“I’ve been takin’ on a new direction,” so sings Tina Turner in her 1984 hit “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” The residence the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll shared with her former husband, Ike, for over a decade also headed in a new direction in recent years, transforming from a retro relic into a modernized midcentury stunner!
Located at 4263 Olympiad Dr. in Los Angeles’ View Park neighborhood, the ranch-style dwelling was originally built in 1956 and features four bedrooms and five baths in just under 3,000 square feet.
Being the Turners’ former home is not its only claim to fame, though! In a highly unique case of art imitating life, the pad also played the couple’s residence in “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” the 1993 film about Tina’s (played by Angela Bassett) meteoric and rather harrowing rise to fame. While based on the singer’s 1986 autobiography “I, Tina,” quite a bit of the movie was actually fabricated. As a Los Angeles Times article notes, “The filmmakers took considerable liberties compressing the 40-odd years of Turner’s life covered in the movie. Several scenes are composites of chronologically distant events, and branches of Turner’s family tree were simply ignored.” But at least the main filming location stayed true to life!
Per Mike Bego’s 2003 book “Tina Turner: Break Every Rule,” Ike purchased the one-story property, which sits on 0.21 acres, in 1964 upon receiving a $40,000 bonus for signing a new contract with Sue Records, a scenario that also played out onscreen. (Though Rolling Stone notes that Ike split with Sue in 1964, moving over to Loma, a division of Warner Bros.) By all accounts, including Rolling Stone, Ike shelled out $100,000 for the pad, which the US Inflation calculator counts at about $860,000 in today’s currency. The couple called it home until Tina (who, unbelievably, turns 82 this November!) moved out upon leaving Ike in 1976. He subsequently sold it fully intact and furnished in May of the following year for $115,000.
The buyers fastidiously held on to the place, dated décor and all (right down to the original curtains!) for just shy of four decades, changing virtually nothing during their tenure. As such, it was a no-brainer for the “What’s Love Got to Do with It” production team to make use of the premises.
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures -
Image Credit: ECHO Real Estate Group Both the interior and exterior of the retro-fabulous property appeared extensively throughout the film, which is currently streaming on Hulu.
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures -
Image Credit: Apartment Therapy The pad’s unique, slightly over-the-top aesthetic came courtesy of Ike, who, per “Break Every Rule,” redecorated the place in 1970 while Tina was in the hospital recovering from tuberculosis. Bego writes, “When she was finally released, she went home to a real shocker. Instead of having spent money on flowers to send to Tina, she found that he had spent a small fortune on completely redecorating their house – from floor to ceiling – in ‘Superfly’ ghetto whorehouse chic style.” Ike’s additions included mirrored ceilings, a wet bar with a built-in fish tank, a guitar-shaped coffee table and “a blue velvet sofa featuring arms that morphed into octopus tentacles.” He also had a floor-to-ceiling rock waterfall installed in a corner of the living room. And “What’s Love Got to Do with It” utilized virtually everything! Talk about being a production designer’s dream!
One element of the dwelling that was faked for the shoot? Ike’s in-home recording studio. In reality, he laid down tracks at a large studio space with a private apartment located about a mile away.
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures -
Image Credit: InsideHook As glaringly reflected in “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” Tina’s time on the premises was the opposite of blissful. In 1981, she told People magazine, “My ex-husband was a physically violent man. I went through basic torture . . . I was living a life of death. I didn’t exist. But I survived it. And when I walked out, I walked. And I didn’t look back.” Indeed, after leaving Ike, Tina’s star power only grew. The singer went on to win myriad awards and record numerous hits. She also found personal happiness, falling for music exec Erwin Bach in 1986 and eventually marrying him in 2013.
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Image Credit: ECHO Real Estate Group -
Image Credit: Zillow Her former house has also gone on to bigger and better things. The pad was put on the market by its longtime owners in September 2016 with an asking price of $999,000. The MLS photos caused quite a stir amongst fans of both Tina and all things vintage alike, and it wound up selling in a scant two months for $870,000. It was then reimagined by the Team ECHO Real Estate Group. As evidenced by the before and after imagery, the transformation was dramatic. Gone are the wet bar, gilded mirror paneling and elevated canopy bed, all replaced by bright, modernized fixtures. While I am never a proponent of altering a filming location, the property is infinitely more liveable thanks to the efforts of Team ECHO.
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Image Credit: Apartment Therapy -
Image Credit: Zillow In “I, Tina,” Turner is quoted as saying of the formerly green-hued kitchen, “(Ike) thought I’d be happy because, yeah, I did like green. But not necessarily in my kitchen. In that way, everything had been done first class, custom-made at the house – I mean, it cost a fortune. But it was poor taste.” Well, she should be glad to know that the once pistachio-inspired space has been given a total facelift and all the cabinetry and appliances swapped out for white and stainless steel versions. The small cutout that opened to the living room was also opened up completely, giving the room a much larger feel.
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures -
Image Credit: Zillow The property does retain many elements left over from the Ike and Tina days, including a fieldstone fireplace and entry wall, as well as elaborate wooden front doors which were custom made for Tina and feature hands positioned in Buddhist gestures.
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures -
Image Credit: Zillow The pool also remains largely as it was when the movie was filmed, although it is pictured from a different angle above, in an MLS photo that showcases the living room’s extraordinary fireplace with stonework that is carried through right to the top of the chimney.
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Image Credit: InsideHook -
Image Credit: Zillow Following the extensive remodel, the residence hit the market in December 2017 for $1,448,000 and sold the following February for slightly under asking at $1.4 million, grossing the flippers more than $500K, which I’m sure they thought was “simply the best!”
Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.