Drive around Hollywood and you’ll find plenty of homes with claims that some starlet or leading man graced the doorstep and laid their head down on a pillow for a night. But in Turlock the pickings for such claim to fames are pretty slim, unless it happens to be on Sierra Street.
There at the corner of Sierra and Shasta streets nestled in among the lofty Sycamores and the sweet smelling camellias, sits a five bedroom that was once the home-away-from-home for Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr.
The Garrison Colonial, which is currently up for sale, was built in 1941 by L.W. Boies, the founder of Boies Pharmacy. His son, Lewis W. Boies Jr. married Lamarr in 1963, causing quite the sensation in Turlock.
Once dubbed “the most beautiful woman in Europe,” Lamarr was a much-sought after actress from the 1930s through the 50s. Lamarr was born in Austria in 1914, and started her acting career at age 17 in a German film. She continued starring in German and Czechoslavakian films until 1932, when she was brought to Hollywood and signed a contract with MGM.
She went on to star in dozens of films, including “Boom Town,” “Tortilla Flat,” “Ziegfeld Girl,” “White Cargo,” “Samson and Delilah,” and “My Favorite Spy.” She worked with the likes of Jimmy Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, and Bob Hope.
In addition to her acting career she was a mathematician and co-invented with composer George Antheil a technique for spreading spectrum communications and frequency hopping that was necessary for wireless communications.
Lamarr was married a total of six times and had three children. Boies was an attorney in Beverly Hills and the two met when he served as her divorce attorney. They wed in 1963 and during that time made regular visits to Turlock and stayed at the Sierra residence.
“It was a big deal back then,” said Realtor Llyod Blackman. “Kind of like living next to the Kaepernicks now.”
The marriage came to an end in 1965, and Lamarr sightings in Turlock came to an official end. She died in 2000.
The interior of the house has been well-maintained and includes several of the original detailing like glass doorknobs, wood paneled doors, and the hardwood flooring that Lamarr once stood upon.
