With its broken windows and cartoonish graffiti, the mansion on Mulholland Drive looks like a gash in the Hollywood Hills.
Broken glass spills out onto the narrow mountain road, where tourist buses and others slow down to look at the mansion, which stands like a colorful disaster.
“We’re known for graffiti mansions,” said one neighbor, who requested anonymity over privacy concerns. “It’s a shame to have this in the center of the Hollywood Hills.”
The mansion’s owner issued a formal apology to his neighbors and the city of Los Angeles on Thursday after The Times contacted his attorney about neighbors’ complaints. The Mulholland Drive home is one of two homes owned by 40-year-old TV and film producer John Powers Middleton.
“What happened to two of my properties is unacceptable, and no matter what caused it, I own those homes,” Middleton said in her first statement since her homes drew national attention. “Given the tenacity of many encroachers, it is a struggle.”
He reported that his personal security and property managers at his properties were overwhelmed by trespassers and vandals. In recent weeks, vandals descended upon the Hollywood Hills to leave their mark by placing new tags on the mansion, much to the dismay of her neighbors.
Rooftop view of an abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion defaced by taggers.
According to neighbors, the house has been vacant for years and appears to have been abandoned. Occasionally, the mansion shows signs of life, even if not the kind neighbors want to see, as strangers camp out in the husks of the nearly 9,000-square-foot structure.
The neighbors are shocked by the deteriorating fortunes of the mansion.
“It’s absolutely crazy,” says a woman who has lived in the neighborhood since 2008. “There used to be a beautiful house there. I mean, who does that? Who walks away from a $10 million house like this and lets it go to squatters?”
It’s unclear why Middleton, the son of a billionaire industrialist, allowed the mansion to deteriorate for so long. The situation is highly unusual, partly because the house is located in one of the most affluent neighborhoods of Los Angeles, nestled among Hollywood stars and jetliner scenes.
Nearly 20 years ago, R&B singer Mary J. Blige leased and lived in the Mulholland Drive mansion, and around the same time Sean “Diddy” Combs recorded a music video there.
The mansion’s waterfall, 50-foot swimming pool and spiral staircase are prominently visible in the video.
The Department of Buildings and Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the property.
Work continues as a 10-foot fence is under construction and graffiti-covered walls are being painted over at an abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion.
On Tuesday, a crew of workers unloaded piles of plywood to board up windows, and they installed a new chain link fence around the property. Workers painted over the graffiti as a pair of LAPD officers watched from a nearby cruiser.
But neighbors doubt that this will solve the problem.
He said the situation has become frenzy in recent weeks, as the house has gone viral online and more people have flocked to the site.
“When there’s a house that’s promoted as a free-for-all, you get people gathering in that area and it’s scary,” one neighbor said.
According to residents, a man camping in the mansion is believed to have attacked an elderly woman with a metal bar last year.
On Wednesday, LAPD officers patrolling the area were flagged down by residents who said they saw two men get out of a white Mercedes-Benz and spray paint the mansion. Police arrested Jacob Smith, 35, and Thomia Fagan, 19, on suspicion of vandalism to property and having a firearm in a vehicle. The LAPD announced in a news releasePolice found several spray paint cans and a loaded, unregistered gun in a purse.
Property taxes on the Mulholland home have not been paid since 2022, according to the county assessor’s office, and neighbors said maintenance on the property has declined in recent years.
Two years ago, neighbors complained about encroachers and abandoned properties in the city, said Councilwoman Nithya Raman. In response, an abatement order was issued by the Department of Buildings and Safety. A fence was then placed around the property after the owner did not respond to the city’s order, and a lien was placed on the home to cover the expenses of the work through 2023.
It’s unclear how long the mansion has been sitting, waiting for its owner to return.
John Powers Middleton in 2015.
(Getty Images)
Property records show the home was last purchased in June 2012 for $4.7 million. Middleton is listed as the owner. His film credits as an executive producer include the films “Death Note,” “Nimona” and “Good Boys.”
Neighbors say they haven’t had much contact with Middleton in the neighborhood, so they’ve been commenting on her Instagram photos asking her to do something. He replied briefly that he had received their messages.
Middleton apologized to the city and her neighbors in a statement provided by her attorney Thursday and said the private security and property managers at her homes were overwhelmed by trespassers and vandals.
“We have apprehended or thwarted multiple break-in attempts, including graffiti vandals at both homes,” Middleton said in the statement. “But the attackers, especially the occupiers, have been relentless, and our security personnel were overwhelmed.”
According to property records and the LAPD, the Mulholland Drive home is the second mansion Middleton has apparently purchased in the Hollywood Hills and left vacant. Two miles away from the Mulholland Drive home is Middleton’s other mansion — a four-story house on Sunset Plaza Drive — which is covered in graffiti and a magnet for trespassers, according to neighbors. The property was purchased in March 2013 for approximately $7 million, according to county property records.
Los Angeles Police Department records show officers responded to the Sunset Plaza Drive home 17 times this year, including calls of possible burglaries, thefts and vandalism.
Along with her film credits, Middleton comes from a famous tobacco dynasty. His family’s company, John Middleton Inc., popularized rolling pipe tobacco into cigars. According to Forbes, the company launched Black & Mild cigars in the 1980s and was founded by his father, John S. Middleton sold the business to the parent company of Philip Morris in 2007 for $2.9 billion. The elder Middleton is also CEO and co-owner of the Philadelphia Phillies.
An abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion once occupied by squatters remains an eyesore for neighbors on Mulholland Drive.
Following negative publicity surrounding the abandoned Los Angeles mansion, the Phillies organization released a statement clarifying that their team has no affiliation with the homes.
“The California properties are owned by John Powers Middleton,” the team’s statement said. “No other member of the Middleton family owns, invests in, controls or has any involvement in these assets.”
On Wednesday, Middleton’s attorney informed Raman’s office that his client would secure the properties, clean them up and pay all expenses incurred by the city.
“We’re hoping to hold them accountable for protecting those properties,” Raman said.
This is the first time a representative of Middleton has contacted Raman’s office, he said. Because their homes have already drawn the ire of their neighbors, the councilwoman promised that the city will be proactive in addressing the issue.
“We will not wait around if this becomes another security breach,” Raman said. “I just want to reassure our voters that we are very conscious of how important it is to protect both of these properties.”
Through his attorney, Middleton said he plans to secure and repair the homes “with the intention of selling each one as soon as possible.”
“What happened to my property is criminal and I expect all those caught to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “No one should have to endure out-of-control squatters and vandalism in Los Angeles.”
Before her wealth crisis, Middleton was involved in another controversy in Hollywood. In 2019 he Sued his former business partnerRoy Lee – whose credits include such hits as “Barbarian,” “The Lego Movie” and “The Departed” – accused Lee of fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and unfair competition.
In her lawsuit, Middleton claimed that the industry and Lee took advantage of her. He was asked to pay half of all the overhead of Lee’s production company in exchange for a fee and executive production credit. He felt that his name was unjustly dropped from several film projects by Lee. In a countersuit, Lee claimed that Middleton’s drinking and behavior harmed his production company.
A tour van passes the abandoned mansion along Mulholland Drive.
That dispute is going on. But it sparked a second legal battle, pitting Middleton against the troubled PR firm, Sitrick & Co., which she had hired in connection with the controversy. In an arbitration filing, Sitrick’s lawyers said Middleton wanted to tell a story about the feud in The Hollywood Reporter. Middleton and Lee asked the public relations firm to contact a tabloid so that a more palatable version of the story could be published.
But when the New York Post story was published, Middleton was upset and told the PR firm that it was “worse than my dreams” and that “I have aired dirty laundry for everyone rather than just the industry.” According to court documents.
Hollywood Reporter story It was published on June 24, 2020, and according to court filings, the Sitric firm, along with Middleton’s attorney, were happy with the tone of the story.
But Middleton refused to pay the firm’s bill. The case went to arbitration and an arbitrator found in favor of the PR firm.
In July, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Middleton owed Sitrick & Co. $1.4 million for unpaid crisis management services, interest on those services, and other fees.
“We just hope he pays us what he’s owed,” Michael Sitrick, founder of Sitrick & Co., told The Times.
