who had it demolished. That put me in a melancholy mood.

[@joebryant5722]

That's a shame, great piece of popular culture through it's owners.

[@Lily_Anne]

I read once that Ringo painted the pool black. Can you believe it? That's just nuts. Has anyone else heard that?

[@nygelmiller5293]

I want it, I want it! This beautiful mansion! I'm glad this programme finished when it did - because IT finished ME off! What finally was TOO much for me, was the final shots of the MOSAIC bathtub, on which to be able to display that beautiful ornament/ ashtray/whatever! And it ISN'T MINE! Miss Mansfield, and Mr. Hargitay had really EXQUISITE taste. Someone, who only THOUGHT he did - Louis 14th couldn't compare!

[@breenixon1201]

Sadly, that is true. But apparently there’s a strip of roadway going past the property that still has the gates with their initials on them. So sad 😢 you can also see the heart shaped hole of what used to be the swimming pool

[@simonlunt353]

Jayne Mansfield was a very beautiful lady it’s so sad that she died so young 😢

[@barbara2976]

She came across as a Little Girl, loving Pink, Angels, Teddy Bears and Hearts. 💖

[@paddy9449]

Jane was SO BEAUITFUL!!!!!!!

[@NIGHTGUYRYAN]

haha, she was so much fun. seeing the pink palace in color is a real trip.

[@MrMustangrick]

Love it. That house should never had been torn down.

[@bexboo8]

ohh i wish it was in color , sooo cute

[@tinkerpinkerton5449]

The carpets are so thick she walks like she still has heels on.

[@Flawlessbeauty54]

I think her dress is so tight , it's causing that uncomfortable walk ....

[@theendofeverything6356]

Marvellously well-upholstered. And so is the house!

[@NudePostingConspiracyTheories]

ClassIc

[@silviajames7150]

I lived in Berendo Street, between Olympic & San Marino back in the 60'S. Those where the golden yrs for Los Angeles.

[@lauraanderson2429]

Love her voice

[@deanstanley5799]

They we’re so years ahead of us then

[@fidelcatsro6948]

it didnt bring true happiness unfortunately, a lesson for all of us!

[@Consrignrant]

Lol. What a load of nonsense.

[@TinLeadHammer]

_The violet piping, like a Neon tube, outlined the tops of the ugly, hump-backed hills and they were almost beautiful._ _But not even the soft wash of dusk could help the houses. Only dynamite would be of any use against the Mexican ranch houses, Samoan huts, Mediterranean villas, Egyptian and Japanese temples, Swiss chalets, Tudor cottages, and every possible combination of these styles that lined the slopes of the canyon._ _They were all of plaster, lath and paper. Steel, stone and brick curb a builder's fancy a little, forcing him to distribute his stresses and weights and to keep his corners plumb, but plaster and paper know no law, not even that of gravity._ _On the corner of La Huerta Road was a miniature Rhine castle with tarpaper turrets pierced for archers. Next to it was a little highly colored shack with domes and minarets out of the Arabian Nights. Both houses were comic. Their desire to startle was so eager and guileless._ _It is hard to laugh at the need for beauty and romance, no matter how tasteless, even horrible, the results of that need are. But it is easy to sigh. Few things are sadder than the truly monstrous._ - from _The Day of the Locust_ by Nathanael West

[@Kaboomboo]

Lovely Jayne. I'm sure she had truly felt like she made it when she opened this home to the public. She also had an open bar for the press that was open for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. She really enjoyed inviting the public into her life and sharing all she had. Sadly this house probably gave her more trouble than it was worth. Her contract was dropped by 20th Century Fox 5 years after its purchase and the house was a huge financial sinkhole. Since she wasn't getting her contract salary of $2500/week ($100k a month by today's standards), she couldn't be as selective of her roles in Hollywood and took pretty much any scrap that was thrown at her to make ends meet, which cheapened her image greatly. She was doing lowly bar and club shows towards the end. While some of the supper and dinner clubs paid well ($1500 a pop in some cases), she had to keep doing them night after night just to stay afloat, which left little time for focus on her acting career. The carpet in the bathroom though, that's a dumb idea. Never liked the idea of carpet in the bathroom, and in Jayne's case it was all over her walls and ceiling too. Bathrooms get humid and there's lots of water spilling in a bathroom, which is why they're usually tiled. I for the life of me can't understand why anyone would do that. But eh, to each their own.

[@orionxtc1119]

7 years later from when this was made, she was dead... sad

[@baz-wc4fi]

Her last payment from the Nightclub she was singing at on the night before she Died was $1,250 cash ,The Car she died in was borrowed from the Owner, driven by his Daughters Boyfreind!!,she was going to New Orleans for a TV Show then coming back to Sing at the Night Club! Rest is History

[@heather8307]

Wow, you can really see how much Mariska Hargitay looks like her!

[@cliffhughes6010]

Jayne acted the dumb blonde very well. But she was actually very intelligent... a multi-linguist who played the violin and piano to performance level.

[@thinkingallowed7042]

Yes, she had a very high IQ.

[@Kaboomboo]

Sadly neither of those things were true. She only spoke English fluently while her other languages was rudimentary at best. And her violin playing and piano playing was amateur at best. That was more of a parlor trick.

[@mistersurrealist]

She didn't lose her head, like most people believe. In fact, only the very top of her head was impacted during the collision with the truck. Her face and the rest of her body were left intact. What you see in most pictures of the car after the accident is her blonde wig on the dashboard, NOT her head or scalp.

[@JM-ih6pi]

Ela era um ser humano incrível, foi um final injusto pra ela 💔✨

[@sarahholland2600]

Her voice here is totally different to the one she uses in the movies, chat shows & award ceremony footage i've seen.

[@thurston4mor]

Yes she hides her real voice fairly well

[@Freetown37]

Same thing with Marilyn Monroe

[@milescarrott]

She is such an amazing lady 🩷

[@madamesalamander16]

I've seen the place in colour, and it overwhelms. However, seeing it in black and white, the non-architectural stuff is thoughtfully and carefully done. The patterns and textures found in her choices of textiles, surface finishes, etc., shows a very sensitive approach to creating depth and interest in layers beneath the color choice. That shagadelic bath room is something, but if you consider what that tub was made for and how much time and privacy was required, the ankle-twisting carpet on the walls was a practical option. Horrid looking, but practical.

[@NudePostingConspiracyTheories]

What the tub was made for?

[@livmarlin4259]

Her voice was beautiful!

[@toddschultzandkaysar3530]

absolutely amazing video thank you .. she was everything a movie star could be

[@robinvanags912]

"Well, Miss.Mansfield, it's five O' Cork - and we must be leaving now".

[@wrightmf]

We see certain features like the rounded doorways and other interesting aspects not done in buildings these days. Interesting the home had vacuum ports, I remember some older large homes that had those. These ports with piping to a central vacuum tank and pump so only need to grab a hose instead of an entire machine to vacuum the floor. That thick carpet must have been high maintenance. The craftsman work by Mickey is outstanding. Shame to think it no longer exists when replaced by a forgettable building or whatever.

[@Kaboomboo]

I think it's just an empty lot now. Some insight into the home: it was built in the 1920's and had a myriad of issues. According to Jayne's biographer, Raymond Strait, there were constant plumbing and electrical issues and cost $5k a month to maintain ($50k by today's standards). The home itself looked nice but it was a financial sinkhole and I think that's a fact that Ringo and Englebert discovered the hard way thus they sold. Having so many issues that even some of the highest earning celebrities couldn't overcome would make it a hard sell for future prospects and probably didn't seem practical to keep maintaining so it was torn down.

[@LOVEisBLUE-k9j]

​@@KaboombooI read that the owner of 'Owlwood' the property next door bought it to re-consolidate it back into the original acreage.

[@Lily_Anne]

My parents put in a central vacuum system about this time in our little 1,300-square-foot house, and it was just wonderful. I'll never understand why they didn't become standard in all homes.

[@wrightmf]

@@Lily_Anne Maybe a centralized vacuum system too clunky to deal with? Or maybe nobody considers this anymore? You got me curious, I may look into various home designs of why or why not central vacuum system.

[@wrightmf]

@@Kaboomboo OK, that makes sense. But the architecture was beautiful plus all the work Mickey Hargitay put into it.

[@Zontar82]

very beautifiul woman, and the entire house was a portrait of post war america usually seen in movies

[@fidelcatsro6948]

yes i thought she was Ukrainian hahah

[@Tammyux]

​@@fidelcatsro6948 She was born in Pennsylvania, USA

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@Tammyux i see!

[@LeannePlah-kv7kt]

That house was beautiful like her 😢

[@Cynthia.Cinderella]

What an extraordinary woman imagine having kids and and still having a body like that😮❤️

[@mariaevans5793]

A beautiful lady ,but she looked a lot older than her age ,i think at the end she drank a lot, but she will always be remembered !!!!!😊🇬🇧

[@PassiveAgressive319]

That carpet is insane😂😂

[@windycitykitty]

Her voice and manner reminds me of the famous Jackie Kennedy White House Tour in 1962. They say that her Kennedy sisters in law laughted at her voice - wondering, was she channeling Jayne?

[@athenathegreatandpowerful6365]

Jackie was channeling Marilyn not Jayne.

[@windycitykitty]

yes, you are correct. Wonder how I made that mistake, I am a huge Marilyn fan and I knew this. LOL Thanks for the correction. @@athenathegreatandpowerful6365

[@surfrescue3232]

Jackie realised later in life how f- ing stupid she sounded . She changed it instead of trying sound like an 8 year old girl . Paris Hilton tried the same sh/t to lesser effect and success .

[@user-le8oz8rc1o]

Can't believe her pink palace was knocked down! What a travesty

[@madelovinglycrochet]

Sad to think she was only 34 when she died 😢

[@fidelcatsro6948]

1966 Buick electra car crashed under a truck..

[@shaykitoffe6411]

She was 36

[@Good_Fairy_Oz]

​@@AnthonyAverydecapitated?

[@VictorBellini2]

Ela tinha 34, 36 foi a Marilyn

[@user-le8oz8rc1o]

She was 34

[@Freetown37]

Despite’s Jaynes struggles I hope she still had a good life with her children and her experiences. It’s sad she was so preoccupied with being famous but she will always be remembered. She was absolutely beautiful, she didn’t need to copy Marilyn, she was a unique woman in her own right. RIP Jayne 💗💞💝

[@morganwhite2176]

Beautiful to see someone who is unique unlike nowadays

[@permijitdunkley1697]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🍃Miss Ĵayne Mansfield work is what so...

[@RADIUMGLASS]

A tile setter out of Detroit Jack Angello tiled her bathrooms and pool. He did work in homes of my relatives in the 60s through the 90s. He said he left one piece of tile or marble on a bathroom floor lose and that was where she hid jewelry and valuables. She used a plunger to lift the tile.

[@chocolatcats]

It's sickening. After Englebert Humperdink sold her home.......years later, it was DEMOLISHED. Imagine that. I loved the house as it was. Oh well.

[@CorbalianVoss]

What a sweet, sweet lady.

[@baz-wc4fi]

That house has now been Demolished,Pool and everything! Sad i think there is clips of this on YT

[@Jebbie1976]

Mariska looks so much like her Mother it's unreal.

[@DooWopKing2011]

This was a lovely look inside Jayne Mansfield's and Mickey Hargitay's home!

[@UpTheAnte1987]

That reminds me - I must pop in to B&Ms later

[@AnthonyAvery]

Tragic how she died 😢

[@karenbecker7978]

She looks like Anna Nicole Smith but she sounds much like Jackie Kennedy giving a tour of the White House. I love the house. 🏡 It is super horrible that it has been torn down! Such a tragedy! I'm a huge fan of the,1950's and the 1960's. Great video!

[@lesleyscott938]

Wasn't she nice so normal and warm, can you imagine a movie star today would be completely up themselves

[@adrinathegreat3095]

When you have almost unlimited funds you can extend your home and fill it with the most expensive and luxurious item's. Call in designers etc.

[@timelordvictorious]

very sad how her life ended really. like a lot of famous actors she lived life to the full.but that sadly also ended in tragedy

[@jasonayres]

Like Pepsi to Coca-Cola, or Sir Cliff to Elvis, or...Kenny to Pilot (?), Jayne Mansfield seemed to have this "kind of" Marilyn Monroe appearance and speech about her, in my opinion. And that was popular back then, remember (🤔Or, if you can't.. Wikipedia can help, I guess)

[@fidelcatsro6948]

yes i heard of MM but never heard of this lady until now! they were about existing in the same era!! MM was 7 yrs senior

[@surfrescue3232]

You’re comparing cliff richard to Elvis ? 🤭

[@jasonayres]

@@surfrescue3232 Back in the day, he was England's "answer" to Elvis. Australia had one, Yugoslavia had one. The record company had to do something..

[@surfrescue3232]

@@jasonayres yes i know who cliffy was. A lovely old queen.....he really had some great hits for sure. I just thought you were putting him in the same class as Elvis (who actually, I wasn't a huge fan of, just an icon tho.)

[@jasonayres]

@surfrescue3232 Oh, I see. No, Elvis was on a different plain, wasn't he. And Harry- Sir Cliff - while of the same era, and combed his hair similarly, until the Beatles came along - he didn't quite cut the mustard. That's why I was comparing Jayne, the young lady who the film studios were hoping would be the next Marilyn Monroe, after they ditched out the original one.

[@PassiveAgressive319]

Mariska looks just like her mother😊

[@chocolatcats]

My sister was her spitting image.

[@rulistening7777]

My regurgitation bag over-flows.

[@markeyhendrix]

Proper Hollywood!!

[@Purplenpinkk]

I can see her mannerisms and looks in Mariska. I wish this had been in color. Sad that they knocked this down. Should have been preserved and tours given. The front gates are still there, though.

[@NudePostingConspiracyTheories]

I want it

[@TinLeadHammer]

1960, the year when a handheld film camera with sync sound was created independently in the U.S. and in France. The BBC, clearly, was still using old tech, shooting silent film and rather clumsily dubbing afterwards.

[@Manbunmen65]

People prop themselves up in their pride and possessions.

[@petergivenbless900]

A precursor to the 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' with Robin Leech, perhaps (sadly, now largely supplanted by 'Keeping Up, with the Kardashians' and 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills').

[@wrightmf]

I think this one much better than the other shows that followed. Though short but provided good overall of the Pink Palace.

[@lesliegraham1279]

Omg I had the same house!😢😢😢

[@johnfranklin5277]

No you didn't. The homes in Beverly Hills And Bel Aire were all unique.they weren't Tract homes..

[@surfrescue3232]

Or trailers 🫢

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

If she was a celebrity today she’d be mocked for her OTT behaviour, extravagance and the way she spoke. Or she’d be a Kardashian billionaire.

[@aquamarinebarbie]

or trisha pastas 😂

[@surfrescue3232]

JM had talent . Those Kardashians s/uts don’t . JM had respect .. those losers crave it and will never have it … they can have their money , good luck to them .

[@bettezook1404]

wish i could see the colors...

[@goodiesguy]

Always keeping abreast of things Jayne was...

[@spaghettismith8343]

She is definitely beyond compare .....Marilyn who????

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

Don't say that They both has similarities in their life Both of them were beautiful and better then people gives them credit I think Marilyn had better career then Jayne

[@surfrescue3232]

Please learn the word THAN.

[@mikegambino862]

A house is currently being built on the lot where her house once was.

[@ericlopez8622]

To think this uniquely beautiful home and pool/gardens is nothing but mounds of dirt and rubble in 2024! It's a shame they didn't preserve it!😢😢

[@tjm3900]

Apparently she used to go out bathing in Malibu ;-)

[@flamingofatale5353]

They could colourise this...

[@RabidCatLady]

They demolished it and I’m still so gutted about it :(

[@wakax]

The American Dream was and it still is the worst nightmare. In pink.

[@rareblues78daddy]

...spoken like a true stinky Romanian Gyp.

[@zaftra]

Perfect figured woman. Only 7 more years to enjoy her house.

[@ems901]

Not quite. She has no backside.

[@zaftra]

@@ems901 how big do you want it?

[@kiranjitKaur61]

​@@ems901Jayne Mansfield Ji hadst a perfect small bum. Rather. The Perfect Body.

[@kiranjitKaur61]

Jayne Mansfield Ji hadst a perfect small bum. Rather. The Perfect Body.

[@MaiRaven3]

I think she was very top heavy, must’ve given her backaches.

[@amiblueful]

I have no doubt that Jayne was a good mother. But she seems to be living "an imitation of life" here.

[@indiosveritas]

That's a house you could really lose your head over !

[@minekara6407]

A big shame this beautiful house and grounds no longer exist. I really dislike modern buildings

[@Stephenloizos]

The first thing I would think of is how the hell do I get out of here?

[@LynxStarAuto]

This house no longer exists. It was torn down. 🤷‍♂️

[@zeldarose7167]

Which knucklehead decided to knock the house down….😱

[@JustinCase-lu6qp]

Sad that they tore it down.

[@heinkle1]

As the old saying goes, you can’t buy taste

[@latetodagame1892]

Did she take a bath right there with them filming?

[@aalihte3378]

Its sooo sad some idiot developer destroyed the house. I remember seeing it. It was sooo pink

[@alexgg7499]

Sad that they destroyed her house

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Ironically, only memories of her we have today are crash bars fitted under trucks named after her...🚚🚛🛻 (mansfield bars)

[@moominmay]

Not quite, I mean being an actress she’s immortalised in celluloid.

[@paulcgrout5108]

Hopefully the home is still standing

[@user-le8oz8rc1o]

Unfortunately not it got demolished

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

Omg She had big bust 😊 house is a bit overtop😮 it must cost a lot but its probably much cheaper then celebrities today

[@hilaryepstein6013]

Typical old school Hollywood excess but I don't think it bought them much happiness in the end. Certainly not Jayne Mansfield anyway.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

yes wealth and fame does not bring happiness

[@user-qo4uo1vi3n]

@@fidelcatsro6948 the film boys lied to her over and over tht was why she was destroyed

[@kimgoodell2352]

Too bad her life ended early

[@kiranjitKaur61]

Wealth may indeed bring happiness. Rather. *

[@MsRedd_86]

They shouldn’t have demolished this house

[@paulhease1007]

It is nice that Robin has the class not to keep staring at her 'features'. A more modern presenter wouldnt be able to stop staring.

[@katarzynamariamuszynska2811]

Well ,she had everything on display

[@anthonywest2989]

So sad bless her.❤

[@elvis12893]

Too bad this was not in colour. Nice to see it though.

[@laurenSmith-bf4fc]

These idiots tore down this beautiful house that she created for herself it did not matter if she passed away they should have kept that house they were absolutely stupid for tearing down that house. I got a question so she married married Mr. hargitay but he allowed her to keep her ex-husband's last name which is Mansfield. That's kind of weird.

[@kdfree91]

I don't think it was a matter of "he allowed her" to keep her ex-husbands last name, I think it was a matter of she became famous with that last name, so why change it? Tuna Turner did the same thing.

[@laurenSmith-bf4fc]

@@kdfree91 got it

[@tammylewis2408]

She was married to Paul Mansfield, her first husband, and the father of her oldest child, eldest daughter Jayne Marie.

[@laurenSmith-bf4fc]

@@tammylewis2408 yes I know

[@user-qo8gf9qx9f]

Стилист полина вахитова в свое блоге обсуждает похожую на монро девушку

[@kgarrett1404]

Contrast this home with Marilyn Monroe’s Spanish colonial bungalow. At least the later is still standing.

[@Scorchy666]

She's talking in a slightly lower voice. I assume to impress British viewers? By the way, i've seen color photos of that bathroom. It was absolutely hideous. Ceiling to floor pink shag rug.

[@user-nj1rn3qq2p]

She has closed casket

[@myoldvhstapes]

That 'trying to pass as a woman' voice so typical of celebs back then.

[@asa1973100]

What a terrible, shame that’s not in colour because her taste was fantastic so over the top so Kitch, but really really great

[@MantisEsquire]

I can’t even finish the video. The guy is so freaking offensive.Whatever. Its freaking amazing as it’s always been. The guy insults the smog, the houses-whatever

[@tbec3011]

Jayne had all the right curves in all the right places. Gorgeous lady!

[@andreaschalipp1993]

Das Haus ist mehr als kitschig.

[@michaelsteven1090]

So pretentious..