We know that Henry — that’s him with his caretaker, Twiinka Thiebaud — spent his twilight years in the Pacific Palisades, but what was life like for him during that time?
For an answer, we turn to HML Friend for Life (HMLFFL) Cynthia, who writes about her friend, Jane, accordingly:
I think I have mentioned to you before that my friend Jane lived near Henry Miller in Pacific Palisades. I asked her to tell me more about her experience with him, as where he lived in Pacific Palisades is not at the Ocampo address that is mostly associated with Henry Miller.
Jane says:
Henry Miller’s ex-wife at the time, Lepska, owned the house at 661 Las Lomas. Henry rented a room in a house down the street on Las Lomas and would come over to 661 to paint but didn’t live under the same roof with Lepska, Tony and Val as they were recently divorced. My brother (born 1956), who was probably like 3 or 4, would come home (which was next door to 661 at 657) holding a wet portrait of himself and saying “Hendry [how my bro pronounced his name] said to give this to you.” It was a watercolor. He painted one or two pictures of my brother and I think did a small charcoal portrait but my memory may be off.
Liza’s parents bought the house from Lepska around 1962. (My friend Jane was good friends with Liza as they grew up together as neighbors) There was a watercolor in one room and Liza’s mom told Lepska that she had left it there. Lepska said, no, Henry wanted you to have it.
Both 661 and 657 burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire of January, 2025.
In addition, another story my mother told when I did my talk about my book Banned in DC at HMML: Her husband, (my dad) apparently would meet Henry Miller on the beach in Santa Barbara and give Henry his empty wine bottles. Henry would then take them and fill them with cheap wine and serve the wine to his friends who would then think they were drinking “fancy” wine.
I have to ask my mom what year this would be.. but probably the early 1960’s as well.
Anyway, thought I should send those “notes” on Henry Miller to you!!
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Thanks, Jane, from all of us at the Henry Miller Memorial Library!