Gershwin home gone

The Beverly Hills home where George and Ira Gershwin wrote some of their famous songs has been quietly demolished despite efforts to save it, the L.A. Conservancy announced Wednesday. A demolition permit was issued for 1019 North Roxbury Drive "with no public hearing nor any notification of community members who had launched a campaign of letters and pleas to Beverly Hills Mayor Linda Briskman and the Beverly Hills City Council," the Conservancy says. A new home will be built on the site by Hamid Omrani, developer of mansions in Beverly Hills. After George Gershwin, the residence was occupied for fifty years by actress Rosemary Clooney. Her brother, former local TV anchor Nick Clooney, pushed preservation in a column last month.