Duke’s home near last roundup

Deepa Bharath

The Bay Shore Drive house the Duke called home for 16 years may be

torn down within the next two weeks to make way for a new one, city

officials said.

The current owners of John Wayne’s former French chateau-style

waterfront home plan to demolish it to build their proposed

two-story, 12,437-square-foot home, said Jay Elbettar, city building

director.

Owners Robert and Beverly Cohen submitted an application to city

planners on July 25 requesting a building permit for the new

single-family residence, he said.

“The plans were returned to them with certain clarifications and

corrections,” Elbettar said.

Beverly Cohen said she and her husband hope to get the required

permits within a week and get started on the demolition of the

7,105-square-foot home.

She said there is more than one problem with the house that is

half a century old.

“The floor plan is not made for a family,” Cohen said. “The family

room is in the back, not near the kitchen where the family can hang

around. I’m a hands-on grandma and I like the children to be around

the kitchen when I’m cooking.”

The building also has problems relating to mold, asbestos and

electrical connections, she said.

“It’s all problems mostly associated with a house that is very

old,” Cohen said. “It needs a lot of work.”

The house is not listed in Newport Beach’s historical registry

although it is pointed out in tours and cruises of the area.

However, John Wayne’s home is hardly the way it was when the Duke

lived there in the 1970s, said John Blaich, who was his neighbor on

Bay Shore at the time.

“It’s been rebuilt at least two times after John Wayne,” he said.

“It was a one-story ranch house.”

Wayne had decorated the mansion to suit his style, Blaich said.

“He put in this huge mosaic bath tub that he soaked in,” he said.

“He also had a screening room where he would show guests his movies.

He stored the 16-millimeter films in the garage. But it was all gone

after him.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.