Too Close for Comfort: Eugene O’Brien & Robert Vignola

Next-door neighbors are inescapable, especially when you’re both retired. The homes of Eugene O’Brien and Robert Vignola were in such close proximity, the former film star could literally drop in — jumping from his balcony onto the director’s patio.

Whitley Terrace in the early 1920s: The home of Robert Vignola is on the far right, with Eugene O'Brien to its left.

In 1929, writer Basil Woon visited Vignola on Whitley Terrace for the article “You Can’t Get Away With It in Hollywood.”

“Friendly with Gene?” he asked. “I have to be,” replied Vignola.

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