Actor George Clooney recently made a guest appearance on The David Letterman Show (October 5th, 2011) to promote his new movie The Ides of March. During his celebrity interview, the famous movie star joked about quite a few topics like growing old, his celebrity status now that he has turned 50, and younger Hollywood friends like Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosseling. He also mentioned real estate — namely, his luxury home on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. His tall tale of the night about the world-famous property was certainly funny.
Clooney joked to late night TV talk show host David Letterman that the longer he has lived there, the more people he meets around town — making him famous there where he otherwise never thought he would be. Talking with locals about the housing market overseas, he quipped that for every year he owns the house, the story of its purchase price and value seems to escalate according to local folklore. That inflation of his home value cracks him up regularly (although he did admit it was a beautiful place to live and be).
Beyond the celebrity interview, George Clooney’s house has always been a hot topic of discussion.
People might think of the Hollywood star as a famous humanitarian who wages global war against tragedies like the genocide happening in Darfur and the real-life dramas faced by people in places like Haiti (who are battling harsh conditions created by natural disasters). Gorgeous George is a better man than that — he might think global, but also manages to make the time to act locally.
As a good neighbor, Clooney has spent significant time and money working to keep the beaches and shoreline of the lake clean. He’s worked actively with local officials to make the community a better place for all who live there and done whatever he can to ameliorate the damaged caused by paparazzi, tourists, and boaters who seem to be willing to do whatever it takes to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood funny man in his home environment.
In the past, Clooney actually filed lawsuits in Italian courts for community abuse things like a paparazzi photog using spy camera telephoto lenses to take pictures of a 13-year-old girl changing her clothes in the bedroom of the mansion after she took a swim. The young lady turned out to be the daughter of a visiting house guest and the photos were blocked from distribution. As a result, the home and lake view of the property became big news in the real estate property gossip headlines — as people wondered if security was enough in the historic home to keep the actor and his famous guests’ privacy safe.
The home was also in media news when a war relic was found on site. Live artillery was recovered after Clooney allegedly evacuated. The headline seemed to bomb a big way in the press, however, as most mainstream media outlets thought the strange news about George Clooney‘s mansion was a hoax. Following the incident he did confirm truth in the reports, although many (he said) were exaggerations. He claims he did not feel any imminent danger, and reporters who investigated more were able to find numerous reports of live ammunition being discovered in the region [left over from World War I and World War 2 stock piling of munitions or battles].
Knowing the rich history of the region and seeing photos of the luxury home, it is easy to understand why he loves to own a residence there. Will he ever come back to live full-time in the United States again? Fans and friends think it is highly unlikely. Actually, many of his celebrity friends hope he always will keep his primary residence there. Why? Because it gives them a built-in travel opportunity as one of the perks of being friendly with George Clooney.