Inside Burt Bacharach’s idyllic Hollywood and Pacific Palisades homes

Hitmaker Burt Bacharach called a stunning Tudor-style mansion in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles home for years, after living in a music-filled Hollywood property with his then-wife Angie Dickinson. 

There he entertained some of show business’s biggest names, made music, and in his spare time played with his beloved pair of Portuguese waterdogs.

The Pacific Palisades home had its own wood-paneled music room, a massive grand piano, and walls full of art, music memorabilia like notes from Paul McCartney, and even photographs of the numerous racehorses he owned throughout his life, according to The Times.

Out back he had a pool where he would often entertain his family and friends on the flower-ringed patio, the whole place overlooking commanding views of the Pacific Ocean.

Bacharach died at the house from natural causes on Wednesday, according to his publicist. He was 94.

Burt Bacharach sits at the piano in Hollywood home in 1969 with his then-wife Angie Dickinson

Burt Bacharach’s home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles

Guarded by a pair of gates, Bacharach’s house was nonetheless a welcoming haven for many from the music industry icons, show business tycoons, and journalists alike.

Bacharach was known for always adoring his homes as family havens. Photos from 1969 showed him playing piano joyfully alongside his daughter, while his then-wife Angie Dickinson looked on.

Later when he purchased the Pacific Palisades house, the Bacharachs told Architectural Digest it was bought and renovated with family space in mind.

‘We decided to move and wanted a place where Burt could work at home, and a yard for the kids,’ his wife Jane said.

After the announcement of Bacharach’s death, journalist Will Hodgkinson described a visit to the Pacific Palisade’s house, and recalled it as being surrounded by ‘hummingbirds and bougainvillea and relentless sunshine.’

In his 2005 book iPod Therefore I am, author Dylan Jones also recalled a visit to Bacharach’s home, saying it was ‘the sort of house might have envisioned him living in during the 1960s.’

Jones said the house had ‘all the prerequisites of future-retro suburbia, including a bachelor den, a music room, pool house, barbecue patio, and open-plan kitchen.’ 

Burt Bacharach’s Pacific Palisades mansion overlooks the Pacific Ocean

Burt Bacharach with one of his dogs at the pool of his Pacific Palisades home

Burt Bacharach plays piano with his daughter and then-wife Angie Dickinson in their home 

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Burt Bacharach and his then-wife Angie Dickinson help their daughter play piano in their home

The Say a Little Prayer creator composed more than 500 songs during his career – and won six Grammy Awards.

Oscar-winning Bacharach wrote hits such as Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head and dozens of other songs. 

His publicist Tina Brausam said that the iconic composer had passed away on Wednesday from natural causes. 

During his seven-decade career, he won a lifetime achievement award and wrote for stars including Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield.

Oscar-winning Bacharach wrote hits such as ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ and dozens of other hits

During his seven-decade career, he won a lifetime achievement award and wrote for stars including Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield. Pictured: Performing with Adele at the BBC Electric Proms in 2008

The star teamed up with Dionne Warwick in 1961 – with 39 of her chart hits written by Bacharach and lyricist Hal David.

Bacharach vowed never to retire, saying in 2018: ‘Music softens the heart, makes you feel something if it’s good, brings in emotion that you might not have felt before.

‘It’s a very powerful thing if you’re able to do it, if you have it in your heart to do something like that.’

His work was covered by Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra, and more modern artists –  the White Stripes, Twista and Ashanti.

Walk On By was covered by everyone from Warwick and Isaac Hayes to the British punk band the Stranglers and Cyndi Lauper.

He had a run of top 10 hits from the 1950s into the 21st century, and his music was heard everywhere, from movie soundtracks and radios to home stereo systems and iPods. 

Bacharach was a frequent guest at the White House over the years, and was presented the Gershwin Prize by Barack Obama in 2012. 

He received two Academy Awards in 1970, for the score of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and for the song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.

Bacharach leaves behind fourth wife Jane Hansen (pictured in 2015)  and their two children, as well as a son from a previous marriage 

The last photo of Bacharach was posted on his Instagram account in October of last year at his home, where he produced a final album which was released in 2020

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Bacharach was married four times, and married actress Angie Dickinson (pictured) in 1965 – before divorcing in 1981

In 1982, he and his then-wife, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, won Oscars for Best That You Can Do, the theme from Arthur.

His other movie soundtracks included What’s New, Pussycat?, Alfie and the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale.

Bacharach was married four times, marrying Paula Stewart in 1953, before the pair split in 1958 – but remained friends for more than three decades.

He went on to wed actress Angie Dickinson, in 1965, and the pair had a daughter, Nikki, together who committed suicide in 2007.

Bacharach divorced Angie in 1981, and then married lyricist Carole Bayer Sager in 1982 and the couple adopted Christopher Elton Bacharach before their divorce in 1991.

The ‘Say a Little Prayer’ creator composed more than 500 songs during his career – and won six Grammy Awards

The star teamed up with Dionne Warwick in 1961 – with 39 of her chart hits written by the duo

He went on to wed actress Angie Dickinson, in 1965, and the pair had a daughter, Nikki, together who committed suicide in 2007. Pictured: In 1969 with Angie and Nikki

Bacharach married his fourth wife Jane Hansen in 1993 and they had two children together – son Oliver and daughter Raleigh.

Athlete Jane is 32 years his junior, with the couple largely remaining out of the limelight bar a few red-carpet appearances.

He paid tribute to his late daughter Nikki, who went undiagnosed with autism, with the creation of ‘A Boy Called Po’.

The film depicts a young widower dad raising a son with autism, and marked his first original score in 17 years.

During the pandemic Bacharach – aged 92 – worked on a new collaboration with Nashville singer-songwriter Daniel Tashian.

Bacharach was a frequent guest at the White House over the years, and was presented the Gershwin Prize by Barack Obama in 2012

In 1957, Bacharach began his legendary partnership with songwriter Hal David, before continuing a long working relationship with singer Dionne Warwick

In 1982, he and his then-wife, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, won Oscars for ‘Best That You Can Do,’ the theme from Arthur

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The pair released a five-song EP titled Blue Umbrella in July 2020, and managed to make the time difference work.

It was Bacharach’s first album in 15 years, and he was glad to keep busy during the coronavirus pandemic.

At the time he said: ‘In these times it’s like a lifesaver.’

Born May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, Bacharach began playing piano at his mother’s insistence with his love for music growing as a teen living in Queens, New York.

He had access to the nightclubs where jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker performed.

It was a partnership that ended in disaster, after a 1973 remake of Lost Horizon failed – causing Bacharach to isolate himself in his Del Mar vacation home and refuse to work

Bacharach enjoyed spending his time at his home in LA, where he passed away from natural causes on Wednesday

Athlete Jane is 32 years his junior, with the couple largely remaining out of the limelight bar a few red-carpet appearances. Pictured: The couple together at the 2006 Grammys 

The star completed his formal music education at McGill University in Montreal, the Mannes School of Music in New York City and the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California.

He then went on to serve in the army between 1950 and 1952 as a pianist in an officer’s club.

Soon after being discharged, Bacharach began playing with singers and musicians he met in nightclubs – and soon realized he could write songs like them.

He returned to New York to hone his signature style and said he ‘wasn’t trying to break any rules’ and that his new way of music was ‘very natural’ to him.

In 1957, Bacharach began his legendary partnership with songwriter Hal David, before continuing a long working relationship with singer Dionne Warwick.

It was a partnership that ended in disaster, after a 1973 remake of Lost Horizon failed – causing Bacharach to isolate himself in his Del Mar vacation home and refuse to work.

He was sued by Warwick and David after failing to fulfill a commitment to record the singer, but eventually reconciled with the lyricist before his death in 2012.