BACKSTORY: The Chateau has been the site of many infamous happenings, most notably the death of John Belushi in Bungalow 3 on March 5, 1982. Some of the other oft-told tales include Led Zeppelin riding motorcycles through the lobby, Jim Morrison jumping off a bungalow roof into the pool (or off a terrace onto the ground...the story varies!), and Natalie Wood, James Dean, and Dennis Hopper doing their script readings here in director Nicholas Ray’s Bungalow (#1) for “Rebel Without A Cause” (1955). Nine cottages (81-89) were built in the 1930s, next to the hotel, which were acquired by the hotel in the 1940s. Two of the four bungalows (#3 and #4) at the Chateau Marmont were designed by Craig Ellwood, in 1956, after he completed Case Study Houses.
