Broadway star Celeste Holm’s longtime Manhattan home was put on the market for $14 million after her death by her estranged son
- The star lived in the luxury apartment for more than 50 years.
- The apartment offers spectacular treetop views of Central Park
- Prior to her death, Holm had become involved in a legal battle over her inheritance that wiped out her life savings
- In 2004, the actress married a singer and waiter who was almost 46 years her junior
Actress Celeste Holm lived in the apartment for over half a century
The high-ceilinged Manhattan apartment, owned by the late Broadway star Celeste Holm, was put on the market for $13.95 million by the younger of her two estranged sons.
The star lived in the maisonette at 88 Central Park, which offers spectacular views over the city, for more than half a century and died this July at the age of 95.
Dan Dunning, whose father was Holm’s third husband, related this New York Times: “She loved it because of the view of the park and the way she felt connected to the seasons just by looking through her windows.
“Central Park in the spring was the time she enjoyed the most.”
Times writer Robin Finn, who was given exclusive access to the three-bedroom property, described that like Holm, it “has charisma — as well as an enduring bone structure.”
On the lower floor, he reveals there’s a dining room, a butler’s pantry, and a kitchen where the late actress “loved cooking batches of spaghetti and clam sauce.”
And an airy living room is lined with windows that overlook the park at treetop height.
Upstairs are three large bedrooms with plenty of storage space and the master suite has uninterrupted north and east views.
Holm’s son says she moved into her corner duplex at 6N Brentmore in 1953 and bought it in 1958 after the building passed to the cooperative.
However, since her 2004 marriage to Frank Basile, a singer and waiter nearly 46 years her junior, she has been embroiled in a legal battle with her family over her investments and inheritance.
The court battle wiped out much of their savings and left them dependent on Social Security. The actress and her sons stopped speaking, and she was sued for overdue child support and attorney fees for her Manhattan apartment.
A settlement was reached last year that gave Mr. Basile a one-third share of the proceeds from her estate, and he was forced to vacate the property at 88 Central Park just five weeks after her death.
Springtime in Central Park was the time the star enjoyed the most
Holm bought the apartment outright in 1958
According to her sons, Holm had really liked the apartment
The star’s private bathroom
The maisonette had two large luxury bathrooms
Mr. Dunning, a real estate manager in Putnam County, Holm’s son from her first marriage to Ted Nelson, an Internet pioneer, lives in California and added, ‘One of her wishes in old age was never to have to leave home.’
Holm had been hospitalized with dehydration after a fire at actor Robert De Niro’s apartment in the same building in Manhattan.
She had asked her husband to take her home and she spent her last days with him and other relatives and close friends by her side.
The maisonette’s dining room, described as “fingernail red” by one of her sons
Holm’s luxurious bedroom
The apartment sold for just under $14
Holm ended her life in a vicious legal battle with her estranged sons over her estate
The spacious kitchen of the apartment
In a career spanning more than half a century, Holm played everything from Ado Annie – the girl who just can’t say no in Oklahoma – in the 1991 comedy I Hate Hamlet! – to a worldly theatrical agent, to guest-starring on TV shows like Fantasy Island and Love Boat II, to Bette Davis’ best friend on All About Eve.
She won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Gentlemen’s Agreement and received Academy Award nominations for Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950).
Holm was also known for her tireless charity work — she once served on nine boards — and was a board member emeritus for the National Mental Health Association.
Estate agent Austin Schuster of Sotheby’s International Realty described her apartment as “a fabulous canvas ready to transform again for a new owner”.
Celeste Holm in 1997
The 12-story building on 69th Street and Central Park West, designed by Schwartz and Gross and built in 1910, has attracted numerous celebrities.
Producer Lorne Michaels lives there, Sting was a former resident, and Robert De Niro bought a duplex two floors below Holm’s in 2006 for $20.9 million.
Holm has been married five times and is survived by two sons and three grandchildren.
