A Palm Springs estate previously owned by Hollywood Golden Age star William Powell and his wife, actress Diana “Mousie” Lewis, is on the market for $2 million.
Completed in 1936 and updated with various cosmetic and structural changes, the 4,999-square-foot Spanish Revival-style residence known as the William and “Mousie” Powell Residence includes six bedrooms and six bathrooms. It sits on nearly a half-acre in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood and has a swimming pool in the backyard.
Powell and Lewis, affectionately nicknamed “Mousie” for her petite stature, bought their desert home shortly after getting married in 1940. A plaque at the front gate commemorates the couple’s one-time ownership.
According to US Modernist.org, the Swiss modernist architect Albert Frey altered and added to the house in 1947, 1949, 1951 and 1989.
While “many original 1930s-era architectural elements remain,” the property is being “sold ‘as-in’ and will need TLC,” the listing text reads.
Brady Sandahl and Frankie Alvarado of Keller Williams Luxury Homes share the listing.
Powell’s career spanned from vaudeville to silent films and talkies. In the 1930s, he became a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, famously starring with Myrna Loy in 14 films. He received Oscar nods for his leading man roles in “The Thin Man” (1934), “My Man Godfrey” (1936) and “Life With Father” (1947). He retired from acting in 1955. He died in March 1984 at 91.
Nearly three decades younger than her husband, Lewis died in 1997 at 77.
After her death, records show that the property was sold to the current owners in January 2001 for $535,000.
