Lake Tahoe’s Tallac House from ‘The Bodyguard' Lists for $8M

In a scene from 1992’s “The Bodyguard,” Kevin Costner‘s character, hired to protect the music star played by Whitney Houston, runs down a snowy wooden pier and dives into the water to rescue a boy from a boat just before it explodes. (Cue a Houston ballad.)

Off the silver screen, that same 76-foot-long pier and the property attached to it are known in real life as Tallac House, which just listed for $7,995,000 in South Lake Tahoe, CA.

The insanely ornate, all-wood, 3,000-square-foot house has had its Hollywood close-up. Twice. More on that in a moment.

The original owner, Mansfield Smith, a pioneering ear doctor, purchased the waterfront property on Fallen Leaf Lake, a mile away from the larger, more famous Lake Tahoe. He built his dream vacation home in 1970 in collaboration with locally renowned architect Paul Hamilton, who died in January at the age of 95.

Smith vacationed at his lakeside retreat over the decades, and even founded the volunteer fire department. He died in December 2014, and his family decided to sell the phenomenal property.

“It’s really spectacular,” said Doug Rosner, a broker with Chase International.

“There is no Sheetrock. There are wood floors, wood walls, wood beams, and wood vaulted ceilings.” The house’s exterior—in concert with its natural setting—echoes the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The materials, some found locally, such as a piece of driftwood placed over the mantel of the floor-to-ceiling granite fireplace, reflect the surroundings. “Obviously, we’re a very woodsy area,” Rosner added.

He pointed out it’s decidedly not a “new, contemporary, lavish palace” like the new homes sprouting up around Lake Tahoe these days. The 45-year-old home instead offers a more rustic, craftsman vibe.

Consider the massive, carved double doors; the rough log at the foot of the staircase; the built-in furniture in the bedrooms. Naturally, desirable waterfront property comes at a premium.

Plus, you can’t beat the views—Fallen Leaf Lake can be seen from every room in the house, including the five bedrooms, according to Rosner.

The Tallac House—named for the prominent peak, Mount Tallac, which looms over the lake—was one of the first in the area, although there are also smaller cabins nearby that date from the ’20s and ’30s.

The vacation spot sits on almost 3 acres of land, and it can be reached only by a winding, private driveway through the woods.

Despite being so close to the tourism hub of Lake Tahoe, “it’s an area that has a feeling of solitude and seclusion,” Rosner said.

Except of course, when Hollywood descended on the house as a film location. For the scenes in “The Bodyguard,” the crew remained at the house for six weeks.

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