Cloris Leachman Invites Closer Into Her Tranquil LA Home!

When comedy legend Cloris Leachman — who starred on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as well as its spin-off Phyllis — decided to find a new home to share with her family, she was ready for a change. But she wasn’t at all prepared for the challenge that lay ahead of her!

A few years ago, Cloris’ daughter, Dinah, suggested the actress, now 89, move in with her family, which includes Dinah’s now-10-year-old daughter, Hallelujah, and her partner, Thomas Vogel.

Cloris as Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1971.

They found a promising two story ranch in LA’s hilly canyons, but because the house was dark, “it wasn’t love at first sight,” Cloris shares with Closer. “We looked at it three times!”

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The family went ahead with the purchase anyway. “We thought we could just slap some paint on it!” Dinah tells Closer. But soon after buying it, they discovered they hadn’t looked closely enough. Structural problems meant they had to strip the home down to its frame.

Cloris and her daughter, Dinah, in October 2013.

“The two years of renovations were terrible,” says Cloris, who had spent more than 30 years and around $1 million remodeling the last big house she lived in. “We had to take out a loan!”

Despite the construction, they still managed to have some fun. “We had the best Halloween party, because we could destroy the house!” Dinah says, describing what sounds like a scene out of her mom’s classic 1974 comedy, Young Frankenstein.

To read the full story on Cloris and her family, pick up the new issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!