The Castle on Sunset

A definitive history of Hollywood’s most iconic,storiedand scandalous hotel. For nearly ninety yearsHollywood’s brightest stars have favored the Chateau Marmont as a home away from home. An apartment house-turned-hotelit has hosted generations of gossip and folklore: 1930s bombshell Jean Harlow took lovers during her third honeymoon there; director Nicholas Ray slept with his sixteen-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Anthony Perkins and Tab Hunter met poolside and began a secret affair; Jim Morrison swung from the balconiesonce falling nearly to his death; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose in a private bungalow; Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50000 in charges in less than two months. Perched above the Sunset Strip like a fairytale castlethe Chateau seems to come from another world entirely. Its singular appearance houses an equally singular history. While a cityan industryand a culture have changed around itChateau Marmont has welcomed the most iconic and iconoclastic personalities in filmmusicand media. It appeals to the rich and famous not just for its European ambiance but for its seclusion: Much of what’s happened inside the Chateau’s walls has eluded the public eye. Until now. With wit and prowessShawn Levy recounts the wild revelries and scandalous liaisons; the creative breakthroughs and marital breakdowns; the births and deaths that the Chateau has been a party to. Vividsalaciousand richly informedhis book is a glittering tribute to Hollywood as seen from inside the walls of its most hallowed hotel.