Another One Bites the Perenchio Dust

Though former talent turned TV tycoon turned multi-billionaire Jerry Perenchio keeps his caboose out of the limelight at any cost, he sure knows how to live the glamorous life. Perenchio bagged his latest real estate victim, the notably recognized Chartwell in Beverly Hills, for a staggering $9.2 million. The splendid 13-acre chateau is surrounded by vast gardens and a main gate.

Jerry Perenchio is originally from Fresno, CA where his family owned a vineyard or two and shortly after migrated to Hollywood in the 1950s. His Hollywood beginnings are so cliche: Snatched out of the mail room at MCA by the legendary Lew Wasserman who groomed him to become a top talent agent to superstars like George and Martha (a.k.a. Liz Taylor and Richard Burton), Dame Elton John, and, back in the day, Marlon Brando.

Perenchio then went into sports promotion around the early 1970s and is at least partially responsible for the iconic Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight at Madison Square Garden in 1971, as well as the famous “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match in 1973 when the great Billie Jean King humiliated Bobby Riggs in three straight sets after he blathered on about the superiority and strength of male tennis players. Perenchio has been around and behind the Hollywood scene during the golden age.

Perenchio is still around in the dismal, not-so-legendary P-O-S that is Hollywood 2010. Compared to what he’s seen, no wonder he avoids the spotlight ever so often. Keep your chin up, Jerry.

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