
The former Palm Springs home of 1930s character actor Charles Butterworth, famous for ad-libbed dry quips on set of Hollywood golden age films, is on the market for $2.675 million.
Built in 1935, the 4,743-square-foot Spanish-style residence sits on nearly 1 acre. There are four bedrooms and four bathrooms in the main house, and one bedroom and one bathroom in the separate casita.
Records show the property recently sold in March 2022 for $2.2 million.
The house has been on and off the market since June 2023, with a top ask of $3.2 million and steadily dropped its price.
According to the listing, Saltillo floor tiles flow throughout the character-rich main house. Photographs showing wood beamed ceilings, arched doorways and smooth stucco walls.
The gourmet kitchen features high-end, stainless-steel appliances that open to the dining room.
A double-sided fireplace warms the primary suite. It has a sitting room, a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a large soaking tub and a walk-in shower adorned with Italian and Mexican tiles.
Each bedroom in the main house provides direct access to the outdoor amenities.
Backdropped by views of the San Jacinto Mountains, the grounds feature a large oval-shaped pool, spa, palapa with kitchen, fire pit and putting green.
The casita has a living room, full kitchen and laundry appliances, making it idea for guests or an income-generating rental.
An attached three-car garage rounds out the offering.
Josh and Mary Marx of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties have the listing.
Butterworth came to Hollywood in the 1930s after a stint in newspapers. He appeared in Broadway musicals and on radio, and his voice served as the inspiration for the cartoon cereal character Cap’n Crunch.
His most memorable line is often attributed to Robert Benchley, but the actor said it was Butterworth who first quipped, “You ought to get out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini” in the 1937 film “Every Day’s a Holiday” starring Mae West.
And his most memorable film role was in the 1943 Irving Berlin musical “This is the Army” as a bugle-playing private, according to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which posthumously inducted him with a motion pictures star at 7036 Hollywood Boulevard.
Butterworth was on his way home from a night club when he lost control of his car and struck a light pole, killing him, in June 1946. He was 49.
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