The Studio Estates tract was laid out in 1978 on the old site of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Lot 2. MGM apparently sold the 38.6 acre lot in 1970 but would shoot movies here for two more years, concluding uneventfully with They Only Kill Their Masters, a dog-centric murder mystery starring James Garner. Culver citizens fought developers’ plans to construct over 900 condominiums and apartments until 1977, when City Council finally approved a low-density neighborhood of some 220 single-family homes. Streets were then named after former MGM stars: Astaire Avenue for dancer/singer/actor Fred Astaire (1899-1987), Coogan Circle for child star-turned-Uncle Fester Jackie Coogan (1914-1984), Garland Drive for the late actress/singer Judy Garland (1922-1969), Lamarr Avenue for Austrian-born actress/inventor Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000), and Skelton Circle for comic actor/TV show host/clown painter Red Skelton (1913-1997). Two cul-de-sacs were added in 1981: Hepburn Circle for Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) and Tracy Circle for her late partner Spencer Tracy (1900-1967). The latter was soon folded into Lamarr Avenue.
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