Inger Stevens: January 2023

Welcome to a virtual tour of notable Inger places. This list is just a small selection as there are more Inger-related adventures and discoveries to come.

8000 Woodrow Wilson Drive, Los Angeles

The Hollywood Hills home that Inger shared with her husband Ike Jones is located at 8000 Woodrow Wilson Drive in Los Angeles. Inger lived at this property from 1963 until her death in 1970. According to Zillow, the 2620 square foot home was built in 1948, includes two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and sits on almost half an acre.

Inger was proud of her home, sharing decoration and style tips with the press in 1969. You can read an earlier blog post that includes that article here. It was inside this home that Inger spent her final moments on April 30, 1970.

Below are pictures of the house from my visit in 2021.

The mailbox at 8000 Woodrow Wilson

The home and garage in December 2021.
A major landscaping project was taking place.

The front fence and garage

The garage

Inger inside 8000 Woodrow Wilson in 1969

The house and garage as it looked on the day of Inger's death.
Policemen and newsmen stand outside.

1355 North Laurel Ave, West Hollywood

Built by the Davis Brothers in 1927, the luxury apartment building currently includes 11 separate residences. Inger lived at this location in 1959 as she was filming her memorable appearances in Twilight Zone and Bonanza, among others. Silent film actresses Theda Bara, Mabel Normand, and Pola Negri lived at this address in the 1920s.

Although I'm not certain when she moved, Inger was living at 1619 3/4 North Martel in Los Angeles by summer 1961.

The Laurel Ave address is listed on Inger's November 1959
passenger record following a trip to Colombia by way of Panama.

An Inger fanatic at the North Laurel entrance

Inger lived in an apartment at this location in 1959.

My phone photos above don't do the gorgeous place justice,
so here's a more impressive photo from the Trulia website.

A view of the entrance with front fountain from the Trulia website.

648 Midvale Avenue, Los Angeles

After being signed by Paramount Pictures, Inger lived in a condo at 648 Midvale Avenue in Los Angeles in 1956. Filming on her first motion picture Man on Fire began in December of that year.

View of Inger's Midvale residence in December 2021

A daytime view of the Midvale residence

2937 Virginia Avenue, Santa Monica

While he was enjoying a secret honeymoon with Inger in Mexico in late 1961, Ike Jones (born in Santa Monica in 1929) listed his home address as 2937 Virginia Avenue in Santa Monica. Though Inger didn't live in this home, she certainly spent time with Ike there during the early stages of their relationship.

On his return trip from Mexico City, newlywed Ike Jones notes
the Virginia Ave address on this travel document.

My sad photo of Ike's home is all tree and shadows...

But this photo found online shows Ike's home in the proper light.

Ike Jones, at age 22, in 1952. He would meet Inger 8 years later.

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium

Who could forget Inger's mini-dress at the Academy Awards? The one that helped get miniskirts banned at the following year's Oscar ceremony? (You can read about it in this earlier post.) The ceremony took place at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on April 10, 1967.

Unfortunately, the area was unsightly due to construction when I took my photograph, but look how it shines with a happy, stunning Inger in front of it!

The auditorium in 2021

Inger in front of the auditorium in 1967

SMCA entrance now and with radiant Inger then

Inger (in color!) in front of the auditorium

The Holiday Theatre

Inger made her Broadway debut in a play fittingly titled "Debut" in February 1956. The play closed in a matter of days, but Inger had a sense of humor about the flop, telling Louella Parsons, “I was on Broadway for six months without actually being there. I opened in a play at the Holiday Theatre called Debut. It lasted four days and was a dismal failure. The theatre closed, but my name remained in lights on the marquee until the theatre reopened six months later."

The Holiday Theatre was built in 1918 at 1567 Broadway. It is now the site of Dos Caminos, which you see directly behind the car. Below is a photo I took in 2021.

Site of the former Holiday Theatre where Inger's
name remained up in lights in 1956.

Inger on stage at the Holiday Theatre. Source: NYPL

Cort Theatre

"Roman Candle" premiered at the Cort Theatre on February 3, 1960. Like "Debut" four years earlier, "Roman Candle" closed after only 5 shows in 3 days, on February 6. Although disappointed, Inger joked about the failure, saying "At least I'm consistent!"

I visited the Cort when it was under construction in 2021. Built in 1928, the Cort is located at 138 W. 48th Street.

An Inger fanatic under the Cort sign

Inger on stage at the Cort, 1960. Source: NYPL

D.C.

In 2022 I traveled to Washington, D.C. after making appointments to view Inger Stevens in Sweden (1965) and Strangers in Hiding (1954) in the Library of Congress archives. Watching two rare Inger appearances in the quiet, cold archives was a dream fulfilled. In fact, I was so wrapped up in the afterglow of seeing Inger footage that I failed to take photos of Katy Holstrum's D.C. once I emerged from the library.