35+ Celebrity Scandals That Happened at the Chateau Marmont
Jean Harlow
The unmistakable Los Angeles landmark was built in 1929 and modeled on Chateau D’Amboise, a castle in France’s stunning Loire Valley. Almost as soon as the modern castle was built, its proximity to Hollywood studios saw it attract all sorts of scandals.
In 1933, while on honeymoon with her third husband, 22-year-old Jean Harlow installed a door in her suite to smuggle in her many male visitors, including her Red Dust co-star Clark Gable. Harlow would hang a “Gone Fishing” sign on her door and trawl Sunset Boulevard looking for lovers.
Johnny Depp and Kate Moss
Legendary gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson introduced Johnny Depp to the hotel after the controversial actor played him in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Depp instantly fell in love with the Californian hotel. Speaking of which, it’s believed that Chateau Marmont was probably the inspiration for the Eagles’ megahit “Hotel California.”
Depp adored the place so much that he once boasted that he and his then-girlfriend, English model Kate Moss, made love in all 63 of the hotel’s rooms!
Harry Cohn
One of the first people to use Chateau Marmont as a secret love nest wasn’t a film star; it was Columbia studio boss Harry Cohn. He was famous for being the original Tinseltown tyrant, giving aspiring actresses parts in films and a chance at stardom in exchange for favors. He kept a suite at the hotel for extramarital meetings with his starlets.
In the 1930s, Cohn told his actors, “If you must get into trouble, do it at the Marmont,” which suggests that the hotel staff were already party to many secrets.
Sienna Miller and Balthazar Getty
Gorgeous British actress Sienna Miller and actor and heir to the Getty fortune, Balthazar Getty, first met through Getty’s Brothers & Sisters co-star Matthew Rhys. Sienna and Balthazar started an affair and decided Chateau Marmont was the best place to stay away from the public’s prying eyes.
However, their plan didn’t work, and photos of them meeting up at the Sunset Boulevard hotel soon appeared online. Getty dumped Miller to return to his wife, Rosetta Millington, but paparazzi again snapped pictures of them at the Chateau.
Hollywood’s infamous Chateau Marmont Hotel has been a sanctuary for film stars, writers, artists, celebrities, and rock stars to let loose for almost a century. Every famous visitor has a Chateau Marmont story to tell. Join us as we check into the world’s most rock n’ roll hotel where anything goes. We’ll discover which rockstar rode his motorbike through the lobby, which rebel jumped through a window, and which iconic singer fell two stories doing his best Tarzan impression!