The Dark History Behind the Mansion From ‘The Big Lebowski’

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Turn off all ads on VICE.com Exclusive New VICE Documentaries Member Exclusive Features & Columns Join Now Digital Annual $ 20.00 / year Turn off all ads on VICE.com Exclusive New VICE Documentaries Member Exclusive Features & Columns Join Now Print & Digital $ 70.00 / year Turn off all ads on VICE.com Exclusive New VICE Documentaries Member Exclusive Features & Columns 4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door Join Now Skip to content Share: Share on X (Opens in new window)X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard Add Us On Google The Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills is one of the most filmed-in homes in the area. Its interior is perhaps best known to movie buffs for being used in 1998’s The Big Lebowski. The 46,000-square-foot estate served as the residence of philanthropist Jeffrey Lebowski in the movie, as played by David Huddleston—not to be confused with Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges). You can check out a memorable scene that was shot at Greystone below.

The ‘Big Lebowski’ Mansion Was Once the Scene of a Gruesome Murder-Suicide But despite its association with The Big Lebowski and several other comedies, the mansion is hiding a really dark secret. As it turns out, Ned Doheny, the son of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny, moved into the newly built house with his wife, Lucy, and their five children in 1928. Doheny would be found shot to death in a guest bedroom just a few months later. The body of his close friend and confidential secretary, Theodore Hugh Plunkett, was discovered close by.

According to a report from The Madera Tribune, Plunkett murdered Doheny and committed suicide shortly thereafter. Plunkett had evidently suffered a “nervous collapse” prior to the attack. Doheny tried to convince Plunkett to check into a sanitarium earlier that evening, but he apparently refused. A physician who spoke to the press the next morning said that Plunkett’s work and an undisclosed “private worry” made him “highly irritable.”

But as time went on, the tragedy at Greystone was overshadowed by its use as a filming location. Among the well-known movies that utilized the property over the years were Ghostbusters, Rush Hour, X-Men, and Spider-Man. It was also featured in shows like Columbo and Murder, She Wrote—interestingly enough. That’s in addition to the house popping up in music videos like Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” and Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.”

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