lucia's: The battle over Zsa Zsa Gabor's mansion

She swam naked in its pool every morning and entertained Hollywood royalty there. Now the ailing movie star's house is up for sale ? exacerbating a bitter family feud

Zsa Zsa Gabor is selling her gated Bel Air mansion, and as you would expect from a Hollywood legend, this is no ordinary listing. The former movie star may be ailing but the anticipated $15m (�9.4m) sale has intensified a long-running family feud and turned into something of a drama.

The decision to sell the property was made after 94-year-old Gabor was re-admitted to hospital in May, following a bout of pneumonia. She returned home this month but the Hungarian-born socialite, actor and star of the chatshow circuit is now barely able to speak and bed-ridden after having her leg amputated earlier this year.

According to her husband of 25 years, Prince Fr�d�ric Von Anhalt, the medical bills are mounting, and so along with the house, her personal effects ? including gowns, furs, shoes, antiques and paintings ? will also be auctioned off to raise funds.

The story of her sad decline took another twist last weekend when Gabor's only child, Francesca Hilton, expressed her outrage at Von Anhalt's decision to release a picture of his wife lying in bed, drinking champagne. They were celebrating his 68th birthday.

The photograph showed the once-glamorous performer barely recognisable without makeup and her trademark blond coiffed hair, something her daughter says her mother would not have allowed. Hilton, Gabor's child from her second of nine marriages, to hotelier Conrad Hilton, said she was also worried about seeing her mother drinking alcohol.

The relationship between Von Anhalt and Hilton has been strained for years but John Blanchette, Von Anhalt's publicist, has dismissed Hilton's concerns. "Zsa Zsa was happy to have the picture taken," he says. "She doesn't care about the makeup. They clinked glasses, and she took a sip of champagne. She is not heavily medicated. She takes two pills, one for her blood pressure and another pill which keeps her from retaining water in her leg and lungs. She is communicative, and capable of smiling and showing distaste. Her doctor says it's fine for her to have an occasional sip of alcohol now and again."

Blanchette says that the couple will also celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on 14 August. "They plan to welcome friends at the home to share a glass of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Frederic expects his wife will again enjoy a sip."

The family row adds another layer of Hollywood history to the house, which was built in 1955 and boasts a glossy pedigree ? previous tenants include billionaire aviator Howard Hughes and possibly Elvis Presley (Gabor has said he lived there during the late 50s and early 60s but her claim has been challenged). Von Anhalt listed it recently with Beverly Hills estate agent Christophe Choo because he wanted to move Gabor to a "simpler, safer place". When I toured the house, Von Anhalt told me: "In the last nine years we've only used three rooms, it's totally stupid. But we still need a cleaner because it gets dusty."

Gabor bought the house in 1971 for $250,000 from a local businessman, but it was Hughes who had added the most interesting touches during the 1960s. He was so paranoid that he hung two giant walls of mirrors in the living room, angling them so that from one particular chair he had a 360-degree view of the entire house and patio. He also reputedly wore out the carpet in the hallway by pacing back and forth, and had the house fitted with baffling door locks that turn backwards, thwarting intruders (and the hired help). They remain to this day.

"Hughes would also sleep on the floor of the closet in the bedroom, not the bed," says Von Anhalt. "And there are secret passageways, one of them which leads to the bar upstairs."

There are four compartments hidden by panelled doors in the main reception area (one is the downstairs loo), and if you press a tall panel in the hallway that leads to the kitchen, it springs open to reveal a wine cabinet. "We had this one blocked off for storage but you can see the stairs that used to lead up to the bar room," Von Anhalt explains, pointing upwards. "I didn't even know this passage existed until the day I caught Zsa Zsa disappearing into the wall."

The house reeks of old Hollywood with an antique French fireplace, tall French doors and stunning views of the city and coastline. There's a master bedroom with bathroom and two-room closet, four guest bedrooms, maid's room, breakfast nook, butler's pantry, staff quarters, plus a recreation room with a 15ft bar, guest bedroom and marble bathroom on the first floor.

There's also a pool in which Gabor used to swim naked every morning and a formal sitting room that has entertained the likes of the Reagans, Bob Hope, both Presidents Bush, Frank Sinatra and Henry Kissinger. Quincy Jones is the closest neighbour but the late Elizabeth Taylor was also a regular visitor, and when Gabor was re-admitted to hospital this year Kirk Douglas sent her note that read: "I always remember eating sausages with you and your sister in the kitchen."

For $15m, the oven that cooked those sausages, and possibly Elvis's, could be yours. Where the money from the sale goes ? well, that's family business.

Lisa Marks

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