Many of late producer and former Paramount studio chief Robert Evans’ personal items were sold at auction over the weekend, but some of his most prized pieces will remain at his Beverly Hills estate, which was recently landmarked and is undergoing a top-to-bottom restoration under its new owner David Zaslav.
Evans told the WSJ in 2013 that among his “favorite things” at the house — called Woodland — was an 1872 Steinway piano, which was a divorce gift from ex-wife Phyllis George, and played by everyone from Dustin Hoffman to Warren Beatty. The piano was purchased by Zaslav, the president and CEO of Discovery Inc., as well as other items, including an umpire chair built and gifted by Hoffman for the tennis court. The piano is being restored.
Former White House decorator Michael Smith is overseeing the restoration, which will include rebuilding the famed pool house screening room that burned down over a decade ago and where dailies for era-defining films like “The Godfather,” “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Chinatown” were viewed. The screening room was, in its day, the largest of its kind.